Triplite - (Mn2+,Fe2+,Mg)2(PO4)(F,OH)

Phosphates

Habit: Chestnut to reddish brown or salmon pink; brownish black to black if altered. Crystals typically very rough but have many indistinct forms; usually nodular or massive. Vitreous to resinous luster; translucent to opaque. Yellowish gray streak.


Environment: A principal primary phosphate or one that has replaced earlier species.


Etymology: From the Greek for "threefold," probably for its three cleavage directions.