How can you identify Gibbsite?

Compare several properties rather than relying on colour alone. This entry records colour: White, grayish, greenish; lustre: Vitreous to pearly; streak: White; Mohs hardness: 2.5-3; cleavage: Perfect basal; crystal system: Monoclinic; transparency: Translucent. Confirm an important identification with additional field tests or qualified laboratory work.

What is Gibbsite commonly confused with?

Gibbsite may be confused with Brucite, Kaolinite, Boehmite. Compare multiple diagnostic properties because colour and surface appearance can overlap.

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Gibbsite identification and geology

Aluminum hydroxide and one of the three main minerals in bauxite, the primary ore of aluminum. Color: White, grayish, greenish. Luster: Vitreous to pearly. Streak: White. Cleavage: Perfect basal. Hardness: 2.5-3. Transparency: Translucent. Crystal system: Monoclinic. Chemical formula: Al OH ₃. Specific gravity: 2.34. Formation: Forms from intensive tropical weathering lateritization of aluminum-bearing rocks. Common geological settings: Australia, Guinea, Brazil, Jamaica; major component of bauxite deposits. Common look-alikes and related entries: Brucite, Kaolinite, Boehmite.

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Brucite
Kaolinite

Sources, scope & corrections

These authoritative resources support category-level nomenclature, terminology, identification methods, and safety. When a specimen-specific safety warning appears, the public-health source listed here directly supports that precaution. They are not line-by-line citations for every other property on this entry, and natural specimens vary.

Editorial owner: GeoMiner
Last updated: 2026-03-30T14:37:12.741261+00:00
Review status: Published; not independently peer-reviewed

IMA–CNMNC List of Mineral Names — International Mineralogical Association. Official mineral-name, nomenclature, and classification records.
Mineral ID Key — Mineralogical Society of America. Physical-property identification methods, repeat-testing guidance, and limitations.

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Common questions

What is Gibbsite?: Aluminum hydroxide and one of the three main minerals in bauxite, the primary ore of aluminum.
How can you identify Gibbsite?: Compare several properties rather than relying on colour alone. This entry records colour: White, grayish, greenish; lustre: Vitreous to pearly; streak: White; Mohs hardness: 2.5-3; cleavage: Perfect basal; crystal system: Monoclinic; transparency: Translucent. Confirm an important identification with additional field tests or qualified laboratory work.
How does Gibbsite form?: Forms from intensive tropical weathering lateritization of aluminum-bearing rocks.
Where is Gibbsite commonly found?: Australia, Guinea, Brazil, Jamaica; major component of bauxite deposits.
What is Gibbsite commonly confused with?: Gibbsite may be confused with Brucite, Kaolinite, Boehmite. Compare multiple diagnostic properties because colour and surface appearance can overlap.

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Gibbsite identification and geology

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Sources, scope & corrections

Common questions