Dzhuluite is an extremely rare tin-bearing garnet discovered in the Dzhulu deposit of the Sakha Republic. It is typically found as small, dark brown to black dodecahedral crystals associated with skarn minerals in contact metamorphic zones.
Is this dzhuluite?
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 dzhuluite with a known reference. Dzhuluite sits at Mohs 6.5-7, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: creamy.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: strongly vitreous.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: dark brown.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: cubic. Typical habit: dodecahedral crystals.
Often confused with
Dzhuluite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Dzhuluite leaves creamy, Andradite leaves white; luster reads strongly vitreous on Dzhuluite and adamantine to resinous, dull on Andradite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Dzhuluite leaves creamy, Schorlomite leaves grayish black to red-orange or orange-brown; luster reads strongly vitreous on Dzhuluite and vitreous on Schorlomite.
Often found alongside dzhuluite
Minerals reported to co-occur with dzhuluite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Ca₃(SnSb)Fe₃O₁₂
- Mohs hardness
- 6.5-7
- Density
- 4.708 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Creamy
- Luster
- Strongly vitreous
- Transparency
- Translucent to transparent
- Crystal system
- Cubic
- Crystal habit
- Dodecahedral crystals
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- From fluorine metasomatism of a thermally-altered carbonate-silicate xenolith (20 m long) in ignimbrite, the heat from which created sanidinite facies metamorphism in the xenolith
Where rockhounds find dzhuluite
Classic worldwide localities
- Dzhulu, Sakha Republic, Russia
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: From fluorine metasomatism of a thermally-altered carbonate-silicate xenolith (20 m long) in ignimbrite, the heat from which created sanidinite facies metamorphism in the xenolith. If you start seeing kumtyubeite, cuspidine, fluorchegemite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: dodecahedral crystals. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find dzhuluite on the map
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