Minerals

A homogeneous, naturally-occurring, solid, and generally inorganic substance with a definable

chemical composition and an orderly internal arrangement of atoms.
1- Homogeneous • 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 (e.g. 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
Most rocks have more than one kind of mineral. – Example: Granite contains Potassium feldspar.
• Plagioclase Feldspar. • Quartz. • Hornblende. • Biotite •
Some are monomineralic. – Limestone (Calcite). – Rock salt (Halite).

Physical Properties of Minerals

Color

• Determined by the chemical composition of the mineral

• Minerals rich in Al, Ca, Na, Ba and K are often light coloured
• Minerals rich in Fe, Ti, Ni, Cr, Co, Cu and Mn are often dark in colour
• Determined by the atomic structure of the mineral. Atomic structure controls which
components of white light are absorbed or reflected
• White minerals reflect all components of white light. Black minerals absorb all components
of white light. Green minerals reflect green light and absorb the others
• Colour is not particularly useful as a diagnostic property
• Some minerals show a wide variety of colours
• Quartz can be transparent, white, pink, brown, purple, yellow, orange and even black
 • Many minerals show very similar colors
• Calcite, gypsum, barytes, fluorite, plagioclase feldspar and halite are commonly grey or
white in color.

Examples of color variation in Fluorite

Transparency
• When outlines of objects seen through it appear sharp and distinct
• A good examples is Iceland Spar, a variety of calcite that is used for optical lenses
• Iceland Spar also shows the remarkable property of double refraction which is determined
by the atomic structure and chemical composition of the mineral.

Calcite --- Iceland Spar

Translucency
• The ability for a mineral to let light pass through it
• Many minerals if cut thin enough will show some degree of translucency
 • Controlled by atomic structure and chemical composition
• All transparent minerals are also translucent

Flourite

Lustre

 The way in which a mineral reflects light

 Controlled by the atomic structure of the mineral
 There are many varieties of Lustre, given below
 adamantine: brilliant, shiny, e.g. diamond
 vitreous: glassy
 resinous: appearance similar to resins or saps of certain trees or shrubs
 greasy: like oil on glass
 pearly: pearl
 silky: like silk, usually fibrous textures
 earthy: like dirt
 metallic: like metals, polished

Adamantine Lustre of Diamond Silky Lustre of Gypsum Resinous Lustre of Sphalerite

Streak

 The colour of a mineral’s powder

 Obtained by rubbing a mineral specimen on an unglazed white porcelain tile
 Useful for identifying metallic ore minerals
 Silicates generally do not mark the tile and have no streak
 White minerals streaked on a white tile will have a white streak
 Any minerals harder than the tile (6) will scratch it

Haematite gives a cherry red streak

 Metallic Ore Minerals – Characteristic Streaks

Hardness

Hardness is the resistance of a mineral to scratching or abrasion by other materials.

Hardness is determined by scratching the surface of the sample with another mineral or material
of known hardness.
The standard hardness scale, called Mohs Hardness Scale (developed by Friedrich Mohs in 1822),
consists of ten minerals ranked in ascending order of hardness with diamond, the hardest known
substance, assigned the number 10.
To determine hardness, run a sharp edge or a point of a mineral with known hardness across a
smooth face of the mineral to be tested. Do not scratch back and forth like an eraser, but press
hard and slowly scratch a line.
A piece of glass is provided in the hardness kits as a standard for determining hardness. There
are several reasons for this:
• It is easy to see a scratch on glass;
• The hardness of glass (5 to 5½) is midway on the Mohs scale; and
• Glass is inexpensive and easily replaced.

From left to right: Row 1 --- Talc, Gypsum, Calcite, Flourite, Row 2 --- Apatite, Orthoclase,
Quartz, Topaz, Row 3 --- Corundum, Diamond

Cleavages

The tendency of a mineral to break along a plane of weakness in the crystal lattice.
The way in which a mineral breaks is determined by the arrangement of its atoms and the
strength of the chemical bonds holding them together.
A mineral that exhibits cleavage consistently breaks, or cleaves, along parallel flat surfaces
called cleavage planes.
Minerals can have 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6 planes of cleavage
Cleavage quality is described as perfect, good, and poor.
Minerals with a perfect or excellent cleavage break easily along flat surfaces and are easy to spot.
Minerals with good cleavages do not have such well-defined cleavage planes and reflect less light.
Poor- cleavages are the toughest to recognize, but can be spotted by small flashes of light in certain
positions
Minerals with one cleavage are often said to have a basal cleavage.
Two cleavage directions are present when planes of breakage occur along two non-parallel planes.
These two planes can be perpendicular (at 90°) to one another, in which case the mineral is said to
have prismatic cleavage. In some minerals the two planes of cleavage may not be perpendicular –
this is known as non-prismatic cleavage.
Some minerals have three planes of cleavage: If the three cleavages intersect at 90° the mineral
is said to have cubic cleavage. If none of the cleavage planes intersect at right angles the shape is
a squashed cube known as a rhombohedron (called rhombohedral cleavage). A third variant
occurs when a mineral has two cleavage planes that are perpendicular, and a third that is not
perpendicular to the other two.
Minerals with four or six cleavage directions are not common. Four cleavage planes can intersect
to form an eight sided figure known as an octahedron. Fluorite is the most common mineral with
an octahedral cleavage. Six cleavage directions intersect to form a dodecahedron, a twelve-sided
form with diamond-shaped faces. A common mineral with dodecahedal cleavage is sphalerite.

Fracture

Fracture is the characteristic mark left when a mineral chips or breaks. Cleavage and fracture differ
in that cleavage is the break of a crystal face where a new face (resulting in a smooth plane) is
formed, whereas fracture is the "chipping" shape of a mineral. All minerals exhibit a fracture, even
those that exhibit cleavage. If a mineral with cleavage is chipped a certain way, it will fracture
rather than cleave.
There are several terms to describe the various mineral fractures:
Conchoidal - Fracture resembling a semi-circular shell, with a smooth, curved surface. An
example of conchoidal fracture can be seen in broken glass. (This fracture is also known as "shelly"
in some reference guides.)
Uneven - Fracture that leaves a rough or irregular surface.
Hackly - Fracture that resembles broken metal, with rough, jagged, points. True metals exhibit
this fracture. (This fracture is also known as "jagged".)
Splintery - Fracture that forms elongated splinters. All fibrous minerals fall into this category.
Earthy or crumbly - Fracture of minerals that crumble when broken.
Even or smooth - Fracture that forms a smooth surface.
Subconchoidal - Fracture that falls somewhere between conchoidal and even; smooth with
irregular rounded corners.

Tenacity

Tenacity describes the reaction of a mineral to stress such as crushing, bending, breaking, or
tearing. Certain minerals react differently to each type of stress. Since tenacity is composed of
several reactions to various stresses, it is possible for a mineral to have more than one type of
tenacity. The different forms of tenacity are:
Brittle - If a mineral is hammered and the result is a powder or small crumbs, it is considered
brittle. Brittle minerals leave a fine powder if scratched, which is the way to test a mineral to see
if it is brittle. The majority of all minerals are brittle. An example is Quartz. (Minerals that are