Inderite Gemstone: Properties, Meanings, Value & More

Inderite is a soft, lesser-known mineral also called “lesserite.” This commonly white or colorless stone is mostly known among collectors or for its industrial applications as a mineral in the borate family.

Is inderite rare? Yes and no. It’s only relatively rare as a mineral, with various sources. But faceted inderite gemstones are very rare.

Here at Gem Rock Auctions, we believe no stone should be overlooked. That’s why today, we’re utilizing our years of experience and expertise to break down the history, properties, uses, and prices of inderite.

Pictured above: Inderite (white from exposure) and ulexite crystals from US Borax Mine in California, USA, above inch and centimeter scale; R. Currier collection | Image credit: Rock Currier, CC-BY-SA-3.0

About Inderite Stone

Inderite is a rare semi-precious gemstone related to kurnakovite. Usually, inderite crystals are colorless or white, but massive material may be pink.

The only other moniker for inderite is “lesserite” (sometimes spelled “loesserite”), though this name is technically discredited.

Astrologically, inderite is particularly beneficial to those born under Gemini, Virgo, and Pisces.

Inderite Uses

Though rare, inderite may be used industrially because it is a borate mineral. Common borate mineral uses include:

• Fertilizers

• Insecticides

• Disinfectants

• Ceramic & glass coatings (color-intensifying, glass-forming, and melting temperature-lowering flux)

• Detergents (whitening, water-softening, stain-removing)

• Iron metallurgy

The specific industrial value of inderite also comes from it being a hydrated magnesium borate, one of 13 main types used for industrial purposes. These borates have great thermal strength, stability, and mechanical strength, among other properties. As such, they’re used as:

• Lubricants

• Adsorbents (often used to remove contaminants from liquids or gases)

• Catalysts

• Anti-corrosion & heat-resistance agents

Inderite specifically has the advantage of being a sodium-free hydrated borate, meaning it doesn’t encourage Alkali-Silica Reactions (ASR) in Portland cements.

ASR is a gradual swelling in concrete, making it less durable over time. More commonly used borate minerals like ulexite or borax can cause this reaction.

In research, scientists have created synthetic inderite to study its thermodynamic properties.

Pictured above: Example of powdered magnesium borate | Image credit: Chemicalinterest, Public domain

Inderite Specifications & Characteristics

As a hydrated magnesium borate hydroxide, inderite’s formula is officially MgB3O3(OH)5·5H2O, though sometimes it’s written as Mg2B6O11·15H2O.

The mineral is in the eponymous inderite group alongside inyoite, solongoite, meyerhofferite, and kurnakovite. All are monoclinic except the latter two, which are triclinic.

Kurnakovite is a dimorph of inderite. Dimorphic minerals have the same chemical composition but different crystal structures; in this case, kurnakovite is triclinic while inderite is monoclinic.

In terms of habits, inderite crystals may be tabular, prismatic, or acicular (needle-like). Acicular crystals may form aggregates, but these aggregates may also consist of fibrous, nodular, or massive inderite forms.

Inderite properties listed:

• Mohs hardness: 2.5-3

• Color: Colorless, white, or pink

• Crystal structure: Monoclinic

• Luster: Vitreous, dull, greasy, or pearly; Pearly on cleavages

• Transparency: Translucent to transparent

• Refractive index: 1.488-1.505

• Density: 1.78-1.80

• Cleavage: Perfect on {010}, good/distinct on {110}

• Fracture: Uneven/Irregular

• Streak: White

• Luminescence: None

• Pleochroism: None

• Birefringence: 0.017-0.020

• Dispersion: Weak

Shifting away from science, let’s discuss inderite’s spiritual meaning.

Inderite Meaning

Spiritually, inderite’s symbolism is vast, representing:

• Grounding

• Acceptance

• Protection

• Intuition

• Wisdom / Knowledge

• Personal growth

• Release

• Peace

• Purification

Within mythology, inderite is tied to Itzamná (Mayan creator god), Apollo (Greek healing & sun god), Brahma (Hindu creator god), Quetzalcoatl (Aztec creator god), and Hermes (Greek messenger god).

Element-wise, inderite aligns with Air and Spirit.

