Götzenite is a complex calcium titanium silicate found in rare alkaline intrusive rocks. Collectors typically seek it in the form of small, acicular or prismatic crystals associated with other rare-earth minerals in nepheline syenites.
Is this götzenite?
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 götzenite with a known reference. Götzenite sits at Mohs 5.5-6, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: white.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: greasy.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: colorless, very pale yellow, tan, white.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: triclinic. Typical habit: acicular, prismatic, tabular.
Often confused with
Götzenite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Götzenite leaves white, Wöhlerite leaves pale yellow; luster reads greasy on Götzenite and vitreous, inclining to resinous, dull, and greasy on Wöhlerite.
How to tell apart: Luster reads greasy on Götzenite and vitreous on Rosenbuschite.
Often found alongside götzenite
Minerals reported to co-occur with götzenite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Ca₄NaCa₂Ti(Si₂O₇)₂(OF)F₂
- Mohs hardness
- 5.5-6
- Density
- 3.03-3.14 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Greasy
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Triclinic
- Crystal habit
- Acicular, prismatic, tabular
- Cleavage
- Perfect on {100}, good on {001}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In a nephelinite from the wall of the crater of an extinct volcano (Mt. Shaheru, Congo); in hornfels and marble xenoliths in an intrusive alkalic gabbro-syenite complex (Mont Saint-Hilaire, Canada)
Where rockhounds find götzenite
Classic worldwide localities
- Mt. Shaheru, the extinct southern cone of Mt. Nyiragongo, Kivu Province, Congo (Zaire)
- Mt. Yukspor, Khibiny massif, and the Lovozero massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia
- Barkevik, Langesundsfjord, Norway
- Azov region, Ukraine
- Kirchberg, Saxony, Germany
- Kaiserstuhl, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In a nephelinite from the wall of the crater of an extinct volcano (Mt. Shaheru, Congo); in hornfels and marble xenoliths in an intrusive alkalic gabbro-syenite complex (Mont Saint-Hilaire, Canada). If you start seeing combeite, aegirine, apatite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: acicular, prismatic, tabular. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify götzenite?+
Where is götzenite found?+
What rocks look like götzenite?+
What minerals are found with götzenite?+
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Find götzenite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
