Schorl is the sodium iron (divalent) end member of the tourmaline group and the most common tourmaline species, which may account for 95 percent or more of all tourmaline in nature. The name was in use before 1400, because a village known today as Zschorlau in Saxony, Germany, was then named Schorl and black tourmaline was found at a nearby tin mine; the species forms brownish-black to black crystals. Opaque black schorl has a high magnetic susceptibility because of its high iron content, and schorl is usually found in granite and granite pegmatite. In this atlas it is the mineral species that black tourmaline records.
Schorl is the sodium iron (divalent) end member of the tourmaline group and the most common tourmaline species, which may account for 95 percent or more of all tourmaline in nature. The name was in use before 1400, because a village known today as Zschorlau in Saxony, Germany, was then named Schorl and black tourmaline was found at a nearby tin mine; the species forms brownish-black to black crystals. Opaque black schorl has a high magnetic susceptibility because of its high iron content, and schorl is usually found in granite and granite pegmatite. In this atlas it is the mineral species that black tourmaline records.
Facts
Hardness (Mohs)The Wikipedia article gives a range of 7.0 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale for tourmaline as a group; 7.25, the midpoint, is used here for schorl. Hardness (Mohs)The Wikipedia article gives a range of 7.0 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale for tourmaline as a group; 7.25, the midpoint, is used here for schorl. Classification
Strunz Class Strunz Class Crystal SystemTrigonal (Rhombohedral) 1 Crystal SystemTrigonal (Rhombohedral) 1 Connections
Caused By
Source Tourmaline (Wikipedia)
Crystallizes In System
In Discipline
In the Other Atlases
Mineral Species Of
Also in Divinity Atlas: of this mineral species.
Also in Divinity Atlas: of this mineral species.
Sources
1. Tourmaline (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationSchorl, lead paragraph
The most common species of tourmaline is schorl, the sodium iron (divalent) endmember of the group.
Schorl, article text
It may account for 95% or more of all tourmaline in nature.
View the Source 2. minerals.net: Schorl
minerals.netUses
Schorl is occasionally used in jewelry as a black gemstone
Color field
Black
Luster field
Submetallic; some specimens dull.
View the Source Tourmaline (Wikipedia)
Caused By: Fractional Crystallization, GeologyQuote, Caused By: Fractional Crystallization, Geology
Schorl and lithium-rich tourmalines are usually found in granite and granite pegmatite.
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