How can you identify Ulexite?

Compare several properties rather than relying on colour alone. This entry records colour: White, colorless; lustre: Vitreous to silky; streak: White; Mohs hardness: 2.5; cleavage: Perfect in one direction; crystal system: Triclinic; transparency: Transparent to translucent. Confirm an important identification with additional field tests or qualified laboratory work.

What is Ulexite commonly confused with?

Ulexite may be confused with Borax, Gypsum, Calcite. Compare multiple diagnostic properties because colour and surface appearance can overlap.

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Ulexite identification and geology

Sodium calcium borate known as TV stone because polished specimens transmit images through fiber-optic-like crystal bundles. Color: White, colorless. Luster: Vitreous to silky. Streak: White. Cleavage: Perfect in one direction. Hardness: 2.5. Transparency: Transparent to translucent. Crystal system: Triclinic. Chemical formula: NaCaB₅O₉·8H₂O. Specific gravity: 1.96. Formation: Forms in evaporite deposits from arid alkaline lake environments, often associated with borax. Common geological settings: California USA , Turkey, Argentina, Chile; found in dried lake beds. Common look-alikes and related entries: Borax, Gypsum, Calcite.

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Borax
Gypsum
Calcite

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: 2026-03-30T14:37:10.494469+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 Ulexite?: Sodium calcium borate known as TV stone because polished specimens transmit images through fiber-optic-like crystal bundles.
How can you identify Ulexite?: Compare several properties rather than relying on colour alone. This entry records colour: White, colorless; lustre: Vitreous to silky; streak: White; Mohs hardness: 2.5; cleavage: Perfect in one direction; crystal system: Triclinic; transparency: Transparent to translucent. Confirm an important identification with additional field tests or qualified laboratory work.
How does Ulexite form?: Forms in evaporite deposits from arid alkaline lake environments, often associated with borax.
Where is Ulexite commonly found?: California USA , Turkey, Argentina, Chile; found in dried lake beds.
What is Ulexite commonly confused with?: Ulexite may be confused with Borax, Gypsum, Calcite. Compare multiple diagnostic properties because colour and surface appearance can overlap.

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Ulexite identification and geology

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Sources, scope & corrections

Common questions