Wodginite is a rare oxide mineral primarily found in complex rare-element granitic pegmatites. It is often visually indistinguishable from members of the columbite-tantalite group without X-ray diffraction or chemical analysis. Collectors typically look for its characteristic submetallic luster and dark, often tabular crystal forms within albitized pegmatite zones.
Is this wodginite?
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 wodginite with a known reference. Wodginite sits at Mohs 5.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: brown.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: submetallic.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: dark brown, reddish brown, black, black brown.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: massive, prismatic, pyramidal.
Often confused with
Wodginite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside wodginite
Minerals reported to co-occur with wodginite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Mn⁴⁺SnTa₂O₈
- Mohs hardness
- 5.5
- Density
- 7.19-7.36 g/cm³
- Streak
- Brown
- Luster
- Submetallic
- Transparency
- Opaque, translucent in thin fragments
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Massive, prismatic, pyramidal
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector, Ore of tantalum
- Host rock
- In a complex zoned pegmatite in amphibolite (Tanco pegmatite, Canada)
Where rockhounds find wodginite
Classic worldwide localities
- Strickland quarry, Portland, Middlesex Co., Connecticut, USA
- Herbb #2 pegmatite, six km northeast of Flat Rock, Powhatan Co., Virginia, USA
- McAllister mine, Rockford, Coosa Co., Alabama, USA
- Peerless mine, near Keystone, Pennington Co., South Dakota, USA
- Wodgina, Marble Bar, and Greenbushes, Western Australia
- Tanco pegmatite, Bernic Lake, in Manitoba, Canada
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In a complex zoned pegmatite in amphibolite (Tanco pegmatite, Canada). If you start seeing tantalite, albite, quartz in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: massive, prismatic, pyramidal. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify wodginite?+
Where is wodginite found?+
What rocks look like wodginite?+
What minerals are found with wodginite?+
What kind of rock does wodginite form in?+
What is wodginite used for?+
Find wodginite on the map
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