Portal:Minerals
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The Minerals Portal
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.
The geological definition of mineral normally excludes compounds that occur only in living organisms. However, some minerals are often biogenic (such as calcite) or organic compounds in the sense of chemistry (such as mellite). Moreover, living organisms often synthesize inorganic minerals (such as hydroxylapatite) that also occur in rocks.
The concept of mineral is distinct from rock, which is any bulk solid geologic material that is relatively homogeneous at a large enough scale. A rock may consist of one type of mineral or may be an aggregate of two or more different types of minerals, spacially segregated into distinct phases.
Some natural solid substances without a definite crystalline structure, such as opal or obsidian, are more properly called mineraloids. If a chemical compound occurs naturally with different crystal structures, each structure is considered a different mineral species. Thus, for example, quartz and stishovite are two different minerals consisting of the same compound, silicon dioxide. (Full article...)
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization. (Full article...)
Selected articles
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Chalcopyrite (/ˌkælkəˈpaɪˌraɪt, -koʊ-/ KAL-kə-PY-ryte, -koh-) is a copper iron sulfide mineral and the most abundant copper ore mineral. It has the chemical formula CuFeS2 and crystallizes in the tetragonal system. It has a brassy to golden yellow color and a hardness of 3.5 to 4 on the Mohs scale. Its streak is diagnostic as green-tinged black.
On exposure to air, chalcopyrite tarnishes to a variety of oxides, hydroxides, and sulfates. Associated copper minerals include the sulfides bornite (Cu5FeS4), chalcocite (Cu2S), covellite (CuS), digenite (Cu9S5); carbonates such as malachite and azurite, and rarely oxides such as cuprite (Cu2O). It is rarely found in association with native copper. Chalcopyrite is a conductor of electricity.
Copper can be extracted from chalcopyrite ore using various methods. The two predominant methods are pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy, the former being the most commercially viable. (Full article...) -
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In crystallography, crystal structure is a description of the ordered arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules in a crystalline material. Ordered structures occur from the intrinsic nature of the constituent particles to form symmetric patterns that repeat along the principal directions of three-dimensional space in matter.
The smallest group of particles in the material that constitutes this repeating pattern is the unit cell of the structure. The unit cell completely reflects the symmetry and structure of the entire crystal, which is built up by repetitive translation of the unit cell along its principal axes. The translation vectors define the nodes of the Bravais lattice.
The lengths of the principal axes, or edges, of the unit cell and the angles between them are the lattice constants, also called lattice parameters or cell parameters. The symmetry properties of the crystal are described by the concept of space groups. All possible symmetric arrangements of particles in three-dimensional space may be described by the 230 space groups.
The crystal structure and symmetry play a critical role in determining many physical properties, such as cleavage, electronic band structure, and optical transparency. (Full article...) -
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Asbestos (/æsˈbɛstəs, æz-, -tɒs/ ass-BES-təs, az-, -toss) is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre (particulate with length substantially greater than width) being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere by abrasion and other processes. Inhalation of asbestos fibres can lead to various dangerous lung conditions, including mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. As a result of these health effects, asbestos is considered a serious health and safety hazard.
Archaeological studies have found evidence of asbestos being used as far back as the Stone Age to strengthen ceramic pots, but large-scale mining began at the end of the 19th century when manufacturers and builders began using asbestos for its desirable physical properties. Asbestos is an excellent thermal and electrical insulator, and is highly fire resistant, so for much of the 20th century, it was very commonly used across the world as a building material (particularly for its fire-retardant properties), until its adverse effects on human health were more widely recognized and acknowledged in the 1970s. Many buildings constructed before the 1980s contain asbestos.
The use of asbestos for construction and fireproofing has been made illegal in many countries. Despite this, at least 100,000 people are thought to die each year from diseases related to asbestos exposure.[citation needed] In part, this is because many older buildings still contain asbestos; in addition, the consequences of exposure can take decades to arise. The latency period (from exposure to the diagnosis of negative health effects) is typically 20 years. The most common diseases associated with chronic asbestos exposure are asbestosis (scarring of the lungs due to asbestos inhalation) and mesothelioma (a type of cancer).
