Mookaite

Mookaite is a natural rock from Western Australia, named after Mooka Station, where it was found. Mindat describes it as an unofficial, locally coined name for a silicified porcelanite, best defined as a silicified radiolarite whose silica is opaline to chalcedonic. In the gem trade it is usually sold as a jasper; Mindat notes that labels such as chert, opalite or chalcedony are not correct.

Products made with this material

No products for this material yet.

Full material guide
Material facts

What the material is, where it comes from or how it is made, identification and care, from the cited sources.

Properties

Nature Natural sedimentary rock (silicified radiolarite)
Composition Dominantly massive ultrafine silica (opaline to chalcedonic), colored by iron oxide/hydroxide granules
Color Varicolored white, cream, brown, grey, yellow, orange-red, purple-red and mauve
Mohs hardness 6 to 7
Luster Vitreous with patches of matte appearance
Transparency Translucent to opaque

Origins & sources

Mookaite forms in the weathering profile of the Windalia Radiolarite, a Lower Cretaceous sedimentary unit that outcrops over much of the Carnarvon Basin in Western Australia. Its type area is Mooka Station in Carnarvon Shire; the International Gem Society states that all mookaite comes from Australia.

Identification

Mookaite shows mottled white, cream, yellow, brown and red to purple-red colors caused by iron oxide/hydroxide granules, with a vitreous luster broken by matte patches and a hardness of 6 to 7. The name is a locality trade name: material sold as mookaite should come from the Western Australian deposit, and the Mindat entry lists Mookite as a synonym.

Care

Not collected yet

History & culture

History

Not collected yet

Cultural meanings

Not collected yet

Traditional beliefs

Not collected yet

Sources

Collected Oct 23, 2026

  • Mookaite Mindat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy) · Accessed Oct 23, 2026
    OverviewPropertiesOrigins & sourcesIdentification
  • Jasper Value, Price, and Jewelry Information International Gem Society · Accessed Oct 23, 2026
    OverviewOrigins & sources
  • GemRocks: Jasper R. V. Dietrich, Central Michigan University (GemRocks) · Accessed Oct 23, 2026
    Overview