The key for identification of rock-forming minerals provides an
efficient and systematic approach to identifying minerals in
thin-section. It is structured in the form of a dichotomous key,
comparable to those widely used in botany and entomology. Whilst
some previous mineralogy and petrology texts have produced
tabulated summaries of minerals with similar properties, the
present key gives a unique solution for each mineral.
The key covers more than 150 of the most commonly encountered
rock-forming minerals, plus a few rarer but noteworthy minerals,
indicative of particular conditions. Illustrated in full colour,
with high quality photomicrographs of each mineral, it also
provides the most comprehensive atlas of rock-forming minerals
currently available. It is primarily aimed at undergraduate and
postgraduate students of mineralogy and petrology, but should also
provide a valuable source of reference for all practising
geologists dealing with rock thin-sections and their
interpretation.
Although including a brief introduction to the properties of
minerals in this-section, the key largely assumes that the user has
a basic understanding of optical mineralogy and is able to
determine basic mineral properties in thin-section using
plane-polarised and cross-polarised light. The key has been
designed in such a way as to prioritise those properties that are
most easily defined, and thus less ambiguous. This aims to minimise
the chance of misidentification and enable the less experienced
petrologist to use the key with confidence. The key has been
carefully designed to enable different cuts of minerals (e.g.
end-section and side sections) to be recognised and keyed out.
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