Livingstonite is a rare mercury-antimony sulfide typically found as clusters of elongated, prismatic, or fibrous crystals with a metallic luster. It is most famous for its occurrence in the Huitzuco mines of Mexico, where it often forms alongside stibnite. Due to its mercury and antimony content, it should be stored carefully and handled with minimal physical contact.
Is this livingstonite?
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 livingstonite with a known reference. Livingstonite sits at Mohs 2, 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: adamantine to metallic.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: lead gray, steel gray.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: columnar, fibrous, radial.
Often confused with
Livingstonite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Livingstonite leaves red, Stibnite leaves lead-gray; luster reads adamantine to metallic on Livingstonite and metallic, splendent on cleavage surfaces on Stibnite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Livingstonite leaves red, Jamesonite leaves black. grayish; luster reads adamantine to metallic on Livingstonite and metallic on Jamesonite.
Often found alongside livingstonite
Minerals reported to co-occur with livingstonite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- HgSb₄S₆(S₂)
- Mohs hardness
- 2
- Density
- 4.8 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Red
- Luster
- Adamantine to metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque, translucent in thin fragments
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Columnar, fibrous, radial
- Cleavage
- Perfect on {001}, poor on {010} and {100}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In low-temperature hydrothermal veins
Where rockhounds find livingstonite
Classic worldwide localities
- La Cruz mine, Huitzuco, Guerrero (type locality), Mexico
- Trinidad mine, Guadalcázar, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
- Matsuo mine, Iwate Prefecture, Japan
- Khaydarkan, Fergana Valley, Alai Range, Kyrgyzstan
- Pedrosa del Rey, León, Spain
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In low-temperature hydrothermal veins. If you start seeing cinnabar, stibnite, sulfur in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: columnar, fibrous, radial. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find livingstonite on the map
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