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.
- 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.