Mindat Logo
Home Page Log In Message Board The Mindat Directory
Register Search Pages Chat Now! (10 online) Mindat Auctions

Taranakite

Big Photo

Parwan lava caves, Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia
© crocoite.com

Formula:
(K,NH
 
4
)Al
 
3
(PO
 
4
)
 
3
OH·9H
 
2
O
System:TrigonalColour:Yellow, gray, white; ...
Name:Named after its discovery locality, Sugar Loaves, Taranaki peninsula, New Zealand.


A secondary mineral formed from the interaction of phosphatic solutions derived from bird or bat guano on clays or aluminous rocks under perenially damp conditions in caves and along sea coasts. The most common mineral in caves.

Classification of Taranakite

IMA status:Valid - first described prior to 1959 (pre-IMA) - "Grandfathered"
Strunz 8th edition ID:7/C.21-20
Nickel-Strunz 10th (pending) edition ID:8.CH.25

8 : PHOSPHATES, ARSENATES, VANADATES
C : Phosphates without additional anions, with H2O
H : With large and medium-sized cations, RO4:H2O < 1:1
Dana 8th edition ID:39.3.6.1

39 : HYDRATED ACID PHOSPHATES,ARSENATES AND VANADATES
3 : Miscellaneous
Hey's CIM Ref.:19.8.7

19 : Phosphates
8 : Phosphates of Al and other metals
mindat.org URL:http://www.mindat.org/min-3890.html
Please feel free to link to this page.

Type Occurrence of Taranakite

Type Locality:Sugar Loaves Islands, New Plymouth, Taranaki, North Island, New Zealand
Year of Discovery:1865

Physical Properties of Taranakite

Diaphaneity (Transparency):Transparent
Colour:Yellow, gray, white; colourless in transmitted light
Tenacity:Malleable
Density (measured):2.12 - 2.15 g/cm3
Density (calculated):2.12 g/cm3

Crystallography of Taranakite

Crystal System:Trigonal
Class (H-M):3m (3 2/m) - Hexagonal Scalenohedral
Space Group:R3c (R3 2/c)
Cell Parameters:a = 8.7025Å, c = 9.505Å
Ratio:a:c = 1 : 1.092
Unit Cell Volume:V 623.41 ų (Calculated from Unit Cell)
Z:6
Morphology:Crystals pseudohexagonal, platy; minute, lath-like and commonly in compact nodular aggregates, pulverulent, flour-like to claylike; massive.
Comment:Space Group determined from synthetic material.

Optical Data of Taranakite

Type:Uniaxial (-)
RI values: nω = 1.506 - 1.510 nε = 1.500 - 1.503
Maximum Birefringence:δ = 0.006 - 0.007

Chart shows birefringence interference colour range (at 30µm thickness) and does not take into account mineral colouration.
Surface Relief:Low

Chemical Properties of Taranakite

Formula:
(K,NH
 
4
)Al
 
3
(PO
 
4
)
 
3
OH·9H
 
2
O
Essential elements:Al, H, K, O, P
All elements listed in formula:Al, H, K, N, O, P

Relationship of Taranakite to other Species

Common Associates:
VivianiteVashegyiteVashegyiteVarisciteStrengite
MinyuliteFrancoanelliteBrushiteArdealite
Related Minerals - Nickel-Strunz Grouping):
8.CH.05Walentaite
H(Ca,Mn
2+
 
,Fe
2+
 
)Fe
3+
3
[(AsO
 
4
,PO
 
4
)]
 
4
 · 7H
 
2
O
8.CH.10Anapaite
Ca
 
2
Fe
2+
 
[PO
 
4
]
 
2
 · 4H
 
2
O
8.CH.15Picropharmacolite
Ca
 
4
Mg[(HAsO
 
4
)
 
2
|(AsO
 
4
)
 
2
] · 11H
 
2
O
8.CH.20Dittmarite
NH
 
4
MgPO
 
4
·H
 
2
O
8.CH.20Niahite
(NH
 
4
)(Mn
2+
 
,Mg)[PO
 
4
] · H
 
2
O
8.CH.25Francoanellite
K
 
3
Al
 
5
[(HPO
 
4
)
 
3
|PO
 
4
]
 
2
 · 12H
 
2
O
8.CH.30Schertelite
(NH
 
4
)
 
2
MgH
 
2
(PO
 
4
)
 
2
·4H
 
2
O
8.CH.35Hannayite
(NH
 
4
)
 