Many developing countries still support the use of asbestos as a building material, and mining of asbestos is ongoing, with the top producer, Russia, having an estimated production of 790,000 tonnes in 2020. (Full article...) -
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Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually hydroxyapatite, fluorapatite and chlorapatite, with high concentrations of OH−, F− and Cl− ion, respectively, in the crystal. The formula of the admixture of the three most common endmembers is written as Ca10(PO4)6(OH,F,Cl)2, and the crystal unit cell formulae of the individual minerals are written as Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2, Ca10(PO4)6F2 and Ca10(PO4)6Cl2.
The mineral was named apatite by the German geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1786, although the specific mineral he had described was reclassified as fluorapatite in 1860 by the German mineralogist Karl Friedrich August Rammelsberg. Apatite is often mistaken for other minerals. This tendency is reflected in the mineral's name, which is derived from the Greek word ἀπατάω (apatáō), which means to deceive. (Full article...) -
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Cinnabar (/ˈsɪnəˌbɑːr/; from Ancient Greek κιννάβαρι (kinnábari)), or cinnabarite (/ˌsɪnəˈbɑːraɪt/), also known as mercurblende is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining elemental mercury and is the historic source for the brilliant red or scarlet pigment termed vermilion and associated red mercury pigments.
Cinnabar generally occurs as a vein-filling mineral associated with volcanic activity and alkaline hot springs. The mineral resembles quartz in symmetry and it exhibits birefringence. Cinnabar has a mean refractive index near 3.2, a hardness between 2.0 and 2.5, and a specific gravity of approximately 8.1. The color and properties derive from a structure that is a hexagonal crystalline lattice belonging to the trigonal crystal system, crystals that sometimes exhibit twinning.
Cinnabar has been used for its color since antiquity in the Near East, including as a rouge-type cosmetic, in the New World since the Olmec culture, and in China since as early as the Yangshao culture, where it was used in coloring stoneware.
Associated modern precautions for the use and handling of cinnabar arise from the toxicity of the mercury component, which was recognized as early as ancient Rome. (Full article...) -
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Garnets ( /ˈɡɑːrnɪt/) are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives.
All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different species are pyrope, almandine, spessartine, grossular (varieties of which are hessonite or cinnamon-stone and tsavorite), uvarovite and andradite. The garnets make up two solid solution series: pyrope-almandine-spessartine (pyralspite), with the composition range [Mg,Fe,Mn]3Al2(SiO4)3; and uvarovite-grossular-andradite (ugrandite), with the composition range Ca3[Cr,Al,Fe]2(SiO4)3. (Full article...) -
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Malachite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral, with the formula Cu2CO3(OH)2. This opaque, green-banded mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmitic masses, in fractures and deep, underground spaces, where the water table and hydrothermal fluids provide the means for chemical precipitation. Individual crystals are rare, but occur as slender to acicular prisms. Pseudomorphs after more tabular or blocky azurite crystals also occur. (Full article...) -
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Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical formula of SiO2. Quartz is, therefore, classified structurally as a framework silicate mineral and compositionally as an oxide mineral. Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth's continental crust, behind feldspar.
Quartz exists in two forms, the normal α-quartz and the high-temperature β-quartz, both of which are chiral. The transformation from α-quartz to β-quartz takes place abruptly at 573 °C (846 K; 1,063 °F). Since the transformation is accompanied by a significant change in volume, it can easily induce microfracturing of ceramics or rocks passing through this temperature threshold.
There are many different varieties of quartz, several of which are classified as gemstones. Since antiquity, varieties of quartz have been the most commonly used minerals in the making of jewelry and hardstone carvings, especially in Europe and Asia.
Quartz is the mineral defining the value of 7 on the Mohs scale of hardness, a qualitative scratch method for determining the hardness of a material to abrasion. (Full article...) -
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Tourmaline (/ˈtʊərməlɪn, -ˌliːn/ TOOR-mə-lin, -leen) is a crystalline silicate mineral group in which boron is compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. This gemstone comes in a wide variety of colors.
The name is derived from the Sinhalese tōramalli (ටෝරමල්ලි), which refers to the carnelian gemstones. (Full article...) -
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Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk chalk. Gypsum also crystallizes as translucent crystals of selenite. It forms as an evaporite mineral and as a hydration product of anhydrite. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness defines gypsum as hardness value 2 based on scratch hardness comparison.
