Museums

IMA commissions, Museums and Mineralogy (MM)

Commission on Museums

Strategy: The IMA-CM was established to link the mineralogical sections of museums around the world. The best specimens of minerals, and those described for the first time, are often collected in museums, and the history of mineralogy is intimately bound to the history of museum mineral collections.

The IMA Commission on Museums has officially endorsed the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals as the organization to unite mineral museum curators world-wide.

Current website: https://www.ima-cm.org/about

Officers:

Chairman: Michael RUMSEY, Mineralogical Collections Curator, Mineralogy Department, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UNITED KINGDOM

Vice-Chairman: Jakub CIAZELA, Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences Research Centre in Wrocław ul. Podwale 75, 50-449 Wrocław, POLAND

Secretary: Ncola MONDILLO, Department of Earth Sciences, Environment nd Resources, University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Napoli NA, ITALY

IMA commission on museum has a sub-commission dedicated to Type Minerals (IMA-CM-CTMS).

IMA-CM-CTMS chair: Nicholas MEISSER, Musée cantonal de Géologie BFSH2, CH ­ 1015 Lausanne, SWITZERLAND 

New Minerals Nomenclature and Classification

IMA commissions, New Minerals Nomenclature and Classification (NMNC)

Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification

Hematite crystal 2.7 mm across – Monte Cervandone area, Devero Alp, Baceno, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola Province, Piedmont, Italy (Private collection, Matteo Chinellato photo).

Overview: The Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC) of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) was formed with the purpose of controlling the introduction of new minerals and mineral names, rationalizing the mineral nomenclature, reviewing the existing systems of mineral classification, and providing advice on the classification of minerals to the mineralogical community.
The philosophy of the CNMNC is not to impose an arbitrary set of rigid rules on the mineralogical community, but rather to provide a set of coherent guidelines that lead to a reasonably consistent approach to the introduction of new minerals and the application of mineral nomenclature.
The CNMNC consists of representatives appointed by national mineralogical societies or association, and an executive committee consisting of chairman, two vice-chairmen and secretary.

You can visit the IMA-CNMNC website: http://cnmnc.units.it

The official IMA-CNMNC List of Minerals is updated every two months.

Officers:

Elbaite, multicolored crystals up to 7 mm – Rosina vein, San Piero in Campo, Campo nell’Elba, Livorno, Province, Tuscany, Italy. From the base to the terminations the following tourmaline species and varieties can be listed:black= Schorl ; yellow-greenish= Mn-rich fluor-elbaite ; colorless= Fluor-elbaite ; bluish=Fe-rich fluor-elbaite ; colorless= Rossmanite ; gray= Mn- and Fe-rich fluor-elbaite (Private collection, Matteo Chinellato photo).

Chairman: Ferdinando BOSI, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Univ. di Roma, Italy.

Vice-Chair (Changes in existing nomenclature): Frédéric HATERT, Université de Liège, Faculté des Sciences, Département de Géologie, Place du 20 août, B-4000 Liège, Belgium.

Vice-Chair (General classification matters): Marco PASERO, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Pisa, Via Santa Maria 53, I-56126 Pisa, Italy

Secretary: Stuart MILLS, Gallery of Natural Art, PO Box 830460, Richardson, TX 75083, USA

Applied Mineralogy

Applied Mineralogy, IMA commissions

Commission on Applied Mineralogy

Strategy: IMA-CAM was initiated around 1979, after the creation of the International Council for Applied Mineralogy (ICAM). The aims of IMA-CAM are to co-ordinate or arrange conferences, symposia, seminars, or meetings devoted to applied mineralogy, to serve as a liaison body to other organizations active in the field, and to encourage interaction between applied mineralogists, particularly focusing on the areas of process mineralogy, applied mineralogy of ceramics, cements and glasses, development and application of advanced materials, environmental mineralogy and health, analytical techniques, mineral surfaces and nanoparticles.

Officers:

Chair: Maarten A.T.M. BROEKMANS, Geological Survey of Norway, Department of Mineral Characterization, N-7491 TRONDHEIM, Norway.

Vice-Chair: Emin CIFTCI, İTÜ Maden Fakültesi Jeoloji Mühendisliği Bölümü 34460 Maslak İstanbul, Turkey.

Secretary: Jan ELSEN, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E – bus 2411, B-3001 Leuven-Heverlee, Belgium.

IMA-CAM includes the following 4 sub-commissions:

(1) Mineralogy Applied to Building Materials: Chair: Martin Broekmans (see above).

