Overite
A rare hydrated calcium-magnesium-aluminium phosphate of granitic pegmatites, named for mineralogist Edwin Over.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Overite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the phosphate class, with the chemical formula CaMgAl(PO₄)₂(OH)·4H₂O.
It crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system (space group Pbca). It is a member of the Overite structural group.
Key properties: Mohs hardness 3.5–4; specific gravity 2.53; Vitreous luster; optically biaxial.
IMA symbol Ove, grandfathered status — known before the IMA’s founding, named in 1940.
Found in phosphate nodules (Fairfield, Utah, USA); in a complex granite pegmatite (Tanco pegmatite, Canada).
It is found associated with Variscite, apatite (Fairfield, Utah, USA).
The mineral was named to honor Edwin J. Over (1903–1963), mineral collector, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, who first found the mineral.