Yangite is a rare lead-manganese silicate mineral primarily found in the Yangsuo Mine in China. It typically forms delicate, needle-like acicular crystals or radiating fibrous tufts that are visually distinctive for their pale blue or white coloration.
Is this yangite?
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 yangite with a known reference. Yangite sits at Mohs 4.5 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Yangite leaves a white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Yangite typically shows a vitreous luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: white, colorless, pale blue.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: orthorhombic. Typical habit: fibrous, acicular, radiating clusters.
Often confused with
Yangite vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside yangite
Minerals reported to co-occur with yangite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- PbMn₂Si₃O₈(OH)₂·H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 4.5
- Density
- 2.42 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Crystal habit
- Fibrous, Acicular, Radiating Clusters
- Cleavage
- Perfect
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- Hydrothermal Veins
- Typical price
- $50-300 per specimen
Where rockhounds find yangite
Classic worldwide localities
- Yangsuo Mine, Guangxi, China
Field-hunting tip
Look in hydrothermal veins country — that is the host setting where yangite typically forms. If you start seeing quartz, calcite, fluorite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a fibrous, acicular, radiating clusters habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find yangite on the map
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