Graphite is a polymorph of pure carbon known for its extreme softness and greasy feel, often leaving a black mark on paper. It typically occurs as soft, metallic-looking masses or hexagonal plates in metamorphic rocks formed from carbon-rich organic material.
Is this graphite?
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 graphite with a known reference. Graphite sits at Mohs 1-2 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Graphite leaves a black streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Graphite typically shows a metallic luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: black, steel-gray.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: hexagonal. Typical habit: tabular crystals, foliated, scaly, granular, or massive.
Often confused with
Graphite vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Graphite leaves black, Molybdenite leaves greenish-gray.
How to tell apart: Iron Ore is the harder of the two (Mohs 5-6.5 vs. 1-2); streak differs — Graphite leaves black, Iron Ore leaves reddish-brown to black; luster reads metallic on Graphite and metallic to submetallic on Iron Ore.
Often found alongside graphite
Minerals reported to co-occur with graphite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- C
- Mohs hardness
- 1-2
- Density
- 2.09-2.23 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Black
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Hexagonal
- Crystal habit
- Tabular Crystals, Foliated, Scaly, Granular, Or Massive
- Cleavage
- Perfect Basal
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Industrial, Lubricant, Writing, Collector
- Host rock
- Metamorphic Rocks Like Marble, Schist, And Gneiss, Also in Igneous Rocks
- Typical price
- $5-30 for typical specimens, higher for large crystalline clusters
Where rockhounds find graphite
14 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Sri Lanka
- Madagascar
- Canada
- Mexico
- China
- United States
Field-hunting tip
Look in metamorphic rocks like marble, schist, and gneiss, also in igneous rocks country — that is the host setting where graphite typically forms. If you start seeing quartz, calcite, mica in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a tabular crystals, foliated, scaly, granular, or massive habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Connecticut, New York, Tennessee — start trip planning there.
Common questions
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Find graphite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
