Kanonerovite is a rare phosphate mineral primarily found in complex granite pegmatites. Collectors should look for its characteristic pale tabular crystals that often mimic the appearance of other manganese-bearing phosphates like fillowite.
Is this kanonerovite?
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 kanonerovite with a known reference. Kanonerovite sits at Mohs 2.5-3, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: white.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: vitreous.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: colorless.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: encrustations, platy, prismatic.
Often confused with
Kanonerovite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside kanonerovite
Minerals reported to co-occur with kanonerovite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Na₃MnP₃O₁₀·12H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 2.5-3
- Density
- 1.91 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Encrustations, platy, prismatic
- Cleavage
- Poor on {010}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In the vuggy, microcline-albite-quartz-muscovite central zone of a granitic pegmatite vein
Where rockhounds find kanonerovite
Classic worldwide localities
- Kazennitsa pegmatite, Alabashka pegmatite field, Middle Urals, Russia
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In the vuggy, microcline-albite-quartz-muscovite central zone of a granitic pegmatite vein. If you start seeing quartz, topaz, cassiterite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: encrustations, platy, prismatic. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify kanonerovite?+
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What rocks look like kanonerovite?+
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Find kanonerovite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
