Useful Links for Mineralogy

Nomenclature Software Mineralogy Databases Other Links

Nomenclature

Mineral Names - International Mineralogical Association

Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (IMA-CNMNC)

IMA reports on mineralogical nomenclature:

http://www.minsocam.org/msa/IMA/

Amorphous mineral species

Terminology

Dictionary of Crystallography - Commission for Crystallographic Nomenclature of the

International Union of Crystallography (IUCr)

Glossary of Clay Science - Clay Minerals Society

Mining terms from: Anglo-American, Cape Breton Miners Museum, Government of Canada,

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Software (mineral composition/classification; CIPW normative calculation)

Minerals

- amphibole: How to name amphiboles after the IMA2012 report: rules of thumb

and a new PC program for monoclinic amphiboles

Periodico di Mineralogia 81, 257-267 (2012)

software: http://www_crystal.unipv.it/labcris/AMPH2012.zip

An Excel spreadsheet to classify chemical analyses of amphiboles following the IMA 2012 recommendations

Computers & Geosciences 62, 1–11 (2014)

Spreadsheet: https://github.com/AndrewLocock/Amphibole/releases/tag/1.9.8

WinAmptb: A Windows program for calcic amphibole thermobarometry

Periodico di Mineralogia 86, 135-167 (2017)

- chlorite: A Windows program for chlorite calculation and classification

Computers & Geosciences 81, 101-113 (2015)

WinCcac.exe zipped form; see also below unpublished Chlorite spreadsheet

Low-temperature chlorite geothermometry: a graphical representation based on a T–R²⁺–Si diagram

European Journal of Mineralogy 27, 617-626 (2015)

- columbite: NBTA: a program for columbite-group minerals in rare-element granites

and granitic pegmatites

Computers & Geosciences 27, 241–248 (2001)

- epidote: A Windows program for calculation and classification of epidote–supergroup minerals

Periodico di Mineralogia 87, 269-285 (2018)

- feldspar: A Windows Program for Feldspar Group Thermometers and Hygrometers

Periodico di Mineralogia 91, 63-87 (2022)

- garnet: An Excel spreadsheet to recast analyses of garnet into end-member components,

and a synopsis of the crystal chemistry of natural silicate garnets

Computers & Geosciences 34, 1769-1780 (2008)

A function for the R programming language to recast garnet analyses into end-members:

Revision and porting of Muhling and Griffin’s method

Computers & Geosciences 36, 406-409 (2010)

Nomenclature of the garnet supergroup

American Mineralogist 98, 785-811(2013)

http://www.minsocam.org/MSA/AmMin/TOC/2013/Apr13_Data/Grew_p785-810_13.zip

- mica: Evaluating micas in petrologic and metallogenic aspect: I–definitions and structure of

the computer program MICA

Computers & Geosciences 29, 1203–1213 (2003)

for Windows 7-10 use DOSBox emulator to run

https://www.dosbox.com/ Use Alt-Enter to toggle full-screen mode

- perovskite: Perovskite classification: An Excel spreadsheet to determine and depict end-member

proportions for the perovskite- and vapnikite-subgroups of the perovskite supergroup

Computers & Geosciences 113, 106-114 (2018)

Spreadsheet: https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0098300417309019-mmc1.xlsx

- pyroxene: WinPyrox: A Windows program for pyroxene calculation classification and thermobarometry

American Mineralogist 98, 1338-1359 (2013), corrections

zipped version of WinPyrox executable file, 64-bit installation instructions for Windows7

{ WinPyroxV.1.07byFuatYAVUZ }

See also below unpublished Pyroxene component spreadsheet

A Windows program for pyroxene-liquid thermobarometry

Periodico di Mineralogia 87, 149-172 (2018)

- spinel: Nomenclature and classification of the spinel supergroup

European Journal of Mineralogy 31, 183-192 (2019)

Three–dimensional visualization of ternary prisms (T–prism): Development of a

spreadsheet–based tool for Earth and material sciences

Journal of Mineralogical and Petrological Sciences 114, 142-148 (2019)

zipped spreadsheets

Determination of the spinel group end-members based on electron microprobe analyses

