Paper short abstract:

This paper explores debates concerning the International Mineralogical Association's mineral classification system. The paper explores these debates, emphasizing their institutional commitments and implications for the development of post-extractivist futures.

Paper long abstract:

Geoscientists are increasingly challenging the mineral taxonomy system used by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA), proposing new taxonomies that consider more than mineral’s officially recognized properties. While the IMA’s classification system – which has been used for over 200 years – classifies minerals according to their structural and chemical makeup, researchers have challenged the epistemological basis of this taxonomy, proposing a new classification system that reflects the impact that living beings have had in the formation of mineral ‘kinds’ and deposits.

As such, these new taxonomies draw attention to a link between organic life and inorganic matter often overlooked by researchers both within and beyond the fields of geology and mineralogy. Unsurprisingly, these new taxonomies have been met with criticism led by researchers committed to defending the IMA’s classification system because of its practical uses. In fact, the original IMA taxonomy was developed for applied purposes (e.g., in chemistry, mining, and engineering) and continues to serve our practical needs accordingly.

This paper explores the history of the IMA’s mineral classification system and the implications that the adoption of an alternative taxonomy could have for the development of green post-extractivist futures. To this end, I highlight how our current understanding of minerals is tied to extractivist onto-epistemological systems that reflect a vision of modernity that we are trying to transition away from. Indeed, these alternative taxonomies provide not only a means of reconceptualizing minerals but also provide important conceptual resources for thinking about the material and institutional basis of post-extractivist futures.