carbonate-rich apatite
A rare member of the
Apatite group which has the phosphate
radical (PO
4) partially
replaced by a carbonate radical (CO
3). It has a chemical formula of Ca
5(PO
4,CO
3)
3(OH,F).
It is also known as Carbonate-Apatite, a name which was discredited by the
IMA in 2008 and replaced with Carbonate-rich Apatite.
There are two types of Carbonate-rich Apatite:
Carbonate-rich fluorapatite: Ca
5(PO
4,CO
3)
3F
Carbonate-rich hydroxylapatite: Ca
5(PO
4,CO
3)
3(OH)