Minerals

A

Amethyst crystals – a purple quartz
Apophyllite crystals sitting right beside a cluster of peachy bowtie stilbite
Aquamarine variety of beryl with tourmaline on orthoclase
Arsenopyrite from Hidalgo del ParralChihuahua, Mexico
Aurichalcite needles spraying out within a protected pocket lined by bladed calcite crystals
Austinite from the Ojuela Mine, MapimíDurango, Mexico
Ametrine containing amethyst and citrine, from Bolivia
Azurite, Burra Mine, South Australia

Varieties that are not valid species:

B

Baryte (included by malachite) on malachite, from Shangulowé Mine, Kambove, Central area, Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo
Spiky calcite scalenohedra with a coating of whitish benstonite on a layer of teal-colored fluorite
Thin tabular biotite cluster
Brookite from KharanBalochistan, Pakistan

Varieties that are not valid species:

C

Radiating spray of colorless wheatsheaf calcite crystals on matrix, from IraíRio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Rhombohedrons of calcite that appear almost as books of petals, piled up 3-dimensionally on the matrix, from Eastern Europe
Sky blue, prismatic crystals of celestine from Majunga, Madagascar
Pocket cavity of small chrysocolla stalactites from Ray Mine, Scott Mountain area, Mineral Creek District, Arizona, USA
Cinnabar on dolomite
Cubic CobaltiteSudbury District, Ontario, Canada

Varieties that are not valid species:

D

The slightly misshapen octahedral shape of this rough diamond crystal in matrix is typical of the mineral
Dioptase from TsumebNamibia

Varieties that are not valid species:

  • Delessite (magnesian chamosite)
  • Diallage (a junction between augite and diopside)

E

Emerald on quartz, from Carnaiba Mine, Pindobaçu, Campo Formoso ultramafic complex, Bahia, Brazil
Epidote crystals on matrix mined in Katsna Yama, Pervouralsk, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia

Varieties that are not valid species:

F

Translucent fluorapophyllit-(K) crystal and stilbite, from Jalgaon District, Maharashtra, India
Deep green isolated fluorite crystal showing cubic and octahedral faces, set upon a micaceous matrix

Varieties that are not valid species:

G

Garnet
Gold vein stockwork in limonite, from Gold Flake Vein, Farncomb Hill, Breckenridge Mining District, Summit County, Colorado, USA

Varieties that are not valid species:

H

Brazilian trigonal hematite crystals
Heulandite and CeladoniteAurangabad DistrictMaharashtra, India
Hübnerite and quartz

Varieties that are not valid species:

  • Hatchettite (a paraffin wax)
  • Heliodor (greenish-yellow variety of beryl)
  • Heliotrope (variety of chalcedony)
  • Hessonite (variety of grossular)
  • Hiddenite (variety of spodumene)
  • Hyalite (variety of opal)
  • Hyalophane (synonym of jaloallofane)
  • Hypersthene (synonym of enstatite or ferrosilite, or mid-way member of the enstatite–ferrosilite series) (not approved by IMA)

I

Inyoite from Monte Azul deposit, Sijes, Salta, Argentina

Varieties that are not valid species:

  • Idocrase (synonym of vesuvianite)
  • Iolite (a gem-quality variety of cordierite)

J

Benitoite (blue), joaquinite-(Ce) (brown) and neptunite (dark red) on natrolite (white), from Dallas Gem Mine area, San Benito River headwaters area, New Idria District, Diablo Range, San Benito Co., California, USA

Varieties that are not valid species:

K

Kainosite-(Y) from the Amphibolite quarry, HaslachBlack ForestBaden-Württemberg, Germany
Kröhnkite from Cuquicamata Mine, Chuquicamata District, CalamaEl Loa ProvinceAntofagasta Region, Chile

Varieties that are not valid species:

L

Langite from Alsace, France
Legrandite on limonite
Liddicoatite on quartz and feldspar

Varieties that are not valid species:

M

Magnetite from Speen Ghar, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan
Manganite from Ilfeld, Thuringia, Germany
Mesolite at the Carnegie Museum of Natural HistoryPittsburghPennsylvania, USA
Mimetite on limonite matrix

Varieties that are not valid species:

N

Needles of natrolite on deep pink inesite
Neptunite from California, USA

Varieties that are not valid species:

O

Boulder opal, Carisbrooke Station near Winton, Queensland, Australia

Varieties that are not valid species:

P

A native Platinum nugget from the Kondyor mine, Khabarovsk Krai, Russia.
Pectolite from PatersonPassaic CountyNew Jersey, USA
Phosphophyllite from Cerro de Potosí, Potosí Department, Bolivia
Proustite from Chanarcillo, Copiapo Province, Chile

Varieties that are not valid species:

Q

Quartz

R

Crystals of cherry red ruby in matrix
Rock crystal

Varieties that are not valid species:

S

Native silver on Acanthite, Imiter Mine, Ouarzazate Province, Morocco
Gypsum (selenite variety): Santa Eulalia DistrictChihuahua, Mexico
Serandite clusters from Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-HilaireMontérégieQuébec, Canada
Botryoidal balls of shattuckite, from Otjikotu, Kaokoveld, Kunene, Namibia
Ball of stepped stannite crystals flanked by splaying GEM quartzes and golden chalcopyrite at its upper edge, from Yaogangxian Mine, Yizhang County, Chenzhou Prefecture, Hunan Province, China

Varieties that are not valid species:

T

Crystal of titanite with adularia and minor clinochlore on matrix
Fluorite crystal sitting beside a glassy, dark green tourmaline crystal, which itself sits atop a green tourmaline of a lighter color. All sit on a bed of sparkly, bladed stark white albite
Turquoise from the Copper Cities Mine, near Miami, Arizona, USA

Varieties that are not valid species:

U

Uranophane, Musonoi Mine, Kolwezi, Katanga (Shaba), Democratic Republic of Congo. FOV: 6 mm

V

Vanadinite from the Mibladen Mining District, Morocco

W

Deep green balls of wavellite in exposed pocket, from Mauldin Mountain Quarries, Montgomery County, Arkansas, USA

X

Radial fibrous inesite and xonotlite from Northern Cape Province, South Africa

Y

Yugawaralite crystals in a sheltered vug, from Jalgaon District, Maharashtra, India

Varieties that are not valid species:

Z

Zeolite with heulandite on quartz
Zircon from Gilgit, Pakistan

Varieties that are not valid species:

See also