Cattiite

Cattiite is a phosphate mineral. The mineral was first found in a veins of dolomite carbonatites veins at the bottom of the Zhelezny (Iron) Mine in the Kovdor massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia. Cattiite was tentatively identified as Mg3(PO4)2·22H2O, which as a high hydrate magnesium orthophosphate. Later structural studies, revealed the existence of two polytypes named Mg3(PO4)2·22H2O-1A1 and Mg3(PO4)2·22H2O-1A2. The polytype, Mg3(PO4)2·22H2O-1A2, had both the mineral and the name of the mineral approved (2000-032) by the Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names or the (CNMMN) of the International Mineralogical Association or the (IMA). The name was approved by the CNMMN and the IMA was cattiite. The mineral cattiite was named that in the honor of the Michele Catti, Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Milano Bicocca in Italy, because of his work on the crystal chemistry of hydrated oxy-salts.