Ekanite is a rare radioactive silicate mineral typically found as green to brownish-green grains or pebbles. It is notable for its thorium content, which makes it mildly radioactive and often metamict due to radiation-induced structural damage.
Is this ekanite?
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 ekanite with a known reference. Ekanite sits at Mohs 4.5-5, 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: vitreous.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: green, yellow, dark red.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: tetragonal. Typical habit: massive, anhedral grains, occasionally short prismatic crystals.
Often confused with
Ekanite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Zircon is the harder of the two (Mohs 7.5 vs. 4.5-5).
How to tell apart: Luster reads vitreous on Ekanite and adamantine to resinous on Titanite.
How to tell apart: Epidote is the harder of the two (Mohs 6-7 vs. 4.5-5); streak differs, so Ekanite leaves white, Epidote leaves grayish white.
Often found alongside ekanite
Minerals reported to co-occur with ekanite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- ThCa₂Si₈O₂₀
- Mohs hardness
- 4.5-5
- Density
- 2.95-3.28 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent to turbidly translucent
- Crystal system
- Tetragonal
- Crystal habit
- Massive, anhedral grains, occasionally short prismatic crystals
- Cleavage
- Distinct on {101}, indistinct on {001}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- Detrital (Sri Lanka); in a glacial erratic syenitic boulder (Tombstone Mountains, Canada); in volcanic ejecta (Case Collina, Italy)
Where rockhounds find ekanite
Classic worldwide localities
- Eheliyagoda and Okkampitiya districts, near Ratnapura, Sri Lanka
- Tombstone Mountains, Yukon Territory, Canada
- Case Collina, Pitigliano, near Grosetto, Tuscany, and on the Vico volcano, near Vetralla, Lazio, Italy
- Murun massif, southwest of Olekminsk, Yakutia, Russia
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: Detrital (Sri Lanka); in a glacial erratic syenitic boulder (Tombstone Mountains, Canada); in volcanic ejecta (Case Collina, Italy). If you start seeing fluorite, garnet, quartz in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: massive, anhedral grains, occasionally short prismatic crystals. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify ekanite?+
Where is ekanite found?+
Is ekanite safe to handle?+
What rocks look like ekanite?+
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Find ekanite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
