VÄYRYNENITE

    Class : Phosphates, arsenates, vanadates
    Subclass : Anhydrous phosphates
    Crystal system : Monoclinic
    Chemistry : MnBe(PO4) (OH,F)
    Rarity : Very rare


Väyrynenite is a rare phosphate of manganese and beryllium. It was first described in 1954 in Viitaniemi (Finland) and was named in honor of the mineralogist Heikki Allan Väyrynen professor of mineralogy at the Technical High School in Helsinki. It is found in pegmatites as an alteration product of beryl and triphylite and is generally associated with eosphorite, moraesite, hurlbutite, beryllonite, amblygonite, apatite, tourmaline, topaz, la muscovite, microcline and quartz. Väyrynenite most often occurs in fine-grained aggregates. Well-formed crystals are rare, they are short to long prisms often flattened and salmon pink to orange in color. The faces of the prism are generally vertically striated. It is a very rare mineral that has no particular use, some crystals have been cut into gemstones for the collection.

Gemmy crystal of väyrynenite from Shengus, Pakistan

Väyrynenite crystal from Shengus, Pakistan

Väyrynenite crystal from Shengus, Pakistan

0.14 ct väyrynenite gemstone from Pakistan

Väyrynenite in the World

The most beautiful crystals discovered to date come from Pakistani pegmatites, they are stocky prisms of a magnificent orange and measuring over 6 cm in height. These same pegmatites usually produce flattened crystals up to 4 cm of a paler pink color. The crystals of the pegmatite of Viitaniemi (Finnish type locality) are only very poorly developed in comparison, most often taken in the pegmatite in pink masses sometimes decimetric.

Väyrynenite in France

This mineral species is not present in the French underground.

Twinning

No twin known for this mineral species.

Fakes and scams

No fake recorded for this mineral species.



Hardness : 5
Density : 3.2
Fracture : Irregular
Trace : White




TP : Translucent to transparent
IR : 1.638 to 1.667
Biréfringence : 0.026 to 0.027
Optical character : Biaxial -
Pleochroism : Visible
Fluorescence : None


Solubility : Hydrochloric acid

Magnetism : None
Radioactivity : None