Kovdorskite, Mg2PO4(OH)·3H2O, is a rare, hydrated, magnesium phosphate mineral. It was first described by Kapustin et al.,[6] and is found only in the Kovdor Massif near Kovdor, Kola Peninsula, Russia.[4] It is associated with collinsite, magnesite, dolomite, hydrotalcite, apatite, magnetite, and forsterite.[2]

Kovdorskite
General
CategoryPhosphate minerals
Formula
(repeating unit)
Mg2PO4(OH)·3H2O
IMA symbolKov[1]
Strunz classification8.DC.22
Dana classification43.05.08.01
Crystal systemMonoclinic
Crystal classPrismatic (2/m)
(same H-M symbol)
Space groupP21/n
Unit cella = 10.35, b = 12.90
c = 4.73 [Å]; Z = 4
Identification
ColorTranslucent white to pale blue to bright pink
Crystal habitRough prismatic
FractureConchoidal to uneven
Mohs scale hardness4
LusterVitreous
Specific gravity2.28 (measured), 2.30 (calculated)
Optical propertiesBiaxial (-)
Refractive indexnα = 1.527 nβ = 1.542 nγ = 1.549
Birefringenceδ = 0.022
2V angle80°-82° (measured)
Dispersionr > v, very weak
References[2][3][4][5]

References

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  1. ^ Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. S2CID 235729616.
  2. ^ a b Anthony J W, Bideaux R A, Bladh K W, and Nichols M C (1990) Handbook of Mineralogy, Mineral Data Publishing, Tucson Arizona, USA, by permission of the Mineralogical Society of America [1].
  3. ^ Ovchinnikov V E, Soloveva L P, Pudovkina Z V, Kapustin Y L, Belov N V (1980) The crystal structure of kovdorskite Mg2(PO4)(OH)·3(H2O), Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR, 255, 351-354 [2].
  4. ^ a b Kovdorskite on Mindat.org
  5. ^ Kovdorskite data on Webmineral
  6. ^ Kapustin, Y. L., Bykova, A. V. & Pudovkina, Z. V. (1980). Zap. Vses. Mineral. Ova. 109, 341-347 [3]

Further reading

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  • Subbotin, R. P. L. V. V., & Pakhomovsky, Y. A. (1998). A new type of scandium mineralization in phoscorites and carbonatites of the Kovdor massif, Russia. Canadian Mineralogist 36:971-980.
  • Yakovenchuk V N, Ivanyuk G Y, Mikhailova Y A, Selivanova E A, Krivovichev S V (2006) Pakhomovskyite, Co3(PO4)2·8H2O, a new mineral species from Kovdor, Kola Peninsula, Russia, The Canadian Mineralogist 44, 117-123