Fine-grained white or lightly tinted forms of gypsum known as alabaster have been used for sculpture by many cultures including Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ancient Rome, the Byzantine Empire, and the Nottingham alabasters of Medieval England. (Full article...) -
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Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver.
Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system often showing octahedral forms. It is often associated with the minerals sphalerite, calcite and fluorite. (Full article...) -
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Dolomite (/ˈdɒl.əˌmaɪt, ˈdoʊ.lə-/) is an anhydrous carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate, ideally CaMg(CO3)2. The term is also used for a sedimentary carbonate rock composed mostly of the mineral dolomite (see Dolomite (rock)). An alternative name sometimes used for the dolomitic rock type is dolostone. (Full article...) -
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In crystallography, a crystal system is a set of point groups (a group of geometric symmetries with at least one fixed point). A lattice system is a set of Bravais lattices. Space groups are classified into crystal systems according to their point groups, and into lattice systems according to their Bravais lattices. Crystal systems that have space groups assigned to a common lattice system are combined into a crystal family.
The seven crystal systems are triclinic, monoclinic, orthorhombic, tetragonal, trigonal, hexagonal, and cubic. Informally, two crystals are in the same crystal system if they have similar symmetries (though there are many exceptions). (Full article...) -
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Graphite (/ˈɡræfaɪt/) is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on a large scale (1.3 million metric tons per year in 2022) for uses in pencils, lubricants, and electrodes. Under high pressures and temperatures it converts to diamond. It is a good (but not excellent) conductor of both heat and electricity. (Full article...) -
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Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO2·nH2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6% and 10%. Due to its amorphous property, it is classified as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms of silica, which are considered minerals. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite, sandstone, rhyolite, marl, and basalt.
The name opal is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word upala (उपल), which means 'jewel', and later the Greek derivative opállios (ὀπάλλιος).
There are two broad classes of opal: precious and common. Precious opal displays play-of-color (iridescence); common opal does not. Play-of-color is defined as "a pseudo chromatic optical effect resulting in flashes of colored light from certain minerals, as they are turned in white light." The internal structure of precious opal causes it to diffract light, resulting in play-of-color. Depending on the conditions in which it formed, opal may be transparent, translucent, or opaque, and the background color may be white, black, or nearly any color of the visual spectrum. Black opal is considered the rarest, while white, gray, and green opals are the most common. (Full article...) -
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Kaolinite (/ˈkeɪ.ələˌnaɪt, -lɪ-/ KAY-ə-lə-nyte, -lih-; also called kaolin) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition: Al2Si2O5(OH)4. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica (SiO4) linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina (AlO6).
Kaolinite is a soft, earthy, usually white, mineral (dioctahedral phyllosilicate clay), produced by the chemical weathering of aluminium silicate minerals like feldspar. It has a low shrink–swell capacity and a low cation-exchange capacity (1–15 meq/100 g).
Rocks that are rich in kaolinite, and halloysite, are known as kaolin (/ˈkeɪ.əlɪn/) or china clay. In many parts of the world kaolin is colored pink-orange-red by iron oxide, giving it a distinct rust hue. Lower concentrations of iron oxide yield the white, yellow, or light orange colors of kaolin. Alternating lighter and darker layers are sometimes found, as at Providence Canyon State Park in Georgia, United States.
Kaolin is an important raw material in many industries and applications. Commercial grades of kaolin are supplied and transported as powder, lumps, semi-dried noodle or slurry. Global production of kaolin in 2021 was estimated to be 45 million tonnes, with a total market value of $US4.24 billion. (Full article...) -
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Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization. (Full article...) -
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Borax (also referred to as sodium borate, tincal (/ˈtɪŋkəl/) and tincar (/ˈtɪŋkər/)) is a salt (ionic compound), a hydrated or anhydrous borate of sodium, with the chemical formula Na2H20B4O17 (also written as Na2B4O7·10H2O).
It is a colorless crystalline solid that dissolves in water to make a basic solution.
It is commonly available in powder or granular form and has many industrial and household uses, including as a pesticide, as a metal soldering flux, as a component of glass, enamel, and pottery glazes, for tanning of skins and hides, for artificial aging of wood, as a preservative against wood fungus, and as a pharmaceutic alkalizer. In chemical laboratories, it is used as a buffering agent.