2
Mg
 
3
H
 
4
(PO
 
4
)
 
4
·8H
 
2
O
8.CH.40Struvite
NH
 
4
MgPO
 
4
·6H
 
2
O
8.CH.40Struvite-K
KMg(PO
 
4
)·6H
 
2
O
8.CH.45Rimkorolgite
(Mg,Mn)
 
5
(Ba,Sr,Ca)(PO
 
4
)
 
4
·8H
 
2
O
8.CH.50Bakhchisaraitsevite
Na
 
2
Mg
 
5
(PO
 
4
)
 
4
·7H
 
2
O
8.CH.55Fahleite
Zn
 
5
CaFe
 
2
(AsO
 
4
)
 
6
·14H
 
2
O
8.CH.55Smolyaninovite
8.CH.55Smolianinovite
(Co,Ni,Mg,Ca)
 
3
(Fe
3+
 
,Al)
 
2
(AsO
 
4
)
 
4
·11H
 
2
O
8.CH.60Barahonaite-(Al)
(Ca,Cu,Na,Fe
3+
 
,Al)
 
12
Al
 
2
(AsO
 
4
)
 
8
(OH,Cl)
 
x
·nH
 
2
O
8.CH.60Barahonaite-(Fe)
(Ca,Cu,Na,Fe
3+
 
,Al)
 
12
Fe
3+
2
(AsO
 
4
)
 
8
(OH,Cl)
 
x
·nH
 
2
O
Related Minerals - Hey's Index Grouping:
19.8.1Montebrasite
LiAl[(OH,F)|PO
 
4
]
19.8.2Brazilianite
NaAl
 
3
[(OH)
 
2
|PO
 
4
]
 
2
19.8.3Wardite
NaAl
 
3
[(OH)
 
2
|PO
 
4
]
 
2
 · 2H
 
2
O
19.8.4Tancoite
LiNa
 
2
Al[OH|HPO
 
4
|PO
 
4
]
19.8.5Bertossaite
(Li,Na)
 
2
(Ca,Fe
2+
 
,Mn
2+
 
)Al
 
4
[(OH,F)|PO
 
4
]
 
4
19.8.6Tinsleyite
KAl
 
2
[OH|(PO
 
4
)
 
2
] · 2H
 
2
O
19.8.8Francoanellite
K
 
3
Al
 
5
[(HPO
 
4
)
 
3
|PO
 
4
]
 
2
 · 12H
 
2
O
19.8.9Gordonite
MgAl
 
2
[OH|PO
 
4
]
 
2
 · 8H
 
2
O
19.8.10Aldermanite
Mg
 
5
Al
 
12
[(OH)
 
11
|(PO
 
4
)
 
4
]
 
2
 · 32H
 
2
O
19.8.11Overite
CaMgAl[OH|(PO
 
4
)
 
2
] · 4H
 
2
O
19.8.12Montgomeryite
Ca
 
4
MgAl
 
4
[(OH)
 
2
|(PO
 
4
)
 
3
]
 
2
 · 12H
 
2
O
19.8.14Foggite
CaAl[(OH)
 
2
|PO
 
4
] · H
 
2
O
19.8.15Gatumbaite
CaAl
 
2
[OH|PO
 
4
]
 
2
 · H
 
2
O
19.8.16Crandallite
CaAl
 
3
[(OH)
 
5
|(PO
 
4
)
 
2
] · H
 
2
O
19.8.17Matulaite
CaAl
 
18
[(OH)
 
5
|(PO
 
4
)
 
3
]
 
4
 · 28H
 
2
O
19.8.19Lehiite
19.8.20Millisite
(Na,K)CaAl
 
6
[(OH)
 
9
|(PO
 
4
)
 
4
] · 3H
 
2
O
19.8.21Englishite
K
 
3
Na
 
2
Ca
 
10
Al
 
15
[OH|(PO
 
4
)
 
3
]
 
7
 · 26H
 
2
O
19.8.22Kleemanite
ZnAl
 
2
[OH|PO
 
4
]
 
2
 · 3H
 
2
O
19.8.23Mantienneite
KMg
 
2
Al
 
2
Ti[(OH)
 
3
|(PO
 
4
)
 
4
] · 15H
 
2
O
19.8.24Paulkerrite
K(Mg,Mn
2+
 
)
 
2
(Fe
3+
 
,Al,Ti,Mg)
 
2
Ti(PO
 
4
)
 
4
(OH)
 
3
 · 15H
 
2
O

Other Names for Taranakite

Synonyms:
MinervitePalmerite
German names:
MinervitTaranakit
Spanish names:
MinervitaTaranakita

Other Information

Other Information:Readily soluble in acids.
Health Warning:No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.