Air crystals are associated with freedom, vitality, inspiration, communication, and transformation. These ideals are also represented by the planet Mercury and the vibration of 3 in numerology, both of which are tied to inderite.

Spirit (or Void) crystals are connected to understanding the vastness of the universe, feeling a sense of belonging, harnessing your intuition, and accepting the uncertainties of life.

In Feng Shui, inderite can bring good luck, vitality, and prosperity if placed in the Southeast, East, and Northeast life areas.

Pictured above: Satellite image of Lake Inder in Kazakhstan, taken by Copernicus Programme; Contained modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2019 | Image credit: European Space Agency, Source

Inderite History

Soviet mineralogists A.M. Boldyreva (А. М. Болдыревой in Russian) and E.N. Egorova (Е. Н. Егорова in Russian) wrote the first description of inderite in 1937 based on minerals from Deposit No. 7 of Lake Inder in Kazakhstan.

The specimens came from D.I. Savelyev (Д. И. Савельев in Russian), who had collected them in 1935. Egorova conducted the initial analyses of inderite.

In 1956, American mineralogists Clifford Frondel, Vincent Morgan, and F.L.T. Waugh published a description of a “new” hydrous magnesium borate mineral from Kern County, California, USA, found with kurnakovite. They called the supposedly new mineral “lesserite.”

In the 1956 description, the writers proposed that “lesserite” was a new monoclinic polymorph of inderite.

However, American mineralogists Waldemar Theodore Schaller and Mary E. Mrose from the US Geological Survey published an analysis in 1962 proving that “lesserite” was actually triclinic and identical to inderite.

The International Mineralogical Association (IMA) officially discredited “lesserite” in 1962, confirming the mineral’s proper name as “inderite.”

But where did the name “inderite” come from?

Inderite Name & Type Locality

The name “inderite” honors where it was first discovered, which is now its type locality: Inder Lake (AKA Inder B deposit or Inder borate deposit) in Kazakhstan. The plant Eremurus inderiensis, a variety of perennial flowers also called “desert candles” or “foxtail lilies,” is also named after the locality.

The area is a shallow salt lake that’s endorheic — meaning water only flows into it and doesn’t drain out to another body like a sea or ocean. Most of the water is groundwater. The lake is known for containing high-quality salt, along with boron, bromine, and potassium.

While inderite’s type locality is specifically Deposit No. 7, Inder Lake also encompasses type localities for six other minerals:

• Hydroboracite (hydrated calcium magnesium borate)

• Inderborite (hydrated calcium magnesium borate)

• Kurgantaite (hydrated strontium calcium borate)

• Kurnakovite (hydrated magnesium borate oxide)

• Preobrazhenskite (hydrated magnesium borate hydroxide)

• Volkovskite (hydrated potassium calcium chlorine borate)

The original inderite type material was found as nodules and tiny needle-like crystals forming aggregates. The material was found in an evaporite borate deposit with hydroboracite.

Pictured above: White inderite (AKA lesserite) specimen found in Boron, California, USA, and displayed in Mineralogical Museum of Bonn, Germany | Image credit: Ra'ike, CC-BY-SA-3.0

Inderite Healing Properties

As a mostly colorless to white healing stone, inderite has the clarifying and purifying properties of other white gemstones.

Physical Healing

Physically, crystal healers recommend inderite for treating issues related to:

• Detoxification

• Immune system

• Heart / pulmonary health

• Blood circulation

• Fatigue

• Headaches

• Sinuses

Emotional Healing

On the emotional side of inderite’s benefits, the crystal is said to increase:

• Inner peace

• Mental clarity

• Self-acceptance

• Patience

• Emotional protection

• Creative expression

• Intuition

Chakra Healing

Chakra healing involves opening one or more energy centers (chakras) that have been blocked, allowing energy to flow freely again and resolve negative symptoms associated with that blockage.

Inderite is a chakra stone for multiple chakras, but primarily the Crown, Heart, and Solar Plexus.

Starting at the lowest one, the solar plexus (or navel) chakra governs your sense of purpose, identity, and growth. When blocked, you might feel rudderless, powerless, or self-doubting.

The heart chakra is the next chakra in the system, representing all forms of love along with spirituality and acceptance. A blocked heart chakra can make you feel unworthy of love, emotionally detached, or unable to move on from past heartbreak.

