Wulfenite is highly prized by collectors for its brilliant orange to red, square, tabular crystals. It is typically found in the oxidized zones of lead-bearing ore deposits and often exhibits a characteristic resinous to adamantine luster.
Is this wulfenite?
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 wulfenite with a known reference. Wulfenite sits at Mohs 3 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Wulfenite leaves a white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Wulfenite typically shows a resinous luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: orange, yellow, red, brown, colorless.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: tetragonal. Typical habit: tabular crystals, pyramidal, massive.
Often confused with
Wulfenite vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Wulfenite leaves white, Crocoite leaves orange-yellow; luster reads resinous on Wulfenite and adamantine on Crocoite.
How to tell apart: Luster reads resinous on Wulfenite and adamantine on Mimetite.
Often found alongside wulfenite
Minerals reported to co-occur with wulfenite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- PbMoO₄
- Mohs hardness
- 3
- Density
- 6.5-7.0 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Resinous
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Tetragonal
- Crystal habit
- Tabular Crystals, Pyramidal, Massive
- Cleavage
- Distinct On {011}
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Uses
- Collector, Ornamental
- Host rock
- Oxidized Lead-zinc Hydrothermal Deposits
- Typical price
- $10-50 small specimens, $100-1000+ for high-quality cabinet pieces
Where rockhounds find wulfenite
7 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Red Cloud Mine, Arizona, USA
- Mežica, Slovenia
- Ojuela Mine, Mexico
- Tsumeb, Namibia
- Touissit, Morocco
Field-hunting tip
Look in oxidized lead-zinc hydrothermal deposits country — that is the host setting where wulfenite typically forms. If you start seeing galena, cerussite, vanadinite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a tabular crystals, pyramidal, massive habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Utah, Maine, Massachusetts — start trip planning there.
Common questions
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Find wulfenite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
