Väyrynenite of Exceptional Quality and Size, Reportedly from Nigeria
Väyrynenite is an attractive and rare phosphate mineral that—until recently—has been known in gem quality mostly as small, often included stones from northern Pakistan (and less commonly, Afghanistan). Since early 2025, väyrynenite gemstones of exceptional quality and size have entered the market, reportedly from a new source in central Nigeria. The standard gemmo- logical properties, polarised UV-Vis-NIR spectra and Raman spectra of the Nigerian material are consistent with data for väyrynenite previously reported in the literature. Based on the samples analysed for this report, väyrynenite from Nigeria could be separated from our Pakistani samples by distinct differences in the amounts of Fe, Zn, Sc, Y and REE.
The Journal of Gemmology, 39(6), 2025, pp. 569–575, https://doi.org/10.15506/JoG.2025.39.6.569 © 2025 Gem-A (The Gemmological Association of Great Britain)
