New Tourmaline Pockets in San Diego County’s Pala District
At the AGTA show, Bill and Carl Larson (Pala International, Fallbrook, California) shared details about new pockets uncovered at the Tourmaline King mine. The first was discovered in January 2022—the first major find at the mine in more than a hundred years, and the first in Southern California since the “Big Kahuna” pocket at the Oceanview mine in 2010. “We’ve hit off and on three or four pockets, some of which are very good,” Bill said.
The Larsons showed us several stones, including a 16.96 ct emerald-cut green tourmaline (figure 1) from rough found near the first pocket in 2022. Bill said the green tourmaline is relatively uncommon for the Pala District. “The green has actually been transparent enough to facet,” Carl added. “That’s been the best material so far.” The new pockets have also produced about 3 kg of fine-color rubellite rough (figure 2).
The Tourmaline King mine’s main tunnel produced eight tons during San Diego County’s massive output of tourmaline in the early nineteenth century, which also involved the Pala District’s Tourmaline Queen, Pala Chief, and Stewart mines, as well as Mesa Grande’s Himalaya mine. (There was a resurgence of mining at Pala in the 1970s.)
Around 1920, mine owner R.M. Wilke and his crew installed a new tunnel below the main one. “They hit this very dangerous zone right before they hit the pegmatite,” Bill said. Here they encountered a shear zone that caused a roof collapse. Wilke abandoned mining efforts around 1922.
Pala International’s mining partner, San Diego Mining Company, reclaimed the tunnel several years ago and began extending it in 2019. “They got to the dangerous area, and then they backed up about 10 meters and went around and hit the pegmatite,” Bill said. “Now they’re in from the front to the back, where we’re hitting tourmaline.”
Carl recalled his initial look at the first new pocket. “Kiel Snyder stopped me and said, ‘Everyone else gave up here,’” he said. “He just believed in it and kept going. Then they hit a small pocket—nothing of note, but something that said, ‘There are stones here.’ I think they called that the ‘Never Give Up’ pocket. Within 10, 15 feet, they hit that first pocket.”
The crystals were large and well formed, and the miners uncovered a very large terminated quartz crystal, a collector specimen. Carl said the crystals in this pocket lack the rubellite color and are not typical of the mine, making them inadequate for cutting and cabbing. But in January of 2023, they discovered a pocket of beautifully colored red rubellite, too included for faceting but suitable for cabbing and carving. “We’re hoping that we’ll hit some more gemmy transparent material,” he said.
“It’s really exciting to have an active mine in Southern California because of its rich history,” Carl said. “At the turn of the century we were hitting a lot, and then it was vacant for so long. So to have some energy coming in with new material is exciting.”
