Minerals
Lecture Outline
⚫ What are minerals?
⚫ Physical properties of minerals.
⚫ Chemical properties of minerals.
Minerals /
A mineral is a naturally occurring, solid crystalline substance,
generally inorganic, with a specific chemical composition.
⚫ Natural
⚫ Solid
⚫ Atoms arranged in orderly repeating 3D array:
crystalline
⚫ Not part of the tissue of an organism
⚫ Composition fixed or varies within defined limits
Minerals are the “building blocks” of a rock.
Minerals are the Chemicals that make up the Earth. All matters made up of
atoms, and all atoms are made up of three main particles known as protons,
neutrons and electrons. As summarized in the following table, protons are
positively charged, neutrons are uncharged and electrons are negatively
charged. The negative charge of one electron balances the positive charge of
one proton.Both protons and neutrons have a mass of 1, while electrons have
almost no mass.
Types of elements bonding
1. Chemical Bonds: Ionic
⚫ Electrical attraction between ions of opposite charge
⚫ Bond strength increases with the electrical charges of
the ions
⚫ Bond strength decreases as the distance between the
ions increases
⚫ Most minerals are this kind of compound.
Cations and Anions
⚫ Anions are typically large
⚫ Cations are relatively small
⚫ Crystal structure is
determined largely by the
arrangement of the anions
Ionic Bonding example:
Halite (NaCl)
Cation Anion
Na+ Cl-
2. Covalent Bonds:
⚫ Electron sharing
⚫ Generally stronger than ionic bonds (e.g., diamond)
1. Physical properties
1. Crystal Structure
▪ The repeating pattern of a mineral’s particles that
line up when they formed.
▪ Looks like rock candy.
There are six different Crystal Systems:
1. Cubic Ex: Magnetite
2. Hexagonal Ex: Quartz
3. Tetragonal Ex: Rutile
4. Orthorhombic Ex: Sulfur
5. Monoclinic Ex: Azurite
6. Triclinic Ex: Microcline Feldspar
Some examples of the crystals:
Rutile Magnetite
Sulfur
Azurite
2. Optical properties
A. Color
⚫ Sometimes Distinctive
⚫ Often Unreliable
⚫ Affected By:
⚫ Chemical Impurities
⚫ Surface Coating
⚫ Grain Size
⚫ Weathering
Purple Amethyst
Quartz
Fluorite •
•
Clear
Blue
• Green
• Purple
NAMING MINERALS
⚫ COLOR: Glauconite (Greek: Glaucos = Blue-green)
⚫ OTHER PROPERTIES, USES Magnetite
⚫ COMPONENTS: Chromite
⚫ PLACES: Muscovite (Moscow)
⚫ PEOPLE: Biotite
B. Streak
- is the TRUE color of a mineral represented by its
color of a mineral’s powder.
Minerals with a hardness greater
than “7” usually don’t create a
streak on the streak plate because
they are harder than the Porcelain
tile (unless the streak plate is
specially made).
C. Luster
⚫ Describes how light is reflected from the mineral’s
surface. What does it look like?
⚫ Types of luster:
1. Metallic Ex: Galena
2. Non-metallic
⚫ Glassy or vitreous Ex: Topaz
⚫ Waxy, Greasy, Pearly Ex: Talc
⚫ Dull Ex: Graphite
⚫ Silky Ex: Malachite
⚫ Earthy Ex: Hematite
⚫ Metallic ⚫ Nonmetallic
Topaz Galena Talc
Malachite
Graphite
: Hematite
D. Transparency
1. Transparent
2. Translucent
3. Opaque
3. Cohesive properties
A. Hardness
A mineral’s resistance to being scratched
Moh’s Hardness Scale from 1-10.
Hardness depends on how “tightly packed”
the atoms are.
B. Cleavage
• Tendency to split along smooth planes of weakness between
atoms in crystal.
• Directly related to atomic structure.
• Related to Crystal form.
• Every cleavage face is a possible crystal face.
• Not every crystal face is a cleavage face. As example Quartz
commonly forms crystals but with no cleavage.
Cleavage in mica Cleavage in calcite
Cleavage in Halite (NaCl)
C. Fracture
1. Even: one way minerals break.
2. Break unevenly in irregular ways as fallows:
⚫ Chipped (laminar) Ex: Muscovite
⚫ Shell-like (conchoidal) Ex: Quartz
⚫ Jagged (Hackly) points Ex: Copper & Iron
⚫ Crumbles (Earthy) Ex: Clay
D. Specific Gravity:
The specific gravity of an object is the density of that object
divided by the density of water. The density of water is 1,000
kilograms per meter cubed.
Directly related to masses of component atoms and their
spacing. Average value = 2.7
(densest material on Earth).
⚫ Pyrite, Hematite, Magnetite: 5.0
Galena: 7.5
Iron: 7.9
Copper: 9
Lead: 11.4
Mercury: 13.6
Uranium: 19
Gold: 19.3
Platinum: 21.4
Iridium: 22.4
Light minerals
Quartz
Calcite
Feldspar
Gypsum
Dolomite
Heavy minerals
chlorite Biotite Garnet
Tourmaline
Apatite Olivine
pyroxene Kyanite
Staurolite
Muscovite
zircon
4. Special properties
A. Magnetism
⚫ Attracted to a magnet
⚫ Contains IRON, cobalt,
or nickel
B. Double refraction
⚫ Looking through it,
you see “double”
⚫ Ex. Calcite
C. Taste (Halite NaCl). D. Electricity (Quartz)
E. Radioactivity (Uranium).
F. Fluorescence
⚫ Glows under ultraviolet
(UV) light.
G. Phosphorescence
⚫ Continues to glow even after
the UV light has been removed.
2. Chemical properties (Major Mineral Suite)
A. Halides:
Usually Soft, Often Soluble.
⚫ Halite NaCl
⚫ Fluorite CaF2
B. Silicates
⚫ Most abundant minerals in the Earth's crust
⚫ Silicate ion (tetrahedron), SiO44-
⚫ Si + O = 75% of Crust
⚫ Silicates make up 95% + of all Rocks
Quartz (SiO2), K-feldspar (KAlSi3O8), olivine ((Mg, Fe)2SiO4),
kaolinite (Al2Si2O5(OH)4)
C. Carbonates
⚫ Cations with carbonate ion
(CO32-)
⚫ Calcite (CaCO3), dolomite
(CaMg(CO3)2), siderite
(FeCO3), smithsonite (ZnCO3)
⚫ Make up many common rocks
including limestone and
marble.
D. Oxides
⚫ Compounds of metallic
cations and oxygen.
⚫ Important for many metal
ores needed to make things
(e.g., iron, chromium,
titanium).
⚫ Ores are economically
useful (i.e., possible to
mine) mineral deposits.
Hematite (Fe2O3)
E. Sulfides
⚫ Dense, Usually Metallic Many Major Ores.
⚫ Metallic cations with sulfide (S2-) ion.
⚫ Important for ores of copper, zinc, nickel, lead, iron
⚫ Pyrite (FeS2), galena (PbS).
Galena (PbS)
F. Sulfates
⚫ Minerals with sulfate ion (SO42-)
⚫ Gypsum (CaSO4.H2O), anhydrite (CaSO4)
