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Back to the OSAC Lexicon

Mineral

a naturally occurring inorganic element or compound having an orderly internal structure and characteristic chemical composition, crystal form(s), and physical properties, or an element or chemical compound that is crystalline and that has formed as a result of geological or pedogenic (soil-formed) processes.
Discussion—Artificial and biogenic crystalline materials are not minerals but can occur in geological materials (for example, cement powder, lime, lye, biogenic calcite, biogenic hydroxyapatite, bricks) and can be detected by XRD.

Committee
Trace Materials
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASTM E1732-24e1 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science. ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428, 2024. Source link
Reprinted, with permission, from ASTM E1732-24e1 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science, copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428. A copy of the complete standard is available from ASTM International, https://www.astm.org