Dexter Perkins, University of North Dakota, prepared this on-line mineralogy text as a Second Edition, released in July 2022, which includes significant rewriting and photo replacements and addition of a large mineral encyclopedia (Chapter 14) with many photographs.
The production of this text was a team effort. In addition to the principal author, significant contributions came from Miranda Shanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Douglas Perkins, Kevin Henke, Alyssa Schultz, Paige Tibke, Hunter Morris, and Josh Crowell.
Companion Book
If you find this book of value, you may wish to check out the companion Open Petrology text.
Creative Commons
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is intended for educational purposes only. Classroom and class use do not require attribution. Copy what you wish for handouts, add our images and drawings to labs or lectures — do any of that without a worry. Read more about limits on use by clicking on the Creative Commons link in blue above.
Printing and PDF Versions
Many people have asked us to provide printable files or pdf versions of this book. This is not easily done because every chapter of this book is a single web page. So there is no pagination. We have added buttons at the end of every chapter for printing or creating pdf files, but the results are not very good. If anyone has a better plugin or suggestion, please let us know.
Photo and Graphic Credits
The visuals, especially the photos, are one of the things that make this book what it is. The second edition of this book contains more than 1,200 figures; almost all are full color and most are photographs. And, the majority of the photos came from Wikimedia Commons or others websites where selfless individuals have made their material available under a Creative Commons license for educational purposes. We have put figure credits at the end of every chapter. But, a number of individuals deserve special recognition for all the terrific photos they have shared: James St. John, Didier Descouens, Robert M. Lavinsky, Géry Parent, Marie Lan Taÿ Pamart, Siim Sepp, Andrew Silver, Eurico Zimbres, Amcyrus2012, Alex Strekeisen, Chmee2, Kevin Walsh, Teravolt, Acroterion, Amotoki, Bereket Haileab, Brocken Inaglory, Daniel Mayer, Graeme Churchard, Jan Helebrant, John Krygier, Kelly Nash, Leon Hupperichs, Mike Norton, R. Weller, Raike, Roy Goldberg, Walter Siegmund, and Woudloper. Unbeknownst to them, every one of these individuals contributed multiple photos to this project.
Ongoing Project
The nature of this kind of book means that it is always an ongoing project. If you see need for changes or additions of any sort, please email the main author at: dexter[dot]perkins[at]und[dot]edu. Minor corrections are made on a continual basis.
Web Browsers
Different web browsers have different quirks. For the best and most consistent results, we recommend using Chrome and recommend against using Firefox when viewing this book. But, sometimes Chrome does not show the same sharp images that Firefox does. So, the bottom line is that you should try several browsers and use the one that works best for you. They will NOT be the same. Additionally, we warn that many tables will not render well on small screens, and not at all on cell phones.
Introduction
Minerals make up our planet. They form the Earth and the bedrock that we live on, making up all of Earth’s rocks and sediments, and they are important components in soils. So, they literally are the foundations for our lives. Perhaps because they are ubiquitous, most people don’t even notice them or consider that all rock is made of minerals. But, engineers do because building a bridge or other structure on unstable material, or using poor ingredients for construction of all sorts, would lead to disasters. And, farmers care about minerals because healthy soils produce great crops. Petrologists who study rocks of all sorts need to know about minerals. And others who use resources in manufacturing need minerals. So, the world’s people rely on minerals. And, minerals, mineral production, and the study of minerals are absolutely essential to maintain our lifestyles.
Bronze Age spearheads and ferrules
The use and processing of minerals goes back more than 4,000 years. In fact, archaeologists and anthropologists define major periods of early human civilization based on mineral resources that were used. The late Stone Age, also called the Neolithic Age, was followed by the Chalcolithic Age from 4,500 to 3,500 BCE (Before Common Era) when people started using native copper to make tools and other artifacts. The Bronze Age that followed the Chalcolithic Age began in the Mesopotamian civilization of Sumeria and lasted from 4,200 to 1,000 BCE. During this time people combined mineralogical tin and copper and the result was bronze – a metal alloy that was stronger and more durable than copper. Some early cultures progressed to the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages before others; even today, some Stone Age cultures still exist. Figure 1.3 shows some Bronze Age artifacts.
The Iron Age followed the Bronze Age, beginning around 1,500 BCE, when the Hittite society of ancient Anatolia (modern day Turkey) discovered how to smelt iron. The iron came from native iron in meteorites that also contained small amounts of nickel. Fortuitously, the nickel produced an alloy superior to pure iron. So, copper, tin, iron, and nickel were all important during the early ages of humans. They are equally important today. These metals – and many others – are key parts of a seemingly infinite number of products we use every day. The metals come from minerals.
Ask most people today why minerals are important, and they will probably mention diamonds and other gems, or perhaps precious metals such as gold or silver. Gems and gold are important, but other minerals resources are equally, or substantially more, important. Highways and buildings, fertilizers, cars, jewelry, computers and other electronic devices, kitchenware, salt, magazines, vitamins and medicines, and just about everything that supports modern living require mineral resources for production. We are addicted to minerals and related commodities.
Read on! Very well done text for those geologists interested in mineral identifications, and others with a general interest.
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