Destinezite is a rare phosphate mineral typically found as secondary crusts or nodules in sedimentary deposits. Collectors should look for its characteristic earthy, reniform appearance, which often results from the alteration of iron-bearing minerals in phosphate-rich environments.
Is this destinezite?
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 destinezite with a known reference. Destinezite sits at Mohs 3-4, 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: dull.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: yellow, brownish yellow, brown.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: triclinic. Typical habit: massive, reniform, concretionary, or powdery encrustations.
Often confused with
Destinezite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Destinezite leaves white, Delvauxite leaves pale brown; luster reads dull on Destinezite and waxy to opaline on Delvauxite.
How to tell apart: Crandallite is the harder of the two (Mohs 5 vs. 3-4); luster reads dull on Destinezite and vitreous, dull to chalky when massive on Crandallite.
Often found alongside destinezite
Minerals reported to co-occur with destinezite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Fe³⁺₂(PO₄)(SO₄)(OH)·6H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 3-4
- Density
- 4.411 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Dull
- Transparency
- Semitransparent
- Crystal system
- Triclinic
- Crystal habit
- Massive, reniform, concretionary, or powdery encrustations
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- A secondary mineral in gossans and some coal deposits, formed by sulfate-rich solutions acting on earlier phosphates, may be post-mine; in cave deposits, the phosphate derived from guano
Where rockhounds find destinezite
Classic worldwide localities
- Argenteau, Belgium (type locality) and Alum Cave Bluff, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, USA
- El Laco Volcano magnetite deposit, Chile
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: A secondary mineral in gossans and some coal deposits, formed by sulfate-rich solutions acting on earlier phosphates, may be post-mine; in cave deposits, the phosphate derived from guano. If you start seeing pickeringite-apjohnite, hematite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: massive, reniform, concretionary, or powdery encrustations. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find destinezite on the map
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