About the site
Minerals.net was started in 1996 by Hershel Friedman as an interactive and educational guide to rocks, minerals, and gemstones. It was one of the first of its kind providing detailed information of these topics in an interactive setting. Minerals.net contains research pages on hundreds of minerals, indexed and categorized, as well as various documents on mineral topics.
A redesign and update was initiated in 2007 after several years of inactivity. Hershel partnered with Joseph Haas to redevelop the site with a new, interactive format and to revamp the existing content. In January 2014 the site was redesigned again, with many new features added. A mobile version launched in December 2014, and the current edition is a full rebuild on a modern stack.
Our goal is to continue providing information in an interactive and user-friendly form. We aim to keep things simple enough for learning students and novices, but at the same time provide exhaustive research for enthusiasts and experts. We hope to always provide this site as a free online service.
About the author
Hershel Friedman has been collecting minerals since he was a young child. His knowledge of minerals and gemstones was gained from reading and researching, with many years of field experience. Hershel graduated from Ramapo College of New Jersey with a bachelor's in Information Systems, and is the founder of Radial Web, a website design and development firm in the New York metro area. Hershel started Minerals.net as a way to catalog the specimens in his own collection — that grew into the idea of providing extensive information online for public education.
Copyright
Information on this website is the copyright of Hershel Friedman (or of others, and used with their permission). Use of any material on this website for educational purposes does not require our permission, provided it will not be published. Most of our photos are from external sources and require copyright permission from their respective copyright holders. Use of the information for any other purpose requires explicit permission from Hershel Friedman, the copyright holder.
The material on this website was created for use as a reference, for educational use, and for home use. Distribution, alteration, or commercial usage is a violation of the copyright laws and is prohibited. To obtain permission for usage, contact Hershel Friedman.
Report errors
We greatly appreciate those who report errors, misspelled words, broken links, and any incomplete or incorrect information. To report an error, please use our contact form.
Credits
Website founder and designer: Hershel Friedman
Content research and upkeep: Hershel Friedman
Senior developer: Joseph Haas
Editors: Herman Friedman, Dr. Morris Schulgasser
Special thanks
- Avigael Friedman — for your constant support.
- Henry Oberman — for assistance with gemstone content and jewelry photos.
- Svetlana Zelikovich — for exceptional design and printwork.
- Kamran Paracha — for his dedicated and effective web programming.
- John Betts — for providing outstanding mineral images.
- Ron Nash — for the gemstone photos and gemstone resources.
- Marc Sarosi — for the gemstone photos.
Additional thanks
Harriet Friedman, David Koegel, Mordy Gilden, Jolyon Ralph, Allan W. Eckert, Eric Stanchich, and Kevin Canning.
Critiquers
Mark Kurzmann, Sol Werczberger, Robert Frankel, Donna M. Smillie, Pam Shorey, Pat Greenfield, Livia Molnar-Hamvas, Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat, Cherie Haskins, Michael Beane, Craig White, Allan W. Eckert, Sean Sharp, Koreen Corbett, Rick Harpin, Forrest Becker, Tara Steckel, Cindy Thomas, Jen Henberry, Marion Podolski, Tanya Tarshis, Lorenz Hemmelmayr, Stephen Bornchen, Manuel Moreno, and J. Roger Mitchell.