Senegalite Locality: Mount Kourou Diakouma (Kouroudiako), Saraya , Falémé River basin, Tambacounda Region , Senegal ( Locality at mindat.org ) Size: 8.1 x 6.3 x 4.2 cm. A beautiful crystalline carpet of senegalite lines pockets of turquoise, on this classic specimen form the type locality. — Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0
Senegalite
A rare hydrated aluminium phosphate named for Senegal, where it was first found.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Senegalite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the phosphate class, with the chemical formula Al₂(PO₄)(OH)₃·H₂O.
It crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system (space group P2_1nb).
Key properties: Mohs hardness 5.5; specific gravity 2.552; Vitreous luster; optically biaxial.
IMA symbol Sng, IMA status: approved, named in 1975.
Found in the oxidized zone of a magnetite iron ore deposit.
It is found associated with Turquoise, augelite, wavellite, crandallite.
The name refers to Senegal, the country in which it was first found to occur.