Navajoite is a rare vanadium oxide typically found as fibrous, dark brown coatings or thin crusts in oxidized uranium-vanadium deposits. It is most frequently encountered by collectors as micro-crystalline layers within sandstone hosted mines of the Colorado Plateau.
Is this navajoite?
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 navajoite with a known reference. Navajoite sits at Mohs 1.5 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Navajoite leaves a yellowish-brown streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Navajoite typically shows a dull luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: dark brown, blackish-brown.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: fibrous, crusts, coatings.
Often confused with
Navajoite vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Navajoite leaves yellowish-brown, Tyuyamunite leaves yellow; luster reads dull on Navajoite and pearly on Tyuyamunite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Navajoite leaves yellowish-brown, Carnotite leaves yellow.
Often found alongside navajoite
Minerals reported to co-occur with navajoite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- V⁹⁺₅O₁₂·3H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 1.5
- Density
- 2.5 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Yellowish-brown
- Luster
- Dull
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Fibrous, Crusts, Coatings
- Cleavage
- Perfect
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- Sandstone
- Typical price
- $20-150 for small specimens
Where rockhounds find navajoite
Classic worldwide localities
- Monument No. 2 mine, Arizona, USA
- Uravan mineral belt, Colorado, USA
Field-hunting tip
Look in sandstone country — that is the host setting where navajoite typically forms. If you start seeing gypsum, barite, vanadinite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a fibrous, crusts, coatings habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find navajoite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
