Brazilianite is a prized phosphate mineral known for its vibrant yellow to yellow-green color and excellent transparency. It is primarily found in granite pegmatites and is often sought after by gem collectors due to its clarity and attractive crystal habit.
Is this brazilianite?
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 brazilianite with a known reference. Brazilianite sits at Mohs 5.5, 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, greenish yellow, yellow green, light yellow.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: prismatic to tabular crystals often with complex faces.
Often confused with
Brazilianite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside brazilianite
Minerals reported to co-occur with brazilianite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- NaAl₃(PO₄)₂(OH)₄
- Mohs hardness
- 5.5
- Density
- 2.98 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Prismatic to tabular crystals often with complex faces
- Cleavage
- On {010}, good
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Uses
- Gemstone, Collector
- Host rock
- A hydrothermal mineral in phosphate-rich zones of granite pegmatites; also in metamorphosed sedimentary deposits
Where rockhounds find brazilianite
Classic worldwide localities
- Palermo #1 and Fletcher mines, near North Groton, Grafton Co., and the G.E. Smith mine, Newport, Sullivan Co., New Hampshire, USA
- Bell Pit, Newry, Oxford Co., Maine, USA
- White Picacho district, Maricopa and Yavapai Co., Arizona, USA
- Córrego Frio and other nearby pegmatite mines, Divino das Laranjeiras, near Linópolis, and from São Geraldo do Baixio, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Alto Patrimônio, near Pedro Lavrada, Paraíba, Brazil
- Boqueirão del Parelhas and Alto do Giz, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: A hydrothermal mineral in phosphate-rich zones of granite pegmatites; also in metamorphosed sedimentary deposits. If you start seeing muscovite, albite, apatite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: prismatic to tabular crystals often with complex faces. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify brazilianite?+
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What rocks look like brazilianite?+
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Find brazilianite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
