Kristalografi dan Mineralogi

1-Pengantar
Ver. 1.2/20131029

Dikompilasi oleh Dr. I Wayan Warmada

Lab Bahan Galian, Jurusan Teknik Geologi, FT-UGM
URL: http://warmada.staff.ugm.ac.id/
Twitter: @warmada
 What is a mineral?

What are the characteristics of all

minerals?
1. A mineral occurs naturally.
2. A mineral is solid.
3. A mineral has a definite chemical
composition.
 4. A mineral’s atoms are arranged in a
repeating pattern.
(What vocabulary term do you think of when you hear this?)
5. A mineral is inorganic (was never
alive)
 Is Coal a Mineral?
 We burn coal as a source of energy. It pollutes
the air when burned.
 Is coal considered a mineral?
 Is Coal a Mineral?
 Miners refer to coal as a “mineral resource”
because it is removed from the ground.
 Is Coal a Mineral?
 But is it really a mineral?
 (hint: look at the formation of coal and decide; keep the
characteristics of a mineral in mind)
 Coal
 Coal is referred to as a “mineral resource”
 Coal is not really a mineral because it formed from
once-living organisms

Coal formed from swamp plants
 It takes millions of years for coal to form; this makes it
a nonrenewable resource
 Coal is a very important part of Virginia’s economy
 Coal is found predominantly in the Appalachian Plateau
physiographic province
Mineral Composition &
Groups
 Of the almost 4000 known minerals,
only about 30 are common.
The most common are quartz, feldspar,
mica, and calcite.
 Minerals
 Quartz and feldspar are the 2 most abundant
rock-forming minerals in the Earth’s crust
In fact, over 60% of the Earth’s crust is
made up of the family of minerals
known as feldspar!
In fact, over 60% of the Earth’s crust is
made up of the family of minerals
known as feldspar!
These minerals make up most of the
rocks found in the Earth’s crust.
 Earth’s Crust
 Earth’s crust is made up of 90 elements.
 98% of the crust is made up of only 8 elements
 Earth’s Crust
 The eight most abundant elements in Earth’s
crust are as follows:
oxygen(O), silicon(Si), aluminum(Al), iron(Fe),
calcium(Ca), sodium(Na), potassium(K), &
magnesium(Mg)
 Mineral Composition
 Minerals are made up of elements found in the
Earth’s crust
 Minerals are in groups based on the elements
contained in them
 Mineral Groups
Major groups of minerals are as follows:

 1. Silicates  6.halides
 2. carbonates  7. hydroxides

3.oxides 
8. phosphates
 4. sulfides  9. native
 5. sulfates elements
 Silicates
 The silicates are the largest group of rock-
forming minerals
 Silicates contain both silicon & oxygen and one
or more other elements
 Silicon and oxygen are the 2 most abundant
elements in the Earth’s crust

Pictured:Agate
To be able to identify these and other
minerals, we need to look at the
properties used to separate and
distinguish these minerals.
 Identifying Minerals

Remember!:
Rarely is a mineral identified by a
single property.
These properties need to be
considered together to correctly
identify a mineral.
 Physical Properties
►Color
►Luster
►Streak
►Hardness
►Specific Gravity
Color is the most easily observed
mineral property and the least
useful!
Some exceptions to the color rule would
be cinnabar, which is always red,
sulfur, which is bright yellow, and
malachite, which is green.
Many minerals have a similar color.
Many minerals can turn colors due to
impurities, or they can change
colors in various circumstances.
For example, pure quartz is colorless
or white, impurities can make the
mineral rose, purple or pink!
 Discuss the following!

Can you name the 5 characteristics

of minerals?

