Innelite is a rare barium-titanium silicate typically found as platy or tabular crystals within alkaline pegmatites. It is most easily identified by its distinctive yellowish-brown color and its close association with other rare minerals of the Lovozero Massif.
Is this innelite?
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 innelite with a known reference. Innelite sits at Mohs 3-4, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Innelite leaves a yellowish-white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Innelite typically shows a vitreous luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: yellow, brown, golden-yellow.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: triclinic. Typical habit: tabular crystals, platy, lamellar aggregates.
Often confused with
Innelite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Innelite leaves yellowish-white, Lamprophyllite leaves white.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Innelite leaves yellowish-white, Astrophyllite leaves golden-brown; luster reads vitreous on Innelite and submetallic on Astrophyllite.
Often found alongside innelite
Minerals reported to co-occur with innelite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Ba₄(Na,Ti,Mn)₄Ti₂(Si₂O₇)₂O₂(OH,F)₂
- Mohs hardness
- 3-4
- Density
- 3.32 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Yellowish-white
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Triclinic
- Crystal habit
- Tabular Crystals, Platy, Lamellar Aggregates
- Cleavage
- Perfect On {001}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- Alkaline Igneous Rocks, Nepheline Syenite Pegmatites
- Typical price
- $50-300 per specimen depending on size and quality
Where rockhounds find innelite
Classic worldwide localities
- Kola Peninsula, Russia
- Lovozero Massif, Russia
Field-hunting tip
Look in alkaline igneous rocks, nepheline syenite pegmatites country, the host setting where innelite typically forms. If you start seeing aegirine, nepheline, eudialyte in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a tabular crystals, platy, lamellar aggregates habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify innelite?+
Where is innelite found?+
How much is innelite worth?+
What rocks look like innelite?+
What minerals are found with innelite?+
What kind of rock does innelite form in?+
What is innelite used for?+
Find innelite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
