Kulanite is a rare phosphate mineral recognized for its distinctive blue to blue-green color and blocky crystal habit. It is most famous among collectors for specimens found in the remote phosphate occurrences of the Yukon Territory, often occurring as well-formed crystals associated with other rare phosphate species.
Is this kulanite?
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 kulanite with a known reference. Kulanite 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. Streak: very pale green.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: vitreous.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: blue, blue green, green, black green.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: rosette, tabular.
Often confused with
Kulanite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside kulanite
Minerals reported to co-occur with kulanite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- BaFe²⁺₂Al₂(PO₄)₃(OH)₃
- Mohs hardness
- ~4
- Density
- 3.91 g/cm³
- Streak
- Very pale green
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent to translucent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Rosette, tabular
- Cleavage
- Fair to good on {010} and {100}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- A weathering product in fractures in sideritic iron formation (Cross-cut Creek, Canada); as disseminations and veinlets in granite pegmatite (Xiyuantou, China)
Where rockhounds find kulanite
Classic worldwide localities
- White Picacho district, Maricopa and Yavapai Cos., Arizona, and at the Palermo #1 mine, North Groton, Grafton Co., New Hampshire, USA
- Cross-cut Creek, 1.5 km upstream from the confluence with Rapid Creek, Big Fish-Blow River area, Yukon Territory, Canada
- Xiyuantou pegmatite, Nanping, Fujian Province, China
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: A weathering product in fractures in sideritic iron formation (Cross-cut Creek, Canada); as disseminations and veinlets in granite pegmatite (Xiyuantou, China). If you start seeing penikisite, quartz, siderite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: rosette, tabular. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify kulanite?+
Where is kulanite found?+
What rocks look like kulanite?+
What minerals are found with kulanite?+
What kind of rock does kulanite form in?+
What is kulanite used for?+
Find kulanite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
