Vanadinite on Barite, Locality:
Morocco
Barrel shaped (hexagonal prisms terminated with pinacoids) crystals of
Vanadinite from the Apache Mine, AZ.
Vanadinite from SW Africa.
Specimen measures about 3.5" from top to bottom. (MM 299)
CHEMISTRY Pb5(VO4)3Cl Lead vanadinate
CRYSTALLOGRAPHY Hexagonal
CRYSTAL GROWTH AND HABITS Vanadinite forms well developed hexagonal prisms that are terminated in flat (pinacoidal) faces.
COLOR AND OTHER OPTICAL PROPERTIES Vanadinite is red, orange, deep red, brownish to yellow. It is translucent.
HARDNESS 2.5 - 3
SPECIFIC GRAVITY 6.7 - 7.1
LUSTER Sub resinous to sub adamantine
STREAK White to light red or yellow
BREAKABILITY Vanadinite has an uneven to conchoidal fracture.
OCCURRENCE Vanadinite is a secondary mineral that forms in the oxidized zone of lead deposits.
ASSOCIATED MINERALS Mimetite, pyromorphite, descloizite, mottramite, wulfenite, cerussite, anglesite, calcite
NAME in reference to it vanadium composition