Mineral Classification and Properties
Mineral classification and properties organize the thousands of known mineral species by chemistry and structure and describe the physical traits used to recognize them.
Definition
The systematic grouping of minerals by anion or anionic complex and crystal structure, together with the description of the physical and chemical properties that characterize and distinguish them.
Scope
This area covers the chemical-structural classification of minerals into classes such as native elements, sulfides, oxides, halides, carbonates, sulfates, phosphates, and silicates, following the Dana and Strunz systems. It also covers diagnostic physical properties, hardness, cleavage, luster, color, streak, density, and the thermodynamic controls on mineral formation and stability.
Sub-topics
Core questions
- On what basis are minerals divided into the major chemical classes?
- Which physical properties are most diagnostic for hand-specimen identification?
- How do the Dana and Strunz classification systems differ?
- What thermodynamic conditions determine whether a given mineral is stable?
Key theories
- Chemical-structural classification
- Minerals are grouped first by their dominant anion or anionic complex and then by structure, a scheme formalized in the Dana and Strunz systems that organizes mineralogy into a coherent taxonomy.
- Property-structure relationships
- Diagnostic physical properties such as hardness, cleavage, and density arise directly from bonding type and crystal structure, allowing structure to be inferred from observable traits.
Clinical relevance
Mineral classification and property determination are the foundation of identification in the field and laboratory, of economic geology and resource assessment, and of understanding how minerals respond to weathering, metamorphism, and industrial processing.
History
James Dwight Dana's System of Mineralogy, first published in 1837 and revised through eight editions, established the chemical classification of minerals; Mohs introduced his relative hardness scale in 1812; and Strunz's structural-chemical tables, first issued in 1941, provide the framework adopted by the International Mineralogical Association.
Key figures
- James Dwight Dana
- Hugo Strunz
- Friedrich Mohs
Related topics
Seminal works
- klein2007
- dana1997
- strunz2001
Frequently asked questions
- How many mineral species are recognized?
- More than 5,000 distinct mineral species are approved by the International Mineralogical Association, though only a few dozen are common rock-forming minerals.
- What makes a substance a mineral?
- A mineral is a naturally occurring, generally inorganic, crystalline solid with a definite (though sometimes variable) chemical composition and an ordered atomic structure.