Mineral Groups

Mineral Groups
Silicates :

contains oxygen and silicon (two

most abundant elements of earths crust)
- more than 800 known silicate minerals;
more than 90% of earths crust
- same fundamental building block, siliconoxygen tetrahedron (SiO4)

Mineral Groups:
Silicates

Mineral Groups:
Silicates

Mineral Groups:
Silicates

Mineral Groups:
Silicates
Light Silicates
Color: light
Specific gravity: about 2.7
Contains aluminum, potassium,
calcium and sodium

Mineral Groups:
Silicates
Light Silicates: Feldspar Group
Most common mineral group
2 planes of cleavage at 90
degrees
6 on the Mohs Scale
Glassy to pearly

Mineral Groups:
Silicates
Light Silicates: Feldspar Group
Potassium Feldspar e.g.
orthoclase, microline; light cream,
salmon pink, bluish green
Plagioclase Feldspar contains
sodium and calcium; white to
medium gray; some with striations

Mineral Groups:
Silicates
Light Silicates: Quartz
Consists of entirely silicon and
oxygen
Without cleavage; hard; colored
by impurities

Mineral Groups:
Silicates
Light Silicates: Muscovite
Mica family
Light color; pearly luster

Mineral Groups:
Silicates
Light Silicates: Clay Minerals
Complex minerals having a sheet
structure
Products of chemical weathering of other
silicate minerals
Some clay minerals absorb large amount
of water
e.g. kaolinite

Mineral Groups:
Silicates
Dark Silicates
Contains ions of iron and/or
magnesium
Darl color; specific gravity of 3.2
to 3.6

Mineral Groups:
Silicates
Dark Silicates : Olivine Group
high-temp silicate minerals
Black to dark green; glassy luster;
conchoidal fracture
Olivine and related groups
constitute to about 50% of earths
upper mantle

Mineral Groups:
Silicates
Dark Silicates : Pyroxene Group
Important components in darkcolored igneous rocks
E.g. augite

Mineral Groups:
Silicates
Dark Silicates : Biotite
iron-rich member of Mica Family
Sheet structure; cleavage in one
direction
Common constituent of igneous
rock

Mineral Groups:
Silicates
Dark Silicates : Garnet
Same structure as olivine
Glassy luster, lacks cleavage,
conchoidal fracture
In varied color ranging from brown
to deep red

Mineral Groups:
Nonsilicates
Carbonates
Composed of carbon ions (CO3 2-)
and one or more kind of positive
ions
E.g. calcite and dolomite

Mineral Groups:
Nonsilicates
Sulfates
SO42 E.g. Gypsum

Mineral Groups:
Nonsilicates
Halides
Cl1- , F

1-

, Br

1-

E.g. table salt

Mineral Groups:
Nonsilicates
Native Elements
- E.g. Gold, Diamond

Mineral Groups:
Nonsilicates
Sulfides

Oxides