The Mineral Identification Key

Table IIA: Minerals with a Nonmetallic Luster, Definitely Colored Streak, and Hardness 1 to 6 Streak Rust-red to Indian-red Hardness 1+ to 6 Color Dark-brown to Steelgrey to Black Cleavage Name HEMATITE Fe2O3 System Trigonal Habit Usually massive in radiating, reniform, or micaceous aggregates SG 4.8 to 5.3 Notes Hardness and S.G. lower in earthy massive materials, harder and denser in crystals and crystalline materials, crystals usually 5 to 6 with a metallic to sub-metallic luster Streak same color as the sample but paler. Rare. (See also annabergite, below.) Streak same color as sample but lighter; Rare. (See also erythrite above.) Rare Notes Isostructural species difficult to distinguish, though pyrargyrite is usually darker in color and more common than proustite, fusible in candle flame. Rare. Luster of crystals adamantine, may appear sub-metallic, heavy

Pink

1 to 2

Pale-pink to Red

Perfect in one direction

ERYTHRITE Co3(AsO4)2.8H2O ANNABERGITE Ni3(AsO4)2.8H2O LITHARGE PbO Name PROUSTITE/ PYRARGYRITE Ag3(Sb,As)S3 Ag3(As,Sb)S3

Monoclinic

Pale-pink to Light-green

1 to 2

Apple-green Perfect in , Grey, Pale- one rose direction Red Color Dark Rubyred or Bright Ruby-red Dark-red to Vermilion Cleavage One distinct direction

Monoclinic

Red Streak Bright-Scarlet-red or Vermilion to Brownishred

2 Hardness 2 to 2

Tetragonal System Trigonal

Dark-red

One perfect CINNABAR direction HgS

Trigonal

Usually as earthy crusts or powdery coatings on cobalt minerals, may be reniform Usually as coatings or crusts of tiny crystals, grainy-appearing, crystals bladed As alteration crusts on massicot (see below) Habit Prismatic, pyramidal, rhombohedral, and scalenohedral crystals , also massive, usually as complex intergrown crystal aggregates Usually earthy or granular, commonly impure and dark red or reddish-brown, bright-

2.95

3.0 to 3.23

9.14 SG 5.58 (pyrargyrite) 5.57 (proustite)

8.10

Bright- to Deep-red

2 to 3

Orangeyellow

One distinct direction

CROCOITE PbCrO4

Monoclinic

Dark-red

3 to 4

Ruby-red to Reddishbrown Color Dark-red Yellow to Orangeyellow to Deep-red Lemonyellow Cleavage One good direction One perfect direction

CUPRITE Cu2O Name REALGAR AsS ZINCITE (Zn,Mn)O

Isometric

Streak Orange-or Reddishyellow Orange-yellow

Hardness 1 to 2 4 to 4

System Monoclinic Hexagonal

red and translucent to transparent when pure, crystals rhombohedral or tabular to short prismatic Usually in prismatic crystals with an adamantine to subvitreous luster, as parallel to jackstraw clusters, may be hollow Usually in octahedral or cubic crystals, may be in slender crystals, may also be massive Habit Usually massive, granular, coarse to fine, and as crusts Usually massive as irregular grains or rounded masses Usually in foliated masses or grains

5.9 to 6.1

Decrepitates (crumbles explosively) in a candle flame

6.0

SG 3.48 5.64 to 5.68

Pale-yellow

1 to 2

One perfect ORPIMENT direction As2S3 giving thin plates Imperfect in three directions SULFUR S

Monoclinic

3.49

Pale-yellow

1 to 2

Brightyellow

Orthorhombic Usually imperfectly crystallized masses or crusts

2.05 to 2.09

Pale-yellow Streak Very Pale-yellow to

2 Hardness 2 to 2

Sulfuryellow Color Lemon-

MASSICOT PbO Cleavage Name One perfect AUTUNITE/

Orthorhombic Usually earthy or scaly masses System Tetragonal/ Habit Usually as micaceous