The terms tincal and tincar refer to native borax, historically mined from dry lake beds in various parts of Asia. (Full article...) -
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Beryl (/ˈbɛrəl/ BERR-əl) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2Si6O18. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and aquamarine. Naturally occurring hexagonal crystals of beryl can be up to several meters in size, but terminated crystals are relatively rare. Pure beryl is colorless, but it is frequently tinted by impurities; possible colors are green, blue, yellow, pink, and red (the rarest). It is an ore source of beryllium. (Full article...) -
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Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8·4H2O. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone for millennia due to its hue.
Like most other opaque gems, turquoise has been devalued by the introduction of treatments, imitations, and synthetics into the market. The robin egg blue or sky blue color of the Persian turquoise mined near the modern city of Nishapur, Iran, has been used as a guiding reference for evaluating turquoise quality. (Full article...) -
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Rutile is an oxide mineral composed of titanium dioxide (TiO2), the most common natural form of TiO2. Rarer polymorphs of TiO2 are known, including anatase, akaogiite, and brookite.
Rutile has one of the highest refractive indices at visible wavelengths of any known crystal and also exhibits a particularly large birefringence and high dispersion. Owing to these properties, it is useful for the manufacture of certain optical elements, especially polarization optics, for longer visible and infrared wavelengths up to about 4.5 micrometres. Natural rutile may contain up to 10% iron and significant amounts of niobium and tantalum.
Rutile derives its name from the Latin rutilus ('red'), in reference to the deep red color observed in some specimens when viewed by transmitted light. Rutile was first described in 1803 by Abraham Gottlob Werner using specimens obtained in Horcajuelo de la Sierra, Madrid (Spain), which is consequently the type locality. (Full article...) -
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Hematite (/ˈhiːməˌtaɪt, ˈhɛmə-/), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of Fe
2O
3. It has the same crystal structure as corundum (Al
2O
3) and ilmenite (FeTiO
3). With this it forms a complete solid solution at temperatures above 950 °C (1,740 °F).
Hematite naturally occurs in black to steel or silver-gray, brown to reddish-brown, or red colors. It is mined as an important ore mineral of iron. It is electrically conductive. Hematite varieties include kidney ore, martite (pseudomorphs after magnetite), iron rose and specularite (specular hematite). While these forms vary, they all have a rust-red streak. Hematite is not only harder than pure iron, but also much more brittle. Maghemite is a polymorph of hematite (γ-Fe
2O
3) with the same chemical formula, but with a spinel structure like magnetite.
Large deposits of hematite are found in banded iron formations. Gray hematite is typically found in places that have still, standing water or mineral hot springs, such as those in Yellowstone National Park in North America. The mineral can precipitate in the water and collect in layers at the bottom of the lake, spring, or other standing water. Hematite can also occur in the absence of water, usually as the result of volcanic activity.
Clay-sized hematite crystals can also occur as a secondary mineral formed by weathering processes in soil, and along with other iron oxides or oxyhydroxides such as goethite, which is responsible for the red color of many tropical, ancient, or otherwise highly weathered soils. (Full article...) -
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Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It belongs to the halide minerals. It crystallizes in isometric cubic habit, although octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon.
The Mohs scale of mineral hardness, based on scratch hardness comparison, defines value 4 as fluorite.
