Vanadinite

A lead vanadate forming bright red-orange hexagonal crystals, often on dark matrix.

Vanadinite specimen — Photo: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify vanadinite

Bright red to orange six-sided prisms.
Very heavy.
Pale yellow streak.

Often confused with

Mimetite
Mimetite is yellower and barrel-shaped.
Compare side by side
Crocoite
Crocoite forms long, slender prisms.
Compare side by side

Where it's found

Mibladen, Morocco
Apache mine, Arizona
New Mexico

Uses

Vanadium ore and collector specimens.

Rock tumbling

Not suitable for tumbling. Contains lead.

Did you know?

Moroccan vanadinite is one of the most common colorful specimens in rock shops.

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