Fluorapatite
 | Ca5(PO4)3FFluorapatite (Ca5(PO4)3F) is a fluorinated calcium phospate. These samples are on display in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. This sample is about 7 cm across and the gem is 51.4 carats. They are from Durango, Mexico. Calcium phosphate in the form hydroxyapatite is the material from which teeth are made, and fluoridation of water is presumed to turn some of that calcium phosphate into fluorapatite. Fluorapatite is considerably harder than hydroxyapatite and is thought to provide a measure of protection against tooth decay. |
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The sample above left is fluroapatite with quartz and cookeite. The sample size is about 3x5 cm, the fluorapatite being the purple crystalline part. The sample above right is about 5x5 cm in size. The description: "This specimen is world-famous among mineral collector for its rare purple color and near-perfect shape. The color comes from impurities of manganese." Both samples are from Pulsifer quarry, Mt. Apatite, Auburn, Maine.
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The fluorapatite gem at left is 141 carats and is from Kenya. Next is a 31 carat gem from Magadi, Kenya. The next two are from Burma and are 28.8 and 14.7 carats. |
 These two fluorapatite samples are from Pulisfer quarry, Mt. Apatite, Auburn, Maine. The larger is about 8 cm across. |  This sample is fluorapatite with elbaite and cookeite. It is about 10 cm across and is from Otjua mine, Karibib, Namibia. |
 This fluorapatite sample is from Campolindo, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is about 8 cm across. |  This sample is fluorapatite with microcline. It is about 6 cm across and is from Ze Pinto prospect, Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, Brazil. |  This is fluorapatite with quartz and siderite. It is about 6 cm across and is from Berengela mine, Cerro Grande, La Paz, Bolivia. |
 |  The sample above is fluorapatite with ferberite. It is about 15 cm across and is from Panasqueira, Portugal. The fluorapatite sample at left is from Astillero mine, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico. It is about 12 cm across. |
|  The sample above is fluorapatite with epidote and actinolite. It is about 6 cm across and is from Untersulzbacktal, Salzburg, Austria. The sample at left is fluorapatite with beryl and muscovite. It is about 15 cm across and is from Dassu, Northern Areas, Pakistan. |
| This is fluorapatite with calcite. The sample is about 20 cm across. |  |
 The fluorapatite sample above is from Pinzler Zug, Ehrenfriedersdorf, Sachsen, Germany. It is about 8 cm across. The largest of the fluorapetite crystals at right is about 2.5 x 9 cm. |  |
 |  The sample above is described as fluorapatite with dolomite. It is about 7x10 cm and is from Steinberg, Austria. The fluorapatite sample at left is about 6x8 cm and is from Pinzler Zug, Ehrenfriedersdorf, Sachsen, Germany. |
Mindat: fluorapatite
| Minerals |
| HyperPhysics*****Geophysics | R Nave |