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• Properties of Rock-forming minerals

• Detailed discussion on Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic rocks
• Mineral composition
• Formations
• Types
GENERAL
• A mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a definite chemical
composition and a crystalline structure. Minerals that are commonly found
in rocks are often called rock-forming minerals.

• Crystal structure of a mineral remains the same.

• Silicate minerals form the largest group of minerals, and most rocks contain
more than 95% of silicates. Silicates are composed largely of silicon and
oxygen, with the addition of ions such as aluminum, magnesium, iron, and
calcium.

• Some important rock-forming silicates include the feldspars, quartz, olivines,

pyroxenes, amphiboles, garnets, and micas.
GENERAL
A mineral must satisfy the three conditions given below
1. It must be a crystalline solid:
a) A crystalline substance is one in which the atoms are arranged in a 3-
dimensional, regular repeating, orderly pattern. Mineral’s particular
crystal structure can have a pronounced influence on the mineral’s
properties. Diamond and graphite have an identical chemical
composition [polymorphs: same formula, different forms]. Diamond
is the hardest substance on Earth and graphite, softer. This happens
because the carbon atoms in graphite are arranged into sheets which
can slide easily past each other, while the carbon atoms in diamond
form a strong, interlocking three-dimensional network.
GENERAL
A mineral must satisfy the three conditions given below
2. It must have formed through geologic processes: Human-made,
crystalline substance are not regarded as minerals. Most minerals are
inorganic, but some are organic (like calcite in coral secreted by
organisms.
3. It must have a specific chemical composition: chemical analysis of any
sample of a given mineral will always produce the same ratios of
elements i.e., the composition of any mineral can be expressed as a
chemical formula.
Minerals may be divided into two groups:
(i) Rock-forming minerals (ii) Ore-forming minerals
❑ AN ORE is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements
including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined
to extract the valuable element(s)
❑ Of the several thousand identifiable minerals on earth, only a few hundred are
classified as rock-forming minerals.

Gold ore

Iron ore
MOST COMMON ROCK FORMING MINERALS
These make up more than 90% of the Earth’s crust.
1) Feldspar group
2) Pyroxene group
3) Amphibole group
4) Quartz
5) Mica group

❑ The most common minerals are feldspar and quartz. They are
encountered in beach sand and the most common rocks.
IDENTIFICATION OF MINERALS
▪ Classifying minerals can range from simple to very difficult. A mineral can be
identified by several physical properties, some of them being sufficient for full
identification without equivocation.
▪ In other cases, minerals can only be classified by more complex chemical or X-
ray diffraction analysis; these methods, however, can be costly and time-
consuming.
▪ Some of the physical properties of minerals which may be determined without
elaborate equipment include color, streak, luster, hardness, crystal shape,
cleavage, fracture, density, taste, smell and magnetism.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

• A mineral can be identified by several physical properties. The key

properties that are important to influence rock properties are crystal
structure, hardness and cleavage.

• Other common properties include luster, color, fracture, and specific

gravity.

• Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749-1817) is considered to be the Founder of

Mineralogy because he was the first to systematically classify minerals
(during 1771-1800) by their obvious “external” (physical) characters such as
color, luster, streak, crystal form, crystal habit, cleavage, and hardness.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
▪ COLOUR
▪ Some minerals have characteristics color due to composition of the minerals
and the arrangement of the constituent atoms: for example black color of
magnetite, green of chlorite and brassy yellow of pyrite
▪ Minerals like quartz and calcite have variable color when seen in different
directions. This is called “play of color”.
▪ Color is extremely variable in quartz and many other minerals because even
minute chemical impurities can strongly influence it. Specimen of Quartz
crystals may be white, pink, black, yellow, or purple.
▪ Color can’t be the sole identification property
Pyrite crystals
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
▪ LUSTURE
• How shinny the mineral is. The quality and intensity of light that reflects
from a mineral
➢ Metallic – shines like a polished metal
➢ Vitreous – shines like glass
➢ Pearly – shines like a pearl
➢ Resinous – shines like the surface was covered by oil or grease.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
▪ STREAK
➢ Color of mineral in powder (pulverized) form is called streak
➢ Powder is obtained by crushing the mineral. Or the minerals may be rubbed
against unglazed porcelain streak plate to obtain the streak.
➢ Color of the streak differs from color of mineral: for example the color of
pyrite is brass yellow and its streak is dark green.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
▪ CLEAVAGE
• The cleavage of the minerals is its capacity to split more readily in certain
directions than in others, due to the arrangement of the atoms.
• It is one of the most useful diagnostic tools because it is identical for a given
mineral from one sample to another.
• Minerals break with ease producing smooth surfaces is called perfect
cleavage. It can be either good, distinct, indistinct and imperfect.
• Some minerals such as mica have perfect cleavage in one direction. The
feldspars, which is the most abundant of all minerals, have two cleavages.
Galena have three cleavages. Quartz has no cleavage.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
▪ FRACTURE
• The nature of a broken surface of a mineral is known as fracture, but the
breaking should be in any other direction than the cleavage.
• Minerals that have no cleavage commonly have an irregular fracture.
• Quartz and Garnet show Conchoidal (curved surface) fractures. But they also
show irregular fracture.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

