From Brazil to Ethiopia: The Short History of Paraíba Tourmaline's Known Sources

Copper-bearing "Paraíba-type" tourmaline has one of the shortest, most geographically scattered discovery timelines of any major gemstone. Here's the sequence so far:

Late 1980s — Paraíba, Brazil. Miner and prospector Heitor Barbosa discovers a neon blue-green copper-bearing tourmaline in the Brazilian state of Paraíba, unlike anything previously catalogued in gemology. The material becomes an instant sensation and the namesake for the entire category.

1990s–2000s — Nigeria. Copper-bearing tourmaline with the same electric hue is discovered in Nigeria, prompting the trade's first major naming debate: is it still "Paraíba" if it isn't from Paraíba?

Early 2000s — Mozambique. A larger, more consistent deposit is found in Mozambique, which goes on to become the dominant commercial source of Paraíba-type material by both volume and carat size. In 2006, the Laboratory Manual Harmonisation Committee (LMHC) rules that "Paraíba" describes a copper-bearing variety rather than a strict geographic origin, formalizing use of the name across all three countries while requiring labs to disclose non-Brazilian origin separately.

June 2026 — Ethiopia (reported, unconfirmed). The Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF says trade and mining sources report a new copper-bearing tourmaline deposit in Ethiopia. Unlike the prior three, this one arrives with an unusual complication: preliminary lab testing can't yet cleanly separate the stones in question from Brazilian material, so origin is still an open question.

Nearly forty years after Barbosa's discovery, the map of copper-bearing tourmaline sources may be about to grow — or Ethiopia's chapter may end up folded back into an existing one, once the lab work catches up.

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Sources: National Jeweler (Michelle Graff), June 23, 2026; SSEF, June 2026; JCK, "AGTA GTC's new 'Paraíba' reports".

Written by Nic Scogna, a photographer and mineral collector based in Lexington, Kentucky, and the founder of Crystal Earth Gallery and Kyanite King Minerals. For over 25 years, he has traveled to mineral localities across the U.S. — from Maine to California — personally sourcing the specimens, gemstones, and photographic subjects featured here. When not out in the field, Nic writes about mineralogy, collecting, and the craft of turning raw stone into wearable art.