Tetrawickmanite is a rare manganese tin hydroxide that typically occurs as small, glassy, yellow-to-orange pseudo-octahedral crystals. It is best identified through its specific occurrence in manganese mines and its distinct tetragonal crystal habit compared to the cubic wickmanite.
Is this tetrawickmanite?
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 tetrawickmanite with a known reference. Tetrawickmanite sits at Mohs 3.5-4.5, 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.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: brown orange, honey yellow.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: tetragonal. Typical habit: pseudo cubic.
Often confused with
Tetrawickmanite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Luster reads vitreous on Tetrawickmanite and resinous on Wickmanite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Tetrawickmanite leaves white, Stottite leaves grayish white; luster reads vitreous on Tetrawickmanite and resinous to adamantine, greasy on cleavages on Stottite.
Often found alongside tetrawickmanite
Minerals reported to co-occur with tetrawickmanite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- MnSn(OH)₆
- Mohs hardness
- 3.5-4.5
- Density
- 3.65 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent to translucent
- Crystal system
- Tetragonal
- Crystal habit
- Pseudo cubic
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- As a very rare late-formed mineral in fractures in lithium-rich pegmatite (Foote mine, North Carolina, USA); on a museum specimen from a metamorphosed Fe-Mn orebody (Langban, Sweden)
Where rockhounds find tetrawickmanite
Classic worldwide localities
- Foote mine, Kings Mountain, Cleveland Co., North Carolina, USA
- Langban, Varmland, Sweden
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: As a very rare late-formed mineral in fractures in lithium-rich pegmatite (Foote mine, North Carolina, USA); on a museum specimen from a metamorphosed Fe-Mn orebody (Langban, Sweden). If you start seeing bavenite, eakerite, siderite-rhodochrosite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: pseudo cubic. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify tetrawickmanite?+
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What rocks look like tetrawickmanite?+
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Find tetrawickmanite on the map
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