Pure fluorite is colourless and transparent, both in visible and ultraviolet light, but impurities usually make it a colorful mineral and the stone has ornamental and lapidary uses. Industrially, fluorite is used as a flux for smelting, and in the production of certain glasses and enamels. The purest grades of fluorite are a source of fluoride for hydrofluoric acid manufacture, which is the intermediate source of most fluorine-containing fine chemicals. Optically clear transparent fluorite has anomalous partial dispersion, that is, its refractive index varies with the wavelength of light in a manner that differs from that of commonly used glases, so fluorite is useful in making apochromatic lenses, making it valuable, particularly in photographic optics. Fluorite optics are also usable in the far-ultraviolet and mid-infrared ranges, where conventional glasses are too opaque for use. Fluorite also has low dispersion, and a high refractive index for its density, which can make it useful for some specialized purposes in optics. (Full article...) -
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Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide (α-Al2O3) with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name sapphire is derived from the Latin word sapphirus, itself from the Greek word sappheiros (σάπφειρος), which referred to lapis lazuli. It is typically blue, but natural "fancy" sapphires also occur in yellow, purple, orange, and green colors; "parti sapphires" show two or more colors. Red corundum stones also occur, but are called rubies rather than sapphires. Pink-colored corundum may be classified either as ruby or sapphire depending on locale. Commonly, natural sapphires are cut and polished into gemstones and worn in jewelry. They also may be created synthetically in laboratories for industrial or decorative purposes in large crystal boules. Because of the remarkable hardness of sapphires – 9 on the Mohs scale (the third hardest mineral, after diamond at 10 and moissanite at 9.5) – sapphires are also used in some non-ornamental applications, such as infrared optical components, high-durability windows, wristwatch crystals and movement bearings, and very thin electronic wafers, which are used as the insulating substrates of special-purpose solid-state electronics such as integrated circuits and GaN-based blue LEDs. Sapphire is the birthstone for September and the gem of the 45th anniversary. A sapphire jubilee occurs after 65 years. (Full article...) -
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Ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires. Ruby is one of the traditional cardinal gems, alongside amethyst, sapphire, emerald, and diamond. The word ruby comes from ruber, Latin for red. The color of a ruby is due to the element chromium.
Some gemstones that are popularly or historically called rubies, such as the Black Prince's Ruby in the British Imperial State Crown, are actually spinels. These were once known as "Balas rubies".
The quality of a ruby is determined by its color, cut, and clarity, which, along with carat weight, affect its value. The brightest and most valuable shade of red, called blood-red or pigeon blood, commands a large premium over other rubies of similar quality. After color follows clarity: similar to diamonds, a clear stone will command a premium, but a ruby without any needle-like rutile inclusions may indicate that the stone has been treated. Ruby is the traditional birthstone for July and is usually pinker than garnet, although some rhodolite garnets have a similar pinkish hue to most rubies. The world's most valuable ruby to be sold at auction is the Sunrise Ruby. (Full article...)
Selected mineralogist
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Ludwig Meyn (1 October 1820, Pinneberg − 4 November 1878, Uetersen), was a German agricultural scientist, soil scientist, geologist, journalist and mineralogist. He was the pioneer of oil production. (Full article...) -
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William Niven (2 October 1850 – 2 June 1937) was a mineralogist and archeologist noted for his discovery of the minerals yttrialite, thorogummite, aguilarite and nivenite (named after him), as well as a set of controversial tablets. Originally from Scotland, Niven came to the United States in 1879, where he became heavily involved in mineralogy and mining. (Full article...) -
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James De Carle Sowerby (5 June 1787 – 26 August 1871) was a British mineralogist, botanist, and illustrator. He received an education in chemistry.
Sowerby was born in London, the son of botanical artist James Sowerby (1757–1822), and his wife, Anne de Carle (1764–1815). He continued his father's work and published, together with his brother George Brettingham Sowerby I, the latter volumes of the Mineral Conchology of Great Britain, begun by their father. (Full article...) -
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Sten Anders Hjalmar Sjögren (13 June 1856, Färnebo, Värmland – 23 March 1922, Stockholm) was a Swedish geologist and mineralogist. (Full article...) -
Image 5John Henry Heuland (March 21, 1778 Bayreuth – November 16, 1856 Hastings) was a German born (Johann Heinrich) English mineralogist and dealer. He was a Fellow of the Geological Society of London. His collection is held by the Natural History Museum, London. In 1804 he purchased mineral specimens in Lisbon. He subsequently travelled through France, Germany, Sweden, and Russia, collecting and buying minerals. About the year 1806 he acquired minerals collected in Europe between the years 1766 and 1806 by his uncle Adolarius Jacob Forster whose London dealership later became Heuland's. Armand Lévy categorised his mineral collection.
The mineral Heulandite is named for him. He played a dubious role in the discovery of Palladium. (Full article...) -
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Adolph Knopf (December 2, 1882 – November 23, 1966) was an American geologist. Educated at the University of California, Berkeley, he held professional appointments at the United States Geological Survey, Yale University, and Stanford University. He was primarily a petrologist and mineralogist, though later in his career contributed to geochronology. He performed much of his field work in the western United States, investigating mineral deposits in Alaska, the Boulder Batholith in Montana, and the Gold Country of California.
