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SMECTITE
SMECTITE
ImperialCollegeRockLibrary
Smectite(Ca0.17(Al,Fe,Mg)2(Si,Al)4O10(OH)2.nH2O)
Synonyms:Montimorillonite,Beidellite,Saponite
Silicate,Phyllosilicate,Claymineral
CrystalSystem:Monoclinic
Smectitesareagroupofclayminerals.
MontimorrilloniteistheMgrich
endmemberofthesmectitegroup,
beidelliteistheFerichendmember.
PhysicalProperties
HandSpecimenColour:white,pink,
yellowbrown,yellow,red,green
Transparency:translucent,opaque
Lustre:earthy,dull
Streak:white
Hardness:12
Density:0
Habit:usuallyextremelyfinegrained
aggregates
Cleavage:One:perfect[001]
OpticalProperties
PPLColour:colourless
Pleochroism:none
Relief:Moderate
Birefringence:00.04
Howtousecrystaldiagram
2V:060
OpticType:Biaxial()
Occurrence
Thesmectitegroupmineralsdominateinargillaceoussedimentsgeneratedbyweatheringofigneousrocks.Beidelliteismostcommon
inbentoniteclaysderivedbyweatheringofvolcanicash.Montimorilloniteismostcommoninfullersearthderivedbyalterationofbasic
igneousrocks.
IdentificationTips
Usuallyclaymineralscannotbedistinguishedfromeachotherinthinsectionsincetheyformveryfinegrainedaggregatesofseveral
clayminerals.Claymineralscanalsohavecomplexstructureswhichcombinelayersfromdifferentendmemberclayminerals.
RelatedMineralsandMineralGroups:
RelatedMineralsandMineralGroups:
illite,kaolinite,vermiculite
ExampleImages
APPLthinsectionimageshowi...viewviewrock AXPLthinsectionimageshowi...viewviewrock
APPLthinsectionimageshowi...viewviewrock APPLthinsectionimageshowi...viewviewrock
APPLthinsectionimageshowi...viewviewrock AXPLthinsectionimageshowi...viewviewrock
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