Open Adit™ - The Dana Classification System

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The Dana System is a chemical mineral classification system. Chemical classification was adopted by James Dana in the fourth edition of his System of Mineralogy, published in 1854, and subsequently by most other authors in the second half of the 19th Century. These crystal chemical classification principles were further developed in the light of the results of crystal structure analysis during the 20th Century. These developments were crystallized in the first edition of Struntz's Mineralogische Tabellen in 1941 and the recently completed eighth edition of Dana's Mineralogy of 1997.

Class Groups	Classes
Native Elements and Alloys	1
Sulfides and related compounds	2 - 3
Oxides	4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8
Halogenides	9 - 10 - 11 - 12
Carbonates	13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17
Nitrates	18 - 19 - 20
Iodates	21 - 22 - 23
Borates	24 - 25 - 26 - 27
Sulfates	28 - 29 - 30 - 31 - 32
Selenates and tellurates; selenites and tellurites	33 - 34
Chromates	35 - 36
Phosphates, arsenates and vanadates	37 - 38 - 39 - 40 - 41 - 42 - 43
Antimonates, antimonites and arsenites	44 - 45 - 46
Vanadium oxysalts	47
Molybdates and tungstates	48 - 49
Organic Compounds	50
Nesosilicates: Insular	SiO4 51 - 52 - 53 - 54
Sorosilicates: isolated tetrahedral noncyclic groups,	N > 1 55 - 56 - 57 - 58
Cyclosilicates	59 - 60 - 61 - 62 - 63 - 64
Inosilicates: two-dimensionally infinite silicate units	65 - 66 - 67 - 68 - 69 - 70
Phyllosilicates	71 - 72 - 73 - 74
Tectosilicates	75 - 76 - 77 - 78

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