Blixite is a rare lead oxychloride mineral typically occurring as thin, micaceous plates or crusts. It is primarily identified by its characteristic yellowish-orange color and association with lead and manganese ores in high-grade metamorphic environments.
Is this blixite?
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 blixite with a known reference. Blixite 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. Blixite leaves a yellow streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Blixite typically shows a resinous luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: yellow, yellowish-orange.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: orthorhombic. Typical habit: platy or micaceous aggregates.
Often confused with
Blixite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Blixite leaves yellow, Penfieldite leaves white; luster reads resinous on Blixite and adamantine on Penfieldite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Blixite leaves yellow, Laurionite leaves white; luster reads resinous on Blixite and adamantine on Laurionite.
Often found alongside blixite
Minerals reported to co-occur with blixite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Pb₂Cl(O,OH)₂
- Mohs hardness
- 2.5
- Density
- 7.5 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Yellow
- Luster
- Resinous
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Crystal habit
- Platy or Micaceous Aggregates
- Cleavage
- Perfect
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- Hydrothermal Veins in Metamorphic Manganese Deposits
- Typical price
- $50-300 per specimen
Where rockhounds find blixite
Classic worldwide localities
- Langban, Sweden
Field-hunting tip
Look in hydrothermal veins in metamorphic manganese deposits country, the host setting where blixite typically forms. If you start seeing cerussite, galena, hausmannite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a platy or micaceous aggregates habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find blixite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
