Artinite typically forms beautiful, delicate, snow-white needle-like crystals that group into radiating tufts or fluffy spherical balls. It is most commonly found as a secondary mineral in cracks and cavities within serpentine rocks. Collectors prize it for its stark aesthetic contrast against dark green serpentinite host rock.
Is this artinite?
5-step field checkRun through these checks against the specimen in your hand. The more boxes tick, the more confident the ID.
- 1Test the hardnessTry to scratch artinite with a known reference. Artinite sits at Mohs 2.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: white.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: vitreous, silky to satiny in aggregates.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: white.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: encrustations, prismatic, radial.
Often confused with
Artinite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Hydromagnesite is the harder of the two (Mohs 3.5 vs. 2.5).
How to tell apart: Aragonite is the harder of the two (Mohs 3.5-4 vs. 2.5).
How to tell apart: Mesolite is the harder of the two (Mohs 5 vs. 2.5).
Often found alongside artinite
Minerals reported to co-occur with artinite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Mg₂(CO₃)(OH)₂·3H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 2.5
- Density
- 2.02-2.03 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous, silky to satiny in aggregates
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Encrustations, prismatic, radial
- Cleavage
- {100}, perfect; {001}, good
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- A low-temperature mineral in weathered or altered ultramafic rocks, typically serpentinites, likely occurring worldwide
Where rockhounds find artinite
1 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Northwest of Coalinga, Fresno Co. and into San Benito Co., as Clear Creek mine, west of San Benito Mountain, in the New Idria district, California, USA
- Gabbs mine, Gabbs district, Nye Co., Nevada, USA
- Spring Street, Staten Island, New York, USA
- Signal Hill, Hoboken, Hudson Co., New Jersey, USA
- Lombardy, from the Franscia asbestos mine, at Torre Santa Maria and Rocca Castellaccio, Val Lanterna, all in Val Malenco, Italy
- Emarese and Cogne, Val d’Aosta, Piedmont, Italy
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: A low-temperature mineral in weathered or altered ultramafic rocks, typically serpentinites, likely occurring worldwide. If you start seeing brucite, hydromagnesite, pyroaurite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: encrustations, prismatic, radial. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in New York. Start trip planning there.
Common questions
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Find artinite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
