Ludwigite from B-bearing iron ores in the Bergslagen area of central Sweden and in the coastal area north of Stockholm has been studied using chemical and single-crystal diffraction techniques. Structure refinements, completed for three crystals showing slightly different Al contents, in the space group Pbam (agreement factor: 2.42< or =R< or =2.79) indicate that: (1) octahedral M1, M2 and M3 bond distances are similar, although the calculated site population suggests that M1 and M2 are nearly completely occupied by Mg whereas M3 also contains Fe (super 2+) and Fe (super 3+) ; (2) in the M4 octahedron Fe (super 3+) and A1 dominate over Mg (and Fe (super 2+) ); and (3) the distortion parameter, BLD, indicates that M3 is the most regular, whereas M4 is the most distorted octahedron.