Dargaite is a very rare sulfate mineral first discovered in the combustion metamorphic rocks of the Darga Mountain in Russia. Collectors should look for its distinctive orthorhombic tabular habit typically found in association with other high-temperature combustion minerals.
Is this dargaite?
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 dargaite with a known reference. Dargaite sits at Mohs 4.5-5.5, 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.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: trigonal. Typical habit: tabular crystals, subparallel aggregates.
Often confused with
Dargaite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside dargaite
Minerals reported to co-occur with dargaite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- BaCa₁₂(SiO₄)₄(SO₄)₂O₃
- Mohs hardness
- 4.5-5.5
- Density
- 3.235 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Crystal habit
- Tabular crystals, subparallel aggregates
- Cleavage
- Imperfect on {00*1}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- Pyrometamorphic by-product of gases, fluids and melts transforming earlier mineral associations (larnite rocks) at ∼900 °C (Israel)
Where rockhounds find dargaite
Classic worldwide localities
- Jabel Harmun, Ma’ale Adumim, and the Hahal Darga, Judean Mts, West Bank, Palestinian Autonomy, Israel
- Shadi-Khokh volcano, Southern Ossetia
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: Pyrometamorphic by-product of gases, fluids and melts transforming earlier mineral associations (larnite rocks) at ∼900 °C (Israel). If you start seeing larnite, fluorellestadite-fluorapatite, brownmillerite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: tabular crystals, subparallel aggregates. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify dargaite?+
Where is dargaite found?+
What rocks look like dargaite?+
What minerals are found with dargaite?+
What kind of rock does dargaite form in?+
What is dargaite used for?+
Find dargaite on the map
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