| Berlinite | |
|---|---|
 Synthetic berlinite | |
| General | |
| Category | Phosphate mineral |
| Formula | AlPO4 |
| IMA symbol | Ber[1] |
| Strunz classification | 8.AA.05 |
| Crystal system | Trigonal |
| Crystal class | Trapezohedral (32) H-M symbol: (32) |
| Space group | P3121,P3221 |
| Unit cell | a = 4.941 Å, c = 10.94 Å; Z = 3 |
| Identification | |
| Color | Colorless, pale gray, may be pale rose |
| Crystal habit | Typically granular to massive |
| Twinning | Subparallel lamellae |
| Fracture | Conchoidal |
| Mohs scale hardness | 6.5 |
| Luster | Vitreous |
| Diaphaneity | Transparent to translucent |
| Specific gravity | 2.64–2.66 |
| Optical properties | Uniaxial (+) |
| Refractive index | nω = 1.524 nε = 1.532 |
| Birefringence | δ = 0.008 |
| References | [2][3][4] |
Berlinite (aluminium phosphate, chemical formulaAlPO4 or Al(PO4)) is a rare high-temperaturehydrothermal ormetasomaticphosphate mineral.[5] It has the same crystal structure asquartz with a low temperaturepolytype isostructural with α–quartz and a high temperature polytype isostructural with β–quartz.[3] Berlinite can vary from colorless to greyish or pale pink and has translucent crystals.[3]
It was first described in 1868 for an occurrence in theVästanå iron mine,Scania,Sweden and named forNils Johan Berlin (1812–1891) ofLund University.[2][3]
It occurs as a rare mineral in high-temperaturehydrothermal ormetasomatic deposits.[2] Associated minerals includeaugelite,attakolite,kyanite,pyrophyllite,scorzalite,lazulite,gatumbaite,burangaite,amblygonite,phosphosiderite,purpurite,apatite,muscovite,quartz,hematite ingranitepegmatites. It also occurs withalunite,aragonite,collophane,crandallite,francoanellite,gypsum,huntite,hydromagnesite,leucophosphite,nesquehonite,niter, andnitrocalcite in the Paddy's River copper mine in theBrindabella Mountains ofAustralia.[2][3]
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