Laurelite is a very rare lead fluoride chloride mineral found primarily in the Mendip Hills of England. It is typically identified as small, colorless cubic crystals that form within secondary mineral assemblages in limestone-hosted lead mines.
Is this laurelite?
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 laurelite with a known reference. Laurelite sits at Mohs 2, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: white.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: silky, subadamantine on broken surfaces.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: colorless.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: hexagonal. Typical habit: acicular, aggregates, prismatic.
Often confused with
Laurelite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Laurelite leaves white, Chloroxiphite leaves pale yellowish green; luster reads silky, subadamantine on broken surfaces on Laurelite and resinous to adamantine on Chloroxiphite.
How to tell apart: Hydrocerussite is the harder of the two (Mohs 3.5 vs. 2); luster reads silky, subadamantine on broken surfaces on Laurelite and adamantine, pearly on {0001} on Hydrocerussite.
Often found alongside laurelite
Minerals reported to co-occur with laurelite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Pb₇F₁₂Cl₂
- Mohs hardness
- 2
- Density
- 7.65 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Silky, subadamantine on broken surfaces
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Hexagonal
- Crystal habit
- Acicular, aggregates, prismatic
- Cleavage
- {0001}, imperfect
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In a vug isolated from acidic sulfate-rich solutions in the oxidized zone of a low-temperature Pb–Cu–Ag deposit
Where rockhounds find laurelite
Classic worldwide localities
- Grand Reef mine, about six km northeast of Klondyke, Aravaipa district, Graham Co., Arizona, USA
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In a vug isolated from acidic sulfate-rich solutions in the oxidized zone of a low-temperature Pb–Cu–Ag deposit. If you start seeing grandreefite, pseudograndreefite, aravaipaite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: acicular, aggregates, prismatic. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find laurelite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
