White fluorite is prized by collectors for its sharp cubic crystal habit and high-clarity specimens often associated with colorful metallic sulfides. It is easily distinguished from quartz by its lower hardness and distinct octahedral cleavage planes.
Is this white fluorite?
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 white fluorite with a known reference. White Fluorite sits at Mohs 4 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. White Fluorite leaves a white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. White Fluorite typically shows a vitreous luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: white, colorless.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: cubic. Typical habit: cubic crystals, octahedral, massive.
Often confused with
White Fluorite vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside white fluorite
Minerals reported to co-occur with white fluorite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- CaF₂
- Mohs hardness
- 4
- Density
- 3.0-3.3 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Cubic
- Crystal habit
- Cubic Crystals, Octahedral, Massive
- Cleavage
- Perfect Octahedral
- Fluorescence
- Often Fluorescent Blue or White Under UV
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Collector, Ornamental
- Host rock
- Hydrothermal Veins, Limestone Cavities
- Typical price
- $5-50 thumbnail, $50-300 cabinet specimen
Where rockhounds find white fluorite
1 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Cave-in-Rock, Illinois, USA
- Denton Mine, Illinois, USA
- Rogerley Mine, UK
- Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Hunan Province, China
Field-hunting tip
Look in hydrothermal veins, limestone cavities country — that is the host setting where white fluorite typically forms. If you start seeing calcite, quartz, barite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a cubic crystals, octahedral, massive habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Montana — start trip planning there.
Common questions
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Find white fluorite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
