Wavellite
{{short description|Aluminium phosphate basic hydrate mineral}}
{{Infobox mineral
| name = Wavellite
| category = Phosphate minerals
| boxwidth =
| boxbgcolor =
| image = Wavellite-162460.jpg
| imagesize = 260px
| caption = Wavellite cluster from Mauldin Mountain Quarries, Mauldin Mt., Montgomery County, Arkansas
| formula = Al3(PO4)2(OH,F)3·5H2O
| strunz = 8.DC.50
| system = Orthorhombic
| class = Dipyramidal (mmm)
H-M symbol: (2/m 2/m 2/m)
| symmetry = Pcmn
| unit cell = a = 9.621 Å
b = 17.363 Å,
c = 6.994 Å; Z = 4
| color = Green to yellowish-green and greenish blue and blue. and yellow, brown, white and colorless
| habit = Spherical, radial aggregates; striated prisms; crusty to stalactitic
| twinning =
| cleavage = [110] perfect, [101] good, [010] distinct
| fracture = Uneven to subconchoidal
| mohs = 3.5 - 4
| luster = Vitreous to resinous, pearly
| refractive = nα = 1.518 - 1.535 nβ = 1.524 - 1.543 nγ = 1.544 - 1.561
| opticalprop = Biaxial (+)
| birefringence = δ = 0.026
| pleochroism = Weak; X = greenish; Z = yellowish
| 2V = Measured: 60° to 72°
| streak = White
| gravity = 2.36
| fusibility = Infusable, swells and splits on heating
| diagnostic =
| solubility = Insoluble
| diaphaneity = Translucent
| other =
| references = [http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/wavellite.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy][http://webmineral.com/data/Wavellite.shtml Webmineral][http://www.mindat.org/min-4250.html Mindat]Klein, Corneis and Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr., Manual of Mineralogy, Wiley, 20th ed. 1985, p. 362-3 {{ISBN|0-471-80580-7}}
}}
Wavellite is an aluminium basic phosphate mineral with formula Al3(PO4)2(OH, F)3·5H2O. Distinct crystals are rare, and it normally occurs as translucent green radial or spherical clusters.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Wavellite|volume=28|page=430}}
Discovery and occurrence
File:Wavellite-199443.jpg, showing spherical structure (size: 3.4 x 2.0 x 1.1 cm)]]
Wavellite was first described in 1805 for an occurrence at High Down, Filleigh, Devon, England and named by William Babington in 1805 in honor of Dr. William Wavell (1750–1829), a Devon-based physician, botanist, historian, and naturalist, who brought the mineral to the attention of fellow mineralogists.{{Cite journal|last1 = Green| first1 = David| last2 = Cotterell| first2 = Tom| last3 = Jones| first3 = I.| last4 = Cox| first4 = D.| last5 = Cleevely| first5 = R.| year = 2007| title = Wavellite: its discovery and occurrences in the British Isles.| journal = UK Journal of Mines and Minerals| volume = 28| pages = 11–30}}Curtis, Samuel and Hooker, William Jackson (1827). Memoirs of the Life and Writing of the Late Mr. William Curtis, Curtis's Botanical Magazine; or Flower Garden Displayed, v. 1 (new series), v-xxxii.
It occurs in association with crandallite and variscite in fractures in aluminous metamorphic rock, in hydrothermal regions and in phosphate rock deposits. It is found in a wide variety of locations, notably in the Mount Ida, Arkansas area in the Ouachita Mountains.
It is sometimes used as a gemstone.Gemstones: Properties, identification and use by Arthur Thomas, p. 132.
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See also
- List of minerals
- Apatite, fluoro-phosphate of calcium
- Pyromorphite, chloro-phosphate of lead
- Turquoise, a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium
References
{{reflist|30em}}
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External links
- {{cite web|url=https://www.barnstaplemuseum.org.uk/hundred-objects/wavellite/|title=Wavellite at museum of Barnstaple and North Devon|publisher=|accessdate=9 May 2020}}
{{commons category|Wavellite}}
{{Phosphate minerals}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Orthorhombic minerals
Category:Minerals in space group 62
Category:Pentahydrate minerals
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