List of minerals facts for kids

This is a list of minerals which have Wikipedia articles.

Minerals are distinguished by various chemical and physical properties. Differences in chemical composition and crystal structure distinguish the various species. Within a mineral species there may be variation in physical properties or minor amounts of impurities that are recognized by mineralogists or wider society as a mineral variety.

Mineral variety names are listed after the valid minerals for each letter.

For a more complete listing of all mineral names, see List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association.

A

Amethyst crystals – a purple quartz

Apophyllite crystals sitting right beside a cluster of peachy bowtie stilbite

Aquamarine variety of beryl with tourmaline on orthoclase

Arsenopyrite from Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico

Aurichalcite needles spraying out within a protected pocket lined by bladed calcite crystals

Austinite from the Ojuela Mine, Mapimí, Durango, Mexico

Ametrine containing amethyst and citrine, from Bolivia

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Adamantine spar (variety of corundum)
• Agate (variety of chalcedony and quartz)
• Alabaster (variety of gypsum)
• Alexandrite (variety of chrysoberyl)
• Allingite (synonym of amber)
• Alum
• Amazonite (variety of microcline)
• Amethyst (purple variety of quartz)
• Ametrine (variety of quartz)
• Ammolite (organic; also a gemstone)
• Amosite (asbestiform grunerite)
• Antozonite (variety of fluorite)
• Anyolite (metamorphic rock - zoisite, ruby, and hornblende)
• Aquamarine (light blue variety of beryl)
• Argentite (high temperature form of acanthite)
• Asbestos (fibrous serpentine- or amphibole minerals)
• Auerlite (variety of thorite)
• Avalite (chromian variety of illite)
• Aventurine (variety of quartz)

B

Baryte (included by malachite) on malachite, from Shangulowé Mine, Kambove, Central area, Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo

Spiky calcite scalenohedra with a coating of whitish benstonite on a layer of teal-colored fluorite

Thin tabular biotite cluster

Brookite from Kharan, Balochistan, Pakistan

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Barbertonite (polytype of stichtite)
• Bauxite (aluminium ore)
• Beckerite (natural resin)
• Bentonite (mixture of montmorillonite and other clays)
• Bixbite (red gem variety of beryl)
• Bowenite (variety of antigorite)
• Brammallite (variety of illite)
• Brokenhillite (not approved by IMA)
• Buergerite (renamed to fluor-buergerite)
• Bursaite (not approved by IMA)
• Bytownite (variety of anorthite)

C

Radiating spray of colorless wheatsheaf calcite crystals on matrix, from Iraí, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Rhombohedrons of calcite that appear almost as books of petals, piled up 3-dimensionally on the matrix, from Eastern Europe

Sky blue, prismatic crystals of celestine from Majunga, Madagascar

Pocket cavity of small chrysocolla stalactites from Ray Mine, Scott Mountain area, Mineral Creek District, Arizona, USA

Cinnabar on dolomite

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Campylite (variety of mimetite)
• Carnelian (variety of quartz)
• Cementite (synthetic cohenite)
• Ceylonite (variety of spinel)
• Chalcedony (cryptocrystalline variety of quartz and moganite)
• Chiastolite (variety of andalusite)
• Chlorastrolite (variety of pumpellyite-(Mg))
• Chrysoprase (green nickel bearing chalcedony)
• Chrysotile (group name - asbestiform serpentine)
• Citrine (yellow variety of quartz)
• Cleveite (variety of uraninite)
• Clinochrysotile (polytype of chrysotile)
• Coltan (short for minerals of the columbite group)
• Crocidolite (asbestiform riebeckite)
• Cymophane (variety of chrysoberyl)

D

The slightly misshapen octahedral shape of this rough diamond crystal in matrix is typical of the mineral

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Delessite (magnesian chamosite)
• Diallage (a junction between augite and diopside)

E

Emerald on quartz, from Carnaiba Mine, Pindobaçu, Campo Formoso ultramafic complex, Bahia, Brazil

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Elsmoreite (pure hydrokenoelsmoreite)
• Emerald (green gem variety of beryl)

F

Translucent fluorapophyllit-(K) crystal and stilbite, from Jalgaon District, Maharashtra, India

Deep green isolated fluorite crystal showing cubic and octahedral faces, set upon a micaceous matrix

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Fassaite (variety of augite)
• Ferrocolumbite (synonym of columbite-(Fe))
• Ferrotantalite (synonym of tantalite-(Fe))
• Fluorspar (synonym of fluorite)
• Francolite (variety of fluorapatite)

G

Garnet

Gold vein stockwork in limonite, from Gold Flake Vein, Farncomb Hill, Breckenridge Mining District, Summit County, Colorado, USA

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Garnierite (a nickel ore)
• Gedanite (fossilized resin)
• Glessite (natural resin)
• Goshenite (colorless variety of beryl)

H

Brazilian trigonal hematite crystals

Heulandite

Hübnerite and quartz

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Hatchettite (a paraffin wax)
• Heliodor (greenish-yellow variety of beryl)
• Heliotrope (variety of chalcedony)
• Hessonite (variety of grossular)
• Hiddenite (variety of spodumene)
• Hyalite (variety of opal)
• Hyalophane (synonym of jaloallofane)
• Hypersthene (synonym of enstatite or ferrosilite, or mid-way member of the enstatite–ferrosilite series) (not approved by IMA)

I

Inyoite from Monte Azul deposit, Sijes, Salta, Argentina

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Idocrase (synonym of vesuvianite)
• Iolite (a gem-quality variety of cordierite)

J

Benitoite (blue), joaquinite-(Ce) (brown) and neptunite (dark red) on natrolite (white), from Dallas Gem Mine area, San Benito River headwaters area, New Idria District, Diablo Range, San Benito Co., California, USA

