Lithiophilite

Lithiophilite is the manganese end member of the Lithiophilite-Triphylite Series and isostructural with olivine. It is a lithium manganese phosphate. It rarely forms greenish-gray to dark brown, resinous to vitreous, orthorhombic, stout prismatic, translucent to transparent crystals, but it is usually massive. Lithiophilite occurs as a primary mineral in granite pegmatites. It was by George Brush and Edward Dana in 1878 for “lithium” and the Greek word for "friend" in reference to its composition containing lithium. The type locality for lithiophilite is Fillow quarry (Branchville quarry; Branchville Mica mine; Smith mine), Branchville, Ridgefield, Fairfield Co., Connecticut, USA.

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