Blue Arognite Calcite

A mineral is a naturally occurring substance with distinctive chemical and physical properties, composition and atomic structure. Rocks are generally made up of two of more minerals, mixed up through geological processes.

In mineralogy, the type specimen, also known as type material, is a reference sample by which a mineral is defined. Similar to the biology type methods, a mineral type specimen is a sample (or in some cases a group of samples) of a mineral to which the scientific name of that mineral is formally attached.

These are beryl, chrysoberyl, corundum, diamond, feldspar, garnet, jade, lazurite, olivine, opal, quartz, spinel, topaz, tourmaline, turquoise, and zircon. Some of these minerals provide more than one type of gem; beryl, for example, provides emeralds and aquamarines, while corundum provides rubies and sapphires.