Rabbittite is a rare, water-soluble uranyl carbonate mineral that typically forms delicate, needle-like crusts or sprays. It is known primarily from arid uranium-rich mine environments in Utah, where it precipitates as a secondary efflorescence on rock walls.
Is this rabbittite?
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 rabbittite with a known reference. Rabbittite 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: silky.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: pale green, greenish yellow.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: acicular, efflorescences, fibrous.
Often confused with
Rabbittite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Rabbittite leaves white, Liebigite leaves yellow white; luster reads silky on Rabbittite and vitreous to pearly on cleavages on Liebigite.
How to tell apart: Luster reads silky on Rabbittite and vitreous, dulling with dehydration on Bayleyite.
Often found alongside rabbittite
Minerals reported to co-occur with rabbittite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Ca₃Mg₃(UO₂)₂(CO₃)₆(OH)₄·18H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 2.5
- Density
- 2.57 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Silky
- Transparency
- Semitransparent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Acicular, efflorescences, fibrous
- Cleavage
- {001}, probable, and two prismatic
- Fluorescence
- Cream yellow under SW UV
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- A rare secondary mineral, which may be of post-mine origin
Where rockhounds find rabbittite
Classic worldwide localities
- Lucky Strike No. 2 mine, Emery Co., Utah, USA
- Jáchymov (Joachimsthal), Czech Republic
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: A rare secondary mineral, which may be of post-mine origin. If you start seeing sodium-zippeite, magnesium-zippeite, fourmarierite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: acicular, efflorescences, fibrous. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify rabbittite?+
Where is rabbittite found?+
Is rabbittite safe to handle?+
What rocks look like rabbittite?+
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Find rabbittite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
