Povondraite is a mineral from the tourmaline

Tourmaline

Tourmaline is a crystal boron silicate mineral compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. Tourmaline is classified as a semi-precious stone and the gem comes in a wide variety of colors...

 group.

Discovered at the San Francisco mine, near Villa Tunari

Villa Tunari

Villa Tunari or Tunari is a location in the department of Cochabamba, Bolivia. It is the seat of the Villa Tunari Municipality, the third municipal section of the Chapare Province. At the time of census 2001 it had a population of 2,510....

 (in Alto Chapare), Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

, in 1976, originally it was called ferridravite, for the composition and the assumed relationship to dravite, i.e., "ferric dravite" . However later investigations yielded a new empirical formula which had no relation to the dravite. This called for renaming, and the new name, after Pavel Povondra, a mineralogist at the Charles University in Prague

Charles University in Prague

Charles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1348, it was the first university in Central Europe and is also considered the earliest German university...

, was approved by the International Mineralogical Association

International Mineralogical Association

The International Mineralogical Association is an international group of 38 national societies. The goal is to promote the science of mineralogy and to standardize the nomenclature of the 4000 plus known mineral species...

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