Mineral Identification

This chapter discusses which analytical techniques are most useful in the identification of minerals and the most common instruments available for determining mineral properties: Polarizing Light Microscope (PLM), X-ray Diffractometer (XRD), and a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with a Scanning Energy-Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS).  Once the mineral properties are identified or measured, a searchable mineral database is used to narrow the possible mineral species. 

 Topics covered in Chapter 19 include:

The Process of Identification
Our Mineral Database
Other Databases
Strategies
New Minerals