Mineral Colour Plates are small thumbnail images of mineral samples with articles that can be found in the MIROFOSS database. This section of the MIROFOSS Minerals Gallery is organized by mineral COLOUR. Click on a colour icon, shown above or in the list below, to show all MIROFOSS articles that contain mineral samples with the selected base colour.
 
Articles in this section of the MIROFOSS mineral gallery are all about the chemical elements we can find or refine from the Earth. The MIROFOSS Database is working with various educational institutions and private dealers to provide articles on all ninety-eight naturally occurring chemical elements. The Nickel-Strunz number for elements is one (1).
     
Articles in this section of the MIROFOSS mineral gallery are all about the sulfide minerals. A sulfide is is an anion of sulfur in its lowest oxidation state of 2-. Sulfide minerals are very important commercially as metal ores. The Nickel-Strunz number for sulfides is two (2).
     
Articles in this section of the MIROFOSS mineral gallery are all about the halide minerals. A halide mineral contains a dominant halide anion such as Fluorine, Chlorine, Bromine, and Iodine. Two commercially important halide minerals are halite and fluorite. The Nickel-Strunz number for halides is three (3).
     
Articles in this section of the MIROFOSS mineral gallery are all about the oxide minerals. The oxide mineral class includes those minerals in which the oxide anion is bonded to one or more metal ions. The hydroxide bearing minerals are typically included in the oxide class. The Nickel-Strunz number for oxides is four (4).
     
Articles in this section of the MIROFOSS mineral gallery are all about the carbonate minerals. Carbonate minerals are those minerals containing the carbonate ion. The Nickel-Strunz number for carbonates is five (5).
     
Articles in this section of the MIROFOSS mineral gallery are all about the borate minerals. The borate minerals are minerals which contain a borate anion group. The Borate minerals are more complex in their structures than typical carbonates, but because of the scarcity and limited distribution of boron in the Earth's crust there are only a few borates that can be considered common. The Nickel-Strunz number for borates is six (6).
   
Articles in this section of the MIROFOSS mineral gallery are all about the phosphate minerals. Phosphate minerals are those minerals that contain the tetrahedrally coordinated phosphate anion along with the freely substituting arsenate and vanadate anions. Chlorine, fluorine, and hydroxide anions also fit into the crystal structure. The phosphate class of minerals is a large and diverse group, however, only a few species are relatively common. The Nickel-Strunz number for phosphates is eight (8).
   
Articles in this section of the MIROFOSS mineral gallery are all about the silicate minerals. The silicate minerals make up the largest and most important class of rock-forming minerals, constituting approximately ninety percent of the crust of the Earth. They are classified based on the structure of their silicate group which contain different ratios of silicon and oxygen. The Nickel-Strunz number for phosphates is nine (9).
   
Articles in this section of the MIROFOSS mineral gallery are all about the sulfate minerals. The sulfate minerals are a class of minerals which include the sulfate ion within their structure. The sulfate minerals occur commonly in primary evaporate depositional environments, as gangue minerals in hydrothermal veins and as secondary minerals in the oxidizing zone of sulfide mineral deposits. The chromate and manganate minerals have a similar structure and are often included with the sulfates in mineral classification systems. The Nickel-Strunz number for sulfates is seven (7).
   
Articles in this section of the MIROFOSS mineral gallery are all about the organic and synthetic minerals. The Organic and Synthetic minerals are minerals which are produced by living organisms and are organic in nature; or minerals and salts which have been synthetically produced in a laboratory. The Nickel-Strunz number for organic minerals is ten (10).