How are minerals classified?
Mineral systematics is based on the classification of chemical structure, by which all minerals fall into one of the following classes:
Mineral class I
native elements, minerals that appear in nature as their native form; divided into metals, semimetals and non-metals
Mineral class II
sulfides, natural compounds of sulphur with different metals (iron, copper, zinc, lead, silver, gold, cobalt, nickel) or semimetals (arsenic, antimony, bismuth)
Mineral class III
sulfosalts, group of minerals with a complex anion that until recently were included among the sulfides, but differ in that for sulfides containing a semimetal, it replaces the position of sulfur, while in sulfosalts, the semimetal replaces the position of the metal and binds to sulfur
Mineral class IV
oxides and hydroxides, natural compounds of metals or semimetals with oxygen and minerals containing a hydroxide anion group
Mineral class V
halides, natural compounds of fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine with alkaline and earth-alkaline metals (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium) or with lead or aluminium
Mineral class VI
carbonates, group of minerals that have a carbonate anion group that most often forms compounds with calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc, copper, lead or rare earth elements
Mineral class VII
nitrates, natural salts of nitric acid
Mineral class VIII
borates, minerals that contain a borate anion group
Mineral class IX
phosphates, arsenates and vanadates, minerals that contain a phosphate anion group with a tetrahedral shape that can be substituted with an arsenate or vanadate anion group
Mineral class X
sulfates, natural salts of sulphuric acid
Mineral class XI
tungstates and molybdates, natural salts of tungstic and molybdic acids
Mineral class XII
silicates, minerals whose fundamental building block (SiO4)4- has a tetrahedron shaped crystal lattice
Mineral class XIII
organic compounds, citrates, oxalates and acetates that are formed in reaction with metal cations and the appropriate organic acid under the influence of natural physicochemical processes