Mesaite is a rare vanadium mineral primarily known from the Colorado Plateau region. It typically appears as small, vibrant red to orange rhombohedral crystals lining fractures or cavities in sandstone, often associated with other secondary vanadium species.
Is this mesaite?
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 mesaite with a known reference. Mesaite 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: light pinkish orange.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: vitreous.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: orangish red.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic.
Often confused with
Mesaite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Mesaite leaves light pinkish orange, Vanadinite leaves white to pale red or pale yellow; luster reads vitreous on Mesaite and subresinous to subadamantine on Vanadinite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Mesaite leaves light pinkish orange, Carnotite leaves strontian-yellow; luster reads vitreous on Mesaite and dull, earthy; silky when crystalline on Carnotite.
Often found alongside mesaite
Minerals reported to co-occur with mesaite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- CaMn₅(V₂O₇)₃·12H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- ~2
- Density
- 2.74 g/cm³
- Colors
- Orangish red
- Streak
- Light pinkish orange
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Cleavage
- Perfect on {010}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- Formed on asphaltum blocks in a mine tunnel in sandstone by the oxidation in a moist environment of montroseite-corvusite assemblages in a roll-front U-V-deposit
Where rockhounds find mesaite
Classic worldwide localities
- Packrat mine, near Gateway, Mesa County, Colorado, USA
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: Formed on asphaltum blocks in a mine tunnel in sandstone by the oxidation in a moist environment of montroseite-corvusite assemblages in a roll-front U-V-deposit. If you start seeing ansermetite, kegginite, martyite in float, you are in the right ground.
Common questions
How do you identify mesaite?+
Where is mesaite found?+
Is mesaite safe to handle?+
What rocks look like mesaite?+
What minerals are found with mesaite?+
What kind of rock does mesaite form in?+
What is mesaite used for?+
Find mesaite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
