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Formula: NaCa2Al2(PO4)2(OH)F4.2H2O
Hydrated phosphate containing halogen
Specific gravity: 2.94
Hardness: 4 to 4½
Streak: White
Colour: Colourless, white, light rose-pink; colourless to light rose-pink in transmitted light.
Solubility: Decomposed by hot sulphuric acid and incompletely so in cold sulphuric acid or aqua regia (Mindat)
Morinite inverts irreversibly to an apatite structure at
about 400oC, and to
a whitlockite structure if heated in thin
films in air to about 800oC (AM 45.645-667).
Environments:
Morinite is an uncommon late-stage mineral in complex granite
pegmatites, associated
with montebrasite, apatite,
augelite, wardite,
wavellite and cassiterite
(HOM).
At Tom's quarry, Kapunda, Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia, morinite occurs in two different associations.
Firstly in
cavities associated with leucophosphite,
cacoxenite, meurigite-Na and
variscite, often perched on needles of
wavellite.
Secondly, morinite occurs in the xanthoxenite -
ushkovite assemblage, perched on
fluorapatite
(AJM 17.1.23).
At the type locality, the Montebras Mines, Creuse, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, morinite occurs in
granite associated with wavellite,
wardite, roscherite,
cassiterite and apatite
(Mindat).
At the Hugo mine, Keystone, South Dakota, USA, morinite is associated with
montebrasite,
apatite, augelite,
wardite, crandallite,
quartz and clay
(Dana, AM 43.585-594).
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