Mineralogy is an earth science that involves the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals. Studies also include the processes of mineral creation and destruction. Earth science (also known as geoscience or the geosciences), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. ... Chemistry (in Greek: χημεία) is the science of matter and its interactions with energy and itself (see physics, biology). ... Quartz crystal A crystal is a solid in which the constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are packed in a regularly ordered, repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. ... See also list of optical topics. ... This article is about minerals in the geologic sense; for nutrient minerals see dietary mineral; for the band see Mineral (band). ...

The International Mineralogical Association is an organization whose members are organizations representing mineralogists in individual countries. Its activities include managing naming of minerals (via the Commission of New Minerals and Mineral Names), location of Type material of known minerals, etc.

As of 2004 there are over 4000 species of mineral recognized by the IMA. Of these, perhaps 150 can be called "common," another 50 are "occasional," and the rest are "rare" to "extremely rare."

See also

• Georg Agricola, the "father of mineralogy"
• List of minerals - a simple list concentrating on minerals with Wikipedia articles.
• List of minerals (complete) - a more complete list of IMA-approved minerals, regularly updated.
• List of mineralogists
• List of publications in mineralogy

Georg Agricola Georg (or Georgius) Agricola (March 24, 1490 - November 21, 1555) was a German scholar and man of science. ... Gem animals. ... Complete mineral list There is actually no such thing as a complete list of minerals. The International Mineralogical Association is the body that recognises new minerals and new mineral names, however minerals discovered before 1959 did not go through the official naming procedure, although some minerals published previously have been... The following are mineralogists: Contents: Top - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A Stuart Olof Agrell Georg Agricola Thomas Allan (1777-1833) José Bonifácio de Andrade e Silva (1763-1838... // Foundations Principles of Geology Author: Charles Lyell Publication data: 1830–1833. ...

External links

• International Mineralogical Association
• mindat.org mineralogical database
• Introductions to Mineralogy Teaching documents, lecture notes and tutorials: an annotated link directory.