Kovdorskite

Kovdorskite

Photograph of kovdorskite from Kovdor Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja Oblast', Northern Region, Russia.
General
Category Phosphate minerals
Formula
(repeating unit)
Mg2PO4(OH)·3H2O
Strunz classification 8.DC.22
Dana classification 43.05.08.01
Crystal system Monoclinic
Crystal class Prismatic (2/m)
H-M symbol: (2/m)
Space group P21/n
Unit cell a = 10.35, b = 12.90
c = 4.73 [Å]; Z = 4
Identification
Color Translucent white to pale blue to bright pink
Crystal habit Rough prismatic
Fracture Conchoidal to uneven
Mohs scale hardness 4
Luster Vitreous
Specific gravity 2.28 (measured), 2.30 (calculated)
Optical properties Biaxial (-)
Refractive index nα = 1.527 nβ = 1.542 nγ = 1.549
Birefringence δ = 0.022
2V angle 80°-82° (measured)
Dispersion r > v, very weak
References [1][2][3][4]

Kovdorskite, Mg2PO4(OH)·3H2O, is a rare, hydrated, magnesium phosphate mineral. It was first described by Kapustin et al.,[5] and is found only in the Kovdor Massif near Kovdor, Kola Peninsula, Russia.[3] It is associated with collinsite, magnesite, dolomite, hydrotalcite, apatite, magnetite, and forsterite.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Anthony J W, Bideaux R A, Bladh K W, and Nichols M C (1990) Handbook of Mineralogy, Mineral Data Publishing, Tucson Arizona, USA, by permission of the Mineralogical Society of America .
  2. Ovchinnikov V E, Soloveva L P, Pudovkina Z V, Kapustin Y L, Belov N V (1980) The crystal structure of kovdorskite Mg2(PO4)(OH)·3(H2O), Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR, 255, 351-354 .
  3. 1 2 Kovdorskite on Mindat.org
  4. Kovdorskite data on Webmineral
  5. Kapustin, Y. L., Bykova, A. V. & Pudovkina, Z. V. (1980). Zap. Vses. Mineral. Ova. 109, 341-347

Further reading

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