2009 Allan Ludman and Stephen Marshak

CHAPTER 3 MINERALS
PURPOSE To practice scientific classification and learn how minerals are different from other materials. To learn the skills involved in identifying minerals To become familiar with common rock-forming minerals To learn what minerals can reveal about Earth processes and Earth history MATERIALS NEEDED A set of mineral specimens Hand lens, streak plate, glass plate, knife or steel nail, and a penny to determine the physical properties of minerals. Dilute hydrochloric acid for a simple chemical test.

INTRODUCTION This chapter begins our study of Earth materials. It starts by examining the different kinds of materials in the geosphere and then focuses on minerals, the basic building blocks of most of the Earth. You will learn how minerals are different from other substances, how to study their physical properties, and how to use those properties to identify common minerals. 3.1 CLASSIFYING EARTH MATERIALS Imagine an octopus swimming in the ocean when a container falls off a freighter overhead. The container breaks up and spills its entire cargo of sneakers, sandals, flip-flops, shoes, moccasins, and boots into the sea. The octopus is curious about these objects and wants to learn about them. How would she classify them? Remember, an octopus doesnt have heels or toes, has 8 legs, doesnt understand left and right, and doesnt wear clothes. One system might separate items that are mostly enclosed (shoes, boots, sneakers, etc.) from those that are open (sandals, flip-flops). Another might separate objects made of leather from those made of cloth; or brown objects vs black ones; or big ones vs small ones. There are many ways to classify footwear, some of which will lead our octopus to deeper understanding of the reasons for the differences. Early geologists faced a similar task in the 17th century when they began to study Earth materials systematically by classifying them. Why classify things? Because classification shows us relationships 1

between things that lead to understanding them and the processes by which they were made. Biologists classify organisms, art historians classify paintings, and geologists classify Earth materials. Exercise 3.1 introduces the thought processes involved in developing a classification scheme.
EXERCISE 3.1: CLASSIFYING EARTH MATERIALS a)Examine the specimens of Earth materials provided by your instructor. Group them into categories you feel are justified by your observations and explain the criteria by which you set up the groups. Group Defining criteria for each group Specimens in group

b) Compare your results with others in the class. Did you all use the same criteria? Are their specimens in the same groups as yours?

c)What does your comparison tell you about the process of classification?

3.2 WHAT IS A MINERAL AND WHAT ISNT? Most people know that Earth is made of minerals and rocks but dont know the difference between them. The words mineral and rock have very specific meanings to geologists, often much more precise than those used in everyday language. For example, what a dietitian calls a mineral is not a mineral to a geologist. Geologically, a mineral is a naturally occurring, homogeneous, inorganic solid with an ordered internal arrangement of atoms and a distinctive chemical composition. Lets look at this definition more closely.

 Naturally occurring means that a mineral forms by natural Earth processes. Thus, manmade materials like steel and plastic are not minerals. Homogeneous means that a grain of a mineral contains the same pure material throughout. Inorganic means that things formed by the life processes of animals and plants cannot be minerals. This rules out sugar, pearls, amber, bones, and wood. Solid means that minerals retain their shape indefinitely under normal conditions. Therefore, liquids like oil and water and gases like air and propane cannot be minerals. An ordered internal arrangement of atoms is an important characteristic that separates minerals from substances that may fit all other parts of the definition. Atoms in minerals occupy positions in a grid called a crystalline structure. Solids in which atoms occur in random clusters rather than in a crystalline structure are called glasses. Distinctive chemical composition means that the elements present in a mineral and the proportions of their atoms can be expressed by a simple formula for example, quartz is SiO2 and calcite is CaCO3 but some are more complex the mineral muscovite is KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2. When a mineral grows without interference from other minerals, it develops smooth faces and a symmetrical geometric shape that we call a crystal. When a mineral forms in an environment where other minerals interfere with its growth, it will have an irregular shape but will still have the appropriate crystalline structure for that mineral, as would a piece broken off a crystal during erosion. An irregular piece of mineral is a grain and a single piece of a mineral, either crystal or grain, is called a specimen. In the geosphere, most minerals occur as parts of rocks. It is important to know the difference between a mineral specimen and a rock. A rock is a naturally occurring solid consisting of an aggregate of mineral grains, pieces of older rocks, or a mass of natural glass. Some rocks, like granite, contain grains of several different minerals and some, like rock salt, are made of many grains of a single mineral. Others are made of fragments of previously existing rock that are cemented together. And a few kinds of rock are natural glasses, cooled so rapidly from a molten state that their atoms did not have time to form the grid-like crystalline structures required for minerals. 3

EXERCISE 3.2: IS IT A MINERAL OR A ROCK? a. Based on the definitions of mineral and rock, determine which specimens used in Exercise 3.1 are minerals and which are rocks.

