Hedleyite is a rare bismuth telluride mineral typically found in massive, foliated or lamellar habits. It is distinguished by its distinct metallic tin-white color and perfect basal cleavage, often occurring in skarn environments with other tellurides.
Is this hedleyite?
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 hedleyite with a known reference. Hedleyite sits at Mohs 2, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: gray.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: metallic.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: tin white, iron black, black.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: trigonal. Typical habit: massive, lamellar, foliated.
Often confused with
Hedleyite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside hedleyite
Minerals reported to co-occur with hedleyite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Bi₇Te₃
- Mohs hardness
- 2
- Density
- 8.81-8.91 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Gray
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Crystal habit
- Massive, lamellar, foliated
- Cleavage
- Perfect on {0001}, warped
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- Typically a late-stage hydrothermal mineral in quartz veins and massive sulfides associated with skarns and breccias; less commonly in pegmatites
Where rockhounds find hedleyite
Classic worldwide localities
- McCoy mine, McCoy district, Lander Co., Nevada, USA
- Good Hope mineral claim, about six km southeast of Hedley, Osoyoos mining division (type locality), British Columbia, Canada
- Oregon mine, near Hedley, British Columbia, Canada
- Upper Burwash Creek placer, Kluane Lake district, Yukon Territory, Canada
- Bannockburn gold deposit, Eldorado, Ontario, Canada
- Millapaya, Sorata, La Paz, Bolivia
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: Typically a late-stage hydrothermal mineral in quartz veins and massive sulfides associated with skarns and breccias; less commonly in pegmatites. If you start seeing bismuth, bismuthinite, tellurobismuthite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: massive, lamellar, foliated. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify hedleyite?+
Where is hedleyite found?+
Is hedleyite safe to handle?+
What rocks look like hedleyite?+
What minerals are found with hedleyite?+
What kind of rock does hedleyite form in?+
What is hedleyite used for?+
Find hedleyite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
