Minerals are types of Iron oxides in No Man's Sky. They are distinct from crystals and asteroids in being:
- non-carbon compounds (chemicals including, but not solely consisting of, an element),
- with a pre-allocated mononomialdef name,
- ending in ...ite or ...ibe.
They can easily be mistaken for succulent plantsdef (which however have a binomialdef name and release carbon when mined). They likely form a food source for certain geovoredef animalsdef.
Scanning every kind of rock imaginable is easily liable to turn up a dozen or more different minerals per planet. Just a handful are offered as examples here. In due course, there may well be a system to classify them.
