The object of the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland, with which the Crystallological Society was amalgamated on 11 December 1883, is to promote and encourage the study of the science of Mineralogy, and its applications to other subjects including Petrology, Geochemistry, and Crystallography.In furtherance of the said object of the Society but not otherwise the Council of the Society may: (a) publish or cause to be published such periodical and other publications as it thinks fit, (b) establish special interest groups, (c) hold or arrange to be held seminars, conferences or other forms of discussion, (d) award prizes, medals and exhibitions, (e) receive donations or bequests for any general or special purpose connected with the object of the Society, (f) establish or support any charitable institution having objects similar to the object of the Society, (g) do all such other things as shall further the attainment of the object of the Society.

The Society is an unincorporated body and its legal status is as a charity under UK Law, Registered Charity Number 233706. Its governing document is its Bye-Laws and these can only be altered by the agreement of Council and ratification by a majority of members at a General Meeting of the Society. Any changes to Bye-Laws 1, 37, 39 and 45 will require the approval in writing of the Charity Commission. The Society’s affairs are governed by its Officers and Council who are the Charity Trustees of the charity ex-officio.

General

On election to the Council of the Mineralogical Society, an individual assumes a number of responsibilities. It is incumbent upon those new council members to familiarise themselves with their new responsibilities. This is achieved by reading the Society's Bye-Laws thoroughly as well as reading the Charity Commission Document on the `Responsibilities of a charity trustee’ N.B. THESE ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS. Trustees are reminded that they are accountable in law for the good governance of the Society. Note also that as a general rule, trustees are individually responsible for decisions taken by the charity trustees as a whole (i.e. Council). Council members cannot normally derive any personal profit from their trust or allow themselves to be placed in a position where their duty conflicts with their personal interests. Under almost all circumstances, Council Members are expected to give of their services gratuitously, though out of pocket expenses may be claimed from the Executive Secretary. The legislation that governs the operations of charities is complex but as a general principle, Council Members should exercise the same degree of prudent care that they would be expected to exercise in conducting their personal or business affairs.The term of office for a Council Member is three years, meaning that there will be nine Council Meetings during a term of office. Members are expected to attend all of these meetings. It is also taken that you they have familiarised themselves with the paperwork circulated prior to these meetings and be prepared to contribute to the relevant discussions.Membership of any of the standing or impromptu subcommittees is encouraged and sometimes may be a more direct means of contributing to the development of the Society.

The Society has two formal administrative committees which meet regularly to discuss the running of the Society, i.e. its finance, publications, meetings etc., as well as all matters of policy. These are: the Finance/Officers Committee, a committee which includes the President, the General Secretary, the Treasurer, the Publications Manager, the Principal Editors of each of the three journals and up to four Custodian Trustees. Since the beginning of 2004 the Finance Committee has been subsumed into the new combined Finance/Officers' Committee. In acknowledgement of the increasing volume of work in the publications area with the advent of online publishing a revival of the Publications Committee was re-introduced in February 2004. The decisions of the Publications Committee are reported to Officers by the Publications Manager.The governing body of the Society is the Council, which comprises the actual charity trustees of the Society, i.e. those who are legally responsible under charity law for the running of the organisation. The Council includes the officers, the chairpersons or nominated representatives of the seven special interest groups, and six Fellows or Members who are elected to the position of ordinary member of Council.

FINANCE/OFFICERS COMMITTEE

At present, Presidents are elected by a ballot from members of Council, for a period of two years each. Nominations for President and Council members are sought from Members and Fellows of the Society and voted on by Council Members. The President is responsible for chairing the Finance/Officers' Meetings as well as meetings of the Council of the Society. Their principal role is one of coordinating strategic planning with several presidents choosing a theme for their term of office such as ‘Future of the Society’. The President often takes the lead in making suggestions for venues/themes/lecturers for the Society's Winter Meetings etc

The General Secretary’s term of office is up to six years long. Nominations from Fellows and Members are welcome when the position becomes or is about to become vacant. The General Secretary works closely with the Executive Director – who does much of the work for the items listed below — and is frequently in contact with the other staff and involved in many areas of Society business. The main responsibilities are as follows:

• Society Scientific Meetings — policy and organisation
• Business Meetings — Council and Officers, set agenda and check minutes
• Council and Groups — constitutions and general activities
• Staff matters, including recruitment and salaries.
• National and International relations, including ex officio National Representative of IMA, Nat. Rep. to the EMU, meetings with the Geological Society and the Science Council
• Bye-Law changes and liaison with the Charity Commission
• Membership issues, recruitment and queries
• Other policy issues and working groups Society Strategy etc.
• Contribute news to Elements via the Executive Director who acts as News Editor for the Society’s pages in Elements
• Keep close contact with the Office, to sign cheques and other financial transactions and help with queries.
• Is a corresponding Member of the Earth and Environmental Resources Network EEON with the Executive Secretary.
  

The term of office is for up to six years. The Treasurer is responsible for all matters relating to finance within the Society, preparation of annual accounts/budgets; large items of expenditure; receipt of applications for fundng for meetings/special publications; overseeaing day-to-day expenditure of the Society in conjunction with the Executive Director. He is also responsible fo rthe Society's investments and in conjunction with the Finance/Officers' Committee the appointment of an Investment Manager.

