Page "Mineralogy" Paragraph 3

Historically, mineralogy was heavily concerned with taxonomy of the rock-forming minerals ; to this end, the International Mineralogical Association is an organization whose members represent mineralogists in individual countries.

Its activities include managing the naming of minerals ( via the Commission of New Minerals and Mineral Names ), location of known minerals, etc.

As of 2004 there are over 4, 000 species of mineral recognized by the IMA.

Of these, perhaps 150 can be called " common ," another 50 are " occasional ," and the rest are " rare " to " extremely rare.