Minerals

Rocks

Other

b) Look carefully at one of the rock specimens How many different minerals are there in this rock? ______ c) How do you know? What visual or other clues did you use to determine that minerals are different from their neighbors?

d)Describe each of the minerals in this rock in your own words. Mineral #1

Mineral # 2

Mineral #3

Mineral # 4

3.2: PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS Mineralogists (geologists who specialize in the study of minerals) have named more than 4,000 different minerals that differ from one another in composition and crystalline structure. These, in turn, determine a minerals physical properties which include how it looks (color and luster), breaks, feels, 4

smells, and (yes, really) tastes. Some minerals are colorless and nearly transparent, others opaque, dark colored, and shiny. Some are hard, others soft. Some form long, needlelike crystals, others blocky cubes. You instinctively used some of these physical properties in Exercise 3.2 to decide how many minerals were in your rocks and then to describe them. We will discuss the major physical properties of minerals below so you will be able to use them to identify common minerals in class or while on vacation. 3.2.1 Diagnostic vs. Ambiguous Properties Geologists use physical properties to identify minerals much as detectives use physical descriptions to identify suspects. And, as with people, some physical properties are diagnostic properties they immediately help identify an unknown mineral or rule it out as a possibility. Other properties are ambiguous properties because they may vary in different specimens of the same mineral. For example, color is a notoriously ambiguous property in many minerals (Figure 3.1). Size doesnt really matter either; a large specimen of quartz has the same properties as a small one. Exercise 3.2 shows how diagnostic and ambiguous properties affect everyday life.
EXERCISE 3.3 DIAGNOSTIC VS AMBIGUOUS PROPERTIES

Your father has asked you to pick up his college roommate at the airport. Youve never met him but your father gave you a yearbook photo and described what he looked like 30 years ago: height, weight, hair color, beard, eye color. Which of these features would still be diagnostic today? Which, considering the passage of time, might be ambiguous? What other properties might also be diagnostic?
PROPERTY Height Weight Hair color Beard Eye color Others DIAGNOSTIC (explain) AMBIGUOUS (explain)

3.2.2 Luster One of the first things we notice when we pick up a mineral is its luster the way light interacts with its surface. For mineral identification, we distinguish minerals that have a metallic luster from those that are non-metallic. Something with a metallic luster is shiny and opaque like an untarnished piece of metal. Materials with a non-metallic luster look earthy (dull and powdery like dirt), glassy (vitreous), waxy silky, pearly terms relating luster to familiar materials. Luster is a diagnostic property for many minerals but be careful some minerals may tarnish and their metallic luster may be dulled. 3.2.3 Color The color we see when we look at a mineral is controlled by how the different wavelengths of visible light are absorbed or reflected by the minerals atoms. Color is generally a diagnostic property for minerals with a metallic luster and for some with a non-metallic luster . Specimens of some nonmetallic minerals, like quartz in Figure 3.1, have such a wide range of colors that they were once thought to be different minerals. We now know that the colors are caused by impurities. For example, rose quartz contains a very small amount of titanium.
Figure 3.1: Varieties of the mineral quartz showing its range in color

a. Rock crystal (colorless)

b. Amethyst (purple)

c. Rose quartz (pink)

d. Smoky quartz (black)

6 e. Citrine (yellow)

f. Aventurine (green)

3.2.4 Streak The streak of a mineral is the color of its powder and we determine streak by rubbing a mineral against an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak and color are the same for most minerals, but for some they are different (Figure 3.2). In these cases, the difference between streak and color is an important diagnostic property. A minerals color may vary widely, as in Figure 3.1, but its streak is generally the same for all specimens regardless of their color.
Figure 3.2 Color vs streak

a. Cinnabar has both red color and red streak

b. Pyrite has a brassy yellow color but a black streak

3.2.5 Hardness The hardness of a mineral is a measure of the ease with which it will scratch or be scratched by other substances. A 19th century mineralogist, Fredrick Mohs, created a mineral hardness scale that we still use today, using 10 familiar minerals. He assigned a hardness of 10 to the hardest mineral, and a hardness of 1 to the softest (Figure 3.3). This is a relative scale, meaning that a mineral will scratch those lower in the scale but will not scratch those that are higher. It is not an absolute scale in which diamond would be 10 times harder than talc and corundum would be three times harder than calcite. The hardness of common materials can also be described using Mohs hardness scale (Figure 3.3). To determine the hardness of a mineral, see which of these materials it can scratch and which will scratch it.

Figure 3.3 Mohs hardness scale and relationship to common testing materials Mineral
Diamond Corundum Topaz or Beryl Quartz Orthoclase Apatite Fluorite Calcite Gypsum Talc

Rank on Mohs Hardness Scale

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Testing material

Streak plate (H=6.57) Window glass, steel-cut nail (H=5.5) Common nail, knife (H=5.0-5.5)

U.S. penny (H=3) Fingernail (H=2.5)

EXERCISE 3.4 CONSTRUCTING AND USING A RELATIVE HARDNESS SCALE Your instructor will tell you which specimens from your mineral set to use for this exercise. Arrange them in order of increasing hardness by seeing which will scratch the others and which are most easily scratched. Softest Specimen #: ______ ______ ______ ______ Hardest ______

Now use the items listed in Figure 3.3 to determine the Mohs hardness of minerals in your set. Mohs Hardness: ______ ______ ______ ______ ______

3.2.6 Crystal habit Crystal shapes found in the mineral kingdom range from simple cubes with six faces to complex 12-, 24-, or 48-sided (or more) crystals (Figure 3.4). Some crystals are flat like a knife blade, others needle-like. Each mineral has its own diagnostic crystal habit, a preferred crystal shape that forms when it grows unimpeded by other grains. For example, the habit of halite is a cube, that of garnet an equant 12-sided crystal. The habit of quartz is elongate hexagonal crystals topped by a 6-sided pyramid.

