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Download hereGENERAL DESCRIPTION
Kosnarite is a rare potassium and zirconium phosphate. It is a mineral formed during the latest stages of hydrothermalism, probably resulting from the weathering of zircon and beryl.
The crystals are pseudo-cubic and measure less than 1 cm. They show a blue-pale to blue-gray color, even colourless. They are transparent with a vitreous luster.
The deposits are very few : kosnarite was discovered in the Black Mountains deposit; in the Mount Mica pegmatite (Maine, USA); in the Genipapo district in Brazil and close of Wycheproof in Australia.
The type of this species is kept at Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History of Washington, USA.
HISTORY : Species dedicated to Richard Kosnar (1946-2006), American business and mineral collector
Species first described in 1991 by Brownfield, Foord et al.
Type-locality : Black Mountain, Oxford Co, Maine, USA
CHEMICAL FORMULA : K Zr2 (PO4)3
CRYSTAL SYSTEM : Hexagonal
COLOR : Blue, pale blue, light green, colorless
DIAPHANIETY : Transparent to translucent
LUSTER : Vitreous
STREAK : White
MORPHOLOGIE : Rhomboedric crystals, pseudo-cubic
HARDNESS : 4,5
CHEMICAL CLASS: 3,206
DENSITY : VII - Phosphates, arsenates and vanadates
GROUP : Kosnarite
STRUNZ CLASS BEFORE 2001 : 7/A.17-10
STRUNZ CLASS AFTER 2001 : 8.AC.60
