Mineralogy is an active science in which minerals are discovered or recognised on a regular basis. Use of old mineral names is also discontinued, for example when a name is no longer considered valid. Therefore, a list of recognised mineral species is never complete.
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.
The International Mineralogical Association (IMA) is the international scientific group that recognises new minerals and new mineral names. However, minerals discovered before 1959 did not go through the official naming procedure. Some minerals published previously have been either confirmed or discredited since that date. This list contains a mixture of mineral names that have been approved since 1959 and those mineral names believed to still refer to valid mineral species (these are called "grandfathered" species). Presently, each year about 90–110 new mineral species (the sum of all mutations c. 120 per year) are officially approved by the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC) of the International Mineralogical Association.
, the IMA - CNMNC List of Minerals lists 6,226 valid minerals, including 1,153 pre-IMA minerals (grandfathered), and 97 questionable minerals. Also , the Mineralogical Society of America's Handbook of Mineralogy lists 5,663 species, and the IMA Database of Mineral Properties/RRUFF Project lists 6,006 valid species (IMA/CNMNC) of a total of 6,236 minerals. The IMA/RRUFF database includes 1,164 pre-IMA minerals.
Due to the length of this list, it is divided into alphabetical groups. The minerals are sorted by name.
List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (A) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (B) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (C) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (D) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (E) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (F) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (G) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (H) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (I) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (J) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (K)
List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (L) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (M) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (N) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (O) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (P–Q) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (R) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (S) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (T) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (U–V) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (W–X) List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (Y–Z)
Abbreviations: "*" – discredited (IMA/CNMNC status). "s.p." – special procedure. Q or "?" – questionable/doubtful (IMA/CNMNC, mindat.org or mineralienatlas.de status). N – published without approval of the IMA/CNMNC, or just not an IMA approved mineral but with some acceptance in the scientific community nowadays. The 'IMA database of mineral properties' (rruff.info/ima) has 173 species with 'not an IMA approved mineral' tag, some are an intermediate member of a solid solution series, others are "recently" discredited minerals. I – intermediate member of a solid-solution series. H – hypothetical mineral (synthetic, anthropogenic, etc.) ch – incomplete description, hypothetical solid solution end member. Published without approval and formally discredited or not approved, yet. Mainly: pyrochlore, tourmaline and amphibole supergroups, arrojadite, and yftisite-(Y). IMA/CNMNC revisions generate hypothetical solid solution endmembers. group – a name used to designate a group of species, sometimes only a mineral group name.
Working practices
The name of a new mineral is kept confidential by the IMA until it is approved or until its full description is published, its authors' option (approved decision: 'IMA2009-D'). The IMA uses a code for its own procedures for the supposed new mineral (and so it is a synonym). Ferri-ottoliniite's proposal was assigned code 'IMA2001-067', it was redefined and approved as 'IMA2001-067a' in 2003, for instance (the ottoliniite root name is discredited since 2012). Current IMA regulations do not allow substances of anthropogenic origin (burning coal mine dumps, coal mine fires, slag, etc.) to be validated as a mineral species. Since 1998, the majority of polymorphs (especially polytypes and polytypoids) are not regarded as separate mineral species anymore. IMA/CNMNC identifiers are usually written without space, as years don't get meaningful hits on Google search. "The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana" (8 ed.) was the reference of CNMNC/CNMMN's (IMA) initial work. At the Kobe 2006 general meeting, the IMA council endorsed the creation of an Internet site on minerals ('rruff.info/ima'). So a Master List was needed and the older minerals were reviewed in a document of 130 pages. The final GQN List was published (grandfathered, questionable and published without approval) after a final review of Burke E A J and Nickel E H (approved decision: 'IMA2006-C'). Not only the well established minerals before 1959 was grandfathered (G), but the minerals that could not be discredited as well. The merging of the 'ARD List' (approved, revalidated and discredited) with the 'GQN List' resulted in the first 'IMA/CNMNC List of Mineral Names'. The 2007 draft of the 'IMA/CNMNC List of Mineral Names' was a courtesy of the Materials Data, Inc. (MDI), its 2009 review had important modifications. The RRUFF database was built with the help of the MDI's 2007 draft, the IMA Master List is an update of the MDI's 2009 review. Some grandfathered minerals had their status changed to approved afterwards, based on IMA approved reports. The list of approved minerals was revised with 'The New IMA List of Minerals (September 2012)'. The IMA was founded in a meeting in Madrid (1958). The CNMMN (now CNMNC) was one of the original eight commissions, it was founded in 1959. Not all grandfathered mineral were first described prior to 1959. Hatrurite, a phase in cement clinker (alite, C3S), was first described in 1977, for instance.MinDat - Hatrurite Some mineral names were revised; this changed their first letters. Sodium-pharmacosiderite is now natropharmacosiderite, natroapophyllite is now fluorapophyllite-(Na), for instance. But 2010, hydroxylapatite, fluorapatite, fluorellestadite and chlorapatite had their old names reinstated. Progress in earth sciences, geology, mineralogy can be slow: Some IMA/CNMNC (1959–2000) approved minerals had their complete description published only 2012: 'IMA1998-018' (fluornatromicrolite, published 2011), 'IMA1987-046a' (ferrolaueite, published 2012), 'IMA1978-064' (approval probably based on fake data), 'IMA1977-006' (whelanite, published 2012) and 'IMA1968-003' (discredited, 'IMA2008-B'). 'IMA1995-025' was listed as well, a mistake (natroglaucocerinite, published 1995). The paper of Armbruster et al. (2006) misunderstood the naming rules and renamed a well established mineral name (hancockite). Hatert et al. (2013) modified the naming rules. and proposal IMA2015 s.p. was accepted, reverting the renaming. Sample: bergenite was discredited as a barium bearing mineral variety of phosphuranylite (IMA1962 s.p., special procedure). So phosphuranylite was already a valid mineral, and it is listed in the Michael Fleischer's mineral list (1966). Both are listed as grandfathered minerals as they are not listed in the 'ARD List' (approved, revalidated and discredited minerals; 2004). The review and approval of new mineral is straight forward most of the time, but there are exceptions. Proposal IMA2009-096 was not accepted, proposal IMA2009-096a was approved as fontarnauite (6.DA.60) in 2014. Proposal IMA1995-020 was not accepted, proposal IMA1995-020c was approved as jarandolite (6.CB.25). Some valid names get discredited (in the broader sense). Tohdite (hydrous alumina) was conditionally approved as 'IMA2004-051'. But the re-examination of the holotype material of akdalaite ((Al2O3)5·H2O, 'IMA1969-002') from the Fersman Mineralogical Museum in Moscow showed that both minerals were identical (space group was corrected).Mindat.org - Tohdite Tellurocanfieldite was conditionally approved as 'IMA2012-013'. Its approval was withdrawn as further studies showed it to be a Te-rich variety of canfieldite (Y: 1894, 2.BA.70).Mindat.org - Tellurocanfieldite Some old minerals were known before their 20th century names were first published.
Miscellany Current regulations do not allow a new mineral name to honour a person a second time. But there are exceptions: Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779–1848) (berzelianite, berzeliite and berzeline (now haüyne)); Pierre Berthier (1782–1861) (berthierine and berthierite); Andor von Semsey (1833–1923) (andorite IV, andorite VI and semseyite); Brian Harold Mason (1917–2009) (brianite and stenhuggarite); Caleb Wroe Wolfe (1908–1980) (wolfeite and wroewolfeite) and Leo Neal Yedlin (1908–1977) (yedlinite and nealite). The regulation does not affect mineral series and other variations (prefix iso, hexa, ortho, tetra, clino, meta, para, pseudo etc.). For instance: Karl Hugo Strunz (1910–2006) (strunzite group); George P. Merrill (1854–1929) (merrillite series, whitlockite group); Edward S. Grew (Ph.D. 1971) (edgrewite series, humite group). Standard temperature and pressure (STP). Silicate perovskites, argentite and β-quartz are not valid minerals, as they do not occur on Earth's surface (STP). The type material of bridgmanite is from a meteorite. Some minerals are unstable on Earth's surface (metastability): diamonds, cohenite and haxonite, for instance. Acanthite var. argentite (a pseudomorph after argentite) and β-quartz pseudomorphs are sometimes sold.Argentit (German) Ramdohr (1936) discovered that the type material of schapbachite (Ag0.4Pb0.2Bi0.4S) was a mixture of galena (PbS) and matildite (AgBiS2).Mindat.org - Schapbachite It was discredited (1982) as it was found unstable at 'standard temperature and pressure' (STP). It was revalidated (2004) as Pb-bearing schabachite is stable at STP. The type locality is not Schapbach now, but Silberbrünnle mine, Gengenbach; both Black Forest localities. Epsilon iron, hexagonal close-packed (HCP) phase of iron is stable only at extremely high pressure. It can be found as a mineral (chemical formula: ). It is not only schapbachite that had a longer controversy. Other minerals have a complicated history, as well.