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Cattiite mineral

Cattiite is the highly hydrated magnesium phosphate mineral listed as Mg3(PO4)2(H2O)18·4H2O in the September 2026 IMA list, with approval2000-032; this has22 waters per formula unit, conventionally Mg3(PO4)2·22H2O. It is distinct from bobierrite, less-hydrated magnesium phosphates, elemental magnesium/phosphorus and mixed recovered fertilizers. The original natural material was assigned to the 1A2 polytype, with preparation-sensitive diffraction and dehydration limits. No microbial mechanism or constituent criticality is inferred from its natural occurrence or chemical transformations.

Identifiers & Classification

System Identifier Label
IMA IMA:2000-032 Cattiite

Microbial & Biochemical Mechanisms (1)

Qualitative partial dehydration of natural cattiite

other

The original mineral-description study reported partial dehydration of natural cattiite during heating, yielding white powder with diffraction similar to bobierrite. This is a qualitative abiotic transformation observation, not confirmation of a pure bobierrite product, a kinetic law or a microbial recovery process.

Experimental Context & Analytical Limits:
Britvin et al. studied cavity-filling material from a dolomite-carbonatite vein at the Zhelezny Mine in the Kovdor massif, Russia. Wet analysis of243.5mg, water loss at 1000 degrees C, IR and powder/single-crystal diffraction established the highly hydrated mineral. The authors observed partial dehydration starting at 40-60 degrees C, with relative humidity proposed as a cause of the variable onset; heating duration, controlled humidity series, replicate count and product phase fraction were not reported. Vacuum exposure during electron-microprobe work also caused water loss. The chemical-analysis ignition temperature is a water-determination procedure, not the dehydration-onset temperature.
Curated Evidence Points:
Printedp163 reports 40-60 degrees C partial dehydration and an XRD pattern similar to bobierrite. The cited prior synthetic study gives a higher onset above70 degrees C; different material and unspecified conditions prevent treating these as interchangeable values or a universal stability threshold. The complete original does not provide a time-resolved dehydration curve or quantitative phase-conversion yield.
Printedpp164-166 and Table 1 compare natural and synthetic polytypes. Single-crystal cell data support assignment to 1A2, while powder patterns alone are difficult to distinguish. A weak4.83 angstrom reflection, varying with water-versus-ethanol grinding, was tentatively attributed to preparation-induced1A1 material. The authors did not repeat a full structure refinement because the natural crystals diffracted poorly and lost water. Thus exact polytype purity and handling-invariant composition are not asserted.
Context_only Source: britvin2002
Printedpp161-163 and 166 describe natural occurrence and propose formation from cold Mg-rich phosphate solutions in a post-hydrothermal stage. Earlier synthetic preparation conditions are cited rather than newly tested here. Neither the proposed geological origin nor absence of microbial experiments establishes a biological formation pathway or its universal absence.

Sources & References

  1. ima_2026_09: IMA-CNMNC. The New IMA List of Minerals, September 2026; definitions pages 1-2 and Cattiite row PDFpage38: Mg3(PO4)2(H2O)18·4H2O, approved2000-032. Previously acquired official original re-inspected 14 October 2026.
    https://cnmnc.units.it/files/editor/IMA_Master_List_(2026-09).pdf (accessed 2026-10-14)
  2. britvin2002: Britvin, S.N.;Ferraris, G.;Ivaldi, G.;Bogdanova, A.N.;Chukanov, N.V.(2002). Cattiite, Mg3(PO4)2·22H2O, a new mineral from Zhelezny Mine (Kovdor Massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia). Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie Monatshefte2002(4):160-168. DOI 10.1127/0028-3649/2002/2002-0160; complete9-page original, Figure 1 and Table 1.
    https://doi.org/10.1127/0028-3649/2002/2002-0160 (accessed 2026-10-14)

Curation History

Timestamp Curator Action Summary
2026-10-14T10:48:23.527474+00:00 codex (GPT-6; codex) CREATE Created cattiite identity from current dated IMA authority and full original description, retaining qualitative abiotic dehydration, tentative product identity and preparation-sensitive polytype evidence.

Record source: data/records/cattiite.yaml