The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word ARAGONITE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
A
R
A
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The straight part
We know that "mineral" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case mineral = aragonite.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does ARAGONITE mean?
ARAGONITE noun- A saline evaporite consisting of anhydrous calcium carbonate with the chemical formula CaCO3; it is dimorphous with calcite.