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American Mineralogist, Volume 68, pages 277-279, 1983

Symbolsfor -forming mineralsl

RupH KRBrz Department of Geology University of Ottawa Ottawa. Canada KIN 984

There is at present a disturbing lack of uniformity An example of a that has very diferent in the choice of symbols for rock-forming . namesin different languagesis: For example,in Volume 65 (1980)of TheAmerican E kyanite Mineralogisl, all of BT, BIO, and Biot are used for F disthdne biotite, and all of and qtz are used Q, QTZ, Qtz, Qz G cyanit for quartz. At least 10other minerals are referred to R K,I4aH'ITr by two or more symbols,and in one instance,two S cianita different symbols are used for a mineral in a single paper. Here, because Russian and English writing out- In Table I is a list of mineral names,taken mainly weighs that of other languages,agreement might be from Deer et al. (1962), and for each name a found in the symbol Ky. proposed symbol. In preparing the list of symbols, Most of the symbols that were selectedhave been consideration was given to mineral names in the usedpreviously by numerousauthors, e.g., Bowen different languagesused in scientific writing. With (1928), Ramberg (1952), Perchuk (1973), Winkler few exceptions, the names for a mineral in the (1973), Mueller and Saxena (1977), Barton and languages English (E), French (F), German (G), Skinner (1979) and the various authors of the Re- Russian (R), and Spanish (S) have similar phonet- viewsin (e.g.,Prewitt, 1980).However, ics, for example: becauseso much variation exists, some guidelines were required, and the following were chosen:(l) E biotite The mineral symbol should consist of 2 or 3 letters, F biotite the first capitalized, the other(s) in lower case. (2) G biotit The first letter should be the same as the first letter R 'uorrrr of the mineral name, and the others should be S biotita selectedfrom the mineral name, preferably from the and a suitable choice for a symbol is Bt. Interna- consonants.(3) A mineral symbol should not be tional uniformity would depend on the willingness identical to any of the symbols of the periodic table of Russian scientists to adopt Latin letters for of the elements. (4) The symbol should preferably mineral symbols, as Perchuk (1973) has already not spell out a word in common use in any of the done. Another example is: languagesused in scientific writing. The standard we should strive for with regard to E mineral symbols is the universally adopted system F grenat of symbols for the chemical elements. G granat The use of a single symbol for both a mineral R rpanar phase and a component of a mineral or of a melt S granate phase has created confusion in the past, and a and the symbol Grt would seem preferable to Gar. separateset of symbols for componentsis required. It is suggestedthat component symbols be written entirely in the lower case, for example di for the componentCaMgSizOo in a crystal or in a melt. Some examples of components that coffe- IEditor's note: the abbreviation system describedin this note is recommended,not required, for use in TheAmerican Mineral- spond to mineral "end members" and their pro- ogist. Comments will be appreciated. posedsymbols are listed in Table 2. 0003-.fix)vE3/0r02-0277$02.ffi 277 278 KRETZ: SYMBOLS FOR ROCK.FORMING MINERALS

