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 — that is 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.
