Mindat.org is a non-commercial

online database An online database is a database accessible from a local network or the Internet, as opposed to one that is stored locally on an individual computer or its attached storage (such as a CD). Online databases are hosted on websites, made available as s ...

, claiming to be the largest

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...

and

mineralogical Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...

reference website on the Internet. It is used by professional mineralogists,

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

s, and amateur mineral collectors alike. The website contains a significant catalogue of mineral entries, localities, and photographs. Registered editors may add and revise information on the regularly updating database. , it included: * 45,289 mineral names (this includes mineral varieties,

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

s, and discredited names), of which 5,091 are

s or

mineraloid A mineraloid is a naturally occurring mineral-like substance that does not demonstrate crystallinity. Mineraloids possess chemical compositions that vary beyond the generally accepted ranges for specific minerals. For example, obsidian is an amor ...

s recognized by the

International Mineralogical Association Founded in 1958, the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) is an international group of 40 national societies. The goal is to promote the science of mineralogy and to standardize the nomenclature of the 5000 plus known mineral species. Th ...

. * 261,955 mineral localities worldwide, with information on 903,204 mineral occurrences within these sites. * Over 647,000 photos of minerals have been uploaded, arranged into galleries from collectors and institutions worldwide who wish to share their mineral collections online. * 48,657 users registered to upload photos and/or edit data.

History

Mindat was started in 1993 as a personal database project by Jolyon Ralph. He then developed further versions as a

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

application before launching a community-editable database web site in October 2000. Mindat.org is now part of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational foundation incorporated in the state of New York. Jolyon Ralph was awarded the

Mineralogical Society of America The Mineralogical Society of America (MSA) is a scientific membership organization. MSA was founded in 1919 for the advancement of mineralogy, crystallography, geochemistry, and petrology, and promotion of their uses in other sciences, industry, ...

's Distinguished public service medal in 2011 for his work on Mindat.org.Mineralogical Society of America
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References

External links

*
Mindat.org - 10 years online todayarchived copy

Gemdat.org
a related website Online databases Mineralogy American science websites Scientific databases {{Science-website-stub