Rutile is most recognized by collectors as slender, needle-like inclusions within clear Quartz, often called 'rutilated quartz'. It forms distinctive tetragonal crystals that can appear in reticulated or 'sagenite' clusters and is a major ore of titanium.
Is this rutile?
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 rutile with a known reference. Rutile sits at Mohs 6-6.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: pale brown, yellowish brown; gray, greenish black with high Nb–Ta.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: adamantine to submetallic.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: reddish-brown, red, black, yellowish, blood red, bluish, brownish yellow, brown red, violet.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: tetragonal. Typical habit: acicular, massive, prismatic.
Often confused with
Rutile vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Rutile leaves pale brown, yellowish brown; gray, greenish black with high nb–ta, Brookite leaves white to grayish white or yellowish white; luster reads adamantine to submetallic on Rutile and metallic adamantine to submetallic on Brookite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Rutile leaves pale brown, yellowish brown; gray, greenish black with high nb–ta, Anatase leaves white to pale yellow.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Rutile leaves pale brown, yellowish brown; gray, greenish black with high nb–ta, Tourmaline leaves white; luster reads adamantine to submetallic on Rutile and vitreous on Tourmaline.
Often found alongside rutile
Minerals reported to co-occur with rutile. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- TiO₂
- Mohs hardness
- 6-6.5
- Density
- 4.23 g/cm³
- Streak
- Pale brown, yellowish brown; gray, greenish black with high Nb–Ta
- Luster
- Adamantine to submetallic
- Transparency
- Opaque, transparent in thin fragments
- Crystal system
- Tetragonal
- Crystal habit
- Acicular, massive, prismatic
- Cleavage
- {110}, good; {100}, moderate; {111}, in traces
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Industrial, Collector, Gemstone, Lapidary
- Host rock
- A common high-temperature, high-pressure accessory mineral in igneous rocks, anorthosite, and granite pegmatite; in hydrothermally-altered rocks; in gneiss, schist, contact metamorphosed limestone; in clays, shales
Where rockhounds find rutile
41 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Magnet Cove, Hot Spring Co., Arkansas, USA
- Graves Mountain, Washington, Lincoln Co., Georgia, USA
- Stony Point, Alexander Co., North Carolina, USA
- Parkesburg, Chester Co., Pennsylvania, USA
- Cavradi, Tavetsch, Graübunden, and Lodrino, Tessin, Switzerland
- Pfitschtal, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy
U.S. states with rutile
Each link opens a state-specific list of mapped rockhounding spots that produce rutile.
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: A common high-temperature, high-pressure accessory mineral in igneous rocks, anorthosite, and granite pegmatite; in hydrothermally-altered rocks; in gneiss, schist, contact metamorphosed limestone; in clays, shales. If you start seeing anatase, brookite, hematite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: acicular, massive, prismatic. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in North Carolina, Virginia, Utah. Start trip planning there.
More rutile photos
Common questions
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Find rutile on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
