This page brings together a complete list of 19 minerals that start with the letter N, running alphabetically from “Nacrite” to “Novacekite.” These minerals show a wide range of looks, from soft white crusts and needle-like crystals to metallic, iron-black plates. Some are valuable ores of gold, silver, nickel, or copper, while others are used in glassmaking, ceramics, fertilizers, and even ancient mummification.
Minerals are naturally occurring solid substances with a specific chemical makeup and an orderly internal structure. They form the building blocks of rocks and the earth’s crust, and people have relied on them for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians, for example, used natron to dry and preserve mummies and to help make early glass.
Below you’ll find the table with the mineral name and a short description.
Mineral: This gives you the name of each mineral, listed in alphabetical order so you can quickly scan the list and find the exact one you’re looking for.
Description: This offers a quick, plain-language summary of each mineral, telling you what it looks like, what it’s made of, where it forms, and how people use it.
Minerals
Mineral
Nacrite
Nagyagite
Nahcolite
Nantokite
Natrolite
Natron
Natrojarosite
Naumannite
Nepheline
Neptunite
Niccolite
Nickeline
Niningerite
Niter
Nitratine
Nontronite
Norbergite
Nosean
Novacekite
Descriptions
Nacrite
A clay mineral and a polymorph of kaolinite, made of aluminum silicate. It forms pearly, scaly aggregates and is found in hydrothermal veins and altered volcanic rocks.
Nagyagite
A rare gold-silver telluride mineral with a dark gray, metallic luster. It forms thin, flexible plates and is an ore of gold, first found in Romania.
Nahcolite
A soft, white sodium bicarbonate mineral, essentially natural baking soda. It forms in evaporite deposits and alkaline lakes, often alongside oil shale.
Nantokite
A soft copper chloride mineral that forms colorless to grayish cubic crystals. It occurs in the oxidized zones of copper deposits and tarnishes quickly in air.
Natrolite
A common zeolite mineral known for its slender, needle-like crystals that radiate in clusters. It forms in cavities of volcanic basalt and is a sodium aluminum silicate.
Natron
A naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate and bicarbonate. Used by ancient Egyptians for mummification and glassmaking, it forms as white crusts around alkaline lakes.
Natrojarosite
A yellow to brown sodium iron sulfate mineral in the jarosite group. It forms in oxidized, acidic environments and is found in arid regions and mine tailings.
Naumannite
A rare silver selenide mineral with a metallic, iron-black appearance. It is a minor ore of silver and forms in low-temperature hydrothermal veins.
Nepheline
A common rock-forming mineral of the feldspathoid group, gray to greenish and glassy. It occurs in silica-poor igneous rocks and is used in glass and ceramics.
Neptunite
A striking black to dark reddish mineral forming prismatic crystals. It is prized by collectors and famously found alongside benitoite in California.
Niccolite
A copper-red nickel arsenide mineral, also called nickeline, with a metallic luster. It is an important nickel ore and tarnishes to a gray or greenish coating.
Nickeline
A pale copper-red nickel arsenide and a major nickel ore. It has a metallic luster and is found in hydrothermal veins, often with silver and cobalt minerals.
Niningerite
A rare magnesium sulfide mineral found primarily in meteorites. Named after meteorite scientist Harvey Nininger, it forms small gray grains in enstatite chondrites.
Niter
Naturally occurring potassium nitrate, also known as saltpeter. It forms white, crusty deposits and was historically vital for making gunpowder and fertilizers.
Nitratine
Naturally occurring sodium nitrate, also called soda niter or Chile saltpeter. It forms in arid deserts and is highly soluble, used in fertilizers and explosives.
Nontronite
An iron-rich clay mineral of the smectite group, typically yellow-green. It forms from weathering of volcanic rocks and can swell when wet.
Norbergite
A yellow to pink humite-group mineral, a magnesium silicate with fluorine. It forms in metamorphosed limestones and is found notably in Sweden and New Jersey.
Nosean
A blue, gray, or brown feldspathoid mineral related to sodalite. It contains sodium, aluminum, silicon, and sulfate, and occurs in silica-poor volcanic rocks.
Novacekite
A yellow, radioactive uranium-magnesium arsenate mineral in the autunite group. It forms platy, fluorescent crystals in oxidized uranium deposits.
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