Apatite (original) (raw)
A group of related mineral species
About ApatiteHide
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Formula:
Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH)
Name:
The name ('apatit') was invented by A.G. Werner probably sometime in the mid-1780s, which he later described as being named from the Greek verb απατάω (strictly ἀπατάω; transliterated as apatáō) as the derivation, which means ‘to deceive’ (someone) or ‘to be deceptive’, because, as he wrote, "until now it has misled all mineralogists in its identification." (Roycroft & Cuypers, 2015).
"Apatite" is a field term for unidentified calcium phosphate members of the apatite group.
Most "apatite" is fluorapatite, whereas hydroxylapatite is much less common and chlorapatite is very rare.
"Apatite" crystals are short to long hexagonal prisms [0001], with {1010} and {1011} dominant; also thick tabular {0001}, frequently in the crystals of hydrothermal origin in pegmatites and veins, with {1010}, relatively large {0001}, and often also {1011} or low pyramids. Massive, coarse granular to compact. Globular or reniform at times with a sub-fibrous, scaly, or imperfectly columnar structure or as fibrous crusts; stalactitic; earthy; oolitic. May be rock-forming in beds of great extent; as nodular concretions in clays and shales; conglomeritic.
Apatite may be confused with beryl, milarite or phenakite.
Some apatites from Kazakhstan show the alexandrite effect, being yellowish-green in daylight and a pinkish-orange under incandescent light.
Unique IdentifiersHide
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Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:29229:0
4f9ba693-fcbf-4f77-b7b1-61aca8fefcd7
Mineral SymbolsHide
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As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.
Please only use the official IMA–CNMNC symbol. Older variants are listed for historical use only.
| Symbol | Source | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ap | IMA–CNMNC | Warr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43 |
| Ap | Kretz (1983) | Kretz, R. (1983) Symbols of rock-forming minerals. American Mineralogist, 68, 277–279. |
| Ap | Siivolam & Schmid (2007) | Siivolam, J. and Schmid, R. (2007) Recommendations by the IUGS Subcommission on the Systematics of Metamorphic Rocks: List of mineral abbreviations. Web-version 01.02.07. IUGS Commission on the Systematics in Petrology. download |
| Ap | Whitney & Evans (2010) | Whitney, D.L. and Evans, B.W. (2010) Abbreviations for names of rock-forming minerals. American Mineralogist, 95, 185–187 doi:10.2138/am.2010.3371 |
| Ap | The Canadian Mineralogist (2019) | The Canadian Mineralogist (2019) The Canadian Mineralogist list of symbols for rock- and ore-forming minerals (December 30, 2019). download |
| Ap | Warr (2020) | Warr, L.N. (2020) Recommended abbreviations for the names of clay minerals and associated phases. Clay Minerals, 55, 261–264 doi:10.1180/clm.2020.30 |
Pronunciation of ApatiteHide
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Pronunciation:
| Play | Recorded by | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Sorry, your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio. | Jolyon Ralph | United Kingdom |
Chemistry of ApatiteHide
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Mindat Formula:
Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH)
Age distributionHide
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Recorded ages:
Mesoarchean to Neogene : 3068 ± 225 Ma to 15.7 ± 0.4 Ma - based on 39 recorded ages.
Synonyms of ApatiteHide
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Other Language Names for ApatiteHide
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Kazakh (Arabic Script):Апатит
Simplified Chinese:磷灰石
Varieties of ApatiteHide
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| Améthiste Basaltine (of Sage) | A violet variety of Apatite from Saxony. |
|---|---|
| Apatized Wood | Fossilized wood where the replacement of the wood is by phosphates, principally apatite. |
| Asparagas Stone | A yellowish green coloured apatite, especially from Marcia, Spain. |
| Carbonate-rich Apatite | Synonyms pertaining to undifferentiated carbonate-bearing apatites (fluorapatite, hydroxylapatite) are listed in this file.Crystals short to long hexagonal prisms [0001], with {1010} and {1011} dominant; also thick tabular {0001}, frequently in the crys... |
| Cerapatite | An apatite with 3.18% rare earth elements (REE) and 1.33% Ce2O3 from the Kola Peninsula.Originally reported from Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja Oblast', Northern Region, Russia. |
| Collophane | A name used for the massive, cryptocrystalline, colloidal (amorphous) varieties of carbonate-rich fluorapatite or carbonate-rich hydroxylapatite, such as those that constitute the bulk of phosphate rock and fossil bone. The original material was carbonate... |
| Eupyrchroite | A fibrous, mammillated variety of apatite. |
| Lazur-Apatite | A sky-blue variety of Apatite from Siberia. |
| Moroxite | A blue-green variety of Apatite from Arendal, Norway. |
| Pseudoapatite | Name for apatite pseudomorph after pyromorphite.Possibly carbonate-apatite. |
| Talkapatit | A name applied to an apparent magnesian variety of Apatite. |
| Trillium | A yellow-green gem variety of apatite.Originally reported from Bancroft District, Hastings Co., Ontario, Canada. |
| Yttriumapatite | A name introduced by G. Flink in 1889 of a variety of apatite with 3.36 wt% Y2O3, found in the Narsaarsuk pegmatite (Narssârssuk pegmatite), Igaliku, Kujalleq, Greenland. |
Relationship of Apatite to other SpeciesHide
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Other Members of Apatite Group:
Common AssociatesHide
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Associated Minerals Based on Photo Data:
Other InformationHide
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Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
Apatite in petrologyHide
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An essential component of rock names highlighted in red, an accessory component in rock names highlighted in green.