Remember: crystal growth requires very special conditions. As a result, most mineral specimens are irregular grains; very few will display its characteristic crystal habit.
Figure 3.4: Crystal habits of some common minerals

a)Equant crystals: cubes of pyrite (l);

12-sided (dodecahedra) crystals of garnet

b)Elongate (prismatic) crystals: quartz

potassic feldspar

kyanite

c. Calcite scalenohedra

d)Needle-like crystals (natrolite??)

3.2.7 Breakage Some minerals break along one or more smooth planes, others along curved surfaces, still others in irregular shapes. The way a mineral breaks is controlled by whether or not there are zones of weak 9

bonds in its structure. Instead of breaking the minerals in your sets with a hammer, we examine specimens to see how they have already broken using a microscope or magnifying glass to see more clearly. Two kinds of breakage are important: fracture and cleavage. Fracture occurs when there are no zones of particularly weak bonding within a mineral. When such a mineral breaks, either irregular (irregular fracture) or curved surfaces (conchoidal fracture; Figure 3.5) form. Conchoidal fracture surfaces are common in thick glass and minerals in which bond strength is nearly equal in all directions (e.g., quartz, garnet).
Figure 3.5 Conchoidal fracture in volcanic glass

Cleavage occurs when bonds holding atoms together are weaker in some directions than in others. The mineral breaks along these zones of weakness, producing flat, smooth surfaces. Some minerals have a single zone of weakness, but others may have two, three, four, or six (Figure 3.6).If there is more than one zone of weakness, a mineral cleaves in more than one direction. It is important to note how many directions there are and the angles between those directions. Two minerals might have two directions of cleavage, but those directions might be at 90 in one mineral in one but not in the other (see Figure 3.6). For example, amphiboles and pyroxenes (two important groups of minerals) are are similar in most other properties and have two directions of cleavage but amphiboles cleave at 56 and 124 whereas pyroxenes cleave at 90.

10

Figure 3.6 Types of cleavage commonly observed in minerals

1 direction (micas, chlorite) 2 directions at 90 (feldspars, pyroxenes) 2 directions 90 (amphiboles; 56 and 124)

1 Fracture, not cleavage 2 54

3 directions at 90 (halite, galena)

3 directions not at 90 (calcite, dolomite)

1

2 3
2

Note that in Figure 3.6, there are may be many cleavage surfaces, but several of those surfaces are parallel to one another, as shown for halite. All these parallel surfaces define a single cleavage direction. To help observe a minerals cleavage, hold it up to the light and rotate it. Parallel cleavage surfaces will reflect light at the same time, and different cleavage directions will be seen easily. Both crystal faces and cleavage surfaces are smooth flat planes and might be mistaken for one another. If you can see many small parallel faces, these are cleavage faces because crystal faces are not repeated. In addition, breakage occurs after a crystal has grown and cleavage or fracture surfaces will generally look less tarnished or altered than crystal faces.
EXERCISE 3.5: RECOGNIZING BREAKAGE IN MINERALS Examine the specimens indicated by your instructor. Which have cleaved and which have fractured? For those with cleavage, indicate the number of directions and the angles between them.

11

3.2.8 Specific Gravity: The specific gravity (Sp.G.) of a mineral is a comparison of its density with the density of water. The density of pure water is 1.0 g/cm3 so if a mineral has a density of 4.68 g/cm3, its specific gravity would be 4.68. 4.68 g/cm3 1.00 g/cm3 The units cancel so Sp.G. = 4.68. This means that the mineral is 4.68 times denser than water.

You can measure specific gravity by calculating the density of a specimen from its mass and volume. But geologists generally estimate specific gravity by hefting a specimen and determining if it seems heavy or light. To compare the specific gravities of two minerals, pick up similar-sized specimens to get a general feeling for their densities. You will feel the differencejust as you would feel the difference between boxes of Styrofoam packing material and marbles.
EXERCISE 3.6 HEFT AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY Separate the minerals provided by your instructor into those with relatively high specific gravity and those with relatively low specific gravity. a. What luster do most of the minerals in the high specific gravity group have? __________________ This is not a coincidence. In general, these have higher specific gravities than minerals with other lusters. b. To become familiar with the range of specific gravity is in common minerals, select the densest and least dense specimens and measure their specific gravities as shown above. High specific gravity _________ Low specific gravity ________

c. Do not try this procedure with halite (rock salt). Why wouldnt it work?

