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 — Blixite leaves yellow, Penfieldite leaves white; luster reads resinous on Blixite and adamantine on Penfieldite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — 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 — that is 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.
