Shabynite is a rare magnesium borate mineral typically found in metasomatic skarn deposits. It usually forms as small, delicate platy crystal aggregates or crusts that are often associated with other borate minerals and magnetite.
Is this shabynite?
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 shabynite with a known reference. Shabynite sits at Mohs 3, 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: pearly.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: snow white.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: platy crystals.
Often confused with
Shabynite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Luster reads pearly on Shabynite and silky, dull, earthy on Sussexite.
How to tell apart: Ludwigite is the harder of the two (Mohs 5-5.5 vs. 3); streak differs, so Shabynite leaves white, Ludwigite leaves black to greenish black; luster reads pearly on Shabynite and submetallic on Ludwigite.
Often found alongside shabynite
Minerals reported to co-occur with shabynite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Mg₅BO₃(OH)₅Cl₂·4H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 3
- Density
- 2.32 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Pearly
- Transparency
- Semitransparent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Platy crystals
- Cleavage
- Perfect on {001}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- As veinlets in a brecciated dolomitic marble in a skarn magnetite deposit
Where rockhounds find shabynite
Classic worldwide localities
- Korshunovskoye iron–boron skarn deposit, Irkutsk district, Siberia, Russia
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: As veinlets in a brecciated dolomitic marble in a skarn magnetite deposit. If you start seeing dolomite, korshunovskite, ekaterinite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: platy crystals. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find shabynite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
