Szaibélyite is a secondary borate mineral typically forming as dense, fibrous white or grayish masses or radiating acicular aggregates. It is frequently found in evaporite sedimentary deposits where it replaces other primary borate minerals during alteration processes.
Is this szaibélyite?
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 szaibélyite with a known reference. Szaibélyite sits at Mohs 3-3.5, 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: silky to dull.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: white, yellow.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: earthy, fibrous, nodular.
Often confused with
Szaibélyite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside szaibélyite
Minerals reported to co-occur with szaibélyite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Mg₂B₂O₅·H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 3-3.5
- Density
- 2.62 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Silky to dull
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Earthy, fibrous, nodular
- Cleavage
- None
- Fluorescence
- Tan under SW UV; weak yellow-white tan under LW UV
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Uses
- Collector, Scientific research
- Host rock
- Uncommon in marine evaporite deposits; in boron-bearing contact metasomatized dolomitic marbles and skarns, and metamorphosed banded iron formation
Where rockhounds find szaibélyite
1 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Bolinas Bay, Marin Co., California, USA
- Blind Mountain, west of Pinoche, Lincoln Co., and east of the Ludwig gypsum mine, Lyon Co., Nevada, USA
- Stassfurt salt district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
- Pöhla, Erzgebirge, and at Vienenburg, north of Bad Harzburg, Germany
- Broadford, Isle of Skye, Inverness-shire, Scotland
- Brosso mine, northwest of Ivrea, Torino, Italy
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: Uncommon in marine evaporite deposits; in boron-bearing contact metasomatized dolomitic marbles and skarns, and metamorphosed banded iron formation. If you start seeing ludwigite, hulsite, magnetite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: earthy, fibrous, nodular. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Utah. Start trip planning there.
More szaibélyite photos
Common questions
How do you identify szaibélyite?+
Where is szaibélyite found?+
Can I find szaibélyite in the United States?+
What rocks look like szaibélyite?+
What minerals are found with szaibélyite?+
What kind of rock does szaibélyite form in?+
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Find szaibélyite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
