Mendipite is a rare lead oxychloride mineral that typically forms as pearly or adamantine prismatic crystals within oxidized ore zones. It is most famous from the type locality in the Mendip Hills of England where it occurs as distinctively fibrous or elongated white to pale yellow masses.
Is this mendipite?
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 mendipite with a known reference. Mendipite sits at Mohs 2.5, 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: pearly to silky on cleavages; resinous to adamantine on fractures.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: white, colorless, gray, yellowish, bluish.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: orthorhombic. Typical habit: columnar, fibrous, radial.
Often confused with
Mendipite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Luster reads pearly to silky on cleavages; resinous to adamantine on fractures on Mendipite and adamantine, tending toward vitreous, resinous on Cerussite.
How to tell apart: Luster reads pearly to silky on cleavages; resinous to adamantine on fractures on Mendipite and adamantine on Phosgenite.
Often found alongside mendipite
Minerals reported to co-occur with mendipite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Pb₃Cl₂O₂
- Mohs hardness
- 2.5
- Density
- 7.240 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Pearly to silky on cleavages; resinous to adamantine on fractures
- Transparency
- Translucent, rarely transparent
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Crystal habit
- Columnar, fibrous, radial
- Cleavage
- {010}, perfect; {100} and {010}, less perfect
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In nodules in manganese oxide ores (Somerset, England)
Where rockhounds find mendipite
Classic worldwide localities
- Higher Pitts Farm, the Priddy Hill Farm, the Wesley mine, and near Churchill, Mendip Hills, and in the Merehead quarry, near Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England
- Kunibert mine, near Brilon, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
- Långban, Värmland, Sweden
- Tarnowitz, Silesia, Poland
- Laurium, Greece, in slag
- Found in the Elura Zn–Pb–Ag deposit, 43 km northeast of Cobar, New South Wales, Australia
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In nodules in manganese oxide ores (Somerset, England). If you start seeing hydrocerussite, cerussite, malachite 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
How do you identify mendipite?+
Where is mendipite found?+
Is mendipite safe to handle?+
What rocks look like mendipite?+
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Find mendipite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