(2) Cultural Heritage and Archaeological Materials: Chair: Isabella MEMMI, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra Università degli Studi di Sienna Via Laterna, 8 – 53100 Siena, Italy

(3) Advanced Ceramics and Glasses: Chair: Hans-Joachim KLEEBE Institut für Angewandte Geowissenschaften Fachgebiet Geomaterialwissenschaft, Technische Universitaet Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 9, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany.

(4) Geometallurgy: new chair to be nominated soon

Physics of Minerals

IMA commissions, Physics of Minerals

Commission on Physics of Minerals

Example of single crystal prepared by FIB for an diamond anvil cell experiment at high pressure and high temperature (courtesy P. Comodi)

This Commission was established by the International Mineralogical Association to promote the latest knowledge in mineral physics, solid-state physics and materials science based on the study of minerals to better understand deep Earth processes.

To promote the activities of Earth scientists, mineral physicists, and materials scientists working with experimental and computational methods under high/low pressure and high/low temperature conditions with the goal of better understanding earth and planetary processes from surface to deep through the study of minerals.

Organize Commission-sponsored international workshops, schools, and conferences. Publish reports and publications in their field.

Officers:

Chairman: Paola COMODI, Department of Physics and Geology, University of Perugia, Italy.

Expertise: Mineral Physics, High pressure and high temperature crystallography, Hydrous minerals)

Vice-Chairman: Jun TSUCHIYA, Geodynamics Research Center, Ehime University, Japan

Expertise: Mineral physics, ab-initio calculation

Secretary: Sujoy GHOSH, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Dept. Geophysics and Geology, Kharagpur, India

Expertise: Experimental Petrology, Mineral Physics

Example of mineral structure calculated by ab initio method (courtesy P. Comodi)

Gem Materials

Gem Materials, IMA commissions

Commission on Gem Materials

Rough diamonds (total 36.5 ct) seen in a miner’s house during a field trip to Indonesia, West Kalimantan.

Scope and Strategy: The IMA-commission on Gem Materials was established during the 11th IMA General Meeting (held in Novosibirsk, in 1978) following the former IMA Working Group on Gem Materials chaired by Prof. Sunagawa (Japan). Over all these years of continued effort, the IMA commission on Gem Materials has been focusing on harmonizing gem terminology with mineralogical terminology. The current officers will continue these tasks by keeping the gem glossary up to date. In addition, we perceive that, in the modern world, the following roles should be assumed by the IMA commission on Gem Materials: (1) the commission can serve as a bridge between the academic community, the gem trade, and the community of collectors; (2) the commission can serve as a bridge between the gem-producing countries and the gem-consuming countries; (3) the commission can serve as a bridge between the virtual worlds of gem-related information and the real world of gem research ; and (4) the commission should work more closely with other IMA commissions such as the commissions for museums, CNMNC, etc.

Officers:

Chair:
Andy Hsi-Tien SHEN
Professor, Gemological Institute, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China.

 “Gota de aceite” effect in a natural emerald from Colombia; field of view : 1.7 mm.
(Copyright from Laboratoire Français de Gemmologie)

Vice-Chair:
Prof. Dr. Oliver Tschauner
Dept. Earth Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA.

First Secretary:
Dr. Stefanos Karampelas
Laboratoire Français de Gemmologie, Paris, France.

Second Secretary:
Dr. Chao-wen Wang
Gemmological Institute, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China.

Ore Mineralogy

IMA commissions, Ore Mineralogy

Commission on Ore Mineralogy

Strategy: The Commission on Ore Mineralogy of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) was set up in 1962 to serve the interests of ore mineralogists in universities, research institutions and the minerals industry across the world. Our goals are to promote ore mineralogy within the scientific community, to train fellow members in investigative skills through a series of short courses, and to support the activities of other IMA commissions by providing advice and expert opinion on issues related to our fields of research. Through its regular short courses, regional meetings, scientific sessions, other symposia and field excursions, as well as its website, COM offers a platform to ore mineralogists to share their knowledge with others, exchange information, and to speak with a collective voice on issues that affect our branch of science. As one of the commissions of IMA, the COM supports the goals of international cooperation and collaborative research in pure and applied mineralogy.

Officers:

Chairman: Malte JUNGE, Museum Mineralogia Munich, Mineralogical State Collection, SNSB – Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns, Theresienstraße 41, 80333 München, Germany

Vice-Chair: Jakub Ciążela (Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences Research Centre in Wrocław) 

Secretary: Hassan HELMY (Egypt)