PURPURITE
Purpurite is a scarce manganese phosphate mineral
(MnPO4). It is a secondary mineral, formed principally by
oxidation of lithiophilite, a lithium manganese phosphate. Purpurite has
a submetallic luster, a rich lilac-purple color, and a purplish streak.
It has a moderate hardness - about 4 to 5 on the Mohs Hardness Scale. It
is principally found in a massive state or as microcrystalline crusts.
Purpurite (4.3 cm across) from the Sandamap (Sandamab) Pegmatite (apparently
emplaced at ~470 m.y., Early-Middle Ordovician boundary times), Southern Tin
Belt, west-central Namibia.