Common rock-forming minerals
These are specimens of minerals from the University of Auckland's collection. Along with the common rock-forming minerals, we have included apatite, corundum, diamond, fluorite, topaz and talc to illustrate minerals used in Moh's Scale of Hardness.
Click on either a thumbnail, or the name in the list at the side, for details and larger photographs of each mineral.
apatite |
augite |
biotite |
calcite |
chlorite |
corundum |
diamond |
fluorite |
garnet |
gypsum |
hornblende |
ilmenite |
magnetite |
muscovite |
olivine |
orthoclase |
plagioclase |
pyrite |
quartz |
talc |
topaz |