A mineral is a natural occurring substance formed through geological process that has a characteristic through geological process that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly orderd atomic structure and specific physical properties. A rock by comparition, a highly orderd atomic by comparition , is an aggregate of minerals and need not have a specific chemical composition.Minerals range in composition from pure element and simple salts to very complex silicates thousands of known forms.
The study of minerals is called mineralogy . The modern classification includes an organic class-in both the new Dana and the stunz classification schemes.
