Rakovanite is a rare hydrated sodium-vanadium polyoxometalate typically found as crusts or small tabular crystals in oxidation zones of vanadium-bearing sandstone deposits. Collectors should look for its distinctive deep red color within the clayey matrices of Colorado Plateau mines. Due to its solubility and sensitivity to hydration changes, it requires careful storage in a dry environment.
Is this rakovanite?
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 rakovanite with a known reference. Rakovanite sits at Mohs 1, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: orange-yellow.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: subadamantine.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: orange.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: tabular crystals, crusts.
Often confused with
Rakovanite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Pascoite is the harder of the two (Mohs ~2.5 vs. 1); streak differs, so Rakovanite leaves orange-yellow, Pascoite leaves cadmium-yellow; luster reads subadamantine on Rakovanite and vitreous to subadamantine on Pascoite.
How to tell apart: Hummerite is the harder of the two (Mohs 2 vs. 1); streak differs, so Rakovanite leaves orange-yellow, Hummerite leaves yellow; luster reads subadamantine on Rakovanite and pearly on Hummerite.
Often found alongside rakovanite
Minerals reported to co-occur with rakovanite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- (NH₄)₃Na₃[V₁₀O₂₈](H₂O)₁₂
- Mohs hardness
- 1
- Density
- 2.407 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Orange-yellow
- Luster
- Subadamantine
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Tabular crystals, crusts
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- A secondary mineral as crystalline crusts on sandstone fractures in mine walls in the oxidized zone of a montroseite-corvusite assemblage
Where rockhounds find rakovanite
Classic worldwide localities
- Sunday and West Sunday mines, Slick Rock district, San Miguel County, Colorado, USA
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: A secondary mineral as crystalline crusts on sandstone fractures in mine walls in the oxidized zone of a montroseite-corvusite assemblage. If you start seeing calcite, montroseite, corvusite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: tabular crystals, crusts. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find rakovanite on the map
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