UNIT-2

MINERALS OF THE EARTH’S CRUST

 What is a Mineral?
• Definition: a
1naturally-occurring,
2homogeneous, 3solid, 4

generally inorganic substance with

and
a 5definable chemical composition
and an 6orderly internal
arrangement of atoms
• It is a building block of rock
• Does not include “minerals” in the
nutritional sense
1- Homogeneous
 Definition: Something that is the same through and
through Cannot be broken into simpler components

2- Naturally Occurring
 Minerals are the result of natural geological processes
 Man-made minerals are called synthetic
minerals
Eg industrial diamonds

3- Solid
 Minerals must be able to maintain a set shape
nearly
indefinitely
 liquids are not minerals
4- Definable Chemical Composition
 A mineral can be described by a chemical formula
 Quartz: SiO2
 Biotite: K(Mg, Fe)3 (AlSi3O10)(OH)2
 Diamond: C

5 Orderly Arrangement of Atoms

• Minerals have a fixed atomic pattern that repeats itself
over a large region relative to the size of atoms
– Crystal solid, or crystal lattice: The organized structure of a
mineral
– A glass is not a mineral; no organized structure

6- Generally Inorganic
• Organic: A substance composed of C bonded to H, with
varying amounts of O, N and other elements. C, alone, is not
organic!
• Only a few organic substances are considered minerals, all other
minerals are inorganic
 Mineralogy
A mineral is a naturally occurring substance that
is solid and stable at room temperature,
representable by a chemical formula, and has an
ordered atomic structure. The study of minerals
is called mineralogy, deals with their individual
properties, their mode of formation and mode of
occurrence.
There are over 4,900 known
mineral species; over 4,660 of
these have been approved by
the (IMA). International
Mineralogical Association
 Mode of formation of minerals
• Basically there are three kinds of formation of minerals in
nature. They are formed from magma or out of secondary
processes or under metamorphism.
• Most of the minerals are formed directly or indirectly out of
magma during different stages of its solidification. Important
and bulky rock- forming minerals such as feldspar, quartz,
pyroxenes, amphiboles, micas, are formed these ways.
• Some precious minerals such as garnet, topaz, magnetite are
also formed from magmatic sources.
Mode of formation of Minerals
• Innature, some minerals formed
are from secondary like
weathering,
processes precipitation and
deposition. Minerals like calcite,
dolomite, salts, coal, are example of this
group.
• Another important mode of formation of
minerals is out of metamorphism.
These minerals are formed under the
influence of high temperature and
pressure with or without active
involvement of chemically active
solutions.
 Civil Engineering Importance of
Rock forming minerals
• Undoubtly, among different minerals of economic minerals by
virtue of their utility and inherit values are very important.
However from civil engineering point of view, rock forming
minerals are very essential because:
• The civil engineers need to know the properties of rocks precisely
to enable them to consider different rocks for any required
purpose i.e. as a foundation rock, as a road metal, as
concrete aggregate, as building stones, as floorings, or
roofing minerals as decorative material.
Civil Engineering Importance of Rock
forming minerals
• Thus properties of rocks such
as strength, durability, and
appearance
rock can be of
assessed only with
ofthe
knowledge
rock. The economic
mineralsminerals , since
that they
form
are scare, do not influence the properties
of rocks and hence irrelevant from civil
engineering point of view.
Different methods of study of minerals

• According to the definition, every mineral has its

own chemical composition and
structure. This combination atomic of
composition and atomic structure is chemical
unique for
every minerals. This in fact facilitates the study
of minerals in different ways. Common methods
of study and identification of minerals are
• (i) Their physical properties
• (ii) Their chemical composition
• (iii) Optical methods
• (iv) X-ray analysis
 Study of Physical Properties
• Physical properties of minerals like color, shine,
hardness, density,etc can be studied with mere
observation of small mineral specimen.
• Since the minerals invariably possess its own
specific chemical composition and atomic
structure every minerals should possess its own
physical properties.
 Study of Chemical Composition

• According to the definition, every mineral is expected to

have its own distinctive chemical composition, which
is not to be found in any other mineral. Therefore, by
chemical analysis, if the composition is known it
should be possible to identify the minerals.
 The Physical Properties of Minerals

The Physical properties of minerals are

used by Mineralogists to help determine the
identity of a specimen.
• Some of the tests can be performed easily
in the field, while others require lab
equipment.
The Physical Properties of
Minerals
• Color
• Streak
• Luster
• Hardness
• External Crystal Form
• Cleavage
The Physical Properties of Minerals
(cont.)

• Fracture
• Specific Gravity
• Special Properties
• Degree of Transparency
• Other Properties
• Chemical Tests
 Mineral Identification
• Since we can‟t all have x-ray diffraction machines and electron
microscopes, we identify minerals by visual and chemical
properties called physical properties.
• Types of physical properties that geologists use include:
– Color, Streak, Luster, Hardness,Specific Gravity,
Crystal Habit, and Cleavage

 Properties depend upon…

 Chemical composition.
 Crystal structure.
 Some are diagnostic.
 Minerals havea unique set of
physical properties.

Pyrite
 1- Color
• Color may be diagnostic
for a few minerals, but in
general, a given mineral
can have a range of colors.

2- Streak
 The color of the pulverized
powder of a mineral.
 Moreconsistent
than color
 Found by scraping Hematite (Fe O ) can have various colors, but its
mineral against a streak is always red-brown
porcelain plate a
 Important Physical Properties
• Color - Although an obvious feature, it is
often unreliable to use to determine the
type of mineral.

