Eveite is a rare manganese arsenate mineral typically found as small, vibrant green crusts or sharp crystals in manganese-rich deposits. It is best identified through its association with specific manganese minerals and its distinct orthorhombic crystal habit. Collectors prize it for its intense green color and status as a sought-after rarity from localities like the Långban mine.
Is this eveite?
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 eveite with a known reference. Eveite sits at Mohs <4, 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: apple green.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: orthorhombic. Typical habit: equant crystals, crusts, or radiating groups.
Often confused with
Eveite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Eveite leaves white, Duftite leaves pale green to white; luster reads vitreous on Eveite and dull to vitreous on fractures on Duftite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Eveite leaves white, Conichalcite leaves green.
Often found alongside eveite
Minerals reported to co-occur with eveite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Mn₂AsO₄(OH)
- Mohs hardness
- <4
- Density
- 3.67 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Semitransparent
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Crystal habit
- Equant crystals, crusts, or radiating groups
- Cleavage
- On {101}, fair
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- Very rare, in fissures in a metamorphosed Fe–Mn orebody (Långban, Sweden); in a metamorphosed stratiform zinc orebody (Sterling Hill, New Jersey, USA)
Where rockhounds find eveite
Classic worldwide localities
- Sterling Hill, Ogdensburg, Sussex Co., New Jersey, USA
- Långban, Värmland, Sweden
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: Very rare, in fissures in a metamorphosed Fe–Mn orebody (Långban, Sweden); in a metamorphosed stratiform zinc orebody (Sterling Hill, New Jersey, USA). If you start seeing akrochordite, manganoan hörnesite, hausmannite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: equant crystals, crusts, or radiating groups. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify eveite?+
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Is eveite safe to handle?+
What rocks look like eveite?+
What minerals are found with eveite?+
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Find eveite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
