Wardite: Gemstones Information

Wardite is NaAl3(PO4)2(OH)42H2O and forms transparent to translucent colourless to white, pale green or blue-green typically striated dipyra midal pseudo-octahedral crystals of the tetragonal system with hardness 5 and SG 2.81–2.87. There is one direction of perfect cleavage. The RI for the ordinary and extraordinary rays is 1.586–1.594 and 1.595–1.604,uniaxial positive with birefringence 0.009. Wardite occurs in complex-zoned pegmatites, most faceted specimens coming from Alto Patrimonio,Piedras Lavradas, Paraíba, Brazil or from mines in Maine (the Dunton quarry), and other sites in the USA. Some wardite occurs with large green variscite nodules, these specimens usually originating from the Little Green Monster mine, Clay Canyon, west of Fairfield, Utah, USA.