Serandite is a striking manganese-rich silicate primarily known for its beautiful salmon-pink to reddish-orange elongated crystals. It is most famous among collectors for the large, high-quality specimens recovered from the alkaline complexes at Mont Saint-Hilaire. It is typically found in pegmatitic pockets and miarolitic cavities associated with nepheline syenites.
Is this serandite?
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 serandite with a known reference. Serandite sits at Mohs 5-5.5, 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: vitreous to greasy; fibrous aggregates are dull to silky.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: light brown, light pink, orange red.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: triclinic. Typical habit: prismatic.
Often confused with
Serandite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside serandite
Minerals reported to co-occur with serandite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Na(Mn²⁺)₂Si₃O₈(OH)
- Mohs hardness
- 5-5.5
- Density
- 3.34 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous to greasy; fibrous aggregates are dull to silky
- Transparency
- Transparent to translucent
- Crystal system
- Triclinic
- Crystal habit
- Prismatic
- Cleavage
- Perfect on {001}, {100}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In sodalite xenoliths and pegmatites cutting syenites and nepheline syenites in an intrusive alkalic gabbro-syenite complex (Mont Saint-Hilaire, Canada); in vugs in phonolite (Point of Rocks, New Mexico, USA)
Where rockhounds find serandite
Classic worldwide localities
- Point of Rocks, Colfax Co., New Mexico, USA
- Gem mine, San Benito Co., California, USA
- Granite Mountain, near Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansas, USA
- Rouma Isle, Los Islands, Guinea
- Mont Saint-Hilaire, and from near Saint-Amable, Quebec, Canada
- Tanohata mine, Iwate Prefecture, Japan
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In sodalite xenoliths and pegmatites cutting syenites and nepheline syenites in an intrusive alkalic gabbro-syenite complex (Mont Saint-Hilaire, Canada); in vugs in phonolite (Point of Rocks, New Mexico, USA). If you start seeing sodalite, nepheline, aegirine in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: prismatic. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify serandite?+
Where is serandite found?+
What rocks look like serandite?+
What minerals are found with serandite?+
What kind of rock does serandite form in?+
What is serandite used for?+
Find serandite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
