berlinite

{{short description|Phosphate mineral}}

{{infobox mineral

| name = Berlinite

| image = Berlinite.jpg

| imagesize = 260px

| alt =

| caption = Synthetic berlinite

| category = Phosphate mineral

| formula = AlPO₄

| IMAsymbol=Ber{{Cite journal|last=Warr|first=L.N.|date=2021|title=IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols|journal=Mineralogical Magazine|volume=85|issue=3|pages=291–320|doi=10.1180/mgm.2021.43|bibcode=2021MinM...85..291W|s2cid=235729616|doi-access=free}}

| molweight =

| strunz = 8.AA.05

| dana =

| system = Trigonal

| class = Trapezohedral (32)
H-M symbol: (32)

| symmetry = P3₁21, P3₂21

| unit cell = a = 4.941 Å, c = 10.94 Å; Z = 3

| color = Colorless, pale gray, may be pale rose

| colour =

| habit = Typically granular to massive

| twinning = Subparallel lamellae

| cleavage =

| fracture = Conchoidal

| tenacity =

| mohs = 6.5

| luster = Vitreous

| streak =

| diaphaneity = Transparent to translucent

| gravity = 2.64–2.66

| density =

| polish =

| opticalprop = Uniaxial (+)

| refractive = n_ω = 1.524 n_ε = 1.532

| birefringence = δ = 0.008

| pleochroism =

| 2V =

| dispersion =

| extinction =

| length fast/slow =

| fluorescence =

| absorption =

| melt =

| fusibility =

| diagnostic =

| solubility =

| impurities =

| alteration =

| other =

| references = [http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/berlinite.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy][http://www.mindat.org/min-633.html Mindat.org][http://www.webmineral.com/data/Berlinite.shtml Webmineral data]

}}

Berlinite (aluminium phosphate, chemical formula AlPO₄ or Al(PO₄)) is a rare high-temperature hydrothermal or metasomatic phosphate mineral.{{Cite web|url=http://webmineral.com/data/Berlinite.shtml|title=Berlinite Mineral Data|last=Barthelmy|first=Dave|website=webmineral.com|access-date=2018-05-18}} It has the same crystal structure as quartz with a low temperature polytype isostructural with α–quartz and a high temperature polytype isostructural with β–quartz. Berlinite can vary from colorless to greyish or pale pink and has translucent crystals.

It was first described in 1868 for an occurrence in the Västanå iron mine, Scania, Sweden and named for Nils Johan Berlin (1812–1891) of Lund University.

It occurs as a rare mineral in high-temperature hydrothermal or metasomatic deposits. Associated minerals include augelite, attakolite, kyanite, pyrophyllite, scorzalite, lazulite, gatumbaite, burangaite, amblygonite, phosphosiderite, purpurite, apatite, muscovite, quartz, hematite in granite pegmatites. It also occurs with alunite, aragonite, collophane, crandallite, francoanellite, gypsum, huntite, hydromagnesite, leucophosphite, nesquehonite, niter, and nitrocalcite in the Paddy's River copper mine in the Brindabella Mountains of Australia.