All three minerals share similar properties and are caused because of varying ratios of lithium and aluminum in their chemical formulas.

[7][8] Lepidolite is found naturally in a variety of colors, mainly pink, purple, and red, but also gray and, rarely, yellow and colorless.

Because lepidolite is a lithium-bearing mica, it is often wrongly assumed that lithium is what causes the pink hues that are so characteristic of this mineral.

[11] Lepidolite shares this structure, but aluminium and lithium substitute for magnesium and iron in the octahedral sites.

Associated minerals include quartz, feldspar, spodumene, amblygonite, tourmaline, columbite, cassiterite, topaz and beryl.

[2] Notable occurrences include Brazil; Ural Mountains, Russia; California and the Black Hills, United States; Tanco Mine, Bernic Lake, Manitoba, Canada; and Madagascar.