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GeneralMineral Names on Mindat

15th May 2012 15:13 UTCKelly Nash 🌟 Expert

I'm sure some folks groaned at the subject line, but I'm just seeking a little clarification, prompted by the most recent conversation about "baryte" vs. "barite". A lot of the comments concern traditional usage, common usage, this country vs. that, etc. Nowhere did I see the simple statement that Mindat defers to IMA for mineral names in the database, which is pretty much what the "Manual" page on mineral names says. I think it's wise to use an international group (IMA) with some credibility as the general authority for mineral names on Mindat, and to do that consistently wherever possible, even if we disagree about some of IMA's decisions. Am I correct in assuming that's how it generally works?

15th May 2012 15:22 UTCJolyon Ralph Founder

That's right.

Althought it does lead to some silliness, for example, the mineral 'Sulphur' is spelled with ph, as is the IMA official spellling, however the chemical element, 'Sulfur', is spelt with f, as is the IUPAC official spelling.

Mineral - sulphur, element - sulfur. Strictly then, we could say "baryte is a sulfate", which would annoy both british AND americans equally, but be technically correct by official rules.

Jolyon

15th May 2012 15:24 UTCDavid Von Bargen Manager

We use the IMA approved list for the spelling/name. We also list a lot of the alternate spelling's and mineral names in foreign languages (which is one reason we list 40K+ mineral names)

15th May 2012 15:24 UTCRalph S Bottrill 🌟 Manager

Kelly

Quite so, I think the IMA designate their spellings so that no one country is ever totally happy or unhappy with all the spellings. Some reflect the original spellings, others don't, seemingly ar random. Maybe that's best?

16th May 2012 01:57 UTCRock Currier Expert

Mindat defers to IMA for mineral names in the database.