Embreyite is a rare lead chromium phosphate mineral that typically forms as bright orange, tabular crystals or crusts. It is primarily found in the oxidation zones of lead-bearing hydrothermal veins where chromium is present. Due to its rarity and specific chemical requirements, it is a highly sought-after specimen for advanced mineral collectors.
Is this embreyite?
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 embreyite with a known reference. Embreyite 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, resinous, dull.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: orange.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: tabular crystals, crusts, botryoidal aggregates.
Often confused with
Embreyite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Embreyite leaves yellow, Crocoite leaves yellow-orange; luster reads vitreous, resinous, dull on Embreyite and adamantine on Crocoite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Embreyite leaves yellow, Phoenicochroite leaves brick-red to yellowish orange; luster reads vitreous, resinous, dull on Embreyite and adamantine to resinous, glistening on Phoenicochroite.
Often found alongside embreyite
Minerals reported to co-occur with embreyite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Pb₅(CrO₄)₂(PO₄)₂·H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 3.5
- Density
- 6.45 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Yellow
- Luster
- Vitreous, resinous, dull
- Transparency
- Translucent to transparent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Tabular crystals, crusts, botryoidal aggregates
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- On museum samples from the oxidized zone of gold-bearing quartz veins (Beresovsk, Russia)
Where rockhounds find embreyite
Classic worldwide localities
- Beresovsk gold deposit, near Yekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk), Middle Ural Mountains, Russia
- Argent Pb–Zn mines, about 100 km east of Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
- Callenberg mine, near Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Saxony, Germany
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: On museum samples from the oxidized zone of gold-bearing quartz veins (Beresovsk, Russia). If you start seeing crocoite, phoenicochroite, vauquelinite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: tabular crystals, crusts, botryoidal aggregates. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find embreyite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