The Principal Editors of each of the journals are responsible for editorial policy and for the processing of material for publication. This is in association with an editorial board and the Publications Manager. The editors, assisted by their editorial boards, choose referees for manuscripts and on the basis of reports received, then decide whether or not to accept manuscripts. Principal Editors are paid an honorarium on a quarterly basis. Associate Editors for Mineralogical Magazine and Clay Minerals are paid small annual honoraria. The production team for MINABS Online are paid salaries, depending on the time spent on the publication.

Each Group Chairperson represents their Special Interest Group (SIG) at meetings of Council. It is their responsibility to report the activities of the SIG to Council, and likewise to report the discussions and decisions of Council to meetings of the committee of the SIG. The Chairperson is required to prepare an annual report (by 1 September each year), describing the activities of the group for the preceding financial year (1 July to 30 June), for inclusion in the Society’s annual report which is presented at the November Coucil meeting, and published in the December. Group chairs are invited to submit topics for discussion by Council.

EDITORIAL

The Society's three journals are edited by Principal Editors, assisted by Associate Editors, Editorial Boards and the Production Editor in the cases of the Mineralogical Magazine and Clay Minerals and Principal Editor, Editors and abstractors for MINABS Online.

In the case of Mineralogical Magazine the position is advertised in Elements and elsewhere and candidates are interviewed by a panel. In the case of MINABS Online the position of Principal Editor is filled by nomination from the membership with an election by Council members. The Principal Editor of Clay Minerals is appointed by the committee of the Clay Minerals Group. Principal Editors are appointed for three or six years in the first instance. Generally they are regarded as volunteers and are usually Members of the Society, however they are paid a small honorarium and expenses for their work.

Society Meetings (Special Interest Group and Society-organised)

Funding for meetings may available from a relevant special interest group. Please contact the appropriate group or the Executive Director. If the area of interest of the meeting is not covered by any of the special interest groups then central funding is unlikely to be be available from the Society but exceptionally support may be given. Please write to the Treasurer.

General

Staff at the Society's office act as the first buffer for all matters of administration, e.g. banking, dealing with solicitors, investment managers, etc. Points of action are passed to the appropriate officers for actioning unless the staff member is delegated by that officer to deal with the matter. Specific duties are agreed as within the power of decision of the Executive Director.

Sales of all Society publications are carried out through the Society's office. This includes the journals, the Monographs and all special issues and occasional publications.

The Society employs a full-time Finance and Operations Manager. He deals with recording of all day-to-day financial matters. In association with the Society's Treasurer and the Auditor, he is involved in the production of the annual accounts. He liaises with the Group Treasurers in matters of recording income and expenditure, which from 1 July 1999 is handled centrally through the office. This ensures that the cost of auditing to the Society is kept to a minimum and that income to the Groups (on their savings) is maximised, and that the risk of VAT and other legal transgressions is minimised. The Society's Financial Year runs from 1 July to 30 June. The annual accounts are passed by Council at their November meeting and they are published on the website in December and on the Charity Commission website before being officially accepted at the Annual General Meeting of the Society.

PUBLICITY

The Society welcomes donations at any time from Members and other donors. The Special Interest Groups, in particular the Clay Minerals Group, occasionally receive donations to assist financially in the organisation of scientific meetings. Organisers of meetings have to be careful of the wording of any letters associated with sponsorship. If the VAT office felt that an organisation gave a donation to a meeting and expected significant advertising in return then the meeting is providing a service and would have to charge the sponsor VAT and declare it, this is sponsorship sensu stricto. Normally if the sum donated is just referred to as a donation and only minimal recognition is given to the donor such as printing the donor’s name along with others on the inside cover of the proceedings or abstract volume then this is acceptable by the VAT office as a non-taxable donation. Donations should be sent to the Mineralogical Society,12 Baylis Mews, Amyand Park Road, Twickenham Middlesex TW1 3HQ. If you are a UK tax payer ask about how you grant Gift Aid your donation to increase its value to the Society.

The Society's suppliers’ names and addresses are as follows:

Printing and Journal Distribution

Piggott Black Bear
The Paddocks
Cherry Hinton Road
Cambridge CB1 8DHTel. 01223 404800

Banking

Coutts & Co
440 Strand
London WC2R 0QS
Tel. 020 7923 1010

Solicitors

Nabarro Nathanson
Lacon House
Theobald’s Road
London WC1X 8RW
Tel.020 7524 6000

Investment

HSBC Unit Investment Management
5th Floor
City Plaza
2 Pinfold Street
Sheffield S1 2QZ

Auditors

David M. Rees and Associates Ltd.
The White Cottage
41 High Street
Wheathampstead
Herts AL4 8BB
Tel. 01582 833033

Insurance

HSBC Insurance Brokers Limited
General Corporate & Commercial Risks Division
2 Poole Road
Bournemouth
Dorset BH2 5QY
Tel. 01202 455545