Mimetite is a striking lead arsenate mineral often found in the oxidized zones of base metal deposits. Collectors value it for its vivid yellow-to-orange hues and its aesthetic botryoidal or hexagonal crystal habits, frequently appearing alongside wulfenite.
Is this mimetite?
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 mimetite with a known reference. Mimetite sits at Mohs 3.5-4, 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: resinous to subadamantine.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: yellow, orange, brown, colorless, white, red.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: hexagonal. Typical habit: globular, prismatic, reniform.
Often confused with
Mimetite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside mimetite
Minerals reported to co-occur with mimetite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Pb₅(AsO₄)₃Cl
- Mohs hardness
- 3.5-4
- Density
- 7.24 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Resinous to subadamantine
- Transparency
- Transparent to translucent
- Crystal system
- Hexagonal
- Crystal habit
- Globular, prismatic, reniform
- Cleavage
- On {1011}, interrupted
- Fluorescence
- Orange under SW and LW UV
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- A common secondary mineral in the oxidized zone of arsenic-bearing lead deposits
Where rockhounds find mimetite
1 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Phoenixville, Chester Co., Pennsylvania, USA
- Mammoth-St. Anthony mine, Tiger, Pinal Co., and the Rowley mine, Maricopa Co., Arizona, USA
- Centennial Eureka mine, Tintic district, Juab Co., Utah, USA
- Johanngeorgenstadt, Saxony, Germany
- Příbram, Czech Republic
- Dry Gill and other mines, Caldbeck Fells, Cumbria, England
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: A common secondary mineral in the oxidized zone of arsenic-bearing lead deposits. If you start seeing cerussite, anglesite, smithsonite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: globular, prismatic, reniform. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Arizona. Start trip planning there.
Common questions
How do you identify mimetite?+
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Can I find mimetite in the United States?+
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Find mimetite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
