Schneiderhöhnite is an extremely rare iron arsenic oxide mineral known primarily from the Tsumeb mine in Namibia. Collectors typically look for its dark, tabular, adamantine crystals occurring alongside other rare arsenate minerals.
Is this schneiderhöhnite?
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 schneiderhöhnite with a known reference. Schneiderhöhnite sits at Mohs ~3, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: coffee-brown.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: metallic to adamantine.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: brown, black.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: triclinic. Typical habit: platy.
Often confused with
Schneiderhöhnite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Schneiderhöhnite is noticeably harder (Mohs ~3 vs. 1.5-2); streak differs, so Schneiderhöhnite leaves coffee-brown, Ludlockite leaves pale brown; luster reads metallic to adamantine on Schneiderhöhnite and subadamantine on Ludlockite.
How to tell apart: Goethite is the harder of the two (Mohs 5-5.5 vs. ~3); streak differs, so Schneiderhöhnite leaves coffee-brown, Goethite leaves brownish yellow, yellow-orange, ocher-yellow; luster reads metallic to adamantine on Schneiderhöhnite and imperfect adamantine metallic to dull earthy; silky when fibrous on Goethite.
Often found alongside schneiderhöhnite
Minerals reported to co-occur with schneiderhöhnite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Fe²⁺Fe³⁺₃As₅O₁₃
- Mohs hardness
- ~3
- Density
- 4.3 g/cm³
- Streak
- Coffee-brown
- Luster
- Metallic to adamantine
- Transparency
- Opaque, transparent in thin flakes
- Crystal system
- Triclinic
- Crystal habit
- Platy
- Cleavage
- {100}, perfect; two others observed
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- A rare secondary mineral in an oxidation zone in a dolostone-hosted hydrothermal polymetallic ore deposit (Tsumeb, Namibia)
Where rockhounds find schneiderhöhnite
Classic worldwide localities
- Tip Top mine, 8.5 km southwest of Custer, Custer Co., South Dakota, USA
- Tsumeb, Namibia
- Bou Azzer, Morocco
- Córrego do Urucum pegmatite, near Galiléia, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Veta Negra mine, Pampa Larga district, Tierra Amarilla, southeast of Copiapó, Chile
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: A rare secondary mineral in an oxidation zone in a dolostone-hosted hydrothermal polymetallic ore deposit (Tsumeb, Namibia). If you start seeing zincian stottite, chalcocite, tennantite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: platy. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify schneiderhöhnite?+
Where is schneiderhöhnite found?+
Is schneiderhöhnite safe to handle?+
What rocks look like schneiderhöhnite?+
What minerals are found with schneiderhöhnite?+
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Find schneiderhöhnite on the map
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