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Jade (tough, green mineral either jadeite or nephrite amphibole)
• Jasper (variety of quartz)
• Jeffersonite (variety of augite)

K

Kainosite-(Y) from the Amphibolite quarry, Haslach, Black Forest, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Kröhnkite from Cuquicamata Mine, Chuquicamata District, Calama, El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region, Chile

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Keilhauite (variety of titanite)
• Kerolite (variety of talc) (not approved by IMA)
• Krantzite (natural resin)
• Kunzite (variety of spodumene)

L

Langite from Elsass, France

Legrandite on limonite

Liddicoatite on quartz and feldspar

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Larimar (blue variety of pectolite)
• Lignite (a type of coal)
• Lodestone (a synonym of magnetite)
• Lublinite (variety of calcite)

M

Magnetite from Speen Ghar, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan

Manganite from Ilfeld, Thuringia, Germany

Mesolite at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Mimetite on limonite matrix

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Magnesia
• Magnesiocummingtonite (magnesium-rich variety of cummingtonite)
• Malacolite (synonym of diopside)
• Manganocolumbite (synonym of columbite-(Mn))
• Manganotantalite (synonym of tantalite-(Mn))
• Mariposite (variety of phengite/muscovite)
• Meerschaum (variety of sepiolite)
• Melanite (variety of andradite)
• Menilite (variety of opal)
• Milky quartz (a cloudy white quartz)
• Morganite (a pink beryl)

N

Needles of natrolite on deep pink inesite

Neptunite from California, USA

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Nephrite (variety of tremolite/actinolite)
• Niobite (synonym of columbite)
• Niobite-tantalite (synonym of columbite-tantalite)

O

Boulder opal, Carisbrooke Station near Winton, Queensland, Australia

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Oligoclase (a mixture of albite and anorthite)
• Onyx (a monochromatic banded variety of chalcedony)
• Orthochrysotile (a polytype of chrysotile)

P

Paravauxite and sigloite crystals associated with micro crystallized iron-stained wavellite needles on matrix

Pectolite from Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey, USA

Phosphophyllite from Cerro de Potosí, Potosí Department, Bolivia

Pyrrhotite on quartz

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Parachrysotile (a polytype of chrysotile)
• Pelagosite (variety of aragonite)
• Pericline (variety of albite)
• Peridot (gem-quality olivine)
• Perlite (volcanic glass)
• Phengite (variety of muscovite)
• Phosphorite (name given to impure, massive apatite.)
• Pimelite (not approved by IMA)
• Pitchblende (a massive impure form of uraninite)
• Plessite (mixture of kamacite and taenite)
• Potassium alum or potash alum (as a mineral, is called alum-(K))

Q

Quartz

R

Crystals of cherry red ruby in matrix

Rock crystal

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Rashleighite (variety of turquoise)
• Rhodolite (variety of pyrope)
• Rock crystal (quartz)
• Rose quartz (pink variety of quartz)
• Roumanite (amber)
• Ruby (red gem corundum)

S

Acicular colorless scolecite crystals in a group with pale green apophyllite and very light pink stilbite

Gypsum (selenite variety): Santa Eulalia District, Chihuahua, Mexico

Serandite clusters from Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Montérégie, Québec, Canada

Botryoidal balls of shattuckite, from Otjikotu, Kaokoveld, Kunene, Namibia

Ball of stepped stannite crystals flanked by splaying GEM quartzes and golden chalcopyrite at its upper edge, from Yaogangxian Mine, Yizhang County, Chenzhou Prefecture, Hunan Province, China

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Sapphire (gem corundum of any color except red, especially blue varieties)
• Sard (a variety of chalcedony/quartz)
• Satinspar (a variety of gypsum)
• Selenite (a variety of gypsum)
• Simetite (a variety of amber)
• Smoky quartz (a brown or black variety of quartz)
• Soda niter (synonym of nitratine)
• Spectrolite (a variety of labradorite)
• Spessartite (synonym of spessartine)
• Sphene (synonym of titanite)
• Stantienite (a variety of amber)
• Stibiconite (grandfathered by IMA)
• Sunstone (a variety of either oligoclase or orthoclase)

T

Crystal of titanite with adularia and minor clinochlore on matrix

Fluorite crystal sitting beside a glassy, dark green tourmaline crystal, which itself sits atop a green tourmaline of a lighter color. All sit on a bed of sparkly, bladed stark white albite

Crystals of turquoise, from Copper Cities Mine, Globe-Miami District, Arizona, USA

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Tanzanite (variety of zoisite)
• Thulite (variety of zoisite)
• Thuringite (variety of chamosite)
• Travertine (form of calcium carbonate)
• Tsavorite (gem variety of grossularite garnet)

U

Crystals of tourmaline (uvite variety) on quartz, from Pomba pit, Serra das Éguas, Brumado, Bahia, Brazil

V

Vanadinite from the Mibladen Mining District, Morocco

W

Deep green balls of wavellite in exposed pocket, from Mauldin Mountain Quarries, Montgomery County, Arkansas, USA

X

Radial fibrous inesite and xonotlite from Northern Cape Province, South Africa

Y

Yugawaralite crystals in a sheltered vug, from Jalgaon District, Maharashtra, India

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Yttrocerite (variety of fluorite)
• Yttrocolumbite (variety of columbite)

Z

Zeolite with heulandite on quartz

Zircon from Gilgit, Pakistan

Varieties that are not valid species:

• Zajacite-(Ce) (name changed to gagarinite-(Ce))
• Zhonghuacerite-(Ce) (considered to be kukharenkoite-(Ce) or huanghoite-(Ce))
• Zinalsite (synonym of fraipontite)

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Minerales para niños