Mineralfamiliene

Mineralfamiliene, or mineral families in mineralogy, are groupings of minerals that share common chemical components and structural frameworks. The most widely used classification sorts minerals by dominant anion or structural building block, producing families such as silicates, oxides, sulfides, carbonates, sulfates, halides, phosphates, borates, and native elements. This organization helps scientists understand genesis, stability, and properties, and is maintained by the International Mineralogical Association.

Silicates constitute the largest and most abundant mineral family in Earth's crust. They are defined by silicon-oxygen tetrahedra (SiO4) that link into frameworks of varying complexity. Subgroups include nesosilicates (independent SiO4 units like olivine), sorosilicates (Si2O7 groups like epidote), cyclosilicates (rings like beryl), inosilicates (single chains like pyroxenes and double chains like amphiboles), phyllosilicates (sheets like micas and clays), and tectosilicates (frameworks like feldspars and quartz). Examples: quartz, feldspar, olivine, micas, pyroxenes, amphiboles, and garnet are part of these families.

Other mineral families are grouped by dominant anion or structural motif, for example oxides (e.g., magnetite, hematite), carbonates (calcite, dolomite), sulfides (pyrite, galena), sulfates (gypsum, barite), halides (halite), phosphates (apatite), borates, and native elements (gold, copper, elemental sulfur). Minerals within a family often share formation environments, such as igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary settings, and their study informs geology, metallurgy, and material science. The classification system is periodically revised as new minerals are described and structural insights improve the taxonomy.