This page presents information about the causes of color in minerals and provides illustrations of many examples. The common causes are metal ions, intervalence charge transfer, ionizing radiation, physical effects, and band gaps.
Metal ions cause the color of many common and uncommon minerals.
Click here to investigate a list of metal ions to see the colors they cause in different minerals. Intervalence Charge Transfer , involving metal ions in mixed oxidation states is another important factor in the coloration of minerals. For many examples, follow this link. Colors from natural ionizing radiation are frequently encountered in nature. Most common minerals have had a long history of exposure to ionizing radiation from natural radiation sources in rocks.