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 ~3, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: pale yellow.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: vitreous, may be dull.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: light green, light yellow, orange.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. 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 pale yellow, Penfieldite leaves white; luster reads vitreous, may be dull on Blixite and adamantine to greasy on Penfieldite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Blixite leaves pale yellow, Laurionite leaves white; luster reads vitreous, may be dull on Blixite and adamantine, pearly on {100} 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
- ~3
- Density
- 7.35 g/cm³
- Streak
- Pale yellow
- Luster
- Vitreous, may be dull
- Transparency
- Semitransparent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Platy or micaceous aggregates
- Cleavage
- One direction, distinct
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In hausmannite-rich dolomite and manganophyllite skarn in a metamorphosed Fe-Mn orebody (Långban, Sweden); a reaction product in slag immersed in sea water (Laurium, Greece)
Where rockhounds find blixite
Classic worldwide localities
- Långban, Värmland, Sweden
- Merehead quarry, Mendip Hills, Somerset, England
- Laurium, Greece, in slag
- Found in the Elura Zn-Pb-Ag deposit, 43 km northeast of Cobar, New South Wales, Australia
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In hausmannite-rich dolomite and manganophyllite skarn in a metamorphosed Fe-Mn orebody (Långban, Sweden); a reaction product in slag immersed in sea water (Laurium, Greece). If you start seeing dolomite, hausmannite, copper in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: platy or micaceous aggregates. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify blixite?+
Where is blixite found?+
Is blixite safe to handle?+
What rocks look like blixite?+
What minerals are found with blixite?+
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What is blixite used for?+
Find blixite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
