Haradaite is a rare strontium vanadium silicate typically found as small, vibrant emerald-green tabular crystals. It is most famous for its occurrences in Japanese manganese mines and occasionally within the contact metamorphic zones of other deposits.
Is this haradaite?
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 haradaite with a known reference. Haradaite sits at Mohs 4.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: pale green.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: vitreous.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: green, light blue, light green.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: orthorhombic. Typical habit: aggregates, tabular.
Often confused with
Haradaite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside haradaite
Minerals reported to co-occur with haradaite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- SrVSi₂O₇
- Mohs hardness
- 4.5
- Density
- 3.80 g/cm³
- Streak
- Pale green
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent to translucent
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Crystal habit
- Aggregates, tabular
- Cleavage
- Perfect on {010}, distinct on {100} and {001}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In coarse-grained rhodonite ore (Noda-Tamagawa mine, Japan); as veinlets cutting rhodonite-goldmanite ore (Yamato mine, Japan)
Where rockhounds find haradaite
Classic worldwide localities
- Yamato mine and on Amamioshima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
- Noda-Tamagawa mine, Iwate Prefecture, Japan
- Matsuo mine, Kochi Prefecture, Japan
- Gambatesa mine, near Chiavari, Val Graveglia, Liguria, Italy
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In coarse-grained rhodonite ore (Noda-Tamagawa mine, Japan); as veinlets cutting rhodonite-goldmanite ore (Yamato mine, Japan). If you start seeing rhodonite, quartz in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: aggregates, tabular. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify haradaite?+
Where is haradaite found?+
Is haradaite safe to handle?+
What rocks look like haradaite?+
What minerals are found with haradaite?+
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Find haradaite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
