Study of Minerals

Mineral: A naturally occurring inorganic solid with a crystal structure and a definite range of chemical composition. Rock: A natural aggregate of minerals Properties of Minerals: 3 principal properties are Physical, Optical and Chemical Physical Properties of Minerals Color Every mineral has a definite color or a range of colors that it can exhibit. Color is never taken as a diagnostic or conclusive property, but is the first to be noted and generally proves very helpful. Luster It is the intensity of reflection of light from the mineral surface, or more simply known as the shine of a mineral. It depends on 3 factors: (i) Refractive Index of the mineral (ii) Light absorption capacity of the mineral (iii) Nature of the reflecting surface A mineral may show poor luster on a rough surface, but a brilliant one on the cleavage face. Luster may be metallic or non-metallic. Metallic luster is characteristic of high density, high refractive index, and opaque minerals (like galena). Nonmetallic luster may vary from brilliant reflection of light (diamonds) to dull and greasy luster (olivine). Luster is entirely independent of color of a mineral. Streak Streak is the color of the finely powdered mineral obtained by scratching or rubbing the mineral over a rough unglazed porcelain plate (called streak plate). Colorless and transparent mineral will give a colorless streak while colored and opaque minerals will give a colored streak. Streak is again different (and also more reliable) than color. Chromite

and magnetite, though having identical physical properties and almost black color, give brown and black streaks respectively. Hardness Hardness is the resistance which a mineral offers to an external deformation action such as scratching, abrasion, rubbing, or indentation. It is a fairly constant and diagnostic property of minerals. A Moh's scale of hardness has been defined for minerals, going from softest to hardest: Moh's Scale of Hardness Hardness Std. Mineral 1 Talc 2 Gypsum 3 Calcite 4 Fluorite 5 Apatite 6 Orthoclase 7 Quartz 8 Topaz 9 Corundum 10 Diamond A harder mineral will scratch a softer one. Minerals of equal hardness scratch each other. Thus any mineral's hardness may be defined by scratching it from the softest to the hardest mineral. 3 facts need to be kept in mind while determining the hardness of a mineral: 1. Hardness is a relative property. The above table does not mean that quartz is 7 times harder than talc. 2. Hardness can be anisotropic though this is not commonly observed (kyanite is H=4.5 along the length and 6.5 across the length of the crystal) 3. Hardness may decrease on decomposition of a mineral due to weathering/alteration. Hence it must be checked on unweathered and unaltered surfaces only.

Cleavage It is the property of a crystallized mineral to break along a definite direction(s) yielding smooth plane surface(s). Thus, cleavage planes are planes of easiest fractures or least cohesion in a mineral body. Cleavage is defined in terms of number of directions in which it is observed on a mineral along with degree of perfect slipping. Fracture It is the appearance of a broken surface on the mineral in a direction other than cleavage. The way a mineral breaks into fractures is a known characteristic of a number of different minerals e.g.: Fracture Surface Explanation Mineral Example Even Smooth and flat Chert Uneven Irregular Fluorite Conchoidal Concentric rings Quartz Splintery Woody fracture Kyanite Hackly Pinching projections Native Copper Earthy Smooth, soft and porous Chalk Tenacity This describes the behavior of a mineral towards the breaking, bending, cutting, and crushing forces. Thus the tenacity of a mineral may be sectile (can be cut with a knife), malleable (flatten into sheets under hammer), brittle (breaks rather than bends), flexible (opposite of brittle), plastic, and elastic. The last 2 qualities are of diagnostic importance. Structure (Form) Minerals often occur in characteristic body forms or physical shapes, which often helps in their identification. For example: Structure Tabular Elongated Bladed Explanation Flattened Column-like Blade-like Mineral Example Calcite Beryl Kyanite

Lamellar Foliated Granular Globular

Thick flexible sheets Paper thin sheets Grain-like crystals Rounded bulb-like globules

Vermiculite Muscovite Chromite Hematite

Specific Gravity This is a property of great significance, and depends on the mineral composition (nonmetallic minerals have low values - 2.5 to 4.5 compared to metallic ones - 5 to 20) and the atomic constitution (smaller atom has larger density) Form It is the internal atomic arrangement of a mineral which manifests itself outwards in definite geometrical shapes or crystal forms. A mineral may: Be crystallized - forming well defined crystals with perfect cleavage. This indicates perfect atomic arrangement. Be crystalline - showing clear tendency towards crystallization Be amorphous - having neither a crystal face nor a cleavage. There is no evidence of orderly atomic arrangement. Miscellaneous Some minerals may show: Magnetism, e.g. magnetite Electrical charge on heating or applying pressure, e.g. quartz Flourescence (glowing or emitting light when exposed to radiation) e.g. fluorite Phosphorescence (glowing or emitting light after exposure to radiation) e.g. diamond Fusibility (melting) at lower temperatures

Optical Properties of Minerals Optical properties relate to the behavior of light while being transmitted through or reflected from a mineral surface. These are of great importance in determining individual minerals in small grain like quantities in a collection of minerals such as a rock mass. The study of optical properties of a mineral requires that it be first cut into very thin section so that light is either easily transmitted through it or uniformly reflected from its surface. Such thin sections are mounted on glass slides and studied under microscope. Crystallography A crystal is a solid polyhedral form of a substance bound by smooth geometrical surfaces called faces. The process of formation of crystals is called crystallization. It results in a very orderly and perfect internal arrangement of atoms and/or molecules of a substance. The external shape of a crystal is merely a manifestation of the regular internal atomic structure. Crystallography is the study of all aspects of crystals from their formation to the internal structure and the external shape or morphology. Most minerals occur in the form of crystals or crystalline aggregates with definite crystal structures.

