Minerals
Minerals: Building
blocks of rocks
■By definition a mineral is
• Naturally occurring
• Inorganic
• solid
• Crystalline structure
• Definite chemical composition
■Rock
• A solid aggregate of minerals
Structure of minerals
■Polymorphs
• Minerals with the same
composition but different
crystalline structures
• Examples include diamond and
graphite
Diamond and graphite –
polymorphs of carbon
Figure
3.10
Physical properties
of minerals
■Crystal form
• External expression of a
mineral’s internal structure
• Often interrupted due to
competition for space and rapid
loss of heat
A garnet crystal
Cubic crystals of
pyrite
Figure 3.11
A
Physical properties
of minerals
■Luster
• Appearance of a mineral in
reflected light
• Two basic categories
• Metallic
• Nonmetallic
• Other descriptive terms include
vitreous, silky, or earthy
Galena (PbS) displays
metallic luster
Physical properties
of minerals
■Color
• Generally unreliable for mineral
identification
• Often highly variable due to
slight changes in mineral
chemistry
Quartz (SiO2) exhibits a
variety of colors
Figure
3.26
Physical properties
of minerals
■Streak
• Color of a mineral in its
powdered form
■Hardness
• Resistance of a mineral to
abrasion or scratching
• All minerals are compared the
Mohs scale of hardness
Streak is obtained on an
unglazed porcelain plate
Figure
3.12
Mohs scale
of
hardness
Figure
3.13
Physical properties
of minerals
■Cleavage
• Tendency to break along planes
of weak bonding
• Produces flat, shiny surfaces
Common
cleavage
direction
s
Figure
3.15
This mineral speciman
exhibits perfect cleavage
Fluorite, halite, and calcite
all exhibit perfect cleavage
Physical properties
of minerals
■Fracture
• Absence of cleavage when a
mineral is broken
■Specific Gravity/Density
• Weight of a mineral / weight of
an equal volume of water
Conchoidal fracture
Figure
3.16
Physical properties
of minerals
■Other properties
• Magnetism
• Reaction to hydrochloric acid
• Malleability
• Double refraction
• Taste
• Smell
• Elasticity
Mineral groups
■Nearly 4000 minerals have been
named
■Rock-forming minerals
• Common minerals that make up
most of the rocks of Earth’s crust
• Only a few dozen members
• Composed mainly of the 8
elements that make up over 98%
of the continental crust
Elemental abundances
in continental crust
Figure
3.18
Mineral groups
■Silicates
• Most important mineral group
• Comprise most rock-forming
minerals
• Very abundant due to large % of
silicon and oxygen in Earth’s crust
• Silicon-oxygen tetrahedron
• Fundamental building block
• Four oxygen ions surrounding a
much smaller silicon ion
Two
illustration
s
of the
Si–O
tetrahedro
Figure
3.19
n
Three types of
silicate structures
Figure
3.21
Mineral groups
■Common silicate minerals
• Light silicates: Feldspar group
• Most common mineral group
• Orthoclase (potassium feldspar) and
Plagioclase (sodium and calcium
feldspar) are the two most common
members
Potassium feldspar
Figure
3.24
Plagioclase feldspar
Figure
3.25
Mineral groups
■Common silicate minerals
• Light silicates: Quartz
• Only common silicate composed
entirely of oxygen and silicon
• Hard and resistant to weathering
• Conchoidal fracture
• Often forms hexagonal crystals
Mineral groups
■Common silicate minerals
• Light silicates: Muscovite
• Common member of the mica family
• Excellent cleavage in one direction
Mineral groups
■Common silicate minerals
• Dark silicates: Olivine group
• High temperature Fe-Mg silicates
• Forms small, rounded crystals with
no cleavage
Mineral groups
■Common silicate minerals
• Dark silicates: Pyroxene group
• Single chain structures involving
iron and magnesium
• Augite is the most common mineral
in the pyroxene group
Mineral groups
■Common silicate minerals
• Dark silicates: Amphibole group
• Hornblende is the most common
mineral in the amphibole group
Hornblende amphibole
Figure
3.27
Cleavage angles for
augite and hornblende
Figure
3.28
Mineral groups
■Important nonsilicate minerals
• Comprise only 8% of Earth’s
crust
Table 3.2
Mineral groups
■Important nonsilicate minerals
• Carbonates
• Primary constituents in limestone
and dolostone
• Calcite and dolomite are the two
most important carbonate minerals
Mineral groups
■Important nonsilicate minerals
• Many nonsilicate minerals have
economic value
• Examples
• Hematite (oxide mined for iron ore)
• Halite (halide mined for salt)
• Sphalerite (sulfide mined for zinc
ore)
• Native copper (native element
mined for copper)
Native copper
End