Mineralogy and Petrology 109, 153-160 (2015)

SpinelViz: An interactive 3D application for visualizing spinel group minerals

Computers & Geosciences 48, 50-56 (2012)

SpinelViz program requires Microsoft Net Framework 2.0 and WindowsXP (equivalent)

- tourmaline: Nomenclature of the tourmaline-supergroup minerals

American Mineralogist 96, 895–913 (2011)

associated tourmaline species spreadsheet

A Windows program for calculation and classification of tourmaline-supergroup (IMA-2011)

Computers & Geosciences 63, 70-87 (2014) { WinTcacV.1.04byFuatYAVUZetal. }

A spreadsheet for calculating normative mole fractions of end-member species for
Na-Ca-Li-Fe²⁺-Mg-Al tourmalines from electron microprobe data

American Mineralogist 101, 111–119 (2016)

associated mole-fraction tourmaline spreadsheet

- Unpublished mineral calculation spreadsheets:

Chlorite - see also Computers & Geosciences 81, 101-113 (2015), above

Monticellite-Olivine end-members

Pyroxene components in system Na-Mg-Al-Si-K-Ca-Ti-Cr-Mn-Fe(II)-Fe(III)-Zr-O6

Stilpnomelane

Charge-balance (20-oxides) calculation spreadsheet

General formula calculation spreadsheet

Petrology Tools

- CIPW normative calculation for classification of igneous rocks:

Computers & Geosciences 35, 1785–1788 (2009)

https://www.eas.ualberta.ca/eml/files/CIPW_norm_Pruseth_2009.xls

Journal of Earth System Science 118, 101-113 (2009)

- Geochemical Sampling Error calculation modified after C.R. Stanley (2003):

Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis, 3, 169-178

- Geothermobarometry: for mantle phases - PTEXL

for crustal (granulite) phases - RCLC

Journal of Petrology 44, 897-900 (2003)

- TAS (total alkali - silica diagram) in Excel, after IUGS (Le Maitre, 2002)

- Ternary, Tetrahedral, Triangular-prism plotting in Excel:

Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 25, 1473-1477 (2000): Tri-plot

American Mineralogist 100, 2545-2547 (2015): Tetrahedral plot diagram

associated deposited item for Tetrahedral plotting

Periodico di Mineralogia 85, 115-119 (2016): Tetra-Plot

Journal of Mineralogical and Petrological Sciences 114, 142-148 (2019) triangular-prism spreadsheet-based tool: zipped spreadsheets

- XRD method for determination of aragonite-calcite-dolomite mixtures (July, 2018)

- Fe-Ti two-oxide geothermometer and oxygen-barometer of Ghiorso & Evans (2008)

Instructions for App located at ENKI-portal

- Olivine-orthopyroxene-spinel oxybarometer (references); 2023 implementation by S. Benaroya

Instructions for GitLab page

- Molecular Weight Calculator of Matthew Monroe at PNNL (Windows version)

- Shannon (1976) ionic radii, and Shannon (1981) bond distances in sulfides

Mineralogy Databases

American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database - cell dimensions and atomic coordinates

for refined crystal structures of minerals

Athena Mineralogy - rapid search by elements in the mineral formula (or by name or by group)

Database of Educational Crystallographic Online Resources (DECOR)

Handbook of Mineralogy - comprehensive mineral descriptions

mindat.org - mineral information, localities and photographs:

RRUFF - Raman spectra, X-ray diffraction and chemistry data for minerals

webmineral.com - species descriptions with links and an image library

Other Links

Links compiled by the European Mineralogical Union

Mineral-Related Links compiled by the Mineralogical Society of America

Links compiled by the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland

Database links compiled by the Mineralogical Society of Antwerp, Belgium

Useful links compiled by the Central Service Laboratory, University of Tasmania (S. Feig; requires sign-in)

Educational information from briteco: Rocks, Minerals and Precious Stones

Global Map of Electron Microprobe Laboratories

2024 compilation by Dr. A. von der Handt (University of British Columbia)