Tourmaline has a Mohs hardness of 7 to 7 ½, and that hardness makes it a durable sediment granule. Tourmaline is also relatively resistant to chemical weathering. So, particles of tourmaline weathered from igneous or metamorphic rocks can persist in a stream and can be transported long distances from their source area.

Tourmaline gem rough is mined from stream sediments in many parts of the world, often by artisanal miners. It generally occurs as small granules and pebbles that that have been rounded by the abrasion of stream transport. Tourmaline is often one of many different minerals produced from a single mining location.