How do i identify minerals?
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please see these sites
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1. You could look up lists of known densities for a match.\n\n2. If not found, the density can give you a clue concerning the nature (metallic, organic, etc) or category.
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Contact your nearest craftsperson who produces such enamel, or your nearest university or speciality school. You may even be able to find information through a local mineral and gem organization.
51907
The crystal structure. All minerals can be classified within 14 basic crystal lattice arrangements of the atoms in three dimensions. These 14 lattice arrangements fit within 7 larger crystal systems, allowing the classification of atomic structure of all known minerals.  To see diagrams of these go here:\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_structure
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Answering the question would be easier if I knew which type of mineral you were looking for.  Try looking on this link:\n\nhttp://www.rockhounds.com/rockshop/table.shtml\n\nIf you are looking to purchase, there are many people willing to take your money.  For information and more reasonable prices, there are rockshops (non new age) sprinkled through out the country, and the 2 best gems shows are in Denver & Tuscon.\n\nThe next issue is size.  In different mineral species, different sizes are considered large.  For example, quartz crystals up to the size of a gallon jug are found in Mt Ida, AK while selenites have been found in Mexico up to 20 ft tall (note that these are single crystals, not undifferentiated masses).  The largest rhodocrosite is about 6.5 inches per face (in the Denver Natural History Museum), the largest calcite is around 2 foot long (Shifferdecker Museum in Joplin, Mo).  With my friends, I have found a 14" double terminated calcite in Okhlahoma, and a nearly 2 foot selenite in Kansas.\n\nSolution minerals are more typically accessable when compared  with igneous ones, but all the hugest crystals are of igneous origin.  Most of the world record holders are so big thay can never be moved from the mine, unless destroyed.\nIf you seek mineral materiel without reference to single crystals, rough is available in masses shipped in either oil barrels or box cars, usually for industry or amature lapidary work.\n\nIf you are seeking gem materiel, it is unlikely that you can find it for a price within reason, even the synthetics. \n\nIf you are seeking geodes, the warsaw shale is the place to look.  It extends through out the midwest.\n\nThere are groups of rockhounds all over, and we go forth to find exactly what you are seeking.  However, there is actual physical labor involved, and possibly travel costs.  You might consider also speaking a professor with the local college in your area.
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I am not going to pick any of those choices because I don't believe any of those are correct, including streak. What you are describing is crystal structure, which might be related to color and streak, but since trace impurities in a mineral often determine color, and streak is nothing more than the color of a powdered form of the mineral I don't think It will be determined by atomic structure with certainty.  Most streaks are white!\n\nCleavage would be a correct answer but it was not included above. Cleavage and crystal structure are closely related properties. \n\nWhat you have described is the crystal structure. All minerals can be classified within 14 basic crystal lattice arrangements of the atoms in three dimensions. These 14 lattice arrangements fit within 7 larger crystal systems, allowing the classification of atomic structure of all known minerals.  To see diagrams of these go here:\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_structure
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Color, shape, hardness, melting point, boiling point, density
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Just guess what the colors would be for different compounds before you actually do the flame test for the hypothesis.  \nOr you could guess whether it is the cation (the positively charged metal ion) or the nonmetal anion that is responsible for the different colors.
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Guess a group 3 metal such as boron or Aluminium
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Ferromagnesium minerals: silicates with iron and magnesium in their formula, dark colored and dense. Example includes hornblende. \nNonferromagnesium mineral: silicates with no iron or magnesium in their formula (calcium, sodium or potassium common), light colored. Example includes feldspar.
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You could start here:\n\nhttp://webmineral.com/data/Magadiite.shtml
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Try Wikipedia:\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerals
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January  Garnet\nFebruary Amethyst\nMarch         Bloodstone or Aquamarine\nApril         Diamond\nMay         Emerald\nJune         Pearl or Moonstone\nJuly         Ruby\nAugust         Sardonyx or Peridot\nSeptember Sapphire or Lapis Lazuli\nOctober Opal or Pink Tourmaline\nNovember Topaz or Citrine\nDecember Turquoise or Zircon
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A rock is a naturally occurring aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids. Rocks are classified by mineral and chemical composition, by the texture of the constituent particles and by the processes that formed them. These indicators separate rocks into igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. They may also be classified according to grain size, in the case of conglomerates and breccias or in the case of individual stones.\n\nMinerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. The term "mineral" encompasses not only the material's chemical composition, but also the mineral's structure. Minerals range in composition from pure elements and simple salts to very complex silicates with thousands of known forms (organic compounds are excluded). The study of minerals is called mineralogy.
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If I remember correctly from my science classes, a mineral is essentially a solid substance that has a crystal structure.  (That's two right there - It's solid, and has to be crystal in structure.)  It also has to be inorganic and occurs naturally, and also homogenous.  Not to mention the fact that it's supposed to have a defined chemical composition.  That's more than four characteristics, but I believe them to be all true of minerals....
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I don't know but if you click on the site below you'll find out real quick. They know minerals.
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It's a mineral. Magnesium Silicate Hydroxide.