Hubeite is a rare manganese-bearing silicate typically found as small, brownish-red tabular crystals often forming thin crusts or sprays on quartz. It is uniquely associated with the Daye mining district in China and is highly prized by collectors for its attractive color and distinct crystal habit.
Is this hubeite?
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 hubeite with a known reference. Hubeite sits at Mohs 4 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Hubeite leaves a light brown streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Hubeite typically shows a vitreous luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: brown, reddish-brown.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: triclinic. Typical habit: tabular crystals, platy aggregates, druzy.
Often confused with
Hubeite vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Hubeite leaves light brown, Apophyllite leaves white; luster reads vitreous on Hubeite and vitreous to pearly on Apophyllite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Hubeite leaves light brown, Cavansite leaves white.
Often found alongside hubeite
Minerals reported to co-occur with hubeite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Ca₂MnFeSi₄O₁₀(OH)₂·2H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 4
- Density
- 3.5 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Light Brown
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Triclinic
- Crystal habit
- Tabular Crystals, Platy Aggregates, Druzy
- Cleavage
- Perfect On {001}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- Hydrothermal Veins in Skarn Deposits
- Typical price
- $50-500 thumbnail to small cabinet
Where rockhounds find hubeite
Classic worldwide localities
- Daye Mine, Hubei Province, China
Field-hunting tip
Look in hydrothermal veins in skarn deposits country — that is the host setting where hubeite typically forms. If you start seeing quartz, apophyllite, fluorite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a tabular crystals, platy aggregates, druzy habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find hubeite on the map
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