A professional who examines, analyzes, and classifies minerals, gems, and precious stones. Responsibilities include:

• Isolates specimen from ore, rocks, or matrices.
• Makes microscopic examination to determine shape, surface markings, and other physical characteristics.
• Performs physical and chemical tests and makes x-ray examinations to determine composition of specimen and type of crystalline structure.
• Identifies and classifies samples.
• Develops data and theories on mode of origin, occurrence, and possible uses of minerals.