Lipuite is a rare potassium sodium manganese phosphate, typically dark red-brown. It was approved as a distinct mineral species in 2014. It was first described from the N'Chwaning III mine, Kalahari Manganese Fields, Northern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa.
Is this lipuite?
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 lipuite with a known reference. Lipuite sits at Mohs ~5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: red.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: vitreous.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: dark red-brown, bright red.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: orthorhombic.
Often confused with
Lipuite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Andradite is the harder of the two (Mohs 6.5-7 vs. ~5); streak differs, so Lipuite leaves red, Andradite leaves white; luster reads vitreous on Lipuite and adamantine to resinous, dull on Andradite.
How to tell apart: Schorlomite is the harder of the two (Mohs 7-7.5 vs. ~5); streak differs, so Lipuite leaves red, Schorlomite leaves grayish black to red-orange or orange-brown.
Often found alongside lipuite
Minerals reported to co-occur with lipuite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- KNa₈Mn³⁺₅Mg₀.₅[Si₁₂O₃₀(OH)₄](PO₄)O₂(OH)₂(H₂O)₄
- Mohs hardness
- ~5
- Density
- 2.83 g/cm³
- Colors
- Dark red-brownBright red
- Streak
- Red
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector, Scientific research
- Host rock
- In high-grade Wessels-type Mn ore, mainly hausmannite, bixbyite, braunite-II, and manganite, formed by structurally controlled hydrothermal enrichment of low-grade strataform beds
Where rockhounds find lipuite
Classic worldwide localities
- N’Chwaning III mine, Kalahari Manganese Fields, Northern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In high-grade Wessels-type Mn ore, mainly hausmannite, bixbyite, braunite-II, and manganite, formed by structurally controlled hydrothermal enrichment of low-grade strataform beds. If you start seeing mn-bearing sugilite, taniajacoite, pectolite in float, you are in the right ground.
Common questions
How do you identify lipuite?+
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What rocks look like lipuite?+
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Find lipuite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
