Desautelsite is a rare magnesium-manganese carbonate member of the hydrotalcite group. It is typically found as small, orange, platy crystals or as crusts forming in association with serpentinized carbonate rocks.
Is this desautelsite?
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 desautelsite with a known reference. Desautelsite 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. Desautelsite leaves a yellowish-orange streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Desautelsite typically shows a pearly luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: orange, yellow-orange.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: trigonal. Typical habit: platy crystals, crusts, or aggregates.
Often confused with
Desautelsite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Desautelsite leaves yellowish-orange, Pyroaurite leaves white.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Desautelsite leaves yellowish-orange, Stichtite leaves white; luster reads pearly on Desautelsite and waxy on Stichtite.
Often found alongside desautelsite
Minerals reported to co-occur with desautelsite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Mg₆Mn₃(CO₃)(OH)₁₈·4H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 2
- Density
- 2.16 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Yellowish-orange
- Luster
- Pearly
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Crystal habit
- Platy Crystals, Crusts, Or Aggregates
- Cleavage
- Perfect On {0001}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- Hydrothermal Veins in Carbonatites
- Typical price
- $50-300 per specimen
Where rockhounds find desautelsite
Classic worldwide localities
- Palabora Mine, South Africa
- Jeffrey Mine, Canada
Field-hunting tip
Look in hydrothermal veins in carbonatites country, the host setting where desautelsite typically forms. If you start seeing calcite, dolomite, magnetite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a platy crystals, crusts, or aggregates habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify desautelsite?+
Where is desautelsite found?+
How much is desautelsite worth?+
What rocks look like desautelsite?+
What minerals are found with desautelsite?+
What kind of rock does desautelsite form in?+
What is desautelsite used for?+
Find desautelsite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
