Lecture 4
MINERALS
Engr. Engr. Irfan Ahmad
(Lecture CED UOL)
A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic
homogeneous substance, with a definite chemical
composition, certain physical properties and
crystalline structures.
Earth materials that are classified as minerals exhibit
the following characteristics:
1. Naturally occurring. Minerals form by natural, geologic
processes. Synthetic materials, meaning those produced
in a laboratory or by human intervention, are not
considered minerals.
2. Solid substance. Only solid crystalline substances are
considered minerals. Ice (frozen water) fits this criterion
and is considered a mineral, whereas liquid water and
water vapor do not. The exception is mercury, which is
found in its liquid form in nature.
3. Orderly crystalline structure. Minerals are crystalline
substances, which means their atoms are arranged in an orderly,
repetitive manner . This orderly packing of atoms is reflected in
the regularly shaped objects called crystals.
4. Generally inorganic. Inorganic crystalline solids, such as ordinary
table salt (halite), that are found naturally in the ground are
considered minerals. Many marine animals secrete inorganic
compounds, such as calcium carbonate (calcite), in the form of
shells and coral reefs. If these materials are buried and become
part of the rock record, they are considered minerals by
geologists.
5. Can be represented by a chemical formula. Most minerals are
chemical compounds having compositions that can be expressed
by a chemical formula. For example, the common mineral quartz
has the formula SiO2, which indicates that quartz consists of
silicon (Si) and oxygen (O) atoms in a ratio of one-to-two.
Physical Properties of Minerals
Color
Streak
Luster
Hardness
Cleavage
Fracture
Tenacity
Specific gravity
Magnetism
Color
Some minerals have a distinctive color, for example
the green color of chlorite
Most naturally occurring minerals contain traces of
substances which modify their color. Thus quartz,
which is colorless when pure, may be white, grey,
pink or yellow, when certain chemical impurities
or included particles are present.
Some minerals show irregular
changes when viewed in different
directions, this behavior is termed
as play of colors.
Streak
Color of a mineral in powder form is known as
streak.
This may be produced by rubbing the mineral
on a piece of unglazed porcelain, called a
streak-plate.
Luster
Lustre is the appearance of a mineral surface in reflected
light. It may be described as
Metallic luster: Minerals that have the appearance of metals,
regardless of color, are said to have a metallic luster as in
pyrite or galena
Sub-metallic luster: Some metallic minerals, such as native
copper and galena, develop a dull coating or tarnish when
exposed to the atmosphere. Because they are not as shiny as
samples with freshly broken surfaces, these samples are
often said to exhibit a submetallic luster
Non-metallic luster Most minerals have a
nonmetallic luster and are described using various
adjectives such as;
Vitreous or glassy
Dull or earthy luster: Dull appearance like soil
Pearly luster: Such as a pearl or the inside of
a clamshell
Silky luster: like satin cloth
Greasy luster: as though coated in oil
Adamantine: Like diamond, very brillient.
Hardness
Hardness is a measure of the resistance of a
mineral to abrasion or scratching.
This property is determined by rubbing a
mineral of unknown hardness against one of
known hardness, or vice versa.
A numerical value of hardness can by obtained
by using the Mohs scale of hardness, which
consists of 10 minerals arranged in order from
1 (softest) to 10 (hardest)
Tenacity
The term tenacity describes a minerals
toughness, or its resistance to breaking or
deforming.
Brittle: Minerals that tend to be brittle and shatter
into small pieces when struck
Malleable: Minerals that can easily hammered into
different Shapes.
Sectile: Minerals, that can be cut into thin shavings
are described as sectile.
Ductile: That can be drawn into wire
Elastic: Minerals which can bend and snap back to
their original shape after the stress is released.
Cleavage
Cleavage is the tendency of some minerals to
break along planes of weak bonds in the
crystal.
Cleavage in mica
Mica have one set of
parallel cleavage
planes
Some minerals have more than one cleavage plane. (a) Feldspar has
two cleavages intersecting at right angles. (b) Calcite has three
cleavage planes. (c) Fluorite has four cleavage planes.
Fracture
Fracture is the pattern in which a mineral
breaks other than along planes of cleavage.
Even: Smooth fracture surface
Uneven: Irregular or rough surface
Conchoidal: Curved fracture surface
Specific Gravity
Specific gravity is the weight of a substance
relative to that of an equal volume of water.
If a mineral weighs 2.5 times as much as an
equal volume of water, its specific gravity
is 2.5 g/cc.
Rock Forming Minerals
Feldspar Calcite
Quartz Dolomite
Pyroxene Gypsum
Anhydrite
Amphibole Halite
Mica Chlorite
Olivine Serpentinite
Kaolinite
