Laueite is a rare hydrated manganese iron phosphate mineral typically found as a secondary mineral in complex granite pegmatites. Collectors look for its characteristic orange-to-yellow tabular triclinic crystals that often form thin, delicate crusts or radial sprays on phosphate-bearing matrix rocks.
Is this laueite?
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 laueite with a known reference. Laueite sits at Mohs 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: yellow orange, honey brown, light brown.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: triclinic. Typical habit: tabular crystals, often elongated or grouped in radial aggregates.
Often confused with
Laueite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside laueite
Minerals reported to co-occur with laueite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Mn²⁺Fe³⁺₂(PO₄)₂(OH)₂·8H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 3
- Density
- 2.44-2.49 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent to translucent
- Crystal system
- Triclinic
- Crystal habit
- Tabular crystals, often elongated or grouped in radial aggregates
- Cleavage
- Perfect on {010}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- A common late-stage hydrothermal mineral in oxidized triphylite-bearing complex granite pegmatites
Where rockhounds find laueite
Classic worldwide localities
- Palermo #1 and Fletcher mines, near North Groton, Grafton Co., and the Fitzgibbon mine, Alstead, Cheshire Co., New Hampshire, USA
- Emmons quarry, Greenwood, Oxford Co., Maine, USA
- White Elephant and Etta mines, near Keystone, Pennington Co., at the Big Chief mine, near Glendale, and the Linwood, Hesnard, and Tip Top mines, near Custer, Custer Co., South Dakota, USA
- Foote mine, Kings Mountain, Cleveland Co., North Carolina, USA
- Hagendorf, Bavaria, Germany
- Mangualde pegmatite, near Mesquitela, and in the Bendada pegmatite, near Guarda, Portugal
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: A common late-stage hydrothermal mineral in oxidized triphylite-bearing complex granite pegmatites. If you start seeing rockbridgeite, strunzite, stewartite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: tabular crystals, often elongated or grouped in radial aggregates. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify laueite?+
Where is laueite found?+
What rocks look like laueite?+
What minerals are found with laueite?+
What kind of rock does laueite form in?+
What is laueite used for?+
Find laueite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