Formation and Descriptive Study Minerals may be formed in a number of ways such as: (a) Solidification of hot molten rock through cooling or crystallization. this is the most common method of formation of minerals (b) Metamorphism involving change of composition of an earlier mineral due to change in temperature, pressure, or chemical environment. This is also sometimes called recrystallization and occurs in a solid state. (c) Precipitation from natural solutions under favorable circumstances. Minerals from Magma Magma is the source of largest number of minerals in nature. Magma is a natural hot melt with a great variation in its temperature, viscosity, chemical composition, and related physical and chemical properties. As and when any of the conditions change, one or more constituent minerals may crystallize out. Presence of some substances such as water vapour, CO2, SO2, Cl2, F2, and boric acid greatly facilitates the process of crystallization. They increase the mobility of magma and assist in accumulating molecules or minerals to centers of crystallization. Hence these substances are sometimes also called mineralizers. Minerals from Recrystallization Under metamorphism, an earlier formed mineral may suffer a change in its atomic structure without a change in its overall chemical composition. A new mineral is thus formed in place of the existing one. These metamorphic minerals form the bulk of metamorphic rocks. Minerals from Solutions Natural water bodies such as lakes, rivers, and seas contain dissolved salts in varying concentrations. Minerals may crystallize or precipitate out of these solutions due to excessive evaporation from a shallow water body. The best example is halite, also called common salt or rock salt.

Only a few minerals 25) form great bulk (> 99%) of rocks on the earth's crust. These minerals have been called rock forming minerals. Among these, 3 prominent mineral groups are silicates, oxides, and carbonates. Silicate Group 8% of earth's crust is made up of silicates and free silica. Most common silicate minerals are made up of 9 elements: Na, K, Al, Ca, Mg, Fe, Li, Si, and O. All silicates are simple or complex repetition of the fundamental silicon-oxygen tetrahedron, [SiO4]4-, which forms a unit cell of constant size for such minerals . The very small Si 4+ ion sits in the center, surrounded by 4 big O2- ions. (5 times in size compared to Si 4+). This unit cell is repeated, linked, and joined in different ways giving rise to the different minerals of the silicate group.

The silicon-oxygen tetrahedron The tetrahedron may exist independently, form a doubly linked tetrahedra, a complex linked tetrahedra, a chain structure, a sheet structure, or a network structure. The single chain structure [chemical formula R(SiO3)] is characteristic of pyroxene group of silicates. The double chain structure (chemical formula [Si4O11]6-) is characteristic of the amphibole group of minerals. The sheet structure ( hexagonal pattern of arrangement of the tetrahedron) results in flaky, platy and lamellar minerals like mica and chlorites. The networked structure is a 3-d network of the tetrahedron.

Felspar Group These are the most prominent group of minerals, making up to 50% by weight of earth's crust to a depth of 30 km. These occur mostly in igneous rocks (> 60%), but also form a good proportion of metamorphic rocks. This group has more than a dozen minerals, of which 3 to 4 are most commonly found. The felspars are chiefly aluminosilicates of Na, K, and Ca with the general formula: WZ4O8 where W = Na, K, Ca, and Ba, and Z = Si and Al. The Si:Al ratio varies from 3:1 to 1:1. The felspars are a 3-d network of SiO 4 tetrahedra accompanied by AlO4 tetrahedra. Chemically, the felspars form 2 main groups: potash felspars and soda-lime felspars (also called plagioclase felspars). Crystallographically, the felspars form 2 main groups monoclinic (e.g. orthoclase) and tricilinic (e.g. microcline). Felspars are light in color, have low specific gravity (~ 2.6) and a hardness generally between 6 - 6.5. Pyroxene Group (Not a part of Syllabus for ETE) This group of minerals occurs prominently in dark colored igneous and metamorphic rocks. Pyroxenes are essentially ferro-magnesion silicates with the chemical formula: RSiO3 where R = Ca, Na, Al, Li, etc. The most important chemical character of the pyroxenes is the Si:O ratio of 1:3. The pyroxenes show a single chain structure of silicates, where the fundamental tetrahedrons are linked together at one of the O atoms. That is, one O atom is shared between 2 SiO4 giving rise to a prismatic cleavage. The hardness of pyroxene minerals varies between 5 and 6 and the specific gravity between 3 and 3.3. Amphibole Group (Not a part of Syllabus for ETE) This group of minerals is regarded parallel to the pyroxene group because most minerals of this group show a striking resemblance in their properties to the pyroxene group. They have double cleavage, a hardness between 5 and 6 and their specific gravity varies between 3 and 3.5. They are also generally dark in colour. The Si:O ratio is 4:11. The

metallic ions present in amphiboles are Ca, Fe, Mg, and sometimes Mn, Na, K, and H. Presence of (OH) ion, which may be replaced by F, and Cl, is another peculiarity of amphibole composition. The amphiboles also differ from pyroxenes in their atomic structure. The SiO4 tetrahedra are linked in a double chain here as compared to a single chain in pyroxenes. It is for this reason that amphiboles are more complex in their chemical composition. Both, the pyroxenes and amphiboles form orthorhombic and triclinic crystals. However, the pyroxene crystals are short and stout, while the amphibole crystals are long and slender.