References for Taranakite

Reference List:Hector and Skey (1865) Reports of the Jurors, New Zealand Expedition: 423.

Cox (1882) Transactions of the New Zealand Institute: 15: 385.

Gautier (1893) Comptes rendu de l’Académie des sciences de Paris: 116: 928, 102, 1171, 1271 (as Minervite).

Gautier (1894) Annales des mines: 5: 23 (as Minervite).

CArnot (1895) Annales des mines: 8: 319.

Casorio (1904) Acc. Georgofili, Att.: 1: July 3, 1904 (as Palmerite).

Lacroix (1910) Bulletin de la Société française de Minéralogie: 33: 36.

Barth and Berman (1912) Chemie der Erde, Jena: 5: 114.

Lacroix (1912) Bulletin de la Société française de Minéralogie: 35: 114.

Bannister and Hutchinson (1947) Mineralogical Magazine: 28: 31.

Palache, C., Berman, H., & Frondel, C. (1951), The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, Yale University 1837-1892, Volume II. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 7th edition, revised and enlarged, 1124 pp.: 999-1000.

American Mineralogist (1956): 41: 616-626.

Smith, J.P. and W.E. Brown (1959) X-ray studies of aluminum and iron phosphates containing potassium or ammonium. American Mineralogist (1959): 44: 138-142.

Balenzano, F., L. Dell’Anna, and M. Di Pierro (1974) Ricerche mineralogische su alcuni fosfati rinvenuti nelle grotte di Castellana (Bari): strengite alluminifera, vivianite, taranakite, brushite e idrossiapatite. Rend. Soc. Ital. Mineral. Petrol., 30, 543–573 (in Italian).

Sakae, T. and T. Sudo (1975) Taranakite from the Onino-Iwaya Limestone Cave at Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan: a new occurrence. American Mineralogist, 60, 331–334.

Fiore, S. and R. Laviano (1991) Brushite,
hydroxylapatite, and taranakite from Apulian caves (southern Italy): new mineralogical data. American Mineralogist, 76, 1722–1727.

Dick, S., U. Gossner, A. Weiss, C. Robl, G. Grossman, G. Ohms, and T. Zeiske (1998) Taranakite – the mineral with the longest crystallographic axis. Inorganic Chimica Acta (1998): 269: 47-57.

Internet Links for Taranakite

Search Engines:
  • Look for Taranakite on Google
  • Look for Taranakite images on Google
    • External Links:
  • Look for Taranakite on Webmineral
  • Look for Taranakite on Athena Mineralogy
  • Look for Taranakite on Wikipedia
  • Look for Taranakite on Mineralien Atlas
  • Raman and XRD data at RRUFF project
  • American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database
  • Search for Taranakite in the Natural History Museum (London) online catalogue
  • Taranakite details from Handbook of Mineralogy (PDF)
    • Mineral Dealers:
  • Buy Fine Minerals from mineralsweb.com
  • High-end worldwide specimens & outstanding customer service
  • Find Taranakite on www.crystalclassics.co.uk
  • Wilensky Fine Minerals
  • e-Rocks - Mineral Auctions and Sales
  • Rare and Unusual minerals at Mineralogical Research Company
  • Buy from David K Joyce minerals
  • The Arkenstone - Fine Minerals
  • Buy fine minerals and gemstones from Pala International
  • Search for Taranakite at Thames Valley Minerals
  • Fabre Minerals - search for Taranakite specimens
  • Fine Minerals from Dan Weinrich Minerals
    • Jobs:
  • Mining & Geology Jobs

    • Page Sponsor

    Sponsorship:This page is currently not sponsored. Click here to find out how you can sponsor this page.