 Color arises due to electronic transitions,

often of trace constituents, in the visible
range of the EM spectrum. For example,
quartz is found in a variety of colors.

• Color of a mineral may be quite

diagnostic for the trace element and
coordination number of its bonding
environment.
 Color
• Colour : Colour is the first thing someone
notices when they view a mineral. Color is also
one of the big reasons that attract people to
minerals. Generally speaking, color is not a
good property to be used in the identification of
minerals. It is usually the first property
confuse a novice collector to
incorrect identification. into making an
• Minerals having Property of Green, Golden
Yellow, Yellow, White, Red, Blue, Black, Grey,
Purple & Transparent Colour.
Color
Color
 Important Physical Properties

• Streak - The color of a mineral

its powdered form; obtained
in
rubbing the mineral by against
unglazed porcelain plate.an
• Streak is usually less variable than
color.
• Useful for distinguishing
minerals between
with metallic luster.
Streak
 3- Luster
• It is the shine of the mineral.

Metallic luster Nonmetallic luster

• The way a mineral‟s
surface scatters light

4- Hardness
• The measure of a mineral
to resist scratching
• Represents the strength of Vitreous Adamantine luster
bonds in the crystal luster (Nonmetallic)
lattice (Nonmetallic)
– Measured on a qualitative
scale called Mohs
Hardness Scale
Important Physical Properties
• Luster - This property describes
the appearance of reflected light
from the mineral's surface.
Nonmetallic minerals are described
using the following terms: vitreous,
pearly, silky, resinous, and earthy.
 Luster
Lustre is a description of the way a mineral surface
looks when light reflects off of the surface.
Luster
 Important Physical Properties

• Hardness - This is the resistance of the mineral to

abrasion or scratching. This property doesn't vary
greatly from sample to sample of the same mineral,
and thus is highly diagnostic. It also is a direct
reflection of the bonding type and internal atomic
arrangement. A value is obtained by comparing the
mineral to a standard scale devised by Moh, which is
comprised of 10 minerals ranging in hardness from
talc (softest) to diamond (hardest).
Mohs’ Hardness
Scale
 Hardness
• The hardness a mineral is a way of
of describing easy or difficult it is to
scratch
how the mineral. It is used, in
combination with the physical o
properties, tohelp identify ather
mineral
specimen
 Mohs scale of mineral
hardness
• The Mohs scale of mineral hardness
characterizes the scratch resistance of various
minerals through the ability of a harder
material to scratch a softer material.
• It was created in 1812 by the
German geologist and mineralogist Friedrich
Mohs.
Mohs scale of mineral hardness
 5- Specific Gravity
 Specific Gravity: The weight of a
substance divided by the weight of an equal volume
of water

6- Crystal Habit
• A description of a mineral‟s
consistent shape

Blade-like or Prismatic Needle-like or

fibrous
Elongated
 Density and Specific Gravity
• Density - Defined as the mass divided by the
volume and normally designated by the
Greek letter, rho, Mass/ Volume; SI units: kg/m3
or kg m-3, but geologists often use g/cm3 as the unit
of choice.
• Specific Gravity - Ratio of the mass of a
substance to the mass of an equal volume of
water. S.G. is unit-less.
• Examples - quartz (SiO2) has a S.G. of 2.65
while galena (PbS) has a S.G. of 7.5 and gold
(Au) has a S.G. of 19.3.
 Specific Gravity

• Specific Gravity : Specific Gravity of a mineral is a

comparison or ratio of the weight of the mineral to
the weight of an equal amount of water. The weight
of the equal amount of water is found by finding
the difference between the weight of the mineral in
air and the weight of the mineral in water.
 Specific Gravity

• Specific Gravity (G) = mass of subs./mass of

equiv. Vol. H2O at 4ºC
• Silicates ~ 2.5
• Gold ~ 19
• Galena ~ 7.5
• 45
• Specific Gravity is a „way‟ of expressing density.
• Density: weight/unit volume (g/cm3)
Fracture and Cleavage
• Cleavage: The tendency of a
mineral to break along a plane of
weakness in the crystal lattice.
• Fracture: The mineral breaks in
no consistent manner
– Equal bond strength in all
directions
• Conchoidal The
Fracture:for a mineral to break
tendency
along irregular scoop-shaped
fractures that are not related to
weaknesses in the crystal
structure

Obsidian, a volcanic glass, and

quartz commonly exhibit conchoidal
fracture, which is why Indians used
them as cutting tools.
 Important Physical Properties
• Cleavage - Orientation and number of planes of
weakness within a mineral. Directly reflects the
orientation of weak bonds within the crystal
structure. This feature is also highly diagnostic.

• Fracture - This describes how a mineral breaks if

it is not along well defined planes. In minerals
with low symmetry and highly interconnected
atomic networks, irregular fracture is common.
Planer Cleavage in Mica
 Cleavage
• Tendency to break along planes of weakness.
• Cleavage produces flat, shiny surfaces.
• Described by number of planes and their angles.
• Sometimes mistaken for crystal habit.
– Cleavage is through-going; often forms parallel “steps.”
– Crystal habit is only on external surfaces.
• 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 cleavage planes possible.
 Cleavage
 Examples of Muscovite Mica

Cleavage:

 1 direction

 2 directions at 90º

Potassium Feldspar

 2 directions NOT at
90º
Amphibole
 Cleavage
 Examples of Cleavage:
 3 directions at 90º Halite

 3 directions NOT at 90º

Calcite
Cleavage
Fracture