Title
fluorapatite
Composition
Ca5(PO4)3F
Crystal System
Hexagonal
Status at Tsumeb
Believed valid
Abundance
Somewhat rare
Distribution
Second (?) oxidation zone; country rocks (feldspathic sandstone).
Paragenesis
Rock-forming (detrital); supergene (?).
Type Locality
No
Entry Type
Species TSNB132
General Notes
Lombaard et al. (1986) list apatite as one of several detrital accessory minerals in the feldspathic sandstone, derived from the overlying Tschudi Formation. On the assumption that this is fluorapatite, the latter is a widely but sparsely distributed mineral at Tsumeb.
The occurrence of hydroxylapatite at Tsumeb as part of the hermannroseite paragenesis is also noted (Schlüter et al. 2011)
Associated Minerals
albite; almandine; biotite series; calcite; clinochlore; epidote; germanocolusite; graphite; ilmenite; libethenite; magnetite; microcline; montmorillonite; muscovite; orthoclase; quartz; rutile; titanite; tourmaline supergroup; zircon