- Igneous rock
- Normal crystalline igneous rock
* Coarse-grained ("plutonic") crystalline igneous rock
* Granitoid
* Granite
* Granophyric granite
* Lunar granophyric granite
* Syenitoid
* Syenite
* Peralkaline syenite
* Angolaite
* Monzonite
* Highwoodite
* Dioritoid
* Monzodiorite
* Olivine monzodiorite
* Sörkedalite
* Foidolite
* Nephelinolite
* Ijolite
* Lujavritite
* Apatite nephelinolite
* Coarse-grained-ultramafic-rock
* Pyroxenite
* Pyroxenite (s.s.)
* Clinopyroxenite
* Jacupirangite
* Cromaltite
* Fine-grained ("volcanic") normal crystalline igneous rock
* Adakite - Exotic crystalline igneous rock
* Lamprophyre
* Minette
* Sizunite
* Ultrapotassic rock
* Borengite
* Igneous rock of restricted mineralogy
* Apatite-forsteritite
* Nelsonite
* Nelsonite (of Egorov)
* Ore olivinite
* Phoscorite
* Apatite-magnetite-rock
* Ilmenitite
* Apatitolite
- Normal crystalline igneous rock
- Sedimentary rock and sediment
- Sediment
* Phosphate-sediment
* Phosphate-gravel
* Phosphate-sand
* Phosphate-mud - Sedimentary rock
* Clastic sedimentary rock
* Sandstone
* Wacke
* Silicate-wacke
* Greywacke
* Biochemical and chemical sedimentary rock
* Phosphorite
* Guano
* Phosphate-mudstone
* Phosphate-wackestone
* Phosphate-packstone
* Phosphate-grainstone
* Phosphate-boundstone
* Ooid-phosphorite
* Pisoid-phosphorite
* Oncoid-phosphorite
* Microoncoid-phosphorite
* Peloid-phosphorite
* Mud-grade phosphorite
* Sand-grade phosphorite
* Gravel-grade phosphorite
- Sediment
- Metamorphic rock
- Meteorite and other extra-terrestrial rock and sediment
Internet Links for ApatiteHide
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References for ApatiteHide
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Reference List:
Hughes, J. M., Rakovan, J. (2002) The Crystal Structure of Apatite, Ca5(PO4)3(F,OH,Cl), in Phosphates: Geochemical, Geobiological, and Materials Importance. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 48 (1). 1-12 doi:10.2138/rmg.2002.48.1
Pasero, Marco, Kampf, Anthony R., Ferraris, Cristiano, Pekov, Igor V., Rakovan, John, White, Timothy J. (2010) Nomenclature of the apatite supergroup minerals. European Journal of Mineralogy, 22 (2) 163-179 doi:10.1127/0935-1221/2010/0022-2022
Hazrah, Kaveer, Antao, Sytle (2022) Apatite, Ca10(PO4)6(OH,F,Cl)2: Structural Variations, Natural Solid Solutions, Intergrowths, and Zoning. Minerals, 12 (5) 527 doi:10.3390/min12050527
Qiu, Kun-Feng, Zhou, Tong, Chew, David, Hou, Zhao-Liang, Müller, Axel, Yu, Hao-Cheng, Lee, Robert G., Chen, Huan, Deng, Jun (2024) Apatite trace element composition as an indicator of ore deposit types: A machine learning approach. American Mineralogist, 109 (2) 303-314 doi:10.2138/am-2022-8805
Zheng, Yu-yu, Xu, Bo, Lentz, David R., Yu, Xiao-yan, Hou, Zeng-qian, Wang, Tao (2024) Machine learning applied to apatite compositions for determining mineralization potential. American Mineralogist, 109 (8) 1394-1405 doi:10.2138/am-2023-9115
Significant localities for ApatiteHide
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Showing 14 significant localities out of 10,183 recorded on mindat.org.
This map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the 
symbol to view information about a locality. The symbol next to localities in the list can be used to jump to that position on the map.
Locality ListHide
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- This locality has map coordinates listed. - This locality has estimated coordinates. ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence. ? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality. 
- Good crystals or important locality for species. 
- World class for species or very significant. (TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species. (FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties). Struck out - Mineral was erroneously reported from this locality. Faded * - Never found at this locality but inferred to have existed at some point in the past (e.g. from pseudomorphs).
All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.