Knopf was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He served as president of the Geological Society of America in 1944 and received its Penrose Medal in 1959. His second wife, Eleanora Knopf, was a notable geologist and frequent collaborator. (Full article...) -
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Franz Eugen Geinitz (15 February 1854, Dresden – 9 March 1925, Rostock) was a German geologist and mineralogist best known for his geological studies of the Mecklenburg region. He was the son of geologist Hanns Bruno Geinitz. (Full article...) -
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Arthur Aikin FLS FGS (19 May 1773 – 15 April 1854) was an English chemist, mineralogist and scientific writer, and was a founding member of the Chemical Society (now the Royal Society of Chemistry). He first became its treasurer in 1841, and later became the society's second president. (Full article...) -
Image 9Franz-Joseph Müller, Freiherr von Reichenstein or Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein (1 July 1740 or 4 October 1742 – 12 October 1825 or 1826) was an Austrian mineralogist and mining engineer. Müller held several positions in the Habsburg monarchy administration of mines and coinage in the Banat, Transylvania, and Tyrol. During his time in Transylvania he discovered tellurium in 1782. In his later career he became a member of the imperial council in Vienna and was knighted and elevated to the rank Freiherr in 1820. (Full article...)
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Franz Ludwig von Cancrin (February 21, 1738 in Breidenbach – 1812) was a German mineralogist, metallurgist, architect and writer.
He was born into a German mining family where he was trained by his father in the science of mining. In 1764, he entered the service of the landgrave of Hesse-Kassel at Hanau, becoming professor of mathematics at the military academy, head of the civil engineering department of the state, director of the theatre and (1774) of the mint. A work on the copper mines of Elesse (1767) earned him a European reputation, and in 1783 he accepted from Catherine II of Russia the directorship of the famous Staraya salt-works, living thenceforth in Russia. (Full article...) -
Image 11Walter Flight (21 January 1841 – 4 November 1885), was an English mineralogist who studied the chemical composition of meteorites. He published academic papers on the chemical composition of meteorites in both Germany and the United Kingdom. He also worked for the British Museum, the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and on a committee appointed by the British Science Association, then known as the British Association. (Full article...)
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Image 12Adolf Schenck (4 April 1857 – 15 September 1936) was a German geographer, mineralogist and botanist who was a native of Siegen. He was a brother to botanist Heinrich Schenck (1860-1927).
Schenck studied at the Universities of Berlin and Bonn, obtaining his doctorate in 1884. From 1884 to 1887 he was a geographer on a mineralogical expedition to German Southwest Africa. The expedition was organized by merchant Adolf Lüderitz (1834-1886) and was under the leadership of Karl Höpfner (1857-1900). Several noted scientists participated in the venture, including Swiss botanist Hans Schinz (1868-1941), who performed botanical investigations in the northern part of German Southwest Africa. In the southern part of the colony, Schenck collected minerals and plants, particularly lichens. Prior to returning to Germany, he visited mines and goldfields that are now located in the present-day nations of South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique. (Full article...) -
Image 13Adolarius Jacob Forster (1739–1806) was a Prussian mineralogist and dealer in display specimen minerals. The Forster family left Yorkshire in 1649 and settled in Prussia. Adolarius Jacob Forster began dealing in mineral specimens around 1766, at the age of 27. He continued in that profession for 40 years and travelled widely. He had premises in London, Paris and St. Petersburg. The Covent Garden, London shop and one in Soho was run by his wife. His brother, Ingham Henry Forster (1725–1782) ran the business in Paris. Auction catalogues for sales in Paris were written by Rome de l'Isle.
He was related to Johann Georg Adam Forster and Johann Reinhold Forster and his sister married the London dealer naturalist George Humphrey at St-Martin-in-the-Fields, London on August 16, 1768. In 1802 Forster sold a collection to the museum of the St Petersburg Mining Institute, under the auspices of the Emperor of All Russia Alexander I. He spent the last ten years of his life in Russia, and died in St. Petersburg in 1806. The dealership was taken over by his nephew John Henry Heuland. (Full article...) -
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Anton Schrötter von Kristelli (26 November 1802 – 15 April 1875) was an Austrian chemist and mineralogist born in Olomouc, Moravia. His son Leopold Schrötter Ritter von Kristelli (1837–1908) was a noted laryngologist. (Full article...) -
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Johann Carl Gehler (17 May 1732 – 6 May 1796) was a German physician, mineralogist, and anatomist.
