Messelite

Messelite is a translucent mineral that is white, pale greenish white, greenish gray, pink, or colorless. The mineral may be granular or occur as internally radial aggregates of lamellar crystals arranged as globes, hemispheres, or sheafs, up to . Messelite is a member of the fairfieldite group. ==History==

Messelite was discovered in Messel, Hesse, Germany, by a Dr. Spiegel who worked as technical director at a local factory. and its formula was identified as (Ca2+,Fe2+,Mn2+)3(PO4)2·H2O. The first reevaluation of messelite was carried out by C. W. Wolfe in 1940. Wolfe concluded that the material was anapaite partially altered to collinsite and he discredited messelite as a valid mineral species. Later, an unaltered mineral was found with the formula (Ca2+,Fe2+,Mn2+)3(PO4)2·2H2O, essentially identical to the formula of messelite reported by Muthmann. It was analyzed by Clifford Frondel and found to be the disordered iron-rich analogue of fairfieldite. Frondel proposed in 1955 that the mineral be named neomesselite. When the IMA was founded, messelite was grandfathered as a valid mineral species. ==Occurrence==

Messelite has been found in Austria, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, Kazakhstan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United States. The mineral tends to form in granite pegmatites by hydrothermal alteration at a late stage. Messelite occurs in association with amblygonite, anapaite, brazilianite, eosphorite, fairfieldite, goyazite, graftonite, herderite, hureaulite, ludlamite, phosphoferrite, siderite, triphylite, vivianite, and whitlockite. ==References==