Maricite is named after Luka Maric (1899–1979) of Croatia, the longtime head of the mineralogy and petrography departments at the University of Zagreb.

In 1977 maricite was discovered in the Big Fish River area, Yukon Territory, Canada (Fleischer, Chao, and Mandarino, 1979).

Maricite is recognized for its possible use in sodium ion battery research as well as its role as a reaction product inside of fossil-fired electrical power generating station boilers which experience corrosion (Bridson, et al., 1997; Ong, et al., 2011).

The chemical composition of the mineral was originally determined by the group of Dr. Corlett from the Department of Geological Sciences at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, using electron microprobe analysis, and found to be Na 0.91(Fe 0.89 Mn 0.07 Mg 0.03)P 1.02 O 4.00 (Sturman, et al., 1977) when normalized to four oxygen atoms.

Maricite is an ionic double metal phosphate, with a space filling capacity of about 70% (Le Page, and Donnay, 1977).

The structure of maricite contains a sodium cation enclosed by ten oxygen anions within 10 Å, in an irregular coordination.

It has a vitreous luster due to its low values of refractive indices, α = 1.676 β = 1.695 γ = 1.698, and its opacity is transparent to translucent (Fleisher, et al., 1979).

When samples which appeared to only contain maricite were examined closely in a thin section, there were small inclusions of ludlamite, quartz, and vivianite present along the fractures (Sturman, et al., 1977).

Both areas consist of mountains and hills which are made of metamorphic and igneous rocks (Thomas, R. and Webster J.D., 2000; Sturman, et al., 1977).

Maricite has also been discovered in meteorites found in Eastern Antarctica, Uttar Pradesh, India and Avannaa, Greenland (Johnson, et al., 2001; Kracher, et al., 1977; Partridge, et al., 1990).

It is unclear exactly why the mineral was named in honor of Maric, but he did author several geology books including one entitled Magmatiti u Uzhem Podruchju Rudnika Bor u Istochnoj Srbiji, which is Croatian for Magmatites in the Narrower Ore Deposit Region of the Bor Mine (Sturman, et al., 1977).