Editing Pegmatite (section)

==Economic importance==
[[File:USGS-PP-1802k-K13.png|thumb|upright=2.5|Scatter plots of lithium grade and tonnage for selected world deposits, as of 2017]]
Pegmatites often contain rare elements and [[gemstone]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Simmons|first1=W. B.|last2=Pezzotta|first2=F.|last3=Shigley|first3=J. E.|last4=Beurlen|first4=H.|date=2012-08-01|title=Granitic Pegmatites as Sources of Colored Gemstones|journal=Elements|language=en|volume=8|issue=4|pages=281–287|doi=10.2113/gselements.8.4.281|bibcode=2012Eleme...8..281S |issn=1811-5209}}</ref> Examples include [[Beryl#Aquamarine and maxixe|aquamarine]], tourmaline, topaz, fluorite, apatite, and [[corundum]], often along with [[tin]], rare earth, and [[tungsten]] minerals, among others.<ref name=Allaby2013/><ref name=Jackson1997/> Pegmatites have been mined for both quartz and feldspar.<ref name=Almq>{{Cite book|title=Nyttosten i Sverige|last1=Lundegårdh|first1=Per H.|publisher=[[Almqvist & Wiksell]]|year=1971|isbn=|location=Stockholm|language=Swedish|pages=16–17}}</ref> For quartz mining, pegmatites with central quartz masses have been of particular interest.<ref name=Almq/>

Pegmatites are the primary source of [[lithium]] either as spodumene, [[lithiophyllite]] or usually from lepidolite.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Linnen|first1=R. L.|last2=Lichtervelde|first2=M. Van|last3=Cerny|first3=P.|date=2012-08-01|title=Granitic Pegmatites as Sources of Strategic Metals|journal=Elements|language=en|volume=8|issue=4|pages=275–280|doi=10.2113/gselements.8.4.275|bibcode=2012Eleme...8..275L |issn=1811-5209}}</ref> The primary source for [[caesium]] is [[pollucite]], a mineral from a zoned pegmatite.<ref name="Cerny">{{cite journal|title=The Tanco Pegmatite at Bernic Lake, Manitoba: X. Pollucite|first1=Petr|last1=Černý|author-link1=Petr Černý|first2=F. M.|last2=Simpson|journal=Canadian Mineralogist|volume=16|pages=325–333|date=1978|url=http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/cm/vol38/CM38_877.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/cm/vol38/CM38_877.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|access-date=2010-09-26}}</ref> The majority of the world's beryllium is sourced from non-gem quality beryl within pegmatite.<ref name="deGruyter">{{cite book
 | others=trans. rev. Eagleson, Mary
 | editor1-first=Hans-Dieter | editor1-last=Jakubke
 | editor2-first=Hans | editor2-last=Jeschkeit
 | title=Concise Encyclopedia Chemistry
 | publisher=Walter de Gruyter
 | location=Berlin
 | date=1994}}</ref> Tantalum, niobium, and rare-earth elements are sourced from a few pegmatites worldwide, such as the [[Greenbushes mine|Greenbushes Pegmatite]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Partington|first1=G. A.|last2=McNaughton|first2=N. J.|last3=Williams|first3=I. S.|date=1995-05-01|title=A review of the geology, mineralization, and geochronology of the Greenbushes Pegmatite, Western Australia|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2113/gsecongeo.90.3.616|journal=Economic Geology|volume=90|issue=3|pages=616–635|doi=10.2113/gsecongeo.90.3.616|bibcode=1995EcGeo..90..616P |issn=1554-0774}}</ref> the Kibara Belt of [[Rwanda]] and [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], the Kenticha mine of [[Ethiopia]] the Alto Ligonha Province of [[Mozambique]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Melcher |first1=F. |last2=Graupner |first2=T. |last3=Oberthür |first3=T. |last4=Schütte |first4=P. |title=Tantalum-(niobium-tin) mineralisation in pegmatites and rare-metal granites of Africa |journal=South African Journal of Geology |date=1 March 2017 |volume=120 |issue=1 |pages=77–100 |doi=10.25131/gssajg.120.1.77|bibcode=2017SAJG..120...77M }}</ref> and the Mibra (Volta) mine of [[Minas Gerais]], Brazil.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Linnen |first1=Robert |first2=David L. |last2=Trueman |first3=Richard |last3=Burt |chapter=Tantalum and niobium |title=Critical metals handbook |year=2014 |pages=361–384 |url=https://mmsallaboutmetallurgy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Critical-Metals-Handbook.pdf#page=373 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://mmsallaboutmetallurgy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Critical-Metals-Handbook.pdf#page=373 |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |access-date=29 July 2022}}</ref>