Mineralscoexists

Mineralscoexists is a term used in mineralogy and petrology to describe the tendency of mineral species to co-occur within a single rock or geological setting due to shared formation conditions, chemical compatibility, and paragenetic history. The concept treats mineral assemblages as informative records of environmental parameters such as temperature, pressure, redox state, and fluid composition.

Researchers quantify co-occurrence with statistical and spatial methods, including co-occurrence networks, cluster analysis, and measures like the Jaccard index or phi coefficient. Data are drawn from mineralogical surveys, petrographic analysis, and whole-rock geochemistry to identify patterns of association and segregation among minerals.

Applications of mineralscoexists include interpreting crystallization sequences in igneous rocks, assessing metamorphic grade indicators, and tracing ore-formation pathways. Common coexisting assemblages include quartz and feldspar in granitic systems; mica species such as muscovite and biotite; accessory minerals like zircon often found with apatite; and sulfide assemblages in ore bodies, such as pyrite with chalcopyrite. The approach helps constrain formation conditions and guides interpretations of rock histories.

Limitations include the influence of post-formational processes that can modify assemblages, the scale-dependence of co-occurrence signals, and the risk of oversimplifying complex parageneses. As such, mineralscoexists is used as a heuristic alongside phase equilibria and texture analysis rather than as an absolute rule.

See also: paragenesis, mineral assemblage, phase diagram, petrology, geochemistry.