CALCITE – CaCO3

Calcite is an extremely common carbonate, very important as a rock former, occurring in sediments
and in igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. It is an important ore, with hundreds of uses in industry,
such as in the manufacture of cement, as mineral filler in cosmetics, paints and rubbers, in steel, metallurgy,
agriculture and many others.
Under the microscope, calcite in large, well-formed crystals (spatic) shows cleavage and twins;
microcrystalline calcite (micrite) has no cleavage or twins. Macroscopically, it can be any color from black to
white, passing through the entire rainbow; it can be zoned or banded. The crystals, even easily formed at room
temperature, have more than 2400 combined crystal forms. The largest single crystals known were 7x7x2 and
6x6x3m and weighed 250 tons. Calcite has dozens of different habits. Very useful in its recognition is its strong
effervescence with cold diluted (~10%) hydrochloric acid– just a drop is enough to obtain the effect. Calcite is
trimorphic with aragonite and vaterite and forms a series with rhodochrosite. It can contain Fe, Mg, Mn, Zn and
Co. Calcite has at least 20 varieties.
Calcite can fluoresce in red, blue, yellow, and other colors under both short-wave and long-wave UV
light. It is phosphorescent, cathodoluminescent and thermoluminescent, but rarely triboluminescent.

1. Characteristics:
Crystal System Color Habit Cleavage
Trigonal All. Dozens of different rhombohedral,
scalenohedral. habits. perfect {10-11}, with
Tenacity angles of 60 and 120
degrees to each other.
Brittle
Twinning Fracture Mohs Hardness Parting
Polysynthetic and Conchoidal. 3 No.
pressure twins, very
common.
Streak Lustre Diaphaneity Density (g/cm3)
White. Vitreous, pearly on Transparent. 2.7
cleavage surfaces.

2. Geology and deposits:

Calcite is the most common carbonate, it can occur in practically all types of sediments and rocks, in
the latter either as a primary or secondary mineral. In limestone, marble and carbonatite, it is the main rock-
forming mineral.
It is very common as an accessory and can fill veins that cross rocks. It is a very common mineral
associated to metallic ore minerals, in this case called “gangue”. The list of possibilities is very long; calcite
can always be present because of its ease in dissolving and reprecipitating..

3. Mineral Associations:
Calcite occurs in so many different paragenesis, as a primary or secondary mineral, that any list of
associated minerals will always be incomplete. Calcite basically occurs in association with any other mineral.
4. TRANSMITTED LIGHT MICROSCOPY
Refraction indices nε: 1.486 no: 1.658

PPL Color / Colorless, has no color or pleochroism.

pleochroism: Usually it is a bit darker, grayer, than colorless silicates like quartz and feldspars.

Relief: Relief varies from low to moderate to high every 90º when turning the stage in
crystals with well defined cleavage. This phenomenon has been called “relief
pleochroism” or “chagrin change” and is typical of rhomboedral carbonates
(calcite, dolomite, aragonite, siderite, rhodochrosite and magnesite).
When microcrystalline, these carbonates do not show “relief pleochroism” or it
is very difficult to perceive.

Cleavage: Rhombohedral {10-11} perfect in three directions. In the crystals there are two
cleavages that intersect at angles of 60º and 120º.
When calcite is microcrystalline (“micrite”), no cleavage is observed.

Habits: normally anhedral in thin section. When it crystallized in cavities, such as

vesicles of volcanic rocks, it can be idiomorphic in crystals called “dog teeth” (=
scalenohedral). Macroscopically it can show a multitude of habits and forms.

CPL Birefringence and Extreme birefringence, 0.172: very high colors, 4th order.
interference colors: They are cream, brownish, with colored dots and bands.

Extinction: Symmetrical in relation to the two cleavages (the vertical string of the
crosshair forms the bisector of the angle between the two cleavages in the
extinction position). In the extinction position there is birefringent calcite
dust generated by the polishing.

Elongation sign: Does not apply as calcite may be elongated in several directions.

Twins: On {01-12}. They are very common in large crystals and appear as straight,
colored, parallel bands. These twins can often be seen even at PPL. The
abundance of twins characterizes calcite; dolomite is practically untwinned.

Zoning: No.

CL Character: U(-), but can be anomalously biaxial, 2V angle: No. When anomalous from 0 – 15º.
mainly in metamorphic rocks.

Alterations: Calcite is very resistant, but it can be easily dissolved, allowing substitutions
(pseudomorphoses!) for other minerals in spaces formerly occupied by calcite crystals.