9.56 SG 3.15 (autunite),

Notes Luster resinous, easily fusible in a candle flame; usually associated with Orpiment Luster sub-adamantine to subvitreous, fluoresces green to yellowish-green under long wave ultraviolet light. Rare outside of Franklin, N.J., USA. Flexible, luster resinous, pearly on cleavage surfaces, easily fusible in a candle flame, usually associated with Realgar Resinous to sub-vitreous luster, may appear somewhat earthy when massive or as crusts, readily burns in a candle flame giving a blue flame. Usually replaces other Pb minerals, particularly galena, scales flexible. Rather rare. Notes Luster vitreous to adamantine,

Yellowish-green

yellow to Greenishyellow

direction and one distinct direction

META-AUTUNITE Orthorhombic or scaly foliated . Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2 10aggregates, crystals 12H2O thin or thick tabular . Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2 2-6H2O

3.44 (metaautunite)

Very Pale-yellow, Yellowish-white (both rarely seen), White

2 to 3

Orange-red to Ruby-red, Brownishred to Brownishyellow or Pale Strawyellow Emerald- to Grassgreen, Applegreen, Leekgreen One perfect direction and one indistinct direction

VANADINITE (Apatite Group) Pb5(VO4)3Cl

Hexagonal

Very Pale-green

2 to 2

TORBERNITE/ METATORBERNITE Cu(UO2)2(PO4)2.11H2O Cu(UO2)2(PO4)2.8H2O

Tetragonal

Usually in barrelshaped prismatic hexagonal crystals, either long or short, may be acicular in clusters or mats ("endlichite"), and as hollow prisms "hopper" crystals Usually as micaceous or scaly foliated aggregates, crystals thin to thick tabular

6.88

fluoresces bright greenishyellow. (See also torbernite/metatorbernite below, does not fluoresce.) Naturally occurring material is almost invariably metaautunite Luster sub-vitreous to subresinous

3.22 (torbernite), 3.70 (metatorbernite)

Light-green

3 to 3

Dark to Bright Emeraldgreen Color Dark Emeraldgreen Dark Emeraldgreen to Brightgreen

One perfect ATACAMITE direction, a Cu2Cl(OH)3 second fair direction Cleavage Name One perfect ANTLERITE direction, Cu3(SO4)(OH)4 one poor direction BROCHANTITE Cu4(SO4)(OH)6

Streak Light-green

Hardness 3

Orthorhombic Usually in granular cleavable masses, crystals prismatic and usually very small to microscopic System Habit Orthorhombic Usually as mats of tiny acicular crystals, may be granular Monoclinic Usually as crusts or mats of tiny crystals, crystals may be stout prismatic to acicular or tabular

3.75 to 3.77

Luster vitreous to adamantine, similar to autunite/metaautunite but truly green and does not fluoresce like autunite/meta-autunite. (See also autunite/ meta-autunite above.) Naturally occurring material is almost always metatorbernite Fusible in a candle flame. Rare.

SG 3.88

Notes Vitreous luster, may appear sub-vitreous or dull in mats. Rare. Vitreous luster

Light-green

3 to 4

3.97

Light-green

3 to 4

Dark- to Brightgreen

One perfect MALACHITE direction Cu2(CO3)(OH)2

Monoclinic

Pale Bluish-white to White or Colorless

1 to 2

Deep-blue or Deep Greenishblue to Bluish green Pale- to Deep-blue, Blue-green, Green

One perfect VIVIANITE direction Fe3(PO4)2.8H2O

Monoclinic

Very Pale-blue to Grey or Tan

2 to 4

CHRYSOCOLLA Cu2H2[Si2O5](OH)4

Streak Light-blue

Hardness 2

Color Azure-blue to Brightblue

Cleavage

Name LINARITE PbCu(SO4)(OH)2

System Monoclinic

Light-blue

3 to 4

Deep Azure-blue

One perfect AZURITE direction Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2

