Physical Properties of Minerals

Minerals possess certain physical properties, which can be used to identify them.
The various properties are as follows:
1) Depending upon light – Colour, Streak, Lustre
i) Colour: Colour depends upon the absorption of some and reflection of others of the light rays. The
colour of a mineral is often its most striking property. The true colour of pure mineral depends on
the nature and arrangement of constituent ions. The minerals containing Na, K, Ca, Mg, Ba as their
main ions are generally light coloured, while those with Fe, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Ti, Va, Cu are dark
coloured. Some examples are listed below in the table:
Quartz Colourless
Amethyst Purple colour
Kyanite Blue
Pyrite Brass Yellow
Beryl Green
Tourmaline Black
Orthoclase Pink
i) Streak:
The streak of a mineral is colour of its powder and may be quite different from that of mineral in
mass, which is produced by scratching the mineral against streak plate. E.g. unglazed porcelain
(Hardness 6.1). Streak of mineral and colour of the mineral may not be same.
Mineral Colour Streak
Magnetite Black Black
Haematite Black Chemy Red.
ii) Luster:
The luster can be defined as the amount and type of reflection that takes place at surface of a
mineral. Minerals have characteristic luster it is described by giving names of common substance
luster it resembles.
Luster Description Exapmle
Vitreous Lustre of a broken glass Quartz
Pearly Lustre of a pearl Muscovite, Biotite, Talc
Resinous Lustre of a resin Asbestos, Hornblende
 Metallic Lustre of a metal, Galena, Chromite,
Adamantine Very Brilliant Lustre of diamond Diamond

2) Depending upon state of aggregation–Form, Cleavage, Fracture, Hardness,

i) Form:
Under favorable conditions minerals develop definite geometrical form of crystals. The forms
appear in variety of forms and some times as an aggregate of crystals. Such aggregate may be
either crystalline or amorphous. Some of the terms used to describe forms of mineral are
acicular, thin needle like elongated crystals.
Equigranular: All grains are of equal size, Rounded
Inequigranular: Grains are of different size and shape
Form Description Example
Crystallized Mineral occur as a well developed crystal Quartz
Cryptocrystalline Only Traces of crystal structure are observed Agate,
Amorphous Complete absence of Crystal Structure Flint
Acicular Needle like crystals Natroloite, Stilbite
Bladed Form looking like a knife- blade Kyanite
Botryoidal Composed of Spheroidal aggregate, resembling bunch of Limonite, Chalcedony
grapes
Columnar Resembling a slender column Beryl
Fibrous Fine thread like crystals Asbestos
Foliated Thin separable lamellae or sheet Muscovite, Biotite
Tabular Showing broad flat surface Orthoclase,
Stalactite Like pendant columns Chalcedony

ii) Cleavage:
The tendency of a mineral to split along certain definite naturally occurring planes is called as
cleavage. These are planes of weakness inherent in the crystal & are the reflections of internal
atomic structure. Minerals may have 1 to 3 set of cleavage. Sometimes the name of a mineral is
derived from the cleavage, e.g. Orthoclase is derived from ‘ortho’ meaning 90 and ‘clase’
meaning cleavage.
 Mineral Number of Cleavage sets Angle, if any
Muscovite 01 Set, Perfect, Basal --
Plagioclase, 02 Sets, Perfect, ~ 90 deg
Orthoclase 02 sets, Perfect, 90 deg
Calcite 03 sets, Perfect --
Hornblende 02 sets, Perfect 120 deg.

iii) Fracture:
It is defined as shape of broken surface of mineral. Such surfaces are developed when minerals are
subjected to load or blow. This surface is totally independent of cleavage. These fractured surfaces
display features like wavy undulation, uneven or smooth surface, etc, which are distinctive for a
particular mineral. Some terms used to describe fractures are:

Fracture Description Mineral

Conchoidal Curved concave or convex surface is Quartz, Flint
observed; often show concentric and
gradually diminishing undulations towards
point of breaking.
Even Surface is nearly flat, smooth Chert, Agate
Uneven Rough because of minute elevations and Andalusite
depressions
Hackly Sharp elevation and depressions Asbestos

iv) Hardness:
It is measured as resistance offered by mineral to breaking or abrasion. Hardness like other
physical properties also depends upon the internal atomic structure. It increases with the density
of packing in the structure
An arbitrary scale called Mohr’s scale of hardness is used to check it. Hardness increases from
Talc to Diamond. Talc is the softest mineral and Diamond is the hardest mineral. Hardness can
also be checked by fingernail scratching or by copper coin (has hardness around 4.5) or by piece
of glass (hardness around 6.5).

Mohr’s Scale of Hardness

Mineral Hardness
Talc 1
Gypsum 2
Calcite 3
Fluorite 4
Apatite 5
Orthoclase 6
Quartz 7
Topaz 8
Corundum 9
Diamond 10

v) Specific Gravity:
It is ratio of weight of body to that equal volume of water. It depends on the atomic weight of the
constituent element and the manner in which atoms have been packed in crystal. The specific gravity of
a mineral depends on atomic weight of the constituent elements and the way they are packed in crystal
structure.

Mineral Specific Gravity

Quartz 2.65
Calcite 2.71
Baryte 4.6
Galena 7.5
Gypsum 2.3
 Petrology

Petrology is the Science of Rocks. A rock is defined as an assemblage of minerals.

