Mineral Identification
"Mineral
identification
can be a complex process where not
only hand samples are identified, but also thin sections are studied
under microscope and chemical analysis may be made in laboratories.."
For a home collection, studying a hand sample is enough.
1. Check crystal habit and grain shape. Does this mineral have a massive habit or does it grow crystals? Can you identify what shape of crystals? Have a close look with a hand lens or a simple microscope.
2. Check the mineral colour, transparency, streak and lustre. If you haven't got a scratch board (streak plate), crush a bit of mineral powder onto a white paper and see what colour it is.
3. Measure specific gravity, which is best done with a Jolly balance or pychnometre, but if you haven't got any of them, and the sample is large enough, with a little bit of experience you can make an estimate of specific gravity by simply hefting the sample in your hands.
4. Measure the hardness by scratching with a fingernail (H = 2 – 2 ½ ); copper penny (H = 3); knife blade (H = 5); piece of glass (H = 5 ½ ); and/or piece of quartz (H = 7). Even better if you get yourself a proper Mohs hardness kit or Mohs' hardness testing minerals .
5. Break the mineral with a geological hammer or a chisel to determine if it has cleavage and/or fracture, and what kind of cleavage and fracture they are.
6. Check any other properties - does the mineral react to HCl or other acids? Test with a magnet if it is magnetic? Does it show fluorescence?
7. Use my simple but comprehensive mineral identification table to determine what the mineral is. All you have to do is to subscribe to my newsletter (for free of course), and you can download the table totally for FREE - no catch at all.
(This is only because I do want to have a rough knowledge of how much the table is used - it took me a long time to make while I was studying geology. And - it would have been way too big to fit onto this web page!)
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