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MinIdent: A data base for minerals and a computer program for their identification

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Smith, D. G. W., & Leibovitz, D. P. (1986) MinIdent: A data base for minerals and a computer program for their identification. Canadian Mineralogist. 24(4): 695-708. (pdf)

MinIdent-PCAbstract: MinIdent is a program for interactive mineral identification and mineral data base management, rewritten in FORTRAN 77, Data have been stored for about 4000 mineral groups, species and varieties. These data comprise: composition, optical properties, symmetry, cell dimensions, density, Vickers and Mohs hardness, d-values and relative intensities for the strongest five X-ray powder-diffraction lines, the PDF number, polymorphs if any, occurrences, localities, year first described and sources of the data. As yet, however, not all minerals have data stored for all properties. The program will generate a list of minerals whose properties, lie within input ranges for an unidentified mineral or display and rank twenty possible identities for an unknown. It can also be used to tabulate chosen properties of matched minerals or to tabulate minerals (in the data base) that have certain specified properties. Tests using data for known species to simulate unidentified minerals show high reliability, given accurate input information, and surprising success even with qualitative input data. The MinIdent software currently uses about 400 kbytes of memory, and the data base used in mineral identification uses a further l0 Mbytes. Running time for a typical identification procedure ranges from about 0.05 to 3.0 seconds of CPU time on the AMDAHL 580/FF mainframe computer, on which the program has been developed. The cycle time of this computer is about 23 ns.

Current MinIdent-Win software available at www.micronex.ca.

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MinIdent – A Data Base for Minerals and a Computer Program for Their Identification

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Smith, D. G. W., & Leibovitz, D. P. (1986) MinIdent – A Data Base for Minerals and a Computer Program for Their Identification. Program with Abstracts GAC, MAC, CGU-AGC, AMC, UCG: Joint Annual Meeting, May 19-21, 1986, Carleton University, Ottawa. Abstracts 11: 129. [doi: 10.13140/RG.2.1.1667.5048] (pdf)

MinIdent-PCAbstract: MinIdent is an interactive mineral identification and mineral data base management program, now rewritten in FORTRAN 77. Data have been stored for about 4000 mineral groups, species and varieties. These data include composition, optical properties in transmitted and reflected light, symmetry, unit cell dimensions, densities, Vickers and Mohs hardness, d-values and relative intensities of the 5 strongest X-ray powder-diffraction lines, JCPDS numbers, any polymorphs, occurrences, localities, year first described and sources of the data. However, not all minerals yet have data stored for all these fields.

The program can be used to generate a list of minerals having properties within within the ranges input for an unidentified mineral or can be made to display and rank the twenty most likely identities for an unknown. The program can also be used to tabulate chosen properties of matched minerals, or to tabulate minerals in the data base that have certain specified properties. Alternatively, all analytical and other data stored for a particular mineral can be displayed.

Tests using data for known minerals to simulate unknowns indicate a high degree of reliability given accurate input information, and a surprising success rate even when input data are qualitative in character.

The MinIdent identification and data base management software uses about 400 kbytes of memory and the data base used in mineral identification currently uses less than 4 Mbytes. Running times for typical identification procedures range between about 0.5 and 3.0 seconds of CPU time on the AMDAHL 580/FF mainframe computer on which the program has been developed. The cycle time of this computer is about 23 ns. MinIdent can be accessed globally via data communications networks such as DATAPAC, TELENET and TYMNET.

Application of the MinIdent data base and software are envisaged wherever earth scientists are faced with the task of mineral identification. Such areas of specialization include petrology (igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary), economic geology (ore mineralogy, mineral exploration and mineral beneficiation), geochemistry, meteorites and crystallography.

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MinIdent User’s Manual. A FORTRAN 77 program for mineral identification

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Smith, D. G. W., & Leibovitz, D. P. (1986) MinIdent User’s Manual. A FORTRAN 77 program for mineral identification, pp. vii-88. Computing Services, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. [doi: 10.13140/RG.2.1.2733.4882] (pdf)

Smith & Leibovitz (1986) MinIdent User's Manual- A FORTRAN 77 Program for Mineral IdentificationAbstract: MinIdent is a mineral identification software used in mineralogy. The original Command-line interface (CLI) program was written in FORTRAN and ran on a mainframe computer. It was later ported to a PC. This manual forms the user’s guide (UG) for the original version. The current version of the MinIdent-Win software has a graphical user interface (GUI) and is available at www.micronex.ca.

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MinIdent – A Mineral Data Base for Earth Scientists

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Smith, D. G. W., & Leibovitz, D. P. (1986) MinIdent – A Mineral Data Base for Earth Scientists. U of A Computing Services Bulletin. 20(5): 11. [doi: 10.13140/RG.2.1.2404.7848] (pdf)

Smith & Leibovitz (1986) MinIdent - A Mineral Data Base for Earth ScientistsAbstract: MinIdent is a program written in FORTRAN 77 which enables an interactive mineral identification search. Data have been stored for about 4000 recognized mineral groups, species, and varieties. These data include composition, optical properties in transmitted and reflected light, symmetry, unit cell dimensions, densities, Vickers and Mohs hardness, d·values and relative intensities of the live strongest x-ray powder-diffraction lines, JCPDS numbers, polymorphs, if any, synonyms, if any, occurrences, localities, year first described, and the sources of the data. At present, some mineral records lack data in some fields; additions continue.

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