Locality: Chandlers Mill, Newport, NH
Specimen Size: 4 mm field of view. Cluster of green roscherite group balls.
Field Collected: Tom Mortimer 2014
Catalog No.: u1612 (min)
Notes: The white mineral is perhaps messelite.
Locality: Chandlers Mill, Newport, NH
Specimen Size: 8 mm field of view.
Field Collected: Tom Mortimer 2014
Catalog No.: u1611 (min)
Notes: Broken ball, forground shows glassy, radial, structure. Ball top center is hollow.
Locality: Chandlers Mill, Newport, NH
Specimen Size: 8 mm field of view.
Field Collected: Tom Mortimer 2014
Catalog No.: u1612 (min)
Notes: These balls are sitting on a bed of smaller broken balls, which are, in turn, sitting on what may be columnar/cord-wood beryllonite. The cluster in the center-right is noticeably greener. An EDS analysis supports the roscherite group identification. The "best fit" roscherite group member is Ruifrancoite, Ca2◻2(Fe3+,Mn2+,Mg)4Be4(PO4)6(OH)4(OH,H2O)2·4H2O. Note beryllium will not show up on the EDS instrument.
In April, 2021, Al Falster of the Maine Mineral Museum lab re-analyzed the polished grain samples (2) of the above, first, analysis. Al took five probings from the polished grains and forwarded this EDS analysis These plots are in excellent agreement with the first analysis.
In April, 2021, George Adleman performed a Raman analysis (specimen # 1611). The Raman analysis indicated a fair match with ruifrancoite, but a better match with a mixture of ruifrancoite and triplite, a Mn phosphate. The chemistries of ruifrancoite and triplite are dramatically different, so the Raman mixture match is puzzling.
Locality: Chickering Mine, Walpole, NH
Specimen Size: 2 mm greifensteinite crystal group
Field Collected: Anna Wilken
Catalog No.: An Anna Wilken specimen
Notes:
Locality: Chandlers Mill Mine, Newport, NH
Specimen Size: 1.7 mm field of view. Broken radial spray of green crystals.
Field Collected: Bob Wilken 10/09
Catalog No.: u2234
Notes: A polished grain EDS analysis (BC185) gave a chemistry of Ca2.15Na0.65Fe2.46P6O39.8 , normalized for 6 P. Greifensteinite has a Ca:Fe:P ratio of 2:5:6 , so if this is greifensteinite, it is very light on the Fe. Sodium is not part of greifensteinite chemistry, so perhaps it is substituting for some of the calcium. However, greifensteinite is the best fit for the computed chemistry. Greifensteinite has beryllium, which EDS cannot measure.
A second polished grain EDS analysis (BC308) gave a chemistry of:
Ca4.06Be3.81(Fe5.17,Mn0.29)Σ=5.46P6O39.8 , normalized for 6 P. The EDS instrument cannot detect beryllium, but my APFU calculator allows entry for very light elements. Here 3.3% Be was added as indicated from the greifensteinite chemistry on webmineral. The BC308 analysis is a quite good match for greifensteinite.
Other, better examples, of greifensteinite have been found at the Chandlers Mill Mine.
Locality: Charles Davis Mine, N. Groton, NH
Specimen Size: 8 mm field of view
Field Collected: Don Dallaire - 1978
Catalog No.: A Don Dallaire specimen and photo
Notes: Greifensteinite is rare at the Charles Davis Mine.
Greifensteinite indicated by EDS analysis
Locality: Parker Mtn. Mine, Strafford, NH
Specimen Size: 3 mm field of view
Field Collected: Gene Bearss
Catalog No.: u1102
Notes: Gene had this labeled as "Roscherite group". Neither roscherite nor greifensteinite have been previously reported from the Parker Mtn. Mine.
Locality: Chandlers Mill Mine, Newport, NH
Specimen Size: Top photo: 0.8 mm roscherite crystal "fan"
Field Collected: Bob Wilken
Catalog No.: A Bob Wilken specimen & photo
Notes: Identification by Bob Wilken.
Locality: Palermo Mine, N. Groton, NH
Specimen Size: 1.5 mm greifensteinite crystal cluster
Field Collected: Bob Wilken
Catalog No.: A Bob Wilken specimen and photo
Notes: Note hexagonal crystal prism habit.
Locality: Palermo Mine, N. Groton, NH
Specimen Size: 1.2 mm greifensteinite crystal cluster
Field Collected: Bob Wilken
Catalog No.: A Bob Wilken specimen and photo
Notes: Note hexagonal crystal habit.
Locality: Palermo Mine, Groton, NH
Specimen Size: 2.2 mm field of view
Field Collected: J. Demer ? -per label on specimen box of this ex. Art Smith specimen. Purchased at the Baltimore Mineral Symposium, 2022.
Catalog No.: u2608
Notes: A 1 cm specimen in a 3/4" black. old-style, micro box.
View is a cluster of pale green, stubby-prismatic, crystals. The crystal prism terminations have a stippled texture that is typical of Palermo griefensteinite.