EARTH MATERIALS IV

Rock-forming minerals: non-silicates

Professor Peter Doyle

P.doyle@imperial.ac.uk
Profdoyle@btinternet.com
 CLASSIFICATION OF MINERALS

Mineral class Example

SILICATES Olivine (Mg,Fe)2 SiO4

CARBONATES Calcite CaCO3
SULPHATES Anhydrite CaSO4
OXIDES Hematite Fe2O3
SULPHIDES Pyrite FeS2
HYDROXIDES Brucite Mg(OH)2
HALIDES Halite NaCl
NATIVE Gold Au
 Carbonates
• Calcite CaCO3 – trigonal
• Aragonite CaCO3 – orthorhombic
• Calcite & Aragonite are polymorphs - same composition, different
crystal structure
• Dolomite CaMg (CO3)2 – trigonal Calcite &
Aragonite
stable at
different
temperatues

Calcite
CARBONATE MINERALS

Ca
Ca
Mg
Ca

Ca Ca

Mg

CALCITE CaCO3 DOLOMITE CaMg(CO3)2

 Carbonates: most commonly found in carbonate
sediments e.g. limestones

Modern carbonate sediments

may contain aragonite &
calcite

Ancient carbonates rarely

contain aragonite which
transforms on burial to
calcite
Carbonates in hand specimen
• Vitreous to pearly lustre
• Hardness, generally <5
• Trigonal carbonates show perfect
rhombic cleavage
• Calcite and aragonite effervesce,
readily soluble in cold dilute HCl
• Dolomite only reacts in hot dilute
HCl
Sulphates
• Gypsum CaSO4.2H2O– monoclinic
• Anhydrite CaSO4 – orthorhombic
• Vitreous to pearly lustre
• Hardness <4
• Usually occur in evaporite deposits
Gypsum twin

Twin plane
 EVAPORITES IN PLAYA
LAKE

EVAPORITES IN
MARINE SALINA
Gypsum in hand specimen
• Tabular, fibrous , granular,massive
(alabaster) habits
• Often twinned
• Soft (H = 2)
• One perfect + 2 good cleavages

Gypsum
in
evaporite
deposits
Anhydrite in hand specimen
• H = 3.5
• 3 Good/perfect intersecting
cleavages at right angles
• Fibrous, granular habits

Nodular anhydrite after gypsum in Nodular ‘chicken wire’

modern arid tidal flat, ( sabkha ) anhydrite in Permian
Abu Dhabi, Arabian Gulf sediments, UK
Halides
Halite NaCl
• Chloride minerals
characterised by salty
taste
• Readily soluble in water
• H<3

Fluorite CaF2 HALITE

• Well defined cleavage
• vitreous lustre
• H=4
• Variable colours - white
streak

FLUORITE
Oxides
Hematite Fe2O3 – cubic
Magnetite Fe2O4 – cubic

• Most oxides opaque with metallic lustre

• Some transparent with vitreous-resinous lustre
• H >5

Streak - constant

Botryoidal hematite
Sulphides
Pyrite FeS2 – cubic
Galena PbS – cubic
Chalcopyrite Cu FeS2 – cubic
Sphalerite ZnS – cubic

• Sulphides opaque PYRITE

• metallic lustre
• H ≤6

GALENA