gems, Russia, tourmaline, Transbaikalia, Siberia

The Malkhan pegmatite field in Siberia represents the largest source of gem-grade and specimen-quality tourmaline in Russia. Since their discovery in the 1980s, the Malkhan pegmatites have yielded uniquely beautiful, wonderfully large crystals of wine-red tourmaline with smoky quartz and cleavelandite that rival the great historical tourmaline discoveries in Brazil, California and the Himalayas. The district has produced over 50 different mineral species and is the type locality for bismutocolumbite and borocookeite.