Wolframite

An iron manganese tungstate and a major ore of tungsten — black, flat and very heavy.

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

How to identify wolframite

Black bladed crystals with one perfect, shiny cleavage.
Extremely heavy for its size.
Often with quartz and cassiterite.

Often confused with

Cassiterite
Cassiterite is harder with a pale streak.
Compare side by side
Hornblende
Hornblende is much lighter.
Compare side by side

Where it's found

Panasqueira, Portugal
Jiangxi, China
Bolivia
Cornwall, England

Uses

Tungsten for drill bits, filaments and alloys.

Rock tumbling

Not suitable for tumbling.

Did you know?

Tungsten's symbol W comes from 'wolfram' — miners said it 'ate tin like a wolf' during smelting.

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