Jungite is a rare phosphate mineral typically forming delicate, radial, or fan-shaped sprays of pale yellow acicular crystals. It is primarily found in complex granitic pegmatites where phosphate minerals have undergone secondary alteration. Collectors should look for its distinctive bright yellow hue and fibrous, radiating habit often nestled in cavities with other secondary phosphate species.
Is this jungite?
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 jungite with a known reference. Jungite sits at Mohs 1, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: yellow.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: silky in aggregates, vitreous.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: yellow, dark green, green yellow.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: orthorhombic. Typical habit: rosette, tabular.
Often confused with
Jungite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Strengite is the harder of the two (Mohs 3.5 vs. 1); streak differs, so Jungite leaves yellow, Strengite leaves white; luster reads silky in aggregates, vitreous on Jungite and vitreous on Strengite.
How to tell apart: Phosphosiderite is the harder of the two (Mohs 3.5-4 vs. 1); streak differs, so Jungite leaves yellow, Phosphosiderite leaves white; luster reads silky in aggregates, vitreous on Jungite and vitreous to subresinous on Phosphosiderite.
Often found alongside jungite
Minerals reported to co-occur with jungite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Ca₂Zn₂₄Fe₈(PO₄)₉(OH)₉·16H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 1
- Density
- 2.843 g/cm³
- Streak
- Yellow
- Luster
- Silky in aggregates, vitreous
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Crystal habit
- Rosette, tabular
- Cleavage
- Perfect, micaceous, on {010}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- A late-forming mineral in a complex granite pegmatite
Where rockhounds find jungite
Classic worldwide localities
- Hagendorf, Bavaria, Germany
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: A late-forming mineral in a complex granite pegmatite. If you start seeing mitridatite, manganese oxides in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: rosette, tabular. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find jungite on the map
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