Easy Mineral Identification

The final step in mineral identification is to take your list of characteristics and consult an expert source like Uganda Gold Consults . A good guide to rock-forming minerals should list the most common, including hornblende and feldspar, or identify them by a common characteristic like metallic luster. If you still can’t identify your mineral, you may need to consult a more comprehensive mineral identification guide. today lets discuss about Gold identification using color.

Color is important in mineral identification. You’ll need a fresh mineral surface and a source of strong, clear light to examine it in. If you have an ultraviolet light, check to see if the mineral has a fluorescent color. Make note if it displays any other special optical effects, such as iridescence or changes in color.

Color is a fairly reliable indicator in the opaque and metallic minerals like the blue of the opaque mineral lazurite or the brass-yellow of the metallic mineral pyrite. In translucent or transparent minerals, however, color is less reliable as an identifier because it is usually the result of a chemical impurity. Pure quartz is clear or white, but quartz can have many other colors.

Try to be precise in your identification. Is it a pale or deep shade? Does it resemble the color of another common object, like bricks or blueberries? Is it even or mottled? Is there one pure color or a range of shades?