Häggite is a rare vanadium hydroxide mineral typically found as small, black to dark brown bladed or radiating crystals within sandstone deposits. It is a secondary mineral often associated with other vanadium-rich species like montroseite and is primarily sought after by advanced systematic mineral collectors.
Is this häggite?
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 häggite with a known reference. Häggite sits at Mohs 4.7, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: brown.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: submetallic.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: black.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: botryoidal, disseminated, efflorescences.
Often confused with
Häggite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Montroseite is the harder of the two (Mohs 5.5-6.5 vs. 4.7); streak differs, so Häggite leaves brown, Montroseite leaves black.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Häggite leaves brown, Paramontroseite leaves black.
Often found alongside häggite
Minerals reported to co-occur with häggite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- VVO₂(OH)₃
- Mohs hardness
- 4.7
- Colors
- Streak
- Brown
- Luster
- Submetallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Botryoidal, disseminated, efflorescences
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In the oxidized zone of Colorado Plateau-type U-V deposits
Where rockhounds find häggite
Classic worldwide localities
- Sandstone drill core at a depth of 55 m, from near Carlile, Crook Co., Wyoming, USA
- Runge mine, near Edgemont, Fall River Co., South Dakota, USA
- Grants district, McKinley Co., New Mexico, USA
- Gold Quarry mine, Eureka Co., Nevada, USA
- Undefined localities in the Voronezh anticline, around Kursk, Russia
- Syr Dar'ya basin, southern Kara- Tau Mountains, Kazakhstan
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In the oxidized zone of Colorado Plateau-type U-V deposits. If you start seeing doloresite, pyrite, selenium in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: botryoidal, disseminated, efflorescences. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify häggite?+
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Find häggite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
