Veenite is a rare lead-antimony sulfosalt that typically occurs in metallic gray, striated tabular crystals. It is primarily found in hydrothermal veins and complex metamorphic deposits, often requiring microscopic verification for positive identification.
Is this veenite?
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 veenite with a known reference. Veenite sits at Mohs 3.5-4, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: black, faint brownish tinge against white background.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: metallic.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: steel gray.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: orthorhombic. Typical habit: prismatic.
Often confused with
Veenite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Veenite is noticeably harder (Mohs 3.5-4 vs. 2.5); streak differs, so Veenite leaves black, faint brownish tinge against white background, Jamesonite leaves black. grayish.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Veenite leaves black, faint brownish tinge against white background, Boulangerite leaves brownish.
How to tell apart: Veenite is noticeably harder (Mohs 3.5-4 vs. 2.5-2.75); streak differs, so Veenite leaves black, faint brownish tinge against white background, Galena leaves lead-gray.
Often found alongside veenite
Minerals reported to co-occur with veenite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Pb₂(Sb,As)₂S₅
- Mohs hardness
- 3.5-4
- Density
- 5.92 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Black, faint brownish tinge against white background
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Crystal habit
- Prismatic
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- As small masses, stringers, and disseminated grains in marbles developed in a sequence of Precambrian metasediments near a contact with plutonic granitic gneiss (Madoc, Canada)
Where rockhounds find veenite
Classic worldwide localities
- Madoc (type locality) and in the Mattabi mine, 60 km north of Ignace, Ontario, Canada
- Huachocolpa, Huancavelica, Peru
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: As small masses, stringers, and disseminated grains in marbles developed in a sequence of Precambrian metasediments near a contact with plutonic granitic gneiss (Madoc, Canada). If you start seeing gratonite, calcite, boulangerite 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 veenite?+
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What rocks look like veenite?+
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Find veenite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
