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 — Desautelsite leaves yellowish-orange, Pyroaurite leaves white.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — 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 — that is 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
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Find desautelsite on the map
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