How to Identify Minerals: 10 Steps to Mineral Identification

By Andrew Alden, About.com Guide

Learning mineral identification is like learning to cook. You begin by following step-by-step procedures and looking up a lot of things. But after a while you notice regularities, become familiar with the usual suspects, make some productive mistakes, and get better at it until it becomes easy and fun.

Another way mineral identification is like cooking is that professionals can go to school, learn to use expensive equipment and master the subject fully, yet amateurs can handle nearly all the common possibilities using just a few simple tools.

The first thing to do is to observe and test your mineral. (Review "What Is a Mineral?" for what exactly a mineral is.) Use the largest piece you can find, and if you have several pieces, make sure sure that they are all the same mineral. Examine your mineral for all of the following properties, writing down the answers. After that you'll be ready to take your information to the right place.