Covellite is a striking copper sulfide mineral easily recognized by its deep indigo blue color and frequent iridescent tarnish. It is very soft and sectile, often forming platy or micaceous aggregates that can be scratched with a fingernail.
Is this covellite?
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 covellite with a known reference. Covellite sits at Mohs 1.5-2 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Covellite leaves a lead gray to black streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Covellite typically shows a metallic luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: indigo blue, iridescent.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: hexagonal. Typical habit: tabular crystals, platy, massive, disseminated.
Often confused with
Covellite vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Covellite leaves lead gray to black, Chalcocite leaves lead-gray to black.
How to tell apart: Bornite is the harder of the two (Mohs 3 vs. 1.5-2); streak differs — Covellite leaves lead gray to black, Bornite leaves greyish black.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Covellite leaves lead gray to black, Digenite leaves black.
Often found alongside covellite
Minerals reported to co-occur with covellite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- CuS
- Mohs hardness
- 1.5-2
- Density
- 4.6-4.8 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Lead Gray to Black
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Hexagonal
- Crystal habit
- Tabular Crystals, Platy, Massive, Disseminated
- Cleavage
- Perfect Basal
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Collector, Ore of Copper
- Host rock
- Hydrothermal Veins, Supergene Copper Deposits
- Typical price
- $10-150 thumbnail, $50-500 cabinet specimen
Where rockhounds find covellite
1 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Sardinia, Italy
- Butte, Montana, USA
- Bor, Serbia
- Chuquicamata, Chile
- Summitville, Colorado, USA
Field-hunting tip
Look in hydrothermal veins, supergene copper deposits country — that is the host setting where covellite typically forms. If you start seeing chalcocite, chalcopyrite, enargite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a tabular crystals, platy, massive, disseminated habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Maryland — start trip planning there.
Common questions
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Find covellite on the map
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