3.2.9 Magnetism: A few minerals are attracted to a magnet or act like a magnet and attract metallic objects like nails or paper clips. The most common example is, logically, called magnetite. Because so few minerals are magnetic, this is a diagnostic property. 3.2.9 Feel: Some minerals feel greasy or slippery when you rub your fingers over them. They are greasy because their chemical bonds are so weak in one direction that the pressure of your fingers is enough to break them and to slide planes of atoms past one another. Talc and graphite are common examples. 12

3.2.10 Taste: Yes, we sometimes taste minerals too! Taste is a chemical property, determined by the presence of certain elements. The most common example is halite (common salt), which tastes salty because of the chloride ion (Cl ). Do not taste minerals in your set unless instructed to do so!! We taste minerals only after we have narrowed the possibilities down to a few for which taste would be the diagnostic property. Why not taste every mineral? Because some taste bitter (like sylviteKCl), some are poisonous, and you dont want to taste other students germs! 3.2.11 Odor Geologists use all our senses to identify minerals. A few minerals and the streak of a few others have a distinctive odor. For example, the streak of minerals containing sulfur smells like rotten eggs and the streak of some arsenic minerals smells like garlic. 3.2.12 Reaction with dilute hydrochloric acid Many minerals containing the carbonate anion [(CO3)2- ] effervesce (fizz) when dilute hydrochloric acid is dropped on them. The acid frees carbon dioxide from the mineral and the bubbles escaping through the acid produce the fizz. 3.2.13 Tenacity Tenacity refers to the way in which materials respond to being pushed, pulled, bent, or sheared. Most adjectives used to describe tenacity are probably familiar: malleable materials can be bent or hammered into a new shape; ductile materials can be pulled into wires; brittle materials shatter when hit hard, and flexible materials can bend. You will do little hammering in the laboratory but flexibility is a diagnostic property for some minerals. After being bent, thin sheets of elastic minerals will return to their original, unbent shape but sheets of flexible minerals will retain the new shape.
-

13

3.4: IDENTIFYING MINERAL SPECIMENS You are now ready to use these physical properties to identify minerals. Although there are more than 4,000 minerals, only about 30 occur commonly and an even smaller number make up most of the Earths crustthe part of the geosphere with which we are most familiar. Identification is easier if you follow the systematic approach used by geologists: Step 1: Assemble equipment available in most geology classes to study minerals. to test hardness: a glass plate, penny, and knife or steel nail to test streak: a ceramic streak plate to test streak to help determine cleavage: a magnifying glass, hand lens, or microscope to identify carbonate minerals: dilute HCl to identify magnetic minerals: a magnet. Step 2: Observe or measure the specimens physical properties. Profile the properties in a standardized data sheet like those at the end of the chapter and in the following example.
Table 3.1 Profile of a minerals physical properties
Specimen # x Luster Metallic Color Dark gray Hardness Less than a fingernail Breakage Excellent cleavage in 1 direction Other diagnostic properties Leaves a mark on a sheet of paper

Step 3: Eliminate from consideration all minerals that do not have the properties you have recorded. This can be done systematically using a flow chart (Figure 3.7) that asks key questions in a logical sequence so that each answer eliminates entire groups of minerals until only a few remain (one, if youre lucky). Or you can use a determinative table in which each column answers the same questions as at the branches of a flow chart. Appendices at the end of the chapter provide flow charts and determinative tables. Experiment to find out which works best for you.

14

Figure 3.7: Partial flow chart showing how to identify minerals For simplicity, only the path for the unknown mineral is shown.
Fracture Softer than a fingernail Dark Metallic

Breakage?
One Cleavage

Other diagnostic properties Directions?

Marks paper

Hardness?
Harder than a fingernail

Dark or light?
light

Mineral name Graphite

Luster?
Non-metallic

EXERCISE 3.7: IDENTIFYING MINERALS Your instructor will provide a set of minerals to identify. Record the profile of physical properties for each specimen in the data sheets at the end of the chapter. Then use either the flow charts (Appendix 3.1) or determinative tables (Appendix 3.2) to identify each mineral. If these lead to more than one possibility, look at Appendix 3.3 for additional information.

3.5 MINERAL CLASSIFICATION The minerals in your set were chosen because they are either important rock-forming minerals that make up most of the geosphere, economically valuable resources, or illustrate the physical properties used to study minerals. Geologists classify all minerals into a small number of groups based on their chemical composition. These groups include: Silicates like quartz, feldspars, amphiboles, and pyroxenes that contain silicon and oxygen. Silicates are divided into ferromagnesian minerals which contain iron and magnesium and nonferromagnesian minerals which do not contain those elements. Oxides like magnetite (Fe3O4) and hematite (Fe2O3) in which a cation is bonded to oxygen anions. Sulfides like pyrite (FeS2) and sphalerite (ZnS) in which a cation is bonded to sulfur anions. Sulfates like gypsum (CaSO42H2O) in which cations are bonded to the sulfate complex (SO42-). 15

