Wardite is an uncommon phosphate mineral that typically forms as small, attractive pyramidal crystals or botryoidal masses. It is a prized find for phosphate collectors and is most famously associated with the variscite nodules of Fairfield, Utah.
Is this wardite?
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 wardite with a known reference. Wardite sits at Mohs 5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Wardite leaves a white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Wardite typically shows a vitreous luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: green, bluish-green, white, colorless.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: tetragonal. Typical habit: pyramidal crystals, crusts, botryoidal masses.
Often confused with
Wardite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside wardite
Minerals reported to co-occur with wardite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- NaAl₃(PO₄)₂(OH)₄·2H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 5
- Density
- 2.81-2.87 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Tetragonal
- Crystal habit
- Pyramidal Crystals, Crusts, Botryoidal Masses
- Cleavage
- Perfect Basal
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- Phosphate Nodules in Sedimentary Rocks, Hydrothermal Veins
- Typical price
- $10-100 per specimen
Where rockhounds find wardite
Classic worldwide localities
- Fairfield, Utah, USA
- Rapid Creek, Yukon, Canada
- Brazil
- Bolivia
Field-hunting tip
Look in phosphate nodules in sedimentary rocks, hydrothermal veins country, the host setting where wardite typically forms. If you start seeing variscite, crandallite, millisite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a pyramidal crystals, crusts, botryoidal masses habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find wardite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
