Abstract. This study examines the links between 3~p solidstate NMR studies of aluminum phosphate minerals and their crystallographic structures. We found that 3~p isotropic chemical shift values, 6~s o, carry little information about mineral structures. There seems to be no relation between the chemical shift anisotropy, A6= 633-611 (633 > 622 > 611), and indicies of phosphate-tetrahedra distortion. 3zp_ 1H heteronuclear magnetic dipole interactions, on the other hand, carry important information about hydrous phosphate mineral structures, information that should prove to be quite valuable in studies of phosphate adsorbed on mineral surfaces. This interaction can be measured through a variety of qualitative and quantitative experiments. It appears that spin diffusion is so rapid that subtle differences in hydrogen-bonding environments cannot be resolved.