How minerals are named ?

The discoverer of a mineral has the choice between four uses to name it :

- refer to the discovery site (cornwallite for English Cornwall, trimounsite for Trimouns, laurionite for Laurion, etc...).

- pay homage to a character, mineralogist or not, (goethite for Goethe, hauyne for René Just Haüy, guilleminite for Claude Guillemin, etc...)

- discuss its chemical composition (ferrosilite, nickeline, cobaltite, fluorite, etc...).

- underline its similarity with existing minerals (in general with prefixes : para-, pseudo-, cobaltoan-, magnesian-, etc ...).

The name of a new mineral must be approved by the IMA (International Mineralogical Association) before it is accepted.

A number of minerals or groups known for a long time, however, have names consecrated by use which escape these rules : quartz, feldspar, axinite, etc ...