Almost every color of tourmaline can be found in Brazil, especially in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais and Bahia. In 1989, miners discovered a unique and brightly colored variety of tourmaline in the state of Paraíba. The new type of tourmaline, which soon became known as paraiba tourmaline, came in unusually vivid blues and greens. These colors were often described as "neon" since they appeared to glow. Brazilian paraiba tourmaline is usually heavily included. Much of the paraiba tourmaline from Brazil actually comes from the neighboring state of Rio Grande do Norte. Material from Rio Grande do Norte is often somewhat less intense in color, but many fine gems are found there. It was determined that the element copper was important in the coloration of the stone. The demand and excitement for this new material, which has fetched more than $50,000 per carat, earned more respect for the other colors of tourmaline. In the late 90s, copper-containing tourmaline was found in Nigeria. The material was generally paler and less saturated than the Brazilian materials, although the material generally was much less included. A more recent African discovery from Mozambique has also produced beautiful tourmaline colored by copper, similar to the Brazilian paraiba. While its colors are somewhat less bright than top Brazilian material, Mozambique paraiba is often less included and has been found in larger sizes. The Mozambique paraiba material usually is more intensely colored than the Nigerian. There is a significant overlap in color and clarity with Mozambique paraiba and Brazilian paraiba, especially with the material from Rio Grande do Norte. While less expensive than top quality Brazilian paraiba, some Mozambique material sells for well over $5,000 per carat, which still is extremely high compared to other tourmalines.
Tourmaline mineral (~ 10 cm tall)Another unique variety that is also highly valued is chrome tourmaline, a rare type of dravite tourmaline from Tanzania which occurs in a very rich green color caused by chromium, the same element which causes the green in emerald. Of the standard Elbaite colors, generally blue indicolite gems are the most expensive, followed by green verdelite and pink to red rubellite. There are also yellow tourmalines, sometimes known as canary tourmaline. Ironically the rarest variety, colorless achroite, is not appreciated and is the least expensive of the transparent tourmalines. In addition to Brazil, significant amounts of tourmaline are also mined in Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, and Malawi.[5]
Some tourmaline gems, especially pink to red colored stones, are altered by irradiation to improve their color. Irradiation is almost impossible to detect in tourmalines, and does not impact the value. Heavily-included tourmalines, such as rubellite and Brazilian paraiba are sometimes clarity enhanced, which must be disclosed to the buyer. A clarity-enhanced tourmaline (especially paraiba) is worth much less than a non-treated gem。