Melonite is a rare nickel telluride mineral that typically forms as small, metallic, reddish-white tabular crystals or granular masses. It is primarily found in hydrothermal veins associated with other telluride minerals and native gold, making it a target for serious mineral collectors interested in telluride paragenesis.
Is this melonite?
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 melonite with a known reference. Melonite sits at Mohs 1-1.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: dark gray.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: metallic.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: reddish white, white.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: trigonal. Typical habit: crystalline, foliated, granular.
Often confused with
Melonite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Melonite leaves dark gray, Tellurobismuthite leaves pale lead-gray.
How to tell apart: Altaite is the harder of the two (Mohs 3 vs. 1-1.5); streak differs, so Melonite leaves dark gray, Altaite leaves black.
How to tell apart: Frohbergite is the harder of the two (Mohs 3-4 vs. 1-1.5); streak differs, so Melonite leaves dark gray, Frohbergite leaves black.
Often found alongside melonite
Minerals reported to co-occur with melonite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- NiTe₂
- Mohs hardness
- 1-1.5
- Density
- 7.72 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Dark gray
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Crystal habit
- Crystalline, foliated, granular
- Cleavage
- Perfect on {0001}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector, Research
- Host rock
- With other tellurium minerals in the late stages of hydrothermal veins formed at medium to low temperatures
Where rockhounds find melonite
Classic worldwide localities
- Melones (type locality) and Stanislaus mines, Carson Hill district, Calaveras Co., and the Jamestown mine, Tuolumne Co., California, USA
- Cresson mine, Cripple Creek, Teller Co., and from a number of mines in the Magnolia district, Boulder Co., Colorado, USA
- Campbell mine, Bisbee, Cochise Co., Arizona, USA
- Ontario, Canada, from the Strathcona mine at Sudbury
- Hemlo gold deposit, Thunder Bay district
- Wright-Hargreaves mine, Kirkland Lake
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: With other tellurium minerals in the late stages of hydrothermal veins formed at medium to low temperatures. If you start seeing altaite, petzite, hessite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: crystalline, foliated, granular. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify melonite?+
Where is melonite found?+
Is melonite safe to handle?+
What rocks look like melonite?+
What minerals are found with melonite?+
What kind of rock does melonite form in?+
What is melonite used for?+
Find melonite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
