Triplite is a rare

phosphate mineral Phosphate minerals contain the tetrahedrally coordinated phosphate (PO43−) anion along sometimes with arsenate (AsO43−) and vanadate (VO43−) substitutions, and chloride (Cl−), fluoride (F−), and hydroxide (OH−) anions that also fit ...

with formula: . It occurs in phosphate-rich granitic pegmatites typically as irregular brown opaque masses. Triplite was first described in 1813 for an occurrence in Chanteloube,

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.Triplite Crystals from Colorado
C. W. Wolf and E. Wm. Heinrich, American Mineralogist, Volume 32, pages 518-526, 1947 The name is from the

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''triplos'' for triple, in reference to the three cleavage directions. In color and appearance, it is very similar to rhodocrosite, another manganese bearing mineral. Chemically, it is also quite similar to triploidite the difference being that triplite is fluorine dominant while triploidite is hydroxide dominant.

Occurrence

Triplite is a rare fluoro-hydroxide phosphate mineral that forms in phosphate rich

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies und ...

pegmatite A pegmatite is an igneous rock showing a very coarse texture, with large interlocking crystals usually greater in size than and sometimes greater than . Most pegmatites are composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, having a similar silicic co ...

s and high temperature

hydrothermal Hydrothermal circulation in its most general sense is the circulation of hot water (Ancient Greek ὕδωρ, ''water'',Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with th ...

veins Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated ...

. It has been found in the

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, and

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. Other occurrences include the Shigar Valley,

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; China; Bavaria,

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; Kimito,

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and Karibib,

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References

External links

{{Manganese minerals Manganese(II) minerals Iron(II) minerals Phosphate minerals Monoclinic minerals Minerals in space group 15