Kolovratite is a rare, amorphous zinc-nickel-copper vanadate that typically forms as earthy crusts or thin coatings on host rock. It is primarily identified by its characteristic yellowish to greenish-yellow color within oxidized vanadium-rich deposits. Due to its rarity and obscure nature, it is sought after primarily by advanced collectors of secondary vanadium minerals.
Is this kolovratite?
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 kolovratite with a known reference. Kolovratite sits at Mohs 2-3, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: pale yellow.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: vitreous.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: yellow, greenish yellow.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: botryoidal, encrustations, fibrous.
Often confused with
Kolovratite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Kolovratite leaves pale yellow, Carnotite leaves strontian-yellow; luster reads vitreous on Kolovratite and dull, earthy; silky when crystalline on Carnotite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Kolovratite leaves pale yellow, Tyuyamunite leaves light yellow; luster reads vitreous on Kolovratite and adamantine, pearly on {001}, may be dull to waxy if massive on Tyuyamunite.
Often found alongside kolovratite
Minerals reported to co-occur with kolovratite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- (Ni,Zn)xVO₄·nH₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 2-3
- Colors
- Streak
- Pale yellow
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Semitransparent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Botryoidal, encrustations, fibrous
- Cleavage
- Indistinct
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In quartz schists and carbonaceous slates
Where rockhounds find kolovratite
Classic worldwide localities
- Kara-Chagyr, near the Tyuya-Muyun Cave, Alai Mountains, and over a broad area in the Fergana Valley, as at Iski-Naukat, Charku, and at Uch-Kurgan, Kyrgyzstan
- Agalyk U–V deposit, Kara-Tyube Mountains, 15 km south of Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In quartz schists and carbonaceous slates. If you start seeing tyuyamunite, vanadinite, calcite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: botryoidal, encrustations, fibrous. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find kolovratite on the map
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