Mineral Identifier. Name Any Mineral from a Photo.
Upload a photo of a mineral specimen. The AI analyzes color, luster, crystal habit, cleavage pattern, and surface texture to return the mineral name, chemical formula, Mohs hardness, crystal system, and formation environment. Free. No account required.
Drop a mineral photo here or tap to upload
JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC • Max 50 MB • 1 free scan per day
Analyzing your mineral…
How the Mineral Identifier Works
Photograph the Specimen
Place the mineral on a neutral background in natural light. Capture the surface so luster and crystal faces are visible. If the specimen has a distinctive streak, include a streak mark on white porcelain in the frame.
AI Reads Diagnostic Features
The model evaluates color, luster type, crystal habit, transparency, surface texture, and any visible cleavage or fracture. These visual signals get compared against a database of thousands of confirmed mineral specimens.
Get Your Mineral ID
You receive the mineral name, chemical formula, Mohs hardness, crystal system, typical formation environment, and related minerals. Results appear in seconds.
What Is a Mineral Identifier?
A mineral identifier matches your photo against thousands of confirmed specimens and returns the name, formula, and physical properties. The Rock Identifier app runs the same AI that powers the web scanner.
How AI Reads Minerals
The model processes color, luster, crystal shape, transparency, and surface roughness from a single photograph. Color alone is unreliable because one mineral can appear in many shades. Quartz ranges from colorless to black. Luster and crystal habit carry far more diagnostic weight, and the AI leans on those signals to eliminate candidates quickly.
Rock-Forming Minerals
Feldspar accounts for roughly 60% of the crust by weight. Quartz adds another 12%. Mica, pyroxene, amphibole, olivine, and calcite fill most of the remainder. These are the minerals that make up granite, basalt, limestone, and nearly every other rock you will pick up on a hike. Collectors sometimes overlook them, but they are the foundation of everything underfoot.
Ore Minerals
Pyrite, galena, magnetite, hematite, and chalcopyrite are among the most recognized ore minerals. Pyrite forms brass-yellow cubes that people mistake for gold. Galena has perfect cubic cleavage and a lead-gray color that is hard to confuse with anything else. Magnetite will pull a compass needle off north. These minerals built entire economies around their extraction.
Hardness and Streak Tests
Mohs hardness ranks scratch resistance from 1 (talc) to 10 (diamond). A fingernail scratches anything below 2.5. A steel knife reaches about 5.5. Streak is the powder color left when you rub a mineral across unglazed porcelain. Hematite always streaks red-brown, no matter what color its surface appears. The AI cannot perform these tests, but it links each visual match to the known values.
Luster Types
Metallic luster looks like polished metal. Vitreous luster looks like glass, and it covers most silicates, including quartz and feldspar. Pearly luster shows a soft iridescent sheen and is typical of layered minerals like talc and some micas. Earthy luster appears dull and matte. The AI classifies luster from the way light interacts with the surface in your photo, and that single feature eliminates large groups of candidates.
Photographing Minerals
Use diffused natural light. Overcast sky or a north-facing window works well. Direct sunlight creates harsh reflections on vitreous and metallic surfaces that hide the real texture. Angle the specimen so at least one crystal face catches the light. Wetting a dull surface brings out color and translucency. If you can include a streak mark on porcelain beside the specimen, accuracy improves noticeably.
Common Misidentifications
Orthoclase and plagioclase feldspar look nearly identical in hand specimen. Both are light-colored and vitreous with two cleavage directions at roughly 90 degrees. Chalcedony, jasper, and chert are all microcrystalline silica with no visible crystal habit for the AI to read. If you have a well-formed crystal, the crystal identifier may give a more precise result. Fresh surfaces always give better results than altered rinds.
Limitations
Microcrystalline specimens, heavily weathered surfaces, and minerals that look alike without physical testing will reduce confidence. The AI identifies the specimen as feldspar but may not resolve whether it is orthoclase or albite. Rare species outside the training data may not match at all. For a second opinion, try the identification engine.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I identify a mineral?
Photograph it in natural light showing luster and crystal faces, then upload the image to the mineral identifier above. Supplement with a scratch test and streak on porcelain for a definitive answer.
What is the difference between a mineral and a rock?
A mineral is a single inorganic solid with a fixed chemical formula and crystal structure. A rock is an aggregate of one or more minerals.
What mineral is this?
Upload a photo to the scanner above. The AI returns the most probable mineral name, chemical formula, Mohs hardness, and crystal system.
How many minerals exist?
The International Mineralogical Association recognizes over 6,000 species. Only about 200 are common enough that most people will encounter them.
What is the Mohs hardness scale?
A 1-to-10 ranking of scratch resistance. Talc is 1, diamond is 10. Useful benchmarks: fingernail 2.5, copper coin 3.5, steel knife 5.5, quartz 7.
Is there a free mineral identifier app?
Yes. Rock Identifier includes mineral identification and is free on iOS and Android. The web tool at rockidentifier.io provides one free mineral scan per day.
What are the most common minerals on Earth?
Feldspar makes up about 60% of the crust. Quartz accounts for roughly 12%. Together with pyroxene, amphibole, mica, olivine, and calcite, they compose the vast majority of rocks.
How do I tell pyrite from real gold?
Gold is soft (2.5 to 3), malleable, and leaves a yellow streak. Pyrite is hard (6 to 6.5), brittle, and leaves a greenish-black streak.
Can AI identify minerals from a photo accurately?
For clean, well-crystallized specimens in good lighting, accuracy is high. It drops for microcrystalline minerals, weathered surfaces, and species that require physical testing to separate.
What is the difference between luster and streak?
Luster describes how light reflects off the surface (metallic, vitreous, pearly, earthy). Streak is the color of the mineral's powder when rubbed on unglazed porcelain.