Halides like halite (NaCl) and fluorite (CaF2) in which cations are bonded to halogen anions (elements in the second column from the right n the periodic table). Carbonates like calcite (CaCO3) and dolomite (CaMg[CO3]2 containing the carbonate complex (CO3)2-. Native elements are minerals that consist of atoms of a single element. The native elements most likely to be found in your mineral sets are graphite (carbon) and copper. It is unlikely that you would find more valuable native elements like gold, silver, and diamond (carbon, just like graphite). 3.6 MINERALS IN EVERYDAY LIFE When people think of minerals, many picture brilliant gemstones. Most minerals are less spectacular but many are useful in modern society and extremely valuable. Indeed, stages of human evolution are named for the resources that our ancestors learned to obtain from rocks and minerals: the Stone Age (rocks), the Bronze Age (using copper and tin that they melted from minerals), and the Iron Age (smelting iron from iron-bearing minerals). Ore minerals, commonly oxides and sulfides, are valuable because useful metals can be separated from them, usually by melting. Physical properties make other minerals valuable. For example, hard minerals are used as abrasives, soft and greasy minerals as lubricants, and minerals whose powder forms solid masses after becoming wet are the major component of sheetrock and plaster of Paris. Exercise 3.8 explores everyday uses of common minerals.
EXERCISE 3.8 USES OF MINERALS The minerals listed below play important roles in everyday life. Some are sources of metals and others are used because of their physical properties. Match the mineral with its use and explain what makes it ideal for that purpose. Some minerals may be used for more than one purpose. You might want to check the chemical formulas of these minerals in the determinative table for clues. garnet halite galena quartz magnetite graphite calcite malachite gypsum Mineral Why?

Economic uses Melt ice on roads Very hard abrasive

16

Make wallboard (sheetrock) Major component of glass Decrease acidity of fields and gardens Source of lead Source of iron Source of copper Lubricant for locks Writing material Navigation with a compass

17

APPENDIX 3.1 MINERAL IDENTIFICATION FLOW CHART A. MINERALS WITH METALLIC LUSTER

Possible minerals Magnetism Color Streak Hardness Breakage

(See Appendix 3.2 for additional properties)

MAGNETIC

Black or Dark gray

Black

Greater than a glass plate

Magnetite

Copper

Copper

Greater than a penny

Copper

Gold, brassy yellow

Black

Greater than a penny

NONMAGNETIC

Arsenopyrite Bornite Chalcopyrite Pyrite Pyrrhotite

3 cleavage directions at 90

Gray Silvery or battleship gray Gray-black

Less than glass > penny

Galena

Less than a fingernail

1 cleavage direction, platy appearance

Graphite

Brown

Brown

Greater than a penny

Limonite

18

APPENDIX 3.1 (CONTINUED) B. MINERALS WITH NON-METALLIC LUSTER, DARK COLORED

HARDNESS BREAKAGE
Perfect cleavage in 1 direction; splits into thin sheets Conchoidal or irregular fracture 6 directions Not all visible at once 3 directions not at 90 Harder than a penny, softer than glass Usually too finegrained to tell

COLOR

OTHER DIAGNOSTIC PROPERTIES

Splits into elastic, transparent

Possible minerals
(See table for additional properties)

Biotite Chlorite

Green, brown Splits into flexible, opaque

Softer than a penny

Bright yellow

Yellow streak; greasy luster

Sulfur

Brown, black, white

Resinous luster. Cream-colored streak

Sphalerite

Light brown

Looks like calcite but doesnt react with HCl

Siderite

Red, red-brown Yellowbrown Green, often banded Deep blue

Earthy luster; red-brown

Hematite Limonite
Malachite

Earthy luster; yellow-brown

Reacts with hydrochloric acid Reacts with hydrochloric acid

Azurite

Cleavage in 2 directions @ 87 and 93 About the same as glass Cleavage in 2 directions @ 56 and 124

Dark green or brown

Commonly in elongate crystals

Pyroxene Augite Amphibole Actinolite Hornblende

Dark green or brown

Commonly in elongate or needlelike crystals

Cleavage in 2 directions at 90 Cleavage in 2 directions, not 90

White, gray, black White, gray, pink, green Brown, redbrown

Very variable

Striations on one cleavage direction; may be iridescent No striations; may have narrow ribbon-like exsolution lamellae Often in stubby crystals. May occur as cross-shaped pairs of crystals Often in elongate 6-sided crystals Often in equant 12-sided crystals May occur in granular masses

Plagioclase feldspar Potassic feldspar Staurolite Quartz Garnet Olivine Epidote

Harder than glass

Conchoidal fracture

Red, green Green

Rarely seen

Apple green

19

Often granular or powdery coating

APPENDIX 3.1 (CONTINUED) C. MINERALS WITH NON-METALLIC LUSTER, LIGHT COLORED

HARDNESS BREAKAGE COLOR OTHER DIAGNOSTIC PROPERTIES
Splits into thin transparent sheets Feels greasy Splits into slabs; massive variety is fine grained, granular Typically powdery masses. Sticks to the tongue. Cube-shaped crystals Tastes salty Cube-shaped crystals Tastes bitter Reacts vigorously with hydrochloric acid Powder reacts weakly with hydrochloric acid Flat, stubby crystals. Unusually high specific gravity

