Melanostibite is a rare manganese-antimony oxide mineral typically found in metamorphic manganese deposits. It appears as dark black, opaque tabular crystals that exhibit a dull to metallic luster.
Is this melanostibite?
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 melanostibite with a known reference. Melanostibite 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: pale rouge-red to cherry-red.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: brilliant.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: black, blood red.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: trigonal. Typical habit: aggregates.
Often confused with
Melanostibite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Ilmenite is the harder of the two (Mohs 5-6 vs. >4); streak differs, so Melanostibite leaves pale rouge-red to cherry-red, Ilmenite leaves black to reddish brown; luster reads brilliant on Melanostibite and metallic to submetallic on Ilmenite.
How to tell apart: Hematite is the harder of the two (Mohs 5-6 vs. >4); streak differs, so Melanostibite leaves pale rouge-red to cherry-red, Hematite leaves cherry-red or reddish brown; luster reads brilliant on Melanostibite and metallic or submetallic to dull on Hematite.
Often found alongside melanostibite
Minerals reported to co-occur with melanostibite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Mn₂Sb(Sb,Fe)O₆
- Mohs hardness
- >4
- Density
- 5.24 g/cm³
- Colors
- BlackBlood red
- Streak
- Pale rouge-red to cherry-red
- Luster
- Brilliant
- Transparency
- Opaque, transparent in thin fragments
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Crystal habit
- Aggregates
- Cleavage
- {0001}, perfect, perhaps a parting
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- A very rare mineral in fissures in banded dolomite, in a small Fe–Mn orebody in manganoan dolomite
Where rockhounds find melanostibite
Classic worldwide localities
- Sjö mine, near Grythyttan, Örebro, Sweden
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: A very rare mineral in fissures in banded dolomite, in a small Fe–Mn orebody in manganoan dolomite. If you start seeing dolomite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: aggregates. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify melanostibite?+
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Is melanostibite safe to handle?+
What rocks look like melanostibite?+
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Find melanostibite on the map
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