Tinaksite is a rare potassium-sodium-calcium-titanium silicate mineral highly prized for its beautiful fibrous orange-to-brown crystals. It is most famously found in association with the purple mineral charoite in the Murun Massif of Russia. Collectors should look for its distinctive acicular habit, often creating striking, radiating sprays.
Is this tinaksite?
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 tinaksite with a known reference. Tinaksite sits at Mohs 6 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Tinaksite leaves a white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Tinaksite typically shows a vitreous to pearly luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: orange, yellow-orange, brown, pinkish-orange.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: triclinic. Typical habit: fibrous, acicular, or prismatic aggregates.
Often confused with
Tinaksite vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Luster reads vitreous to pearly on Tinaksite and pearly on Charoite.
How to tell apart: Tinaksite is noticeably harder (Mohs 6 vs. 4.5-5); luster reads vitreous to pearly on Tinaksite and vitreous to silky on Pectolite.
How to tell apart: Luster reads vitreous to pearly on Tinaksite and vitreous on Ekanite.
Often found alongside tinaksite
Minerals reported to co-occur with tinaksite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- KNa₂Ca₂TiSi₇O₁₉(OH)
- Mohs hardness
- 6
- Density
- 3.04 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous to Pearly
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Triclinic
- Crystal habit
- Fibrous, Acicular, Or Prismatic Aggregates
- Cleavage
- Perfect in One Direction
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector, Lapidary
- Host rock
- Alkaline Igneous Rocks
- Typical price
- $20-200 per specimen
Where rockhounds find tinaksite
Classic worldwide localities
- Murun Massif, Russia
- Yakutia, Russia
Field-hunting tip
Look in alkaline igneous rocks country — that is the host setting where tinaksite typically forms. If you start seeing charoite, aegirine, k-feldspar in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a fibrous, acicular, or prismatic aggregates habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find tinaksite on the map
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