"Lucky 13"-A New Find of Purple Apatite at Maine's Pulsifer Quarry

A patite is a favorite collector's mineral with a dizzying array of beautiful colors and interesting crystal habits.

- BOB FARRAR

Perhaps the most famous apatite locality in North America, and indeed the world, is the Pulsifer Quarry in Maine. For almost a century, the Pulsifer Quarry was the source of some of the finest purple apatite specimens and gemstones ever found. However, no apatite was found there for decades following finds in 1996. Many assumed that the Pulsifer Quarry was extinct. But in the summer and fall of 2022, renewed activity at the quarry resulted in a new find of beautiful purple apatite specimens, with the promise of more to come.

ABOUT APATITE

Apatite is not one mineral species. It is a group of calcium phosphates with either fluorine, chlorine, or hydroxyl groups, respectively known as fluorapatite, chlorapatite, and hydroxylapatite. Fluorapatite is the most common species and includes the material from the Pulsifer Quarry. It is also the one most people are referring to when they say "apatite."

Apatite occurs in a variety of geological environments but can be well developed in granitic pegmatites. It may be colorless, white, brown, green, yellow, blue or purple. In apatite, the purple color is caused by manganese. Purple apatite is found in a number of localities around the world, including several in Maine. "Royal purple" refers to a rich hue of purple. Royal purple apatite only occurs in a few localities and the Pulsifer Quarry is widely considered the best.

PULSIFER QUARRY