Fluorescent Phlogopite - Papineau RCM, Outaouais, Quebec, Canada
Contributed by: FMS Admin
Date: May 17th, 2026
Locality: Papineau RCM, Outaouais, Québec, Canada (See on Mindat)
Size: 7.4 x 3.1 x 11.9 cm
Description:
During our last field trips in October and November 2020, one of my partners and I found lots of interesting fluorescents in a new locality, located on private land in the Papineau RCM, in the great region of Outaouais, north-west of Montreal, in Quebec.
We found lots of phlogopite, which fluoresces bright yellow under SW; it is about twice as bright as polylithionite from Mont Saint-Hilaire, a well-known reference for brightness comparison (see last picture). A few specimens of scapolite were also found; it shows the typical very bright yellow response of "wernerite" under longwave; some of it has a coating that fluoresces bright green under SW (the coating also reacts to midwave but not as bright, and very weakly under longwave). A specimen of this scapolite will be shown in another post.
Other minerals were also present; large pieces of massive diopside with a bright blueish-white SW response were found everywhere on the property; some of our best phlogopite specimens are associated with this massive diopside. Other minerals were found as well but phlogopite, scapolite and diopside were the most interesting. Shown in this post is one of the biggest single pieces of phlogopite I have. Most specimens consist of smaller flakes (2 centimeters on average) disseminated in massive diopside.
Originally posted by Frédéric Messier Leroux on Nature's Rainbows in 2021.
Summary of luminescence responses:
Phlogopite (Mindat) (RRUFF)
- Fluorescence under Shortwave (255nm LED) UV light: Yellow