About Vanadinite

Posted on 14 June 2021
Posted in vanadinite
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About Vanadinite

Vanadinite specimen

Named for Vana dis, old Norse for Freyja, the Nordic Goddess of fertility, wealth, and feminine magic, vanadinite is a must-have mineral for every collector. It has lustrous, fiery orange to red, six-sided crystals that cluster together in intriguing formations. Commonly found in combination with barite, limonite, wulfenite and galena, vanadinite forms in arid regions like Arizona and New Mexico in the United States, Mexico, and Morocco.

Vanadinite is an ore of vanadium, an element that has many industrial applications, and of lead. Most vanadium is used to make ferrovanadium and vanadium pentoxide. Ferrovanadium is a strong, shock- and corrosion-resistant alloy of iron that's added to steel to increase its strength and to prevent rust. Vanadium pentoxide is a compound that's used to fix dye to fabric, to speed up chemical reactions, and to form superconductive magnets when combined with gallium.

Metaphysically, vanadinite is believed to promote patience, inner clarity, and the conservation of energy and wealth. It can also help you to define goals and bring order to your life.

Mineralogical Properties:

Vanadinite: Pb5(VO4)3Cl, lead chlorovanadate
Color: Usually bright red to orange; less commonly gray, brown, or yellow.
Habit: Typically a hexagonal prism with pinacoid termination (flat basal face); rare crystals have a hexagonal pyramid termination; also found as rounded masses and crusts.
Mohs scale hardness: 3
Luster: Vitreous to adamantine
Transparency: Crystals are transparent to translucent.
Cleavage: None
Fracture: Conchoidal
Specific gravity: 6.6+ (very heavy for translucent minerals)
Streak: Yellowish-white
Other: Index of refraction is 2.39 (typically high for lead minerals); specimens from some localities may darken and lose transparency upon prolonged exposure to light.

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