HARDNESS
• Shows the ability of a mineral to withstand abrasion by other substances.
• Friedrich Mohs (1773-1839) presented a comparative hardness scale called as
“Mohs scale of hardness”.
• Mohs scale of hardness ranges from 1 to 10, with 10 being the hardest.
• 10 commonly available minerals were used as a yardstick.

1: Talc 2: Gypsum 3: Calcite 4: Fluorite 5: Apatite

9:
6: Feldspar 7: Quartz 8: Topaz 10: Diamond
Corundum
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
• SPECIFIC GRAVITY
• Specific Gravity means the weight of a substance compared with the weight of an
equal volume of water. The specific gravity of quartz is 2.65. Some minerals are
heavier than the others. The specific gravity of majority minerals range from 2.55 to
3.2.

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• CRYSTAL FORM
• Internal atomic arrangement in definite
geometric patterns is sometimes
outwardly expressed in crystal form.
• Minerals do not always able to develop
their characteristic crystal faces.
• Most minerals can do this only if they
are surrounded by fluid that can be
easily displaced as the crystal grows.
• Few minerals, notably garnet, are able
to overpower and displace surrounding
solid material during growth.

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FELDSPAR
• Feldspar is the most abundant minerals. make up as much as 60% of the Earth's
crust.
• Feldspars crystallize from magma in both intrusive and extrusive igneous
rocks, as veins, and are also present in many types of metamorphic rock.
Feldspars are also found in many types of sedimentary rock.
• There are two types.
• (1) Orthoclase feldspars contain potassium (KAlSi3O8) and usually range
from white to pink.
• Plagioclase feldspars contain sodium (NaAlSi3O8), calcium (CaAl2Si2O8) or
both, and range from white to gray to black,.
• Feldspars have moderate hardness.

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QUARTZ
• Second most abundant mineral in the earth’s continental crust.
• It is silicate (SiO2), and usually has a translucent to milky white color.
• The luster is vitreous.
• Quartz is harder than most minerals (hardness 7), and thus is very resistant to weathering.
• Chert is a type of quartz sometimes found in sedimentary rocks. Part of chert's popularity
in road surfacing or driveway construction is that rain tends to firm and compact chert
while other fill often gets muddy when wet. However, where cherty gravel ends up as fill
in concrete, the slick surface can cause localized failure.

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MICA
• Translucent (semitransparent) thin sheets or flakes.
• There are two common varieties.
• Muscovite is potassium aluminum silicate of colorless or silvery tint, pearly luster
and especially one very perfect cleavage which permits the mineral to be split into
thin elastic sheets that when bent spring back to shape.
• Biotite, the other common variety, is a complex silicate of potassium, magnesium
and iron and aluminum.
• Biotite and muscovite are similar in physical properties. Both are soft, 2.5-3, with one
perfect cleavage.
• The sheets of mica have very low coefficient of friction, which can produce shear failure
in certain rocks, such as schist.
CALCITE
• A mineral made of calcium carbonate (CaCO3).
• Usually white, pink or gray.
• Soluble in water, and thus can be transported by ground water into
cracks in rock where it precipitate out of solution.
• Precipitate in soil, becoming a cementing agent.
• much softer then quartz or feldspar. Hardness is 3.
• Have vigorous reaction to hydrochloric acid.

DOLOMITE
• Similar to calcite with magnesium added.
• Less vigorous reaction to dilute hydrochloric acid.

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IRON OXIDES
• Another class of minerals, all of which contain iron (FeO3).
• The most common iron oxides are hematite, Fe2O3 ; hydrous iron oxide that
are often called limonite and magnetite.
• Although less common, these minerals give a distinctive rusty color to some
rocks and soils and can act as cementing agents.
• The compact varieties have a hardness of 5.5-6, but earthy form are soft.
• The luster is sub-metallic.

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GYPSUM
➢ A soft minerals often occurring as a precipitate in sedimentary rocks.
➢ It is colorless to white and has economic value when found in thick
deposits. For example, it is used to make drywall.
➢ Gypsum is water soluble and thus can dissolve under the action of ground
water, which can lead to other problems.

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