Lithiophosphate is a rare lithium phosphate mineral typically found in complex granite pegmatites. It usually forms as small, tabular or blocky crystals in association with other lithium-bearing minerals like triphylite and beryl.
Is this lithiophosphate?
5-step field checkRun through these checks against the specimen in your hand. The more boxes tick, the more confident the ID.
- 1Test the hardnessTry to scratch lithiophosphate with a known reference. Lithiophosphate sits at Mohs 4, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: white.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: vitreous.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: colorless, white, light pink.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: orthorhombic. Typical habit: tabular crystals, massive, granular.
Often confused with
Lithiophosphate vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside lithiophosphate
Minerals reported to co-occur with lithiophosphate. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Li₃PO₄
- Mohs hardness
- 4
- Density
- 2.46-2.478 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent in thin flakes
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Crystal habit
- Tabular crystals, massive, granular
- Cleavage
- Perfect on {010}; distinct on {110}, may be a parting
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- Formed by hydrothermal replacement of montebrasite in the core of a granite pegmatite in amphibolite (Mt. Okhmyl’k, Russia); in a lithium-rich granite pegmatite (Foote mine, North Carolina, USA)
Where rockhounds find lithiophosphate
Classic worldwide localities
- Foote mine, near Kings Mountain, Cleveland Co., North Carolina, USA
- Tip Top mine, 8.5 km southwest of Custer, Custer Co., South Dakota, USA
- Mt. Okhmyl’k, Voron’i massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia
- Tanco pegmatite, Bernic Lake, Manitoba, Canada
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: Formed by hydrothermal replacement of montebrasite in the core of a granite pegmatite in amphibolite (Mt. Okhmyl’k, Russia); in a lithium-rich granite pegmatite (Foote mine, North Carolina, USA). If you start seeing montebrasite, apatite, quartz in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: tabular crystals, massive, granular. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify lithiophosphate?+
Where is lithiophosphate found?+
What rocks look like lithiophosphate?+
What minerals are found with lithiophosphate?+
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Find lithiophosphate on the map
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