Copper-Bearing (“Paraíba”) Tourmaline from Abuloo, Ethiopia: Preliminary Results
Abstract
A series of tourmalines from Abuloo, Oromia regional state, Ethiopia, was studied to describe their chemical and spectroscopic characteristics. Data from the seven samples were consistent with elbaite. Several specimens contained significant concentrations of copper (up to 2.29 wt%) and iron up to 0.81 wt%. Visible absorption spectroscopy indicated that the blue coloration in most samples is primarily related to Cu, with Mn and Fe contributing to a lesser extent, whereas in some specimens, Fe is the chromophore dominating Cu. The Cu-dominant tourmalines exhibited characteristics that correspond to the gemological definition of Paraíba tourmaline. Elements such as Ga, Pb, Bi, Zn, and V, as well as REE and Cu, could help to distinguish Ethiopian samples from copper-bearing tourmalines from Brazil, Mozambique, and Nigeria. These results suggest that the Abuloo occurrence represents a potentially significant source of gem-quality, unheated Cu-bearing tourmaline with distinctive features that may aid in its identification.
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BibTeX
@article{karampelas2026copperbearing,
title = {{Copper-Bearing (“Paraíba”) Tourmaline from Abuloo, Ethiopia: Preliminary Results}},
author = {Stefanos Karampelas and Emmanuel Fritsch and Haimanot Sisay and Léonard Cornuz and Quentin Dartois and Aurélien Delaunay and Vincent Pardieu and Ugo Hennebois},
journal = {Minerals},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/min16090964},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05764641v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Copper-Bearing (“Paraíba”) Tourmaline from Abuloo, Ethiopia: Preliminary Results
AU - Stefanos Karampelas
AU - Emmanuel Fritsch
AU - Haimanot Sisay
AU - Léonard Cornuz
AU - Quentin Dartois
AU - Aurélien Delaunay
AU - Vincent Pardieu
AU - Ugo Hennebois
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/25
JO - Minerals
DO - 10.3390/min16090964
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05764641v1
AB - A series of tourmalines from Abuloo, Oromia regional state, Ethiopia, was studied to describe their chemical and spectroscopic characteristics. Data from the seven samples were consistent with elbaite. Several specimens contained significant concentrations of copper (up to 2.29 wt%) and iron up to 0.81 wt%. Visible absorption spectroscopy indicated that the blue coloration in most samples is primarily related to Cu, with Mn and Fe contributing to a lesser extent, whereas in some specimens, Fe is the chromophore dominating Cu. The Cu-dominant tourmalines exhibited characteristics that correspond to the gemological definition of Paraíba tourmaline. Elements such as Ga, Pb, Bi, Zn, and V, as well as REE and Cu, could help to distinguish Ethiopian samples from copper-bearing tourmalines from Brazil, Mozambique, and Nigeria. These results suggest that the Abuloo occurrence represents a potentially significant source of gem-quality, unheated Cu-bearing tourmaline with distinctive features that may aid in its identification.
SN - 2075-163X
ER -