Encyclopedia of Mineral Names

Special Publication Volume 1

By W.H Blackburn and W.H Dennen

Have you ever wondered about the origin of mineral names? The name of a mineral may reflect its chemical composition, a physical property, the name of a person or of an organization, an event, or the mineral’s discovery locality. A mineral may have been named thousands of years ago (some minerals have been known since Antiquity) or just this year, as twenty to thirty new mineral species are approved and named every year by the International Mineralogical Association.

Hardcover. 368 pages. 1997.

This publication is no longer available as it is out of print.