Born 17 May 1732 in Görlitz, Gehler studied medicine from 1751 to 1758 at the University of Leipzig, where he was a pupil of physician and botanist Christian Gottlieb Ludwig. While a student at Leipzig, he furthered his interest in natural sciences, publishing the mineralogical treatise, De characteribus fossilium externis (1757), as a result. Following graduation, he continued his education by studying mineralogy in Freiberg and obstetrics in Strasbourg as a student of Johann Jakob Fried (1689–1769). (Full article...) -
Image 16Alexander Rose (1781 – 1860) of Edinburgh was a wood and ivory turner, following in the footsteps of his father, John, who came from Cromarty. He developed an interest in minerals and began a mineral collection, becoming a dealer in minerals. He later became a lecturer in geology and mineralogy at Queen's College, Edinburgh and was eventually nominated as a Fellow of the Royal Scottish Academy.
He was educated at the Royal High School and in 1816, he married Isabella Boyne. They had three sons and six daughters. (Full article...) -
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Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky, also spelt Volodymyr Ivanovych Vernadsky (Russian: Владимир Иванович Вернадский, Ukrainian: Володимир Іванович Вернадський; 12 March [O.S. 28 February] 1863 – 6 January 1945) was a Russian, Ukrainian, and Soviet mineralogist and geochemist who is considered one of the founders of geochemistry, biogeochemistry, and radiogeology. He was one of the founders and the first president of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences (now National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine). Vladimir Vernadsky is most noted for his 1926 book The Biosphere in which he inadvertently worked to popularize Eduard Suess' 1875 term biosphere, by hypothesizing that life is the geological force that shapes the earth. In 1943 he was awarded the Stalin Prize. Vernadsky's portrait is depicted on the Ukrainian ₴1,000 hryvnia banknote. (Full article...) -
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Karl Rössler (6 May 1788, in Wiesbaden – 23 August 1863, in Hanau) was a German manufacturer and mineralogist.
After a business apprenticeship in Frankfurt am Main, he acquired in 1818 a hat factory, which he transformed into a highly successful company. He had a keen interest in the geology, mineralogy and paleontology of the Wetterau, and accordingly, collected numerous minerals and fossils of the region. During his career, he worked closely with geologist Leopold von Buch. (Full article...) -
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William Hyde Wollaston FRS (/ˈwʊləstən/; 6 August 1766 – 22 December 1828) was an English chemist and physicist who is famous for discovering the chemical elements palladium and rhodium. He also developed a way to process platinum ore into malleable ingots. (Full article...) -
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William Frederick Foshag (March 17, 1894 – May 21, 1956) was an American geologist and mineralogist.
He published nearly 100 papers and described 13 new minerals, including foshagite. (Full article...) -
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Thomas Allan of Lauriston FRS FRSE FSA FLS (17 July 1777 – 12 September 1833) was a British mineralogist. (Full article...) -
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Achille Ernest Oscar Joseph Delesse (3 February 1817 – 24 March 1881) was a French geologist and mineralogist. He is credited for inventing the Delesse principle in stereology. (Full article...) -
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Ignacy Domeyko or Domejko, pseudonym: Żegota (Spanish: Ignacio Domeyko, Spanish pronunciation: [iɣˈnasjo ðoˈmejko]; 31 July 1802 – 23 January 1889) was a Polish geologist, mineralogist, educator, and founder of the University of Santiago, in Chile. Domeyko spent most of his life, and died, in his adopted country, Chile.
After a youth passed in partitioned Poland, Domeyko participated in the Polish–Russian War 1830–31. Upon Russian victory, he was exiled, spending part of his life in France (where he had gone with a fellow Philomath, Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz) before eventually settling in Chile, whose citizen he became. (Full article...) -
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Alphonse Francois Renard (27 September 1842 – 9 July 1903), Belgian geologist and petrographer, was born at Ronse, in East Flanders, on 27 September 1842. He was educated for the church of Rome, and from 1866 to 1869 he was superintendent at the college de la Paix, Namur.