Why isn’t color a very good property

to identify most minerals?
Luster refers to how light is reflected
from a mineral. Notice the
difference between these two
minerals.
The mineral on the left has a metallic
luster, and the one on the right, a
nonmetallic luster.
 Terms used to describe nonmetallic
luster:
Dull, pearly, silky, glassy, and brilliant
Streak of a mineral is the color of its
powder when rubbed on a streak plate
or an unglazed porcelain tile.
The streak is often not the same color as
the mineral.
A minerals color may vary, but the
streak rarely will!
 Streak
 For example, both gold and pyrite look alike.
They appear to be the same thing.
 If you do the streak test, you will discover that
gold leaves a yellow streak, whereas pyrite
leaves a greenish-black or brown-black streak.
 Pyrite is known as “fool’s gold” because it looks
like gold, but is not
Gold & Pyrite
The cleavage of a mineral is its tendency
to split easily or to separate along flat
surfaces.
Cleavage can even be observed on tiny
mineral grains making it a very useful
property!
Feldspar splits readily in two directions,
always at or near right angles.
Calcite and galena cleave in three directions.
They are said to have three good cleavages.
 Not all minerals show cleavage.
Those that break with jagged edges are said
to have fracture.
Hardness of a mineral is how easily the
mineral can be scratched.
 
Friedrich Mohs devised a hardness
scale that we refer to as Mohs
Hardness Scale.

In this scale, 10 well-known minerals
are given numbers from 1-10.
 Talc is the softest mineral and a

diamond is the hardest mineral

 Mineral Softness
Common Hardness Talc 1
Objects Gypsum 2
Fingernail 2.5 Calcite 3
Penny 3.5 Flourite 4
Nail 4.5 Apatite 5
Glass 5.5 Feldspar 6
Steel File 6.5 Quartz 7
Streak 7 Topaz 8
Plate
Corundum 9
Diamond 10
 Common objects are used to test the hardness of
minerals
 Example-
Calcite has a hardness of 3 and a copper
penny just scratches it because it has a
hardness of 3.5
 Example:
Apatite has a hardness of 5 and can be scratched
by a steel knife blade.
 Example
Quartz, with a hardness of 7, is the hardest
of the common minerals. It easily
scratches hard glass. Quartz is also
similar in composition to glass.
Gems are known for their extreme
hardness.
Crystal shape can be a useful property to
identify minerals if the minerals have
had the time and space to form
crystals. Most mineral grains that are
found in rocks, lack the room to grow.
 Specific gravity tells you how many
times as dense as water the mineral is.
Pure gold can have a specific gravity as
high as 19.3!
Calcite is calcium carbonate, CaCO3. If a
drop of weak hydrochloric acid is
placed on calcite, the acid bubbles as
carbon dioxide is released.
 Magnetic
Malleable

Radioactive

Flourescence

Taste
Some minerals that
contain iron, are
magnetic and can be
picked up by a
magnet. Magnetite
is an example of a
magnetic mineral.
 This is the state of
glowing while under
a ultraviolet light.
Some minerals even
glow once the light
is turned off!
Some minerals, such
as this uraninite, are
radioactive.
They give off
subatomic particles
that will activate a
Geiger counter.
 Halite (rock salt)
can be identified
by its taste.
This practice is not
recommended!
Special Properties
Of Minerals
 Special Properties
 Magnetite is magnetic; lodestone is a type of
magnetite
 Calcite fizzes when you put hydrochloric acid on
it
 When you look through calcite, you can see a
double image
 Sulfur can be identified by its bright yellow
color and bad smell
 Gems

Highly prized because they are rare and beautiful
 Can be cut and polished and used for jewelry
 The brighter and more colorful samples are cut and
polished

Example: amethyst- a form of quartz which has
manganese in it to give it its purple color
 Gems are very hard
 Ores
 A mineral that is Useful & Profitable
 Waste rock must be removed to get to the desired
mineral; removing waste rock is very expensive.
 The value of a mineral can change if the supply
of or demand for that mineral changes
 Ores & Their Uses
 Examples:

 Bauxite- aluminum
 Hematite- iron
 Galena- lead
 Halite- rock salt
 Graphite- pencil “leads
 Magnetite- iron