Possible minerals
(See table for additional properties

Colorless
Prominent cleavage in 1 direction Softer than a fingernail

Muscovite Talc Gypsum Kaolinite

White, gray White, colorless

Cleavage in 1 direction rarely seen Cleavage in 3 directions at 90

White

Halite Sylvite

Colorless

Harder than a fingernail, softer than glass

Cleavage in 3 directions not at 90

Colorless, gray white, pink

Calcite Dolomite Barite

Usually white or gray

Cleavage in 4 directions

Colorless, purple, green

Cube-shaped crystals

Fluorite Quartz Plagioclase feldspar Potassic feldspar Andalusite Kyanite

Conchoidal fracture

Highly varied White, gray black white, gray, pink,

Commonly in elongate 6-sided crystals

Cleavage in 2 directions at 90 Harder than glass

Striations on one cleavage direction; may be iridescent No striations; may have narrow ribbonlike exsolution lamellae No striations; may have narrow ribbonlike exsolution lamellae Flat, bladed crystals. H=5 parallel to long side, 7 parallel to short side Slender elongate crystals, sometimes fibrous

White, gray Cleavage in 2 directions, not 90

Blue-gray

1 direction

White, gray

Sillimanite

20

APPENDIX 3.2 DETERMINATIVE TABLES FOR SYSTEMATIC MINERAL IDENTIFICATION

Sequence of questions: Luster? Approximate hardness? Streak? Breakage? Hardness? (6)Color? (7)Other? Minerals in bold face are common rock-forming minerals or important economic resources

TABLE 1.1 MINERALS WITH METALLIC LUSTER

a. Hardness less than 2.5 (can be scratched by a fingernail) Cleavage or Streak H Color Fracture Perfect cleavage in one Dark grayBlack 1.0 direction black Other diagnostic properties Mineral name (composition) Graphite C

Greasy feel. Leaves a mark on paper. SpG=2.23 Very rarely in masses with meallic YellowLimonite Rarely seen --Yellow-brown luster. More commonly dull, brown FeO(OH)nH2O earthy. SpG= 3.6-4.0 b. Hardness between 2.5 and 5.5 (harder than a fingernail, softer than glass; cannot be scratched by a knife) Cleavage or Mineral name Streak H Color Other diagnostic properties Fracture (composition) Commonly in cubic crystals; Galena Gray 3 directions at 90 angles 2.5 Lead gray SpG=7.4-7.6 PbS 3.0 Bronze-brown Commonly with purplish, iridescent Bornite Rarely seen when fresh tarnish. SpG=5.06-5.08 Cu5FeS4 3.5Often tarnished. Similar to pyrite Chalcopyrite Rarely seen Brassy yellow Black 4.0 but not in cubes CuFeS2 Pyrrhotite Rarely seen 4.0 Brown-bronze Slightly magnetic; SpG=4.62 Fe1-xS Copper2.5Often in branching masses; Rarely seen Copper color red 3.0 SpG=8.9 c. Hardness greater than 5.5 (harder than glass; cannot be scratched by a knife) Commonly in 12-sided crystals or Conchoidal fracture 5.0 Brassy yellow cubes with striated faces. Sp.G.=5.02 Black Strongly magnetic Rarely seen 6.0 Iron black SpG=5.18 5.5Streak smells like garlic because of Black Rarely seen Silver white 6.0 arsenic; SpG=6.07 Black, red. Red5.5Red variety is more common and Rarely seen black variety brown 6.5 has non-metallic, earthy luster. is metallic Copper (Cu) Pyrite FeS2 Magnetite Fe3O4 Arsenopyrite FeAsS Hematite Fe2O3

TABLE 1.2 MINERALS WITH NON-METALLIC LUSTER

a. Harness less than 2.5 (softer than a fingernail) Cleavage or Streak H Fracture Conchoidal or uneven Yellow 1.5-2.5 fracture White or colorless Perfect cleavage, 1 direction Perfect cleavage, 1 direction Perfect cleavage in 1 2-2.5 1.0 2.0 Color Yellow Colorless; light tan, yellow. Green, gray, white Colorless, Other diagnostic properties Resinous luster; SpG=2.05-2.09 Can be peeled into transparent, flexible sheets; SpG=2.76-2.88 A colorless mica Greasy feel; may occur in irregular masses (soapstone). SpG=2.7-2.8 Occurs in clear crystals or Mineral name (composition) Sulfur S Muscovite KAl2(AlSi3010)(OH)2 Talc Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 Gypsum

