Crocoite

Crocoite (pronounced Kro-ko-ite) is a very rare but very spectacular mineral that was first found in Russia. Crocoite is sought after by mineral collectors for its pronounced orange-red color. The crystals are thin, needle-like formations arranged in random, jackstraw fashion.

Crocoite is a rare lead chromate mineral that appears to form under the unusual condition of chromium-bearing solutions altering lead deposits. Small examples have been reported from the Mammoth Mine, Tiger, Arizona, and in California at the Darwin Mine, Inyo Co., and the Eldorado Mine, Indio, Riverside Co., finds have also been reported from Brazil and the Philippines. The very best specimens come from the Dundas District of Tasmania, Australia.

Crocoite is among the most showy and colorful of mineral species. The supply of truly elongated and sturdy Tasmanian specimens seems to have been exhausted many years ago; specimens from a recent reopening are much smaller and rather fragile. A Russian source, the first find, had stockier and sounder crystals on a black matrix with green vauquelinite, the specimens from Australia tend to be a matrix of a reasonably solid mixture of Crocoite, goethite and gibbsite.