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The Fundamental Wonders of the World
The science of mineralogy is the study of the physics and chemistry of natural, solid, crystalline materials.
A mineral is a naturally-occurring, homogeneous solid with a definite, but generally not fixed, chemical composition and an ordered atomic arrangement. It is usually formed by inorganic processes.

Let's look at the five parts of this definition:

1.) "Naturally occurring" means that synthetic compounds not known to occur in nature cannot have a mineral name. However, it may occur anywhere, other planets, deep in the earth, as long as there exists a natural sample to describe.

2.) "Homogeneous solid" means that it must be chemically and physically homogeneous down to the basic repeat unit of the atoms. It will then have absolutely predictable physical properties (density, compressibility, index of refraction, etc.). This means that rocks such as granite or basalt are not minerals because they contain more than one compound.

3.) "Definite, but generally not fixed, composition" means that atoms, or groups of atoms must occur in specific ratios. For ionic crystals (i.e. most minerals) ratios of cations to anions will be constrained by charge balance, however, atoms of similar charge and ionic radius may substitute freely for one another; hence definite, but not fixed.

4.) "Ordered atomic arrangement" means crystalline. Crystalline materials are three-dimensional periodic arrays of precise geometric arrangement of atoms. Glasses such as obsidian, which are disordered solids, liquids (e.g., water, mercury), and gases (e.g., air) are not minerals.

5.) "Inorganic processes" means that crystalline organic compounds formed by organisms are generally not considered minerals. However, carbonate shells are minerals because they are identical to compounds formed by purely inorganic processes.

~ Minerals in your House ~

There is little we do that does not involve rocks and minerals and the metals we extract from them. Sadly, people seldom stop to think about them. There are thousands of known minerals. We thought you might be interested in learning how a few of them affect you every day.

What follows doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the essential role that rocks and minerals play in our lives.

Based on current consumption, it is estimated that every other person in the United States - will use more than a million pounds of rocks, minerals and metals during your lifetime including:

• 800 pounds of lead - Primarily used in the construction of batteries. Also used as a radiation shielding during x-ray treatment by your doctor and dentist and as a protective shield on your TV screen to protect you from radiation from that source.

• 750 pounds of zinc - primarily used as a rust inhibitor for steel in the construction of cars, buildings, bridges, ships and trains.

• 1,500 pounds of copper - Primarily used in the manufacture of copper wire to conduct electricity needed in your car, home, office, school, church, appliances.

• 3,600 pounds of aluminum - Cans, aircraft and automobile construction, sporting and electronic equipment, appliances.

• 32,000 pounds of iron - Used to make steel for cars, subways, ships, cans, building construction, heavy equipment, appliances, power transmission turbines and towers.

• 27,000 pounds of clays - Used to coat the pages of newspapers magazines, stationery, brochures and boxes so that the ink used in printing on them will be bright and will not run. Also used as a brightener and abrasive in toothpaste and to provide a smooth coating for your stomach in medicines.

• 28,000 pounds of salt - Used in food preservation (almost all canned and frozen food contain salt), to enhance the taste of foods and to melt the ice on streets and highways during the winter. Also used in the manufacture of many chemicals, for water treatment, papermaking, soaps & detergents and in petroleum refining.

• 1,000,000 pounds of stone, sand, gravel and cement - Use in streets, highways and sidewalks; in the foundation for your house and school; as decorative materials for yards and gardens; in water purification plants to protect your health and in the construction of buildings from the most modest of homes to the world's tallest skyscrapers.

Mineral Collecting: Is it For Me?
Ok, like anything new, mineral collecting can seem daunting, but there are thousands and thousands of collectors out there and we all started somewhere. So don’t be shy about it – if you are interested, come on in! If you find that you have a love for minerals, you will absolutely not be a beginner for long – you will graduate very quickly to become a learning collector and then soon, a knowledgeable collector.

    If you could choose anything in the world, imagine for a moment what would you want out of your ideal hobby, pursuit or passion?

Maybe it would include relaxing quiet time and comfort. It could be something that is individualistic, and allows you to be a little different from others, and it might also be something you could share with others who enjoy it too, developing interesting friendships and connections along the way. Perhaps it would involve some history and art. It could involve adventure, time outdoors and greater connection to nature. And is it maybe something you would want to involve learning and personal growth? Ultimately would it be something that could enable you to contribute to the happiness of others?

    Maybe a slightly intense start, but hang in there  for just a little. Because now there are two final questions for you. What if mineral collecting could give you all of these things? And what if you could choose which ones are most important to you, and create the perfect hobby, pursuit or lifelong passion with as many or few of these factors, all scaled in exactly the proportion you desire?

