Mineral Identifier: Free Photo Identification
Scan any unknown mineral specimen to evaluate crystal habit, luster, and cleavage. Discover what mineral is this in seconds.
Drop your rock photo here to identify for free
Snap or upload any rock, crystal, mineral, or stone. Our AI analyzes texture, color, and cleavage instantly.
What Mineral Is This? Instant Photo Mineral Identification
A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition and an ordered atomic structure. When holding an unclassified sample and asking what mineral is this, our AI mineral identifier evaluates visible physical properties: metallic vs. non-metallic luster, planar cleavage vs. irregular fracture, crystal habit, and transparency. From common quartz and feldspars to exotic vanadinite and malachite, get immediate mineralogical data.
What Kind of Mineral Is This? Chemical Mineral Classes
To understand what kind of mineral is this, mineralogists classify Earth's 5,000+ known minerals into chemical groups based on their dominant anion: Silicates (quartz, feldspar, mica), Oxides (hematite, corundum), Sulfides (pyrite, galena), Carbonates (calcite, malachite), Halides (halite, fluorite), Sulfates (gypsum, barite), and Native Elements (gold, silver, copper, diamond).
How to Tell If a Mineral Is Real (Authenticity & Diagnostic Tests)
Unglazed Porcelain Streak Test
Rub the mineral firmly on an unglazed ceramic streak plate. The powder color is constant regardless of surface weathering (e.g., golden-yellow for real gold, greenish-black for pyrite, and cherry-red for hematite).
Cleavage vs. Fracture Analysis
True minerals break along specific planes of internal atomic weakness (cleavage) or fracture randomly (conchoidal fracture). Calcite breaks into perfect rhombohedrons; quartz has no cleavage and breaks in glass-like curves.
Dilute Acid Effervescence
Carbonate minerals like calcite and aragonite react vigorously to a single drop of dilute vinegar or acid, fizzing with carbon dioxide bubbles. Silicate and oxide minerals show zero reaction.
Magnetism & Electrical Response
Use a strong neodymium magnet. Only a small subset of minerals (magnetite, pyrrhotite, and hematite when heated) display noticeable magnetic attraction.
Common Mineral Specimens
| Specimen Name | Category | Key Identification Trait |
|---|---|---|
| Pyrite (Fool's Gold) | Iron Sulfide (FeS₂) | Metallic brassy-yellow cubes, greenish-black streak, brittle (Mohs 6). |
| Galena | Lead Sulfide (PbS) | Dense silver-grey cubes, brilliant metallic luster, lead-grey streak, very heavy. |
| Calcite | Calcium Carbonate (CaCO₃) | Rhombohedral cleavage, hardness 3, fizzes vigorously with household vinegar. |
| Malachite | Copper Carbonate | Vivid banded green botryoidal clusters, light green streak, effervesces in acid. |