[6] The color of the mineral is dark indigo with purple tints to bluish-black.

[3] The mineral was named in 1993 by D. J. MacDonald, Frank C. Hawthorne, and Joel D.Grice after Franklin F. Foit, Jr.[5] It lacks alkalis like sodium.

[7] Foitite is a member of the tourmaline mineral group, which is a complex aluminum borosilicate.

The aluminum and boron substitutions create charge imbalances, which are compensated by the presence of sodium and iron ions.

Foitite typically forms in granitic rocks enriched in boron, such as pegmatites.