Botryoidal green Wavellite spheres from Mauldin Mountain, Arkansas. Part of the Clardy's Crystals Vanadium Study.

ARKANSAS WAVELLITE: THE VANADIUM STUDY

Pure Wavellite is typically white or colorless. In the unique geology of the Arkansas Ouachitas, trace amounts of Vanadium—the same element used to forge high-end steel and modern grid-scale batteries—concentrated during formation. This creates the signature ‘apple green’ hue that has made localities like Dug Hill and Mauldin Mountain  world-famous for the species.

Internal radial acicular structure of Arkansas Wavellite revealing the needle-like crystal growth.

THE BEAUTIFUL PARADOX: RADIAL GEOMETRY

Wavellite is a study in geometric contrast. While the exterior presents as smooth, botryoidal (grape-like) spheres, the interior reveals a perfect radial acicular structure—thousands of microscopic needles radiating from a single center point.

Museum-grade Arkansas Wavellite specimen on matrix. A classic example of the vanadium-bearing phosphates of the Ouachitas.

MINERALOGICAL DATA

Classification: Phosphate
Chemical Formula: Al₃(PO₄)₂(OH, F)₃ · 5H₂O
Hardness: 3.5 – 4 (Mohs)
Streak: White
Type Locality: High Down Quarry, Filleigh, Devon, England
Mindat Mineral ID: 4250
Noteworthy Localities: Dug Hill (Arkansas), Mauldin Mountain (Arkansas), Siglo Veinte Mine (Bolivia).

Data Sourced via Mindat.org