Farringtonite

farringtonite

kamacite

taenite

troilite

Images

Formula: Mg3(PO4)2
Anhydrous phosphate, paramorph of chopinite
Crystal System: Monoclinic
Specific gravity: 2.74 measured, 2.76 calculated
Streak: White
Colour: Colourless, white, pale yellow to amber yellow
Solubility:Virtually insoluble in water, attacked slowly by dilute nitric acid (AM 46.1513)
Environments

Meteorites

Farringtonite is a rare component in pallasite meteorites, rimming and cementing olivine nodules. Associated minerals include olivine, stanfieldite, troilite, schreibersite and kamacite (HOM). Farringtonite hydrates in the atmosphere and disintegrates to a powder (Mindat).

Localities

The type locality is the Springwater meteorite, Springwater, Saskatchewan, Canada. This is a stony-iron pallasite, found in 1931 as three large masses. Other fragments have been found as recently as 2009. Thirty percent of the meteorite is the iron-rich metallic phases kamacite and taenite, with the rest mostly made up of olivine. There are minor amounts of other minerals, including farringtonite, troilite, stanfieldite and schreibersite (Wiki, Mindat).

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