Table l. Mineral Symbols

Acm acmite Elb Ntr natrolite Act actlJlollte En enstatLte (ortho) Ne nephellne Agt aegirine-augLte Ep epidote Nrb norberglte Ak ikernanite Fst fasslte Nsn nosean Ab al-bite Fa fayalite 01 olLvine Aln al-lanite Fac ferroactinolite Omp ornphacite Alm almandine Fed ferroederilte Oam orthoarnphibole Anl anal-clte Fs ferrosiltte (ortho) Or orthoclase Ant. anatase Fts ferrotschermaklte Opx orthopyroxene And andalusite Fl" fluorite Pg Adr andradite Fo forsterite Prg pargasite Anh anhydrite Gn galena Pct pectolite Ank ankerite Grt garnet Pn Ann annlte Ged gedriEe Per periclase An anorthite Gh gehlenite Prv perovsklte Atg antigoriEe Gbs gibbsite Phl Ath anthophylllte Glt Pgt pigeonite Ap apatite Gln glaucophane Pl plagiocLase Apo apophylllte Gt geothite Prh prehnlte Arg aragonite Gr graphite Pen protoenstatite Arf arfvedsonite Grs grossularite Pnp punpellylte Apy Gru grunerite Py pyrite Aug augite Gp gypsum Prp Ax axinite HI halite Prl pyrophylliEe Brt barite Hs hastingsite Po pyrrhotite Br1 beryl Hyn haiiyne Qtz quartz Bt biotite Hd hedenbergite Rbk riebeckite Btm boehnite Hem Rds rhodothrosite Bn bornite Hc hercynite Rdn rhodonj.te Brk brookite Hul- heulandlte Rt Brc brucite Hb1 Sa sanidine Bst bustanite Hu humLte Spr sapphlrine Cam Ca clinoamphibole IL1 Scp Cpx Ca cllnopyroxene IIn Sr1 schorl Ca1 Jd jadelte Srp serpentine Ccn cancrlnite Jh johannsenLte Sd Crn carnegleite Krs kaersutLte Sil sillinanite Cst cassiterite Kls kalsllite Sd1 sodalite Cls celestite K1n Sps spessartine Cbz chabazite Ktp kataphorite Sp sphalerite Cc chalcocite Kfs K feldspar Spn sphene Ccp chalcopyrite Krn kornerupine Sp1 spinel Ch1 chlorite Ky kyanite Spd spodumene Ctd chloritold Lmt laumontlte St Chn chondrodite Lws lawsonite Stb stilbite Chr chronlte Lpd Stp Ccl Lct leucite Str strontianite Ct1 Lm linonite T1c tal-c Cen cl-inoenstatite Lz lizardite Ilrp thonpsohite cfs clinoferrosilite Lo loellingite Ttn titanite Chu cllnohunite Mgh uaghemite Toz topaz Czo clinozoisite Mkt magnesiokatoptorlte Tur tourmaline Crd cordierite Mrb magnesioriebeckite Tr Eremolite Crn corundum Mgs magnesite Trd trldymite Cv covellite Mag nurgnetite Tro trollite Crs cristoballite Mrg margarLte Ts tschermakite Cum Me1 nelilite Usp ulv6spinel Dsp diaspore Mc microcline Vrm Dg diginite Mo urolybdenite Ves vesuvianite Di diopside Wrz monazite l.,lh lrltherite Dol doloni.te Mtc monticel-lLte tJo wollastonite Drv dravite l,lnt montmorillonlte Wus wiistite Eck eckermannite MuL nullite Ztn zircon Ed edenite Ms Zo zolslte KRETZ: SYMBOLS FOR ROCK-FORMING MINERALS 279

Table 2. Symbols for some components References Barton, P. B. Jr. and Skinner, B. J. (1979) fo MgrSiOO stabilities, In H. L. Barnes, Ed., Geochemistryof Hydrother- mal Ore Deposits, p. 236-333.J. Wiley & Sons, New York. fa FerStOO Bowen, N. L. (192E) The Evolution of the Igneous Rocks. alo Fe3A12S130l2 Princeton University Press, New Jersey. Deer, W. A., Howie, R. A. and Zussman, J. (1962)Rock- PTP u83412S13012 Forrning Minerals: vol. l-5. Longmans, Green & Co., Lon- don. sPs l{n3A12S13Ot2 Mueller, R. F. and Saxena, S. K. (1977) Chemical Petrology. en l,lC2Si2O6 Springer-Verlag,New York. Prewitt, C. T. (Editor) (19E0)Reviews in Mineralogy, vol. 7: di Cal,lCSl2O6 . Mineralogical Society of America, Washington, D. C. tr ca2Mg5st8022 (oH) 2 Perchuk, L. L. (1973)Thermodynamic Regime of Deep-Seated ph1 KrMeUAlrsiroro(oH)O Petrogenesis.Academy of Sciences,U.S.S.R. (In Russian). Ramberg,H. (1952)The Origin of Metamorphic and Metasomat- eaa K2l,lg5A1A13s1502o(oH) ic Rocks. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 4 Winkler, H. G. F. (1974) Petrogenesisof Metamorphic Rocks. ab NaAlS13O8 Springer-Verlag,New York. an CaAl2St208 Manuscript received, February 17, 19E2; acceptedfor publication, May 3, 1962.