Ok, so if you’ve never thought much about mineral collecting before, you may be thinking this is crazy. (Maybe it is, but in a good way.) Not everyone is going to find minerals interesting. If you don’t think mineral collecting is for you, but you do spend some more thought and discover what is for you instead, that’s awesome.

Many people are never lucky enough to find it. On the other hand, if you are still with me and now simply curious as to how the heck we're going to substantiate the suggestion that mineral collecting can be all of these things for you… well, it is all of these things for us, so here we go:
 

Growth and Learning

Mineral collecting offers endless learning for those who are curious and love to learn and grow. Nobody can ever learn it all and nobody can ever collect them all, so the challenge is wide open. You can sure do well to meet whatever challenge you set for yourself, and most important, the journey is great. About learning, a lot of this is possible even from the comfort of your own home. We live in a Golden Age of mineral publishing, with many excellent books and periodical publications written for people of all levels of background. There are a lot of books on the matter and in addition, the internet is an incredible source of resources for learning. With all that is available in this era in which we are living, you can come from any background and develop lots of knowledge about minerals, and even ultimately develop real expertise in one or more areas.
 

Connection with Others

Mineral collecting involves the chance to develop friends and connections around the world. Together with the opportunity to meet people at mineral shows attended by people from all over the world, the internet has of course enabled community and friendship across all borders. Mineral clubs are active all over the world, so you may well have a local club you can join, to meet local collectors. Even more than this, mineral collecting may lead you to friends with whom you go field collecting, and friends with whom you travel the world in search of the next adventure (and maybe the next pieces for your collection).
 

Individuality and Personal Achievement

Even though mineral collecting is something most of us enjoy sharing with others to some degree, on the other hand, it is also a personal, individualistic pursuit. Within mineral collecting circles, and just more generally among family and friends, every mineral collection and collector’s focus is purely personal and will stand out as unique. And of course, the development of all knowledge and of any mineral collection you’ve challenged yourself to build, at any level at all, is a source of a deep feeling of personal accomplishment and achievement.
 

No Two Are the Same

Just to highlight how broadly this concept of individuality applies to mineral collecting, no two of anything are the same. At all. You can have two specimens of the same mineral, they will not be the same – in fact they may even be so radically different from each other as to be incomparable. You can have two single crystals of the same mineral, from the same locality, even from the same pocket, and they will not be the same. Like snowflakes. (Of course snowflakes crystals of ice, which itself is a mineral…). And among collectors, no two are the same. Everyone has a different taste, different collecting focus, different sense of aesthetics, and can place more or less emphasis on any single characteristic of a mineral specimen. 
 

Always Something New

Every day, somewhere in the world, new mineral specimens are discovered. Sometimes these discoveries come as the result of exploration, development or commercial production in the mining industry. Often, discoveries are made by people collecting mineral specimens. Discoveries are sometimes made very close to home, and other times somewhere far away. No matter where they arise, there are new things found all the time – these finds emerge both on the internet and at mineral shows. It’s one of the best things about the world of minerals – it is always changing and no two days are the same.
 

New discoveries can be anything – they may be finds of a new occurrence of beautiful or interesting mineral specimens, which may be different from any find before, and in fact a new discovery may be a new mineral, never before found or described in science. And it’s not that hard to keep up, really – simply keeping an eye on this website and the sites of a few other good mineral dealers, reading on mindat.org and reading the “what’s new” updates in the Mineralogical Record will keep you up to speed.
 

Connection with Nature

Mineral collecting involves a strong connection with nature, both through the minerals themselves, and also through any travelling into the wild to collect them oneself.  Spending time admiring the natural perfection and beauty of minerals in your collection is a wonderful experience. Many specimens are so amazing it’s hard to believe they are real. If you take a moment to lose yourself in any of them, you’ll see what I mean. It is inspiring and can be pretty humbling. I hope some of this comes through in the photographs on this site, but if you are like me, you are likely to feel it even more with the more contact you have with specimens in person, whether at shows, in museums, or in your own collection.
 

Adventure

Mineral collecting can involve as much adventure as an individual can ask for, or can be a hobby that is a relaxing and fulfilling from the comfort of one’s own home. If you’re looking for adventure, you can let mineral collecting take you anywhere in the world – mountains, deserts, forests, jungles, ocean and lake shorelines, river valleys, caves, old and new mines – you name it, and as close or as far away as you choose. Group trips arise through clubs and other organizations, and there are intrepid individuals who lead privately guided adventures. Of course, it’s not possible to go everywhere we might like, but once again publications and internet sites like this one make it possible to share in some of the adventures you haven’t yet been on yourself.
 

Contribution

Ultimately, for those who become truly passionate about minerals, there are many ways to contribute, including teaching young people and beginners, making presentations to clubs and symposia, and volunteering to advance the hobby and the science of mineralogy.