21

gray/white earthy masses CaSO42H2O (alabaster). SpG=2.32 Colorless or Cubic crystals like halite but has Sylvite 3 directions at 90 2.0 white very bitter taste; SpG=1.99 KCl Usually in dull, powdery masses Perfect in 1 direction Kaolinite 2-2.5 White that stick to the tongue; Al2Si2O5(OH)4 but rarely seen SpG=2.6 Platy and fibrous (asbestos) Perfect in 1 direction 2.0Serpentine Green, white varieties; Greasy luster; But not always visible 5.0 Mg3Si2O5(OH)4 SpG=2.5-2.6 Not really a mineral; rock often Bauxite White, made of small spherical particles ------Mixture of aluminum brown, gray containing several clay minerals; hydroxides SpG=2.0-2.55 Can be peeled into thin, flexible Perfect cleavage, 1 Brown, black, Biotite 2.5-3.0 sheets; SpG=2.8-3.2 direction green K(Fe,Mg)2AlSi3O10(OH)2 A dark mica Green or brown Chlorite Perfect cleavage, 1 Green, dark Mica-like mineral but sheets are 2-2.5 Complex Fe-Mg sheet direction green not flexible; SpG=2.6-3.3 silicate b. Hardness between 2.5 and 5.5 (Harder than a fingernail, softer than glass) Cleavage or Mineral name Streak H Color Other diagnostic properties Fracture (composition) Occurs in globular or elongate Malachite Green --------3.5-4.0 Bright green masses. Reacts with HCl. Cu2CO3(OH)2 SpG=3.9-4.03 Often in platy crystals or Azurite Blue -------3.5 Intense blue spherical masses. Reacs with Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 HCl. SpG=3.77 Usually in earthy masses. Also RedReddish Hematite ---------------occurs as black, metallic crystals brown brown Fe2O3 SpG=5.5-6.5 Earthy, powdery masses and Limonite --------------Brown, tan coatings on other minerals. FeO(OH)nH2O SpG=3.6-4.0 Light to dark Often in rhombic crystals. Siderite Yellow3 directions, not 90 3.5-4.0 brown Reacts with hot HCl. SpG=3.96 FeCO3 brown Brown, 6 directions, few of which white,yellow, Sphalerite 3.5 Resinous luster. SpG=3.9-4.1 are usually visible black, ZnS colorless Colorless, Cubic crystals or massive (rock Halite 3 directions, 90 2.5 white salt). Salty taste. SpG=2.5 NaCl Varied Rhombic or elongated crystals. Calcite 3 directions, not 90 3.0 Usually white Reacts with HCl. SpG=2.71 CaCO3 or colorless White Varied Rhombic crystals. Powder reacts Dolomite 3 directions not 90 3.5-4.0 Commonly with HCl but crystals may not. CaMg(CO3)2 white or pink Or SpG=2.85 Colorless, SpG=4.5, unusually high for a Barite 3 directions, 90 3-3.5 white non-metallic mineral BaSO4 colorless Colorless, purple, Often in cubic crystals Fluorite 4 directions 4.0 yellow, blue, SpG=3.18 CaF2 green

direction; may show two other directions at 90

white, gray

22

Elongate 6-sided crystals; May be purple, blue, colorless. SpG=3.15-3.20 c. Hardness between 5.5 and 7.5 (harder than glass or knife, softer than streak plate) Cleavage or Streak H Color Other diagnostic properties Fracture Red, green, brown, black, Equant 12-sided crystals. Conchoidal fracture 7.0 colorless, SpG=3.5-4.3 pink Stubby prismatic crystals. Three Colorless, polymorphs: orthoclase, 2 directions at 90 6.0 salmon, gray, microcline, sanidine. May show green, white exsolution lamellae. SpG=2.542.62 Striations on one of the two White Colorless, cleavage directions. Solid 2 directions at 90 6.0 white, gray, solution between sodium black (Albite) and calcium (anorthite) or plagioclase. SpG=2.62-2.76 Colorless, pink, purple, Elongate 6-sided crystals Conchoidal fracture 7.0 gray, black, SpG=2.65 colorless green, yellow Gray, white, Elongate 4-sided crystals Rarely seen 7.5 brown SpG=3.16-3.23 White, rarely Long, slender crystals, often 1 direction 6.0-7.0 green fibrous. SpG=3.23 Bladed crystals. Two 5.0 Blue-gray to hardnesses: 5 parallel to long 1 direction and white direction of crystal, 7 across the 7.0 long direction Most Stubby crystals and granular Conchoidal fracture 6.5-7.0 commonly masses. Solid solution between green Fe (fayalite) and Mg (forsterite) An amphibole with elongate Dark green to crystals 2 directions @ 56 and 124 5.0-6.0 black SpG=3.0-3.4 Colorless to An amphibole with elongate Pale to dark 2 directions @ 56 and 124 5.0-6.0 crystals Light green SpG=3.0-3.3 2 directions @ 87 and 93 5.0-6.0 Dark green to A pyroxene with elongate green black crystals SpG=3.2-3.3 Elongate crystals and fineApple green 1 perfect, 1 poor, not at 90 6.0-7.0 grained masses to black SpG=3.25-3.45 Blue-green, emerald 6-sided crystals with flat ends. No streak. 1 direction (imperfect) 8.0 green, SpG=2.65-2.8 Mineral yellow, pink, Gem variety: emerald (green) scratches white streak plate stubby or cross-shaped crystals ---7.0-7.5 Red-brown SpG=3.65-3.75 1 direction, poor 5.0 Usually green or brown

Apatite Ca5(PO4)3(OH,Cl,F) Mineral name (composition) Garnet family Complex Ca,Fe,Mg,Al,Cr,Mn silicate Potassic feldspar KAlSi3O8