May be confused with: other common carbonates such as dolomite, siderite, magnesite, rhodochrosite
and aragonite. Among these, calcite is the carbonate with the most twins. But other analytical techniques
are needed to confirm trigonal carbonates. Under a microscope it is only possible to identify these different
carbonates with the use of a universal stage, a technique that requires a lot of experience.
Dolomite is more often idiomorphic than calcite.
Titanite shows higher relief, yellowish to brown colors, faint pleochroism and is biaxial.
Large calcite crystals exhibiting the rhombohedral cleavage typical of carbonates. On the left, in PPL. Right,
in CPL. This type of calcite is called “spatic” (from the German “Spat” = mineral that has cleavage). Crystals
with such development are typical of coarse-grained marbles, carbonatites and hydrothermal veins, but can
occur in virtually any geological environment.

In CPL, microcrystalline calcite, called “micrite”, In CPL, euhedral calcites (scalenohedrons)

cementing quartz grains (gray in the image) in a together with clay minerals (green) in a vesicle
sandstone. (gas bubble) of a volcanic rock.

Calcite in CPL, in the extinction position, showing Calcite in a sedimentary rock (limestone) in CPL, both
twins, which are these colored, parallel straight as a constituent of oolites (spherical/ellipsoidal
bands. There can be two sets of twins in a crystal. shapes) and in the matrix too.
 In CPL, calcite in a marble showing an unusual elongated grain texture tending to
form parallel aggregates.

In CPL, calcite in a marble (in detail on the right) with a feathery texture, also unusual.

Extremely fine-grained limestone in PPL (left) and in CPL (right). Calcite (could be dolomite!) show very
small equigranular crystals. The opaques are made of idiomorphic magnetite. Calcite replaces a material
with low birefringence (clay?), with remnants in the form of oval particles, somewhat concentric, which
could be chamosite derived from bertierine.
In a very fine-grained limestone, calcite and quartz in PPL (left) and in CPL (right). The carbonate was
apparently originally arranged as nodules, some with an apparently divergent original texture, which were
recrystallized or replaced by another carbonate. The nodules grew into a very fine-grained material that
may have originally been clayey, now replaced by microcrystalline silica and carbonates.

In CPL, two different marbles observed with the 2.5x objective. In both rocks the calcite crystals are large
and without preferential orientation, but in the marble on the left there are practically no twins, suggesting
that they are dolomite. The marble on the right has a large amount of crystals with twins, which is indicative
of the presence of calcite.
In CPL, volcanic rock with some altered phenocrysts a very glassy (black) matrix, extremely fine-grained
and very vesiculated (= gas bubbles). The vesicles are completely filled with calcite. On the right, details
of the vesicles with calcite. There are no idiomorphic calcite crystals in the vesicles.

“Dog tooth” calcite scalendohedrons grown on the wall of a vesicle in a volcanic rock. In PPL at left and
in CPL at right. The calcites show good cleavage. Chalcedony dyed green by clay minerals was deposited
on them and the rest of the cavity (vesicle) was filled with microcrystalline silica also dyed green.
5. REFLECTED LIGHT MICROSCOPY:

Carbonates, including calcite, are easy to recognize under Reflected Light. The situation is the same
as for Transmitted Light: the mineral is identified as a rhombohedral carbonate, but it is not known which one
it is, as in addition to calcite it could be dolomite, siderite, magnesite, rhodochrosite and others. Calcite usually
is characterized by a large number of twins.

Sample preparation: the polishing of calcite is very simple, it is easy and quick to obtain. It is of excellent
quality.

PPL Reflection colour: Dark gray.

Pleochroism: Very strong in shades of gray, easy to observe.

Reflectivity: Very low (~4%) Bireflectance: No.

CPL Isotropy / Anisotropy: Very strong anisotropy, very evident, in gray. It's masked by the internal
reflections, but it's usually easy to see.

Internal reflections: Generalized, clear, white to milky.

May be confused with: other carbonates, which have practically the same characteristics under the
microscope.

Rhombohedral cleavage is easily visible when the grains are large.

Polishing pits are present when crystals are large.

Polysynthetic twins are very conspicuous, easy to see, both in PPL and in CPL. If the carbonate has
many twins, it is probably calcite.

Calcita em carbonatito a ND (esquerda) e a NC (direita). Na esquerda da imagem, um grão de apatita. A

ND o pleocroísmo muito forte da calcita produz dois tons de cinza bem distintos. A NC as reflexões internas
generalizadas dificultam qualquer observação adicional, mas geralmente a anisotropia é bem visível.
Calcite with many twins in CPL. In many cases calcites have twins in large quantities, mainly in
tectonized ores. These twins can also be seen in PPL and are diagnostic for calcite, as dolomite has
twins much less frequently.

In CPL+2°, safflorite (anisotropy in orange

and blue), nickeline (anisotropy in sky blue
and orange brown) and twinned calcite (twins
in this case look like the polysynthetic twins
of plagioclases).

In CPL, hydrothermal vein

with large calcite crystals.
Calcite has the typical
twins and characteristic
anisotropy.

Edition of January 2022