In 1870 he entered the Jesuit Training College at the old abbey of Maria Laach in the Eifel, and there, while engaged in studying philosophy and science, he became interested in the geology of the district, and especially in the volcanic rocks. Thenceforth he worked at chemistry and mineralogy, and qualified himself for those petrographical researches for which he was distinguished. (Full article...) -
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Emil Wilhelm Cohen (12 October 1842 – 13 April 1905) was a German mineralogist and petrographer, born in Jutland. (Full article...)
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General images
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Image 3Perfect basal cleavage as seen in biotite (black), and good cleavage seen in the matrix (pink orthoclase). (from Mineral)
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Image 7When minerals react, the products will sometimes assume the shape of the reagent; the product mineral is termed a pseudomorph of (or after) the reagent. Illustrated here is a pseudomorph of kaolinite after orthoclase. Here, the pseudomorph preserved the Carlsbad twinning common in orthoclase. (from Mineral)
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Image 8Hübnerite, the manganese-rich end-member of the wolframite series, with minor quartz in the background (from Mineral)
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Image 9An example of elbaite, a species of tourmaline, with distinctive colour banding. (from Mineral)
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Image 10Pink cubic halite (NaCl; halide class) crystals on a nahcolite matrix (NaHCO3; a carbonate, and mineral form of sodium bicarbonate, used as baking soda). (from Mineral)
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Image 11Asbestiform tremolite, part of the amphibole group in the inosilicate subclass (from Mineral)
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Image 12Black andradite, an end-member of the orthosilicate garnet group. (from Mineral)
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Image 13Red cinnabar (HgS), a mercury ore, on dolomite. (from Mineral)
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Image 14Diamond is the hardest natural material, and has a Mohs hardness of 10. (from Mineral)
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Image 16Epidote often has a distinctive pistachio-green colour. (from Mineral)
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Image 18Muscovite, a mineral species in the mica group, within the phyllosilicate subclass (from Mineral)
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Image 20Mohs Scale versus Absolute Hardness (from Mineral)
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Image 21Mohs hardness kit, containing one specimen of each mineral on the ten-point hardness scale (from Mohs scale)
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Image 22Native gold. Rare specimen of stout crystals growing off of a central stalk, size 3.7 x 1.1 x 0.4 cm, from Venezuela. (from Mineral)
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Image 23Sphalerite crystal partially encased in calcite from the Devonian Milwaukee Formation of Wisconsin (from Mineral)
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Image 24Gypsum desert rose (from Mineral)
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Image 26Schist is a metamorphic rock characterized by an abundance of platy minerals. In this example, the rock has prominent sillimanite porphyroblasts as large as 3 cm (1.2 in). (from Mineral)
In the news
- 3 May 2024 –
- Panama bans First Quantum Minerals from extracting copper following the closure of its Cobre Panamá mine last year. (Reuters) (The Globe and Mail)
Did you know ...?
- ... that leonite (pictured) has been found on Mars?
- ...that crystals of Paulingite, a rare zeolite mineral found in vesicles in the basaltic rocks from the Columbia River, form a perfect clear rhombic dodecahedron?
- ... that abernathyite is both fluorescent and radioactive and is named for the mine operator who discovered it?
Subcategories
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Topics
Overview | ||
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Common minerals |
Ore minerals, mineral mixtures and ore deposits | |||||||||
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Ores |
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Deposit types |
Borates | |||||
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Carbonates | |||||
Oxides |
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Phosphates | |||||
Silicates | |||||
Sulfides | |||||
Other |
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Crystalline | |||||||
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Cryptocrystalline | |||||||
Amorphous | |||||||
Miscellaneous | |||||||
Notable varieties |
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Oxide minerals |
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Silicate minerals | |||||
Other |
Gemmological classifications by E. Ya. Kievlenko (1980), updated | |||||||||
Jewelry stones |
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Jewelry-Industrial stones |
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Industrial stones |
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Mineral identification | |
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"Special cases" ("native elements and organic minerals") |
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"Sulfides and oxides" |
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"Evaporites and similars" |
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"Mineral structures with tetrahedral units" (sulfate anion, phosphate anion, silicon, etc.) |
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References
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