    Localities for Taranakite

    Hide Locality List
    The map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the symbol to view information about a locality. The symbol next to localities in the list can be used to jump to that position on the map.
    These maps work faster with Firefox!
    (TL) indicates type locality. ? indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality. All other localities listed without reference should be considered as uncertain and unproven until references can be found.
    Algeria
     
    • Oran Province
    		Palache, C., Berman, H., & Frondel, C. (1951), The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, Yale University 1837-1892, Volume II: 1000.
    Antarctica
     
    • Western Antarctica
      • Antarctic Peninsula
        • South Shetland Islands
          • King George Island
    		Proc. NIPR Symp. Polar Biol., 3,133-150(1990)
    Argentina
     
    • Patagonia
    		Palache, C., Berman, H., & Frondel, C. (1951), The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, Yale University 1837-1892, Volume II: 1000.
    Australia
     
    • New South Wales
      • Westmoreland Co.
        • Oberon
    		Palache, C., Berman, H., & Frondel, C. (1951), The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, Yale University 1837-1892, Volume II: 1000.
    • Victoria
      • Bacchus Marsh
    		No reference listed
      • Corangamite Shire
        • Skipton
          • Mt. Widderin (Anderson's Hill)
    		No reference listed
    • Western Australia
      • Jurien Bay
    		Helictite 13:19-33
    France
     
    • Languedoc-Roussillon
      • Hérault
    		Palache, C., Berman, H., & Frondel, C. (1951), The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, Yale University 1837-1892, Volume II: 1000.
    Hungary
     
    • Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén Co.
      • Aggteleki Mts.
        • Aggtelek
      • Borsodi Mts.
        • Parasznya
    		Szakáll-Gatter-Szendrei: Mineral Species of Hungary, 2006
    Italy
     
    • Campania
      • Salerno Province
    		Palache, C., Berman, H., & Frondel, C. (1951), The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, Yale University 1837-1892, Volume II: 1000.
    Japan
     
    • Honshu Island
      • Chugoku region
        • Hiroshima prefecture
    		Sakae and Sudo (1975) Am. Min. 60, 331-334; Aizawa and Fuji (1993) Journ. Speleol. Soc. Japan, 18, 11-16.
    • Kyushu Island
      • Kumamoto Prefecture
    		Nobuhide Sawamura & Hitoshi Momoi: “Cave minerals and the guano from Kyusendo cave in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan”, Journal of the Speleological Society of Japan; N. Kashiima: “The phosphate minerals from Kyusen-do cave, southern Kyushu”, Journal of the Speleological Society of Japan.)
    Kenya
     
    • Rift Valley Province
      • Suswa Volcano
    		Forti, P., E. Galli & A. Rossi (2004):"Minerogenesis of volcanic caves of Kenya" , Int. J. Speleol. 32, 3-18
    Kyrgyzstan
     
    • Aravan
    		V.I. Stepanov data
    Malaysia
     
    • Borneo
      • Sarawak
    		Mineralogical Magazine (1983): 47: 79-80.
    New Zealand
     
    • North Island
      • Taranaki
        • New Plymouth
    		Palache, C., Berman, H., & Frondel, C. (1951), The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, Yale University 1837-1892, Volume II: 1000; American Mineralogist (1991): 76: 1722; Inorg. Chem. 269 (1998), 269
    Réunion Island
    Palache, C., Berman, H., & Frondel, C. (1951), The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, Yale University 1837-1892, Volume II: 1000.
    Palache, C., Berman, H., & Frondel, C. (1951), The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, Yale University 1837-1892, Volume II: 1000.
    Romania
     
    • Hunedoara Co.
      • Hunedoara
    		Am Min 90:1203-1208 (2005)
    Slovakia
     
    • Košice Region
      • Slovenský kras Mts
        • Kečovo
    		Sejkora, J., Duda, R., Cejka, J., Ederova, J. & Novotna, M. (2004): Taranakite (K,NH4)Al3(PO4)3(OH).9H2O formed from the decomposition of bat guano in the Domica cave (Slovak Republic). Mineralia Slovaca 36, 343-348. (in Czech.)
    South Africa
    Minerals of South Africa
    Minerals of South Africa
    • Mpumalanga Province
      • Nelspruit District
    		Martini, J.E.J. et al (1997), "Mbobo Mkulu Cave, South Africa", in "Cave Minerals of the World" (1997)
    USA
     
    • Virginia
      • Bath Co.
    		NSS Bulletin 44:90-97 (1982)
      • Giles Co.
    		American Mineralogist (1956): 41: 616.
    Minerals of Virginia, 1990 by R. V. Dietrich
    Mineral and/or Locality
    Google
     
    www.mindat.org Web
    Copyright © Jolyon & Ida Ralph 1993-2008. Site Map. Locality, mineral & photograph data are the copyright of the individuals who submitted them.Further information contact the Site hosted & developed by Jolyon Ralph. Mindat.org is an online information resource dedicated to providing free mineralogical information to all. Mindat relies on the contributions of hundreds of members and supporters. If you would like to add information to improve the quality of our database, then click here to register.