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://cnmnc.units.it/imareport.htm  
http://www.minsocam.org/msa/IMA/

Mineral families, supergroups, and groups - Excel file

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)
Spreadsheethttps://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WinCcac.exe zipped form; see also below unpublished Chlorite spreadsheet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) 
 
- columbiteNBTA: a program for columbite-group minerals in rare-element granites
and granitic pegmatites
Computers & Geosciences 27, 241–248 (2001)
 
- epidoteA Windows program for calculation and classification of epidote–supergroup minerals 
Periodico di Mineralogia 87, 269-285 (2018)
 
- feldsparA Windows Program for Feldspar Group Thermometers and Hygrometers
Periodico di Mineralogia 91, 63-87 (2022)
 
- garnetAn 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)
https://www.eas.ualberta.ca/eml/files/GTcalc_Corr.xlsx
2021 revision including "Hydroandradite"
 
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
 
- micaEvaluating 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
 
- pyroxeneWinPyrox: 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)
 
- spinelNomenclature 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)
 
- tourmalineNomenclature 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

 

Electron Microprobe Labs in North America 

2012 compilation by Dr. S.C. Kuehn (Concord University)