pyrognostics

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun Those properties of a mineral which it exhibits when heated, alone or with fluxes, in the blowpipe-flame or in the flame of a Bunsen burner, as the fusibility, intumescence, or other phenomena of fusion, flame-coloration, etc.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun plural (Min.) The characters of a mineral observed by the use of the blowpipe, as the degree of fusibility, flame coloration, etc.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun dated The characteristics of a substance, especially of a mineral or metal salt, that are revealed by heat, especially by the use of a blowpipe and a charcoal block.