Dussertite is a rare barium-iron arsenate mineral that typically forms as small, tabular, hexagonal crystals or distinct crusts in oxidized mineral deposits. Collectors usually find it as a secondary mineral in the weathered zones of arsenic-rich ore bodies, often associated with other iron-bearing sulfates and arsenates.
Is this dussertite?
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 dussertite with a known reference. Dussertite sits at Mohs 3.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: yellow.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: vitreous to resinous.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: green, yellow green.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: trigonal. Typical habit: tabular crystals, crusts, botryoidal.
Often confused with
Dussertite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Dussertite leaves yellow, Beudantite leaves grayish yellow to green.
How to tell apart: Arseniosiderite is the harder of the two (Mohs 4.5 vs. 3.5); streak differs, so Dussertite leaves yellow, Arseniosiderite leaves ocher-yellow; luster reads vitreous to resinous on Dussertite and submetallic to silky on Arseniosiderite.
Often found alongside dussertite
Minerals reported to co-occur with dussertite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- BaFe₃(AsO₄)(AsO₃OH)(OH)₆
- Mohs hardness
- 3.5
- Density
- 3.75 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Yellow
- Luster
- Vitreous to resinous
- Transparency
- Semitransparent
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Crystal habit
- Tabular crystals, crusts, botryoidal
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In the oxidized zone of some base-metal deposits, typically an alteration product of arsenopyrite
Where rockhounds find dussertite
Classic worldwide localities
- Tecoma, Elko Co., Nevada, USA
- Djebel Debar, northeast of Hammam Meskhoutine, Qacentina (Constantine), Algeria
- Senator mine, 20 km south-southwest of Kutahya, Turkey
- Ojuela mine, Mapimí, Durango, Mexico
- Mt. Borstein, near Reichenbach, Hesse, Germany
- Black Forest, at the Clara mine, near Oberwolfach, the Anton mine, Heubachtal, near Schiltach, and Freudenstadt, near Wittichen, Germany
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In the oxidized zone of some base-metal deposits, typically an alteration product of arsenopyrite. If you start seeing beudantite, carminite, scorodite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: tabular crystals, crusts, botryoidal. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find dussertite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
