Sub-class: Cyclosilicates

Beryl: Be3AI2SiO18

Crystal system: Hexagonal Habit: Prismatic Crystal

Cleavage: Poor/Distinct Hardness: 8
Specific Gravity: 2.65-2.95 Color: Commonly pale green, white or yellow.
Streak: white Luster: Vitreous
Light transmission: Transparent to translucent.

Distinguish features:
1. Hardness - 8, 2. Hexagonal crystal form, 3. Pale green white or yellow color.
Occurrences:
1. In granite pegmatite
2. Cavities in granite
3. In Cavities in a bituminous limestone.

Uses: It is a source of Beryllium element.

Tourmaline:

Crystal system: Trigonal

Habit: Typically prismatic with triangular cross-sections, prism face vertically striated.
Cleavage: Present Hardness: 7.5
Specific Gravity: 3 - 3.2. Higher with Fe increases.
Color: Commonly black also brown, dark blue, colorless, pink, green.
Streak: White or slightly tinted by body color.
Luster: Vitreous. Light transmission: Transparent to translucent.
Other properties: Strongly pyroelectric and piezoelectric.

Diagnostic properties:
1. Black, brown, dark blue, colorless, pink, green color.
2. High hardness - 7.5
3. Triangular cross-section

Occurrences:
1. In granite pegmatites
2. In granites rocks
3. In metamorphic rocks such as schists and gneisses
4. In metamorphosed limestone
5. In high temperature metalliferous veins

Uses: In the construction of pressure gauge and as gemstone.

 Subclass - Sorosilicates

Epidote group:
Zoisite Clinozoisite
Epidote Allanite

Zoisite:

Crystal system: Orthorhombic

Habit: Typically aggregates of long prismatic crystal.
Cleavage: Perfect Hardness: 6.5
Specific Gravity: 3.3.
Color: Typically gray in some cases pink green or bluish.
Streak: White. Luster: Vitreous, pearly on cleavage surfaces.
Light transmission: transparent to translucent

Diagnostic properties:
1. Gray color.
2. Hardness-6.5
3. Perfect cleavage
Occurrence:
1. In schists and gneisses
2. In Quartz veins

Uses: as gemstone

Clinozoisite and Epidote

Crystal system: Monoclinic

Habit: Typically elongated crystals also fibrous or granular and massive .
Cleavage: Perfect Hardness: 7
Specific Gravity: 3.3 - 3.6.
Color: Pale green or greenish gray for Clinozoisite.
Yellowish to brown green to black for Epidote
Streak: White or grayish white.
Luster: Vitreous. Light transmission: Transparent to translucent.

Diagnostic properties:
1. It is identified by it's hardness - 7
2. Color and
3. Perfect cleavage
Occurrences:
1. In low and medium grained metamorphic rocks
2. Epidote occurs in contact metamorphosed limestone
3. In cavities in basalt.
Uses:
Clinozoisite uses:-

Most forms of Clinozoisite are ugly and do not have much use.

The rare transparent forms, especially from Pakistan, make a valuable collectors
mineral.
Epidote uses:-

Most of the faceted stones produced are purchased by gem and mineral collectors.

It is considered to be a semiprecious stone.