Class : Sulfates, chromates, molybdates
    Subclass : Chromates
    Crystal system : Monoclinic
    Chemistry : Pb₂Cu(CrO₄)(PO₄)(OH)
    Rarity : Rare to uncommon

Vauquelinite is a rare complex chromate of lead and copper whose genesis is conditioned by an arid climate. It is a mineral that some authors classify as a phosphate, given the frequency of PO₄ groups in its crystal structure. Vauquelinite is a secondary mineral that associates with wulfenite, mimetite, sometimes dioptase, in the oxidation zones of lead, zinc and copper deposits. It was named in honor of Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, a French chemist who discovered the element chromium and was the first to take an interest in the mineral. Vauquelinite is dark green to dark brown-green, dark brown to black, sometimes yellowish. It usually occurs as kidney-shaped nodules, irregular granular to fibrous aggregates, rarely as beveled crystals not exceeding 5 mm.

Main photo : Vauquelinite from Katzenstein, Hesse, Germany © Volker Betz

Twinning is known on {102}.

No fakes listed for this mineral species.