INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING THE MINERAL IDENTIFICATION CHARTS

  • Each Chart lists or groups minerals according to their properties. For example, on the Color Chart (part of which is shown on the right), minerals are grouped by color. If a mineral may have more than one color, its name will appear in more than one place on the Chart. (See, for example, quartz - circled in red.)

  • WORKED OUT EXAMPLE TO DEMONSTRATE PROCEDURE:

  • The following properties have been determined for Sample # 1:

    • COLOR: white
    • HARDNESS: hard, Mohs value 6
    • MISCELLANEOUS VISUAL PROPERTIES: striations

  • Examination of the Color Chart shows that the following minerals may be white: albite, kaolin, calcite, gypsum, halite, quartz

  • Examination of the Hardness Chart shows that the following minerals may have a hardness of 6: magnetite, albite, orthoclase, labradorite

  • Examination of the Miscellaneous Visual Properties Table shows that the following minerals may have striations: albite, labradorite, pyrite.

  • Examination of the three lists of minerals shows that only Albite - outlined in blue - is common to all three lists.

  • Record the mineral name, Albite, in the indicated place on Part B of your printout of the Mineral Identification Form.

  • When you have matched your sample numbers to mineral names, record the names in the indicated places on Part B of your printout of the Mineral Identification Form.


© 2001, David J. Leveson