Major rock types:
Based on the mode of occurrence, Following are the three types:
Igneous Rocks:
Rocks, which are solidified from molten or partly molten rock material on or below the
surface of the earth, are known as igneous rocks.
Sedimentary Rocks:
Rocks resulting from consolidation of loose sediments, or chemical precipitation from
solution at or near the earth’s surface; or an organic rock consisting of the secretions or
remains of plants or animals.
Metamorphic Rocks:
Any rock derived from preexisting rocks by mineralogical, chemical, structural changes,
especially in the solid state, in response to marked changes in temperature, pressure and
chemical environment at depth in the earth’s crust.
 Igneous Petrology-I
Rocks, which are solidified from molten or partly molten rock material on or below the surface
of the earth, are known as igneous rocks.
Forms of igneous rocks can be described on the basis of mode of occurrence:
Extrusive: Rocks which are solidified on the surface by outpouring of molten rock material i.e.
lava, e.g. Lava Flow, which are also called as Volcanic Rocks
Intrusive: Rocks which are solidified from molten rock material below the surface i.e. magma
e.g. Dyke, sill etc. Depending upon depth, these rocks are called as plutonic i.e. at great depth
and intermediate at shallow depth from the surface.
Intrusive rocks are further described on the basis of their relationship with the country rock, as
follows:
Concordant: Intrusive rock and country rock are parallel to each other
Discordant: Intrusive rock is cutting the country rock at an angle.

Texture: The constituent minerals have definite mutual association with each other, which is
called as ‘Texture’ of the rock. An accurate discussion of texture requires consideration of:
a) Absolute size of crystal (grain size)
i) When individual crystals are visible to naked eyes, the rock is said to be ‘Phaneric,
ii) When individual crystals are visible to naked eyes, the rock is said to be ‘Aphanitic’.
 b) Mutual relations with crystals
i) Equigranular: The constituent minerals are of the same size. So the rock has evenly
granular aspect, both in hand specimen and in thin sections, e.g. Granitic.
ii) Inequigranular: The constituent minerals are of the different sizes, e.g. Porphyritic.

Aphinitic Fine grained (Grain Size < 1 mm)

Phaneritic Coarse grained (Grain Size > 1 mm)
Porphyritic Larger crystals surrounded by small crystals
Glassy Non-ordered solid from rapid quenching
Pyroclastic Composites of ejected fragments

Aphinitic Rock
Aphinitic rock is igneous rock in which the grain or crystalline structure is too fine to be
seen by the unaided eye. Such rock is formed when the material solidifies at or near the
surface so that the cooling is rather rapid. Such rocks are termed "extrusive" rocks. Under
these conditions, there is not enough time for the growth of large crystals. Basalt from
surface lava flow often exhibits an aphanitic texture.
Since the crystals of individual minerals cannot be easily resolved for classification,
aphanitic rocks are classified in general terms like light, intermediate or dark in color.
The presence of voids called vesicles is common in aphanitic rock since the condition of
cooling rapidly may be associated with the upper portion of lava flows. These vesicles
caused by gases escaping from these lava flows will be most numerous in the upper portions
of the flows.

Phaneritic Rock
Phaneritic rock is igneous rock with large, identifiable crystals of roughly equal size. Such
crystals are characteristic of rocks which solidified far below the surface so that the cooling
was slow enough to enable the large crystals to grow. Such rocks are termed "intrusive"
rocks. When such rocks are found on the surface, this can be taken to imply that the
overlying material has been removed by erosion.
Porphyritic Rock
Porphyritic rock is igneous rock which is characterized by large crystals surrounded by a
background of material with very small crystals. The scenario for the production of such
rocks involves the formation of certain types of mineral crystals over a long period deep in
the earth. Because of differences in melting temperatures and growth rates, the surrounding
material may not have appreciably crystallized. If this material is suddenly ejected from the
surface, as in a volcano, then the surrounding material will solidify rapidly to form small
crystals in the spaces between the large ones.
In such rocks the large crystals are called phenocrysts while the surrounding material is
called groundmass. The entire collection of material is called porphyry.

Glassy Rock
When molten rock is suddenly ejected from a volcano, it may be cooled so rapidly that
organized crystal formation cannot occur. This results in igneous rock which has no internal
structure. It has a glassy appearance and produces no planes or crystal symmetry when
broken.
Obsidian is a common natural glass occuring in lava flows.

Pyroclastic Rock
Sometimes material is violently ejected from volcanoes and then reassembled into igneous
rocks from this material. The material may range from fine dust or fine hair-like strands to
large molten blobs. The consolidation of such material into rocks produces what is called the
pyroclastic texture.

Classification of Igneous Rocks

 Metamorphic Petrology-I

Pre-existing rocks of the earth’s crust both igneous and sedimentary when subjected to changes in
pressure and temperature conditions change texturally or compositionally; giving rise to a new rock
which is stable in the new environment. The new rock formed differs from the preexisting rock in
texture, mineral composition mineral (composition) constituent in these rocks differ from the parent rock
and the term to describe these patterns is structure. Various structure (arrangement of minerals in
response to metamorphic agents) displayed by metamorphic rocks are:

1. Granulose: It is a directionless arrangement of minerals brought about by melting and

recrystallization of constituent minerals forming mosaic of grains which is showing
common crystal boundaries.

2. Schistose: This structure results in response to directed pressure. The minerals which are
flaky, elongated, needle like (micas, hornblende etc) tend to orient themselves parallel
direction of stress giving rise to weaker planes in rocks which are termed as planes of
schistosity and resultant structure is called schistose.

3. Gneissose: It is a combination of schistose bands alternating with granulose bands

(Granulose bands formed by minerals like quartz, feldspar etc).

Kind of Metamorphism Agent of Host Rock Product of

Metamorphism Metamorphism
1. Cataclastic or Dynamic Pressure Argillaceous Rock Mylonite, Slate
2. Thermal Temperature Limestone, Sandstone, Marble Quartzite
Ferruginous Sandstone Hornblende
quartzite
3. Dynamothermal Temperature & Argillaceous, basic Slates, Phyllites
Pressure igneous mica schists, Quartz
schists, Amphibole.