Panama rockhounding

See if you cant find a pdf of DANA's NEW MINERALOGY. (It the entirely rewritten version of the classic "Dana;s System of Mineralogy)
This is the bSIC ALL REFERENCE TEXT OF MINERALOGY (It has crystal graphica but no photos).
If youre a beginner, Id reccomend using the internet and finding some schools "syllabus of introduction to mineralogy"

You need to develop skills to be able to tell minerals apart qnd there are numbers of basic tests that are used in the field by students , geologists and rockhounds.
Books are atill good basic resorces nd one of the bet basic field guides is small one entitled "POUGH's FIELD GUIDE TO MINERALS OF..."
(The Pough series used to have seprate volume for N America and S America. )Its part of the Peterson Field Guides books (bugs, bunnies, spiders , seashells, tees,mushrooms-theyve got field guides to everything)
Im not sure whether this filed guide is only one volume now. You can find it on Amazon Im sure.
A field guuide that is simply written and loaqded with pictures for comparison (s well as field tests), Is a great beginning resource.

Good Luck, I had a lot of time spent in San Blas Countryin Pqnama exploring for Ilmenite deposits

PS, If you can find a volume of this field guide, GET THE 4TH EDITION. THEYVE cheapened the binding Ive heard and Ive had students who ue this book tell me that it just falls apart in use (and it gets lots of use its that good)