Brizziite is an extremely rare sodium antimony oxide mineral originally discovered in the antimony mines of Tuscany, Italy. It typically occurs as small, transparent tabular crystals and is often found associated with other secondary antimony minerals like senarmontite.
Is this brizziite?
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 brizziite with a known reference. Brizziite sits at Mohs 2, 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: pearly.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: colorless, yellow in aggregates.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: trigonal. Typical habit: tabular crystals.
Often confused with
Brizziite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside brizziite
Minerals reported to co-occur with brizziite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- NaSbO₃
- Mohs hardness
- 2
- Density
- 4.8 g/cm³
- Colors
- ColorlessYellow in aggregates
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Pearly
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Crystal habit
- Tabular crystals
- Cleavage
- Perfect on {0001}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- A weathering product of stibnite in an antimony deposit in highly silicified limestone
Where rockhounds find brizziite
Classic worldwide localities
- Cetine mine, 20 km southwest of Siena, Tuscany, Italy
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: A weathering product of stibnite in an antimony deposit in highly silicified limestone. If you start seeing stibiconite, mopungite, cetineite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: tabular crystals. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify brizziite?+
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What rocks look like brizziite?+
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Find brizziite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
