Shattuckite is a beautiful secondary copper mineral known for its vibrant blue color, often forming crusts or radial botryoidal clusters. It is frequently associated with other copper minerals like malachite and chrysocolla, making it highly prized by lapidary artists for its striking patterns when polished.
Is this shattuckite?
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 shattuckite with a known reference. Shattuckite sits at Mohs ~3.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: pale blue.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: silky.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: blue, greenish-blue, dark blue, green.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: orthorhombic. Typical habit: fibrous, granular.
Often confused with
Shattuckite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Shattuckite leaves pale blue, Chrysocolla leaves white when pure; luster reads silky on Shattuckite and vitreous, porcelaneous, earthy on Chrysocolla.
How to tell apart: Luster reads silky on Shattuckite and vitreous to subadamantine on Azurite.
How to tell apart: Plancheite is the harder of the two (Mohs 6 vs. ~3.5); streak differs, so Shattuckite leaves pale blue, Plancheite leaves light blue; luster reads silky on Shattuckite and satiny on Plancheite.
Often found alongside shattuckite
Minerals reported to co-occur with shattuckite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Cu₅(SiO₃)₄(OH)₂
- Mohs hardness
- ~3.5
- Density
- 4.11 g/cm³
- Streak
- Pale blue
- Luster
- Silky
- Transparency
- Semitransparent
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Crystal habit
- Fibrous, granular
- Cleavage
- {010} and {100}, perfect
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Uses
- Collector, Lapidary, Ornamental
- Host rock
- A secondary mineral in oxidized copper deposits
Where rockhounds find shattuckite
Classic worldwide localities
- Santa Fe district, Mineral Co., Nevada, USA
- Buckhorn mine, Red Cloud district, Lincoln Co., New Mexico, USA
- Munihuaza, near Alamos, Sonora, Mexico
- Tsumeb, Namibia
- Tantara and M'Sesa, near Kambove, Katanga Province, Congo (Shaba Province, Zaire)
- Mili, Evvia Island, and Apikia, Andros Island, Cyclades Islands, Greece
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: A secondary mineral in oxidized copper deposits. If you start seeing chrysocolla, ajoite, malachite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: fibrous, granular. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find shattuckite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
