Enstatite is a magnesium-rich pyroxene that typically occurs in mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks as well as high-grade metamorphic terrains. Collectors should look for its distinctive prismatic crystal habit and cleavage angles that differentiate it from other common pyroxenes like diopside.
Is this enstatite?
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 enstatite with a known reference. Enstatite sits at Mohs 5-6, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: white to grayish.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: vitreous to pearly on cleavages.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: green, brown, gray, white, yellowish, yellowish green, greenish white.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: orthorhombic. Typical habit: lamellar, massive.
Often confused with
Enstatite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Luster reads vitreous to pearly on cleavages on Enstatite and submetallic on Bronzite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Enstatite leaves white to grayish, Hypersthene leaves grayish greenish white.
Often found alongside enstatite
Minerals reported to co-occur with enstatite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Mg₂Si₂O₆
- Mohs hardness
- 5-6
- Density
- 3.2-3.9 g/cm³
- Streak
- White to grayish
- Luster
- Vitreous to pearly on cleavages
- Transparency
- Translucent to opaque
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Crystal habit
- Lamellar, massive
- Cleavage
- Good, {210}, (210) ^ (210) ~88°; partings on {100} and {010}
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Collector, Gemstone, Ornamental
- Host rock
- In pyroxenites, peridotites, and dunites; in ultramafic inclusions in alkalic olivine basalts and kimberlite; in mafic volcanics, rarely in felsic volcanics
Where rockhounds find enstatite
2 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Webster, Jackson Co., and on Corundum Hill, Macon Co., North Carolina, USA
- Wood's chrome mine and Texas, Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania, USA
- Lizard, Cornwall, England
- Dawros, Co. Connaught, Ireland
- Kupferberg, Bavaria, and the Bellerberg volcano, two km north of Mayen, Eifel district, Germany
- Kraubath, Styria, Austria
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In pyroxenites, peridotites, and dunites; in ultramafic inclusions in alkalic olivine basalts and kimberlite; in mafic volcanics, rarely in felsic volcanics. If you start seeing olivine, phlogopite, clinopyroxene in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: lamellar, massive. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Kentucky, North Carolina. Start trip planning there.
Common questions
How do you identify enstatite?+
Where is enstatite found?+
Can I find enstatite in the United States?+
What rocks look like enstatite?+
What minerals are found with enstatite?+
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Find enstatite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
