Bearthite is a rare calcium aluminum phosphate mineral found in high-pressure metamorphic environments. It typically occurs as small, prismatic to tabular crystals in quartz-rich veins within alpine metamorphic terrains.
Is this bearthite?
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 bearthite with a known reference. Bearthite sits at Mohs <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.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: colorless, yellow.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: prismatic to tabular crystals, often as aggregates.
Often confused with
Bearthite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside bearthite
Minerals reported to co-occur with bearthite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Ca₂Al(PO₄)₂(OH)
- Mohs hardness
- <5
- Density
- 3.25 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Prismatic to tabular crystals, often as aggregates
- Cleavage
- One poor prismatic, possible
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In synmetamorphic quartz segregations and as an accessory mineral in high-pressure metamorphic rocks
Where rockhounds find bearthite
Classic worldwide localities
- Found on the western ridge of the Stockhorn, Zermatt Valley, Valais, Switzerland
- Dora Maira massif, between the Po and Varaita Valleys, Piedmont, and around Passo di Vizze, Alto Adige, Italy
- Höllkogel, 12 km south-southwest of Mürzzuschlag, Styria, Austria
- Västanå mine, near Näsum, Skåne, Sweden
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In synmetamorphic quartz segregations and as an accessory mineral in high-pressure metamorphic rocks. If you start seeing lazulite, apatite, kyanite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: prismatic to tabular crystals, often as aggregates. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify bearthite?+
Where is bearthite found?+
What rocks look like bearthite?+
What minerals are found with bearthite?+
What kind of rock does bearthite form in?+
What is bearthite used for?+
Find bearthite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
