"Rock of the Month # 294, posted for December 2025" ---

Purpurite, a rare phosphate mineral

Composed of common elements (Mn, P and O) this phosphate is nevertheless an unusual material, seldom found. IN PREP.

REFERENCES

Bernard,JH and Hyrsl,J (2015) Minerals and their Localities. Granite, Prague, Czech Republic / Mineralogical Record Bookstore, Tucson, 3rd edition, 920pp.

London,D (2008) Pegmatites. Canadian Mineralogist Spec.Publ. 10, 347pp. + CD-ROM. The diversity of pegmatite phosphates - montebrasite, lithiophyllite, purpurite (the latter from Sandemap, Namibia, S.W. Africa, pp.64-65)...

Melgarejo,JC and Martin,RF (2011) Atlas of Non-Silicate Minerals in Thin Section. Canadian Mineralogist Spec.Publ. 7, 522pp. plus CD-ROM.

MGM (2022) Maine Mineral & Gem Museum. MMGM, 99 Main Street, Bethel, ME, tour (07 September 2022). Maine, USA - tour of recently (2019) opened museum - the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum - an example of a featured mineral locality, the nearby Emmons quarry in Oxford county, is represented by numerous mineral species: elbaite tourmaline, microcline K-feldspar, lepidolite Li mica, beryl and fluorapatite, muscovite, smoky quartz and cassiterite - purpurite, hydroxylherderite, beryllonite, bertrandite, lithiophilite and montebrasite, perhamite, rhodochrosite and many rarities...

Quensel,P and Berggren,T (1940) Minerals of the Varutrask Pegmatite 16: lithiophilite, a third primary alkali-manganese phosphate from Varutrask. GFF 62, 291-296. Varutrask Li pegmatite, Sweden, Scandinavia, Europe - the phosphate lithiophilite is a rare primary phase - triphyllite - varulite - phosphates may occur encircled by rims of indicolite (elbaite, tourmaline) - lithiophilite may have oxidation rims of sicklerite and purpurite.

Rand,JR (1957) Maine pegmatite mines and prospects and associated minerals. Maine Geological Survey Mineral Resources Index 1, reprinted 1973, 43pp. Maine, USA - pegmatite resources - lists of many mines and prospects - purpurite ...

Shigley,JE and Brown,GE (1985) Occurrence and alteration of phosphate minerals at the Stewart pegmatite, Pala District, San Diego County, California. Amer.Mineral. 70, 395-408. California, USA - P - lithiophilite and alteration products - phosphates - complex granitic pegmatites - Pala district - zoned intrusives - Li - volatiles and granitic melts - Li - P - F - sicklerite, purpurite and other secondary minerals - shallow formation depth of 3-5 km: rapid cooling and fluid loss: less metasomatic replacement than is commonly seen in pegmatitic phosphates. PR3048

Simmons,W, Webber,KL, Falster,AU, Roda-Robles,E and Dallaire,DA (2022) Pegmatology. Pegmatite Mineralogy, Petrology and Petrogenesis. 2nd edition. Rubellite Press, Cana, VA, 287pp. MINLIB 3/3: Review of pegmatites - igneous petrology - mineral deposits - gemstone deposits - secondary phosphates - heterosite and purpurite - the jahnsite group - rockbridgeite - childrenite and eosphorite - hureaulite - crandallite group - vivianite... COPY

Thomas,A (2008) Gemstones: Properties, Identification and Use.New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd, 256pp.