Cacoxen or Cacoxenite is a phosphate that is yellow to brownish-yellow, reddish-orange, golden, dark orange or green. It is a secondary mineral found in oxidized areas of phosphate magnetite deposits, in phosphorus-enriched pegmatites, as well as more rarely in iron-rich sediments and soils. It often has an excessive abundance of aluminium as an impurity.
Cacoxenite’s name, given by the mineralogists of the XIX century, derives from the Greek and means «unwanted guest» or «bad alien». It alludes to the fact that the phosphorus content of Cacoxenite deposits spoils the quality of the iron it contains when extracting this metal in mining.
It was first described in 1825 by an occurrence at the Hrbek mine, Bohemia, Czech Republic.
Minerals that normally appear associated: Wavelite, Estrengite, Magnetite, Limonite, Duphrenite or Beraunite.
Reservoirs: England, Sweden, France, Germany, Holland and the United States.
Data Sheet
| Group | Phosphates |
| Lustre | Silky |
| Colour | Yellow to yellow-brownish, orange-reddish, gold, dark orange or green |
| Transparency | Translucent |
| Hardness | 3-4 |
| Rarity | Rare |
To see the piece that carries this stone, click here: Cacoxenita Ring
Learn more about the gems in our pieces, click here: Made by Me Stones
To get in touch with us and see our day to day and news, send us an email or visit our Soc. Netw.:
Web: Web Made by Me
E-mail: nerea@madebymejoyeria.com
Instagram: Instagram Made by Me
Facebook: Facebook Made by Me
Twitter: Twitter Made by Me
TikTok: TikTok Made by Me
Pinterest: Pinterest Made by Me
