Wardite

Wardite is a rare, little known and unusual Phosphate mineral. Unusual in that it is one of only a few minerals that is known to belong to the tetragonal – trapezohedral class. Two of the other gem type minerals in this class are Ekanite and Mellite. Massive green Wardite is commonly associated with Variscite nodules in Utah, USA.

There a several localities for finding Wardite but only a few that could produce gem quality crystals. These include the Feldspar quarry, Wolfsberg Mt., Spittal, Millstatt lake ridge, Carinthia, Austria; Ilha claim (Lavra da Ilha), Taquaral, Itinga, Jequitinhonha valley, Minas Gerais, Southeast Region, Brazil; Rapid Creek, Dawson Mining District, Yukon Territory, Canada; the Little Green Monster mine, Clay Canyon, about nine km west of Fairfield, Utah County, Utah, USA; Palermo No. 1 Mine (Palermo #1 pegmatite), Groton, Grafton County, New Hampshire, USA.

Chemical Formula:	NaAl3(PO4)2(OH)4·2(H2O)
	Hydrated Sodium Aluminum Phosphate Hydroxide
Molecular Weight:	397.94 gm
Composition:	Sodium 5.78 % Na 7.79 % Na2O Aluminum 20.37 % Al 38.43 % Al2O3 Phosphorus 15.57 % P 35.67 % P2O5 Hydrogen 2.03 % H 18.11 % H2O Oxygen 56.29 % O   100.00 % 100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE

 

Crystallography:	Tetragonal – Trapezohedral
Crystal Habit:	Crystals dipyramidal, pseudo-octahedral, exhibiting forms {010}, {011}, {012}, {100}, and rarely {001}. Commonly striated perpendicular to [001]. Granular aggregates and crusts; subparallel aggregates of coarse fibers; radially-fibrous and concentrically banded spherulites.
Twinning:	None

 

Cleavage:	[001] Perfect
Tenacity:	Brittle
Moh’s Hardness:	5.0
Density:	2.81 – 2.87 (g/cm3)
Luminescence:	None
Radioactivity:	Not Radioactive
Other:	Completely soluble in acids with difficulty.

 

Color:	White, Colorless, pale Green, Blue-Green, Yellow-Green, pale Yellow, Brown; Colorless in transmitted light
Transparency:	Transparent to Translucent
Luster:	Vitreous
Refractive Index:	1.586 – 1.604  Uniaxial ( + )
Birefringence:	0.0090 – 0.0100
Pleochroism:	None