Monoclinic

Bright-blue

5 to 5

Deep-blue to Medium-

One distinct

LAZURITE Na3Ca(Al3Si3O12)S

Isometric

As either radiating fibrous masses, botryoidal to mammillary, or as slender to stout prismatic crystals, often poorly formed (and often psuedomorphic after azurite), may be crusts, or acicular stellate sprays Usually as flattened to bladed prismatic crystals, often in stellate clusters or sprays, may also be granular, crusts, or reniform masses Usually in glassy, opaline, or porcellaneous masses or crusts, often as mats of very fine acicular crystals, may be botryoidal Habit Usually as clusters or sprays of tiny elongated prismatic or tabular crystals, bladed, may also be in crusts of crudely formed crystals Usually as small stout prismatic crystals, may be in sprays or radiating spherical groups Usually massive, compact to granular,

3.9 to 4.03

Luster adamantine to vitreous, may appear sub-vitreous to dull on surfaces of masses. Often associated with azurite

2.68

Streak: darkens to Dark-blue or Brown after exposure, vitreous luster. Rare

1.93 to 2.40

Luster may be vitreous, waxy, porcellaneous, or dull.

SG 5.35

Notes Luster vitreous to subadamantine, easily fusible in a candle flame

3.77

2.38 to 2.45

Luster vitreous, may appear sub-vitreous to dull on surfaces of radiating spherical masses; usually associated with malachite Luster vitreous in crystals, dull in massive material. Rare.

Very Pale-blue to White

5 to 6

Streak Brown

Hardness 3 to 4

blue and Violet-blue Light- to Mediumblue, Violetblue, Grey, or White Color Light-tan to Dark-brown

direction One poor to distinct direction SODALITE Na4(Al3Si3O12)Cl Isometric

crystals rare, dodecahedral Usually massive granular, crystals rare, dodecahedral, octahedral. Rare

2.14 to 2.30

Principal mineral found in the gem stone Lapis Lazuli Luster vitreous in crystals to dull in massive material, may fluoresce orange to orange-red

Brown

3 to 4

Dark-brown to Black

Cleavage Perfect in three directions producing rhombic fragments One perfect direction

Name SIDERITE FeCO3

System Trigonal

Habit SG Usually in cleavable 3.83 to 3.88 masses, crystals usually rhombohedrons, faces curved Usually massive, granular, crystals tabular to bladed with vertical striations Usually in cleavable masses, granular, crystals blocky wedgeshaped 7.0 to 7.5 S.G. above 7.3 indicates ferberite, lower indicates hbnerite 3.9 to 4.1

Notes Becomes magnetic when heated in a candle flame

FERBERITE/ HBNERITE ("Wolframite" series) (Fe,Mn)WO4 (Mn,Fe)WO4 SPHALERITE ZnS

Monoclinic

Color black in ferberite, brown in hbnerite. Streak darkens with increasing Fe content

Light-brown

3 to 4

Streak Yellow-brown to Ocheryellow

Hardness 5 to 5

Dark to Lightbrown, Olivebrown, Reddish brown, Reddishblack Color Dark-brown to Black

Perfect in six directions

Isometric

May have an oily, submetallic, luster, streak usually lighter than the specimen

Cleavage Name One perfect GOETHITE direction (pronounced "Ger-taite") FeO(OH) One distinct direction RUTILE TiO2

Light-brown

6 to 6

Reddishbrown to Black

System Habit SG Orthorhombic Usually in reniform or 4.4 radiating fibrous masses, botryoidal or mammillary, also stalactic Tetragonal Usually in slender 4.18 to 4.25 prismatic crystals with vertically striated faces, as "elbow twins"

Notes Luster usually dull, may be submetallic.

Luster adamantine, may appear submetallic, usually translucent

Brown to Black

6 to 7

Light-brown One to Greyish imperfect or White direction

CASSITERITE SnO2

Tetragonal

(reticulated) and "sixlings" Usually as fibrous, reniform, or irregular masses, stream-worn nuggets, with a dull to submetallic luster, crystals usually twined, with a submetallic or adamantine luster

6.8 to 7.1

Streak usually lighter than the specimen