Most ore minerals are abbreviated according to Chace (1956) and most gangue minerals according to Kretz (1983). Following Chace (1956) and the dominant use in publications on economic geology, and in contrast to Kretz (1983), mineral abbreviations are written in lowercase. Native elements are capitalized.

Abbreviations should be logical and consistent (we prefer zo and czo, py and apy) and reflect established use (ab, an). They should also respect IMA English names (nk nickeline; not nc niccolite), and, as much as possible, etymology, prefixes and suffixes (digenite dg).

Mineral abbreviations should not coincide with atomics symbols if the native element does occur in nature (arsenopyrite: asp and not as, calcite: cal and not ca).

Sorted by mineral name MINERAL NAME ABBREV.     actinolite act albite ab allanite all almandine alm aluminum phosphate-sulfate minerals APS alunite alu, alun (?) amphibole (group) amph anatase anat andalusite and, anda (?) andesine andes andradite ad, adr (?) anhydrite anh ankerite ank anorthite an antimonite = stibnite stbn apatite (group) ap argentite arg arsenopyrite asp augite aug azurite az barite bar biotite bt, bio (?) bismuthinite bis blende = sphalerite sl bornite bn boulangerite boul brookite brk brucite brc bytownite byt calcite cal carrollite car, carr (?) cassiterite cst, cas (?) celestite cls chalcedony (quartz variety) chc chalcocite cc chalcopyrite cp chlorite (group) chl chromite chr cinnabar ci clinopyroxene (series) cpx clinozoisite czo cobaltite cob cordierite crd corundum crn covellite cv cristobalite crs cubanite cub cuprite cup diaspore dsp dickite dck digenite dg diopside dio, di (?) dolomite dol electrum el enargite enr enstatite ens epidote ep fahlore (tn-td) fh famatinite fm fayalite fa feldspar (group) fs, fds (?) ferberite frb, fb (?) fluorite fl forsterite fo franckeite frk galena gn gangue gg garnet (group) grt, gar (?) geocronite gcr goethite goe graphite graph (?) grossular grs, gr (?) grunerite gru gypsum gy hübnerite hub, hu (?) halite hl hedenbergite hd hematite hm hornblende hbl illite ill ilmenite ilm ilvaite ilv intermediate solid solution iss jamesonite jm kaolinite kao K-feldspar (series) kfs, k-fs, k-fds (?) kyanite ky löllingite lol, loel labradorite lab limonite lm linnaeite ln, lin (?) luzonite lz maghemite mgh magnesite mgs magnetite mt malachite mal marcasite mr, mrc (?) mica (group) mic microcline mc molybdenite mo monazite mnz monosulfide solution mss montmorillonite mm muscovite ms naumannite nau nepheline ne nickeline (niccolite) nk oligoclase olg olivine (group) ol orpiment orp orthoclase or orthopyroxene (series) opx paragonite prg pentlandite pn phlogopite phl plagioclase (series) plag, pg, pl (?) platinum group elements PGE proustite pr pyrargyrite pyrg pyrite py pyrophyllite prl pyroxene (group) px pyrrhotite po quartz qtz, qz (?) rare earth elements REE realgar rl, rlg resin (impregnation material) res rhodochrosite rdc rhodonite rdn rutile rt salite sal sanidine sa scapolite (group) scp scheelite sch sericite ser serpentine (group) srp siderite sd skutterudite skut smectite (group) smc solid solution ss sphalerite sl sphene (titanite) ttn, tit spinel spi stannite stn stibnite stbn stilbite stlb strontianite str sulfosalts (class) sfs talc tlc tellurides (class) tel tennantite tn tetrahedrite td, tt, th (?) titanite ttn, tit topaz tpz tourmaline (group) tour tremolite trm tridymite trd troilite tro uraninite ur vermiculite vrm wolframite (fb-hub) wf wollastonite wo zeolite (group) zeo zircon zr zoisite zo zunyite zun

