Mineralogy Course Info: Outlines, Focus, Sources

[Boxxxed]

I am taking this next semester. Anyone know of any course outlines anywhere? What minerals does the course focus on? Are there any good online sources where I can purchase good educational minerals and rocks?

 

[Fewmet]

If it is like the course I took it will focus on classes of minerals rather than individual ones. The aluminosilicates will probably be central, and that is something you can work with in advance if your goal is to get a head start.

I don't know if you are close enough to NYC for this to be useful, but an awful lot of my course was present in the gem and mineral room of the American Museum of natural history.

Do you know what the text is? If so, you might find the table of contents online.

 

[turbo]

Have you researched the museum contents at Harvard? They have a wonderful collection, including some record specimens in size and mass. My specialty is gem minerals to be mined from pegmatite dikes. Think tourmalines, beryls, etc.

If you are interested in that kind of prospecting, you should see if your course will give you any insight. In general, the larger the crystal grain in the pegmatite, the slower the cooling, and the more pure the gemmy components will be, since they could come out of solution more slowly.