Minerals.net

What Minerals.net does

Minerals.net (also styled as 'The Mineral and Gemstone Kingdom') is a privately held, free online educational reference for rocks, minerals, gemstones, and jewelry, founded in 1996 by Hershel Friedman and operated from Monsey, New York. The site provides detailed research pages on hundreds of individual minerals, covering chemical formulas, crystal systems, physical properties (hardness, streak, specific gravity, luster, cleavage, fluorescence, optical properties), localities, and mineral associations, along with photographic galleries and an interactive 3D crystal form viewer. Content is organized into sections for Minerals, Gemstones, Varieties, Birthstones, Research, and a Glossary, with site-wide search and is accessible globally via a mobile-friendly web build.

The platform is built on a modern web stack (Next.js image pipeline is visible in asset URLs) and was fully rebuilt as of the 2014 edition, following prior redesigns in 2007 (with senior developer Joseph Haas) and January 2014. The audience is bifurcated: beginners and students who need accessible learning material, and enthusiasts, collectors, and experts who require exhaustive reference data. Founders/editors include Hershel Friedman (founder, designer, and primary content researcher, also founder of web design firm Radial Web), Joseph Haas (senior developer), Herman Friedman (editor), and Dr. Morris Schulgasser (editor).

Minerals.net generates revenue exclusively through on-site display advertising, with explicit 'Advertisement' placements throughout content pages. The service is provided free of charge, with a stated intent to remain free, and the site does not collect personal information or use third-party advertising trackers; aggregate analytics are gathered via Microsoft Clarity. There is no e-commerce, subscription, licensing, or enterprise offering, and the business is bootstrapped with no external capital, M&A activity, or partnerships disclosed.

Name

Minerals.net

Legal name

Minerals.net

Website

https://minerals.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Minerals.net is a free, ad-supported educational reference website founded in 1996, providing detailed information, photographs, and interactive 3D crystal visualizations for hundreds of minerals and gemstones to students, collectors, and enthusiasts worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Monsey

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Advertising: The site displays advertisements throughout its pages, generating revenue from third-party advertising. The site explicitly mentions 'Advertisement' placements throughout the content pages.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Minerals.net provides a free online educational reference guide to rocks, minerals, gemstones, and jewelry. The site delivers detailed information, photographs, and research pages on hundreds of minerals and gemstones, organized into categorized sections (Minerals, Gemstones, Varieties, Birthstones, Research, Glossary), supplemented by an interactive 3D crystal form viewer and site-wide search.

Product overview

Minerals.net is a single unified educational reference website offering free access to comprehensive information about rocks, minerals, gemstones, and jewelry. The site functions as the Mineral and Gemstone Kingdom, featuring an extensive mineral database with indexed and categorized research pages on hundreds of minerals. Core content is organized into sections covering Minerals, Gemstones, Varieties, Birthstones, Research documentation, and a Glossary. The mineral database includes detailed entries for individual minerals such as Cerussite, Prehnite, Goethite, Johannsenite, Wollastonite, Pyrolusite, and Sodalite, each providing chemical formulas, crystal systems, physical properties (hardness, streak, specific gravity), localities, mineral associations, and photographic galleries. The Research section offers educational materials on mineral properties and identification procedures including color, streak, hardness, crystals, transparency, specific gravity, luster, cleavage, fracture, parting, tenacity, and optical properties. An interactive crystal form viewer provides 3D visualization capabilities for understanding mineral crystal structures.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Minerals.net Educational Reference Website A free, web-based educational reference guide to rocks, minerals, gemstones, and jewelry, providing detailed information, photographs, and indexed research pages on hundreds of minerals, organized into sections covering Minerals, Gemstones, Varieties, Birthstones, Research documentation, and Glossary.
• Minerals.net Mobile Website A mobile-friendly version of the Minerals.net reference site, enabling global users to browse the mineral database, gemstone reference, varieties, birthstones, research documentation, and glossary on mobile devices.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Webmineral.com: A free online mineral database providing detailed data on mineral properties, crystallography, and chemistry. Highly comparable in scope, monetization (ad-supported), and target audience of students and mineral enthusiasts.
• Mindat.org: The largest crowdsourced mineral database on the web, offering detailed mineralogical data, photographs, and locality information for free. Directly comparable as a free online reference for mineral and gemstone information serving hobbyists, collectors, and researchers.
• Geology.com: A long-running free geology reference site covering rocks, minerals, gemstones, and earth science topics. Same model of ad-supported educational reference content for students and enthusiasts, making it a near-direct peer.
• International Gem Society (IGS): An online resource providing educational content on gemstones and jewelry, including detailed gem reference pages for hobbyists and professionals. Directly comparable in offering free educational reference content on gemstones to enthusiasts and learners.
• Amethyst Galleries' Mineral Gallery: An early online mineral gallery and reference site providing mineral photographs and descriptions. Comparable as a web-native educational mineral reference resource targeting students and collectors.

Others

• John Betts Fine Minerals: Long-established dealer of fine mineral specimens, credited in Minerals.net's acknowledgements for providing mineral images. Related ecosystem participant rather than a direct content competitor — useful peer for understanding adjacent commercial dynamics in the mineral collecting community.

Broad incumbents

• Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia Minerals Portal: Hosts substantial free reference imagery and structured mineral data that overlaps with Minerals.net's educational content mission. A much larger, well-funded incumbent in the free online reference space that competes for the same organic search traffic on educational mineral queries.
• Gemological Institute of America (GIA): The leading gemological authority globally, offering extensive educational content on gemstones as part of a broader portfolio that includes grading reports, gemological instruments, and professional training. Comparable educational mission and gemstone expertise but operates at much larger scale and with diversified revenue.
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History – Mineral Collection: Hosts one of the world's premier mineral collections with significant online educational content about minerals and gemstones. Broad incumbent with institutional scale; partial educational-reference overlap but very different operating model.

Emerging players

• RockTumbler.com: A hobbyist-focused site covering rocks, minerals, and lapidary content, including identification guides and educational articles. Partial overlap: similar rock and mineral educational content aimed at hobbyists, though narrower in gemological and reference depth.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Minerals.net