Plagioclase feldspar CaAl2Si2O8 NaAlSi3O8

Quartz SiO2 Andalusite Al2SiO5 Sillimanite Al2SiO5 Kyanite Al2SiO5 Olivine family Fe2SiO4 Mg2SiO4 Hornblende Complex double chain silicate with Ca, Na, Fe, Mg Actinolite Double chain silicate with Ca, Fe, Mg Augite Single chain silicate with Ca,Na,Mg,Fe,Al Epidote Complex twin silicate with Ca,mAl,Fe, Mg Beryl Be3Al2Si6O18 Staurolite Hydrous Fe,Al silicate

23

APPENDIX 3.3 ALPHABETIC LIST OF COMMON MINERALS AND THEIR PROPERTIES Asterisk indicates mineral family
Mineral Actinolite *Amphibole Andalusite Apatite Augite Azurite Barite Bauxite Beryl Biotite Bornite Calcite Chalcopyrite *Chlorite Copper Dolomite Epidote Fluorite Galena *Garnet Graphite Gypsum Halite Hematite Hornblende Kaolinite Kyanite Limonite Magnetite Additional diagnostic properties and occurrences Elongate green crystals; cleavage @ 56 and 124; H=5.5-6.0. An amphibole found in metamorphic rocks Stubby rod shaped crystals common in igneous rocks; slender crystals common in metamorphic rocks. 2 cleavage directions @ 56 and 124 Elongate gray crystals with rectangular cross-sections H=5.0. pale to dark green, brown; white. White streak. 6-sided crystals H=5.5-6.0; green to black rod-shaped crystals; cleavage @ 87 and 93. A pyroxene common in igneous rocks. Deep blue; reacts with HCl. Copper will plate out on a steel nail dipped into a drop of hydrochloric acid placed on this mineral H=3.0-3.5; SpG unusually high for non-metallic mineral. Gray-brown earthy rock commonly containing spherical masses of clay minerals and mineraloids 6-sided crystals; H=8 dark-colored mica; one perfect cleavage into flexible sheets High SpG; iridescent coating on surface gives peacock ore nickname Reacts with HCl.Produces double image from text viewed through transparent cleavage fragments Similar to pyrite, but typically has iridescent tarnish Similar to biotite but does not break into thin, flexible sheets; forms in metamorphic rocks. Copper-red color and high specific gravity are diagnostic Similar to calcite but only weak or no reaction with hydrochloric acid placed on a grain of the mineral; powder reacts strongly. Slightly curved rhombohedral crystals Small crystals and thin granular coatings forms in some metamorphic rocks and by alteration of some igneous rocks Commonly in cube-shaped crystals with 4 cleavage directions cutting corners of the cubes Commonly in cube-shaped crystals with 3 perfect cleavages @ 90 Most commonly dark red; 12- or 24-sided crystals in metamorphic rocks Greasy feel; leaves a mark on paper Two varieties: selenite is colorless and nearly transparent with perfect cleavage; alabaster is a rock -- aggregate of grains with earthy luster Cubic crystals and taste are diagnostic Two varieties: most common is red-brown masses with earthy luster; rare variety is black crystals with metallic luster Dark green to black amphibole; 2 cleavages @ 56 and 124 Earthy, powdery white to gray masses; sticks to tongue Bladed blue-green crystals; H=5 parallel to blade, H=7 across blade Earthy, yellow-brown masses, sometimes powdery. Forms by the rusting (oxidation) of iron-bearing minerals Gray-black; H=6; magnetic

24

Malachite Muscovite Olivine *Plagioclase feldspar *Potassic feldspar Pyrite Pyrrhotite *Pyroxene Quartz Serpentine Siderite Sillimanite Sphalerite Staurolite Sulfur Sylvite Talc

Bright green. Copper will plate out on a steel nail dipped into a drop of hydrochloric acid placed on this mineral A colorless mica; one perfect cleavage; peels into flexible sheets Commonly as aggregates of green granular crystals Play of colors and striations distinguish plagioclase feldspars from potassic feldspars which do not show these properties Gold color and black streak diagnostic. Cubic crystals with striations on their faces or in 12-sided crystals with 5-sided faces. Brownish bronze color; black streak; may be slightly magnetic 2 cleavages @ 87 and 93; Major constituent of mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks Wide range of colors; 6-sided crystal shape, high hardness (7), and conchoidal fracture are diagnostic. Dull white, gray, or green masses; sometimes fibrous (asbestos) 3 cleavages not @90; looks like brown calcite; powder may react to HCl Gray, white, brown; slender crystals, sometimes needlelike. Wide variety of colors (including colorless); distinctive cream-colored streak. Red-brown stubby crystals in metamorphic rocks Bright yellow with yellow streak. Greasy luster Looks like halite but has very bitter taste Greasy feel, H=1

25

MINERAL PROFILE DATA SHEET

Streak Color Cleavage or fracture (Describe) Other properties Mineral name and composition

Name ______________________

Sample

Luster

Hardness

26

MINERAL PROFILE DATA SHEET

Streak Color Cleavage or fracture (Describe) Other properties Mineral name and composition

Name ______________________

Sample

Luster

Hardness

27