1 What is mineral? "These...minerals ...can be distinguished from one another by individual characteristics that arise directly from the kinds of atoms they contain and the arrangements these atoms make inside them" (Sinkankas,1966). "A mineral is a body produced by the processes of inorganic nature,having usually a definite chemical composition and,if formed under favorable conditions,a certain characteristic atomic structure which is expressed in its crystalline form and other physical properties"(Dana Ford,1932). 1 What is mineral?  "These... minerals ...can be distinguished from one another by individual characteristics that arise directly from the kinds of atoms they contain and the arrangements these atoms make inside them" (Sinkankas, 1966).  "A mineral is a body produced by the processes of inorganic nature, having usually a definite chemical composition and, if formed under favorable conditions, a certain characteristic atomic structure which is expressed in its crystalline form and other physical properties" (Dana & Ford, 1932)