Sorted by abbreviation ABBREV.   MINERAL NAME     albite ab actinolite act andradite ad, adr (?) allanite all almandine alm alunite alu, alun (?) amphibole (group) amph anorthite an anatase anat andalusite and, anda (?) andesine andes anhydrite anh ankerite ank apatite (group) ap aluminum phosphate-sulfate minerals APS argentite arg arsenopyrite asp augite aug azurite az barite bar bismuthinite bis bornite bn boulangerite boul brucite brc brookite brk biotite bt, bio (?) bytownite byt calcite cal carrollite car, carr (?) chalcocite cc chalcedony (quartz variety) chc chlorite (group) chl chromite chr cinnabar ci celestite cls cobaltite cob chalcopyrite cp clinopyroxene (series) cpx cordierite crd corundum crn cristobalite crs cassiterite cst, cas (?) cubanite cub cuprite cup covellite cv clinozoisite czo dickite dck digenite dg diopside dio, di (?) dolomite dol diaspore dsp electrum el enargite enr enstatite ens epidote ep fayalite fa fahlore (tn-td) fh fluorite fl famatinite fm forsterite fo ferberite frb, fb (?) franckeite frk feldspar (group) fs, fds (?) geocronite gcr gangue gg galena gn goethite goe graphite graph (?) grossular grs, gr (?) garnet (group) grt, gar (?) grunerite gru gypsum gy hornblende hbl hedenbergite hd halite hl hematite hm hübnerite hub, hu (?) illite ill ilmenite ilm ilvaite ilv intermediate solid solution iss jamesonite jm kaolinite kao K-feldspar (series) kfs, k-fs, k-fds (?) kyanite ky labradorite lab limonite lm linnaeite ln, lin (?) löllingite lol, loel luzonite lz malachite mal microcline mc maghemite mgh magnesite mgs mica (group) mic montmorillonite mm monazite mnz molybdenite mo marcasite mr, mrc (?) muscovite ms monosulfide solution mss magnetite mt naumannite nau nepheline ne nickeline (niccolite) nk olivine (group) ol oligoclase olg orthopyroxene (series) opx orthoclase or orpiment orp platinum group elements PGE phlogopite phl plagioclase (series) plag, pg, pl (?) pentlandite pn pyrrhotite po proustite pr paragonite prg pyrophyllite prl pyroxene (group) px pyrite py pyrargyrite pyrg quartz qtz, qz (?) rhodochrosite rdc rhodonite rdn rare earth elements REE resin (impregnation material) res realgar rl, rlg rutile rt sanidine sa salite sal scheelite sch scapolite (group) scp siderite sd sericite ser sulfosalts (class) sfs skutterudite skut sphalerite sl blende = sphalerite sl smectite (group) smc spinel spi serpentine (group) srp solid solution ss antimonite = stibnite stbn stibnite stbn stilbite stlb stannite stn strontianite str tetrahedrite td, tt, th (?) tellurides (class) tel talc tlc tennantite tn tourmaline (group) tour topaz tpz tridymite trd tremolite trm troilite tro sphene (titanite) ttn, tit titanite ttn, tit uraninite ur vermiculite vrm wolframite (fb-hub) wf wollastonite wo zeolite (group) zeo zoisite zo zircon zr zunyite zun

Comments:

- Bold: main terms for ore microscopy
- Italics: others than mineral names approved by IMA

- For stibnite the abbreviation stbn is proposed because stb is used for stilbite by Kretz (1983).

- Each mineral has a direct link to the mineral database Athena.

References:

Chace (1956), Abbreviations in field and mine geological mapping, Economic Geology, v. 51, p. 712-723.

Kretz, R. (1983), Symbols for rock-forming minerals, American Mineralogist, v.68, p.277-279.

Acknowledgements:

Contributions of Y. Haeberlin (Geneva), R. Marschik (Freiberg), M. Boni (Napoli), M. and M. Shimizu (Toyohama), J. Ellis (Montevideo), F. Tornos (Salamanca), L. Meinert (WSU), N. Cook (NGU), are acknowledged.

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