Pandoraite-Ba is a very rare vanadate mineral that typically forms as delicate, thin platy crystals or thin crusts. It is named after the Pandora mine in Colorado, its type locality, where it occurs in oxidized zones of vanadium-bearing deposits.
Is this pandoraite-ba?
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 pandoraite-ba with a known reference. Pandoraite-Ba 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: light greenish blue.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: vitreous.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: dark blue.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: platy crystals, crusts.
Often confused with
Pandoraite-Ba vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Pandoraite-Ba leaves light greenish blue, Vanadinite leaves white to pale red or pale yellow; luster reads vitreous on Pandoraite-Ba and subresinous to subadamantine on Vanadinite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Pandoraite-Ba leaves light greenish blue, Carnotite leaves strontian-yellow; luster reads vitreous on Pandoraite-Ba and dull, earthy; silky when crystalline on Carnotite.
Often found alongside pandoraite-ba
Minerals reported to co-occur with pandoraite-ba. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- BaV₅V₂O₁₆(H₂O)₃
- Mohs hardness
- ~2.5
- Density
- 3.24 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Light greenish blue
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Platy crystals, crusts
- Cleavage
- Perfect on {001}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- Deposited from solutions rich in U and V where they encountered pockets of strongly reducing solutions developed around accumulations of carbonaceous plant material
Where rockhounds find pandoraite-ba
Classic worldwide localities
- Pandora mine, La Sal district (Paradox Valley district), San Juan County, Colorado, USA
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: Deposited from solutions rich in U and V where they encountered pockets of strongly reducing solutions developed around accumulations of carbonaceous plant material. If you start seeing carnotite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: platy crystals, crusts. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify pandoraite-ba?+
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What rocks look like pandoraite-ba?+
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Find pandoraite-ba on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
