The structural classification of minerals

A first attempt to present a general classification of minerals on structural grounds and in a systematic way was made by the author in 1983. Hawthorne in 1984 and 1985 suggested a structural classification of minerals based on the polymerization of the coordination polyhedra, as a consequence of the application of the bondvalence theory to inorganic structures. In 1994 the author applied the structural classification to the most common minerals (approximately 500 mineral species). Our aim now is to develop a complete structural classification of all minerals.