vanorite

Vanorite is a fictional mineral created for illustrative purposes in geology and mineralogy. In the imagined taxonomy, it is described as a rare vanadium-rich phosphate mineral that forms in high-temperature hydrothermal veins and pegmatites.

Composition and structure: Vanorite is said to consist primarily of vanadium with calcium phosphate as a major component, with trace amounts of iron and titanium. It is described as crystallizing in the monoclinic system, producing prismatic crystals that are green to olive in color. The luster is typically vitreous, and the Mohs hardness is placed around 5 to 6. The streak is described as pale gray.

Occurrence and associations: In the fictional deposits, vanorite appears in hydrothermal veins, often with quartz, apatite, and other vanadium-bearing minerals such as vanadinite. Reported localities are imaginary mountain belts and fictional ore districts.

Name and use: The name vanorite combines the element vanadium with the customary mineral suffix -ite. In educational materials, vanorite is used to illustrate the phosphate mineral group and to discuss how vanadium-bearing minerals are classified and identified in hand specimens and thin sections.

See also: Vanadinite, Apatite, Phosphate minerals, Mineral classification.