Lastly, the crown chakra is the highest chakra, governing enlightenment and the highest spiritual states. When it’s blocked, you might feel isolated, disconnected, and unable to accept new ideas.

Open these chakras with inderite to bring in feelings of confidence, love, and spiritual awareness.

Clearly, inderite has some major metaphysical value, but what about its commercial value?

Pictured above: Single, sharp, transparent, and terminated inderite crystal above inch and centimeter scale; Found by Boron Mine miner Tony Bucon | Image credit: Rock Currier, CC-BY-SA-3.0

Inderite Gemstone Properties

Besides its rarity, an inderite gemstone’s value commercially also depends on its color, cut, clarity, transparency, and carat weight.

Color

Color isn’t a huge factor for inderite, but a more colorless (clearer) stone may be of higher value.

Cut

Since inderite is soft and rarely faceted, any faceted inderite gemstones will be a rare, valuable find.

Inderite is sometimes cut into cabochons. However, most inderite for sale is rough (uncut).

Clarity & Transparency

Clarity describes the degree of visible inclusions in a stone, which can lower its transparency and value. Inderite often has small, scattered, white inclusions.

More transparent inderite crystals without visible inclusions are more valuable, especially if they’re larger in size.

Carat Weight & Size

Reportedly, some transparent inderite crystals could yield faceted gemstones over 50 carats, but the material is too soft. Within the best deposits in California, USA, miners have found distinct inderite crystals 10-30 cm (~4-12 in) long.

The rare faceted inderite gems out there are 1 carat or less.

Before it's ever cut and sold, how and where does inderite form?

Pictured above: Small inderite specimens from Boron, California, USA | Image credit: Pacific Museum of Earth, Flickr, CC-BY-SA-2.0

Inderite Formation & Sources

Inderite mostly forms in arid, lake-related borate deposits. One proposed formation process is that magnesium-rich water seeps into the ground where it reacts with sodium borates, forming magnesium borates like inderite.

The mineral is associated with:

• Boracite

• Canavesite

• Dypingite

• Goethite

• Hydroboracite

• Kurnakovite

• Orpiment

• Realgar

• Ulexite

Zooming out to geographic locations, where is inderite found?

Mining Locations

The best inderite deposits for attractive, high-quality crystals are in Kern County, California (USA), and the original Inder deposit in Kazakhstan.

Other known sources of inderite are:

• Argentina

• China

• Italy

• Turkey

Sources aside, how much should you expect to spend on inderite?

Pictured above: Colorless inderite crystals on specimen from US Borax Mine in California, USA; 20 mm field of view | Image credit: Leon Hupperichs, CC-BY-SA-3.0

Inderite Price & Value

Given its rarity, inderite is not as expensive as you’d might assume, as it’s not well known.

Rare faceted inderite gemstones range from about $60 to $600 per carat, or around $60 to $135 total. (Remember, most are under 1 carat.)

Rough inderite specimens range from about $20 to $2,750, but most fall around $30 to $50 each.

Inderite Care and Maintenance

Before we get into caring for inderite, caring for your own health comes first.

You should know that borate minerals like inderite are somewhat toxic. However, the only significant health risk comes from consuming or touching your eye with inderite.

Just wash your hands after handling the mineral (as the stone’s softness makes fibers easily come off) and keep it away from pets or children who might put it in their mouth.

The major facets of inderite gemstone care to remember are:

1. Softness. The stone is incredibly soft, so be careful when handling or storing it, and use protective settings on inderite jewelry.

2. Discoloration. Inderite stones can turn cloudy from losing their water content, particularly if left in the sun. You can reverse the process by putting it in water for a few minutes.

3. Solubility. Inderite won’t dissolve in water, but it will dissolve in acids like hydrochloric acid.

With those in mind, store inderite in a clean, sealed container. You can wash it, but it’s better to just gently wipe it down with a soft, microfiber cloth.

Illuminate Your Collection with Inderite!

Inderite is a lesser-known stone, but its fascinating backstory, mineral properties, and spiritual benefits shouldn’t be overlooked.

If you’re looking for a truly unique stone with incredible history, glassy sheen, and charming rarity, look no further than inderite.

Buy inderite and other unique gemstones today!