The scientific study of minerals; their formation, occurrence, chemical composition, physical properties, and their classification. Oryctognosy and oryctology are obsolete terms.
See Alexandrite Tsarstone collectors guide, Definition of Mineralogy, http://www.alexandrite.net/viewpage.html?id=GG-098-00006 (The scientific study of minerals; their formation, occurrence, chemical composition, physical properties, and their classification. Oryctognosy and oryctology are obsolete terms.) (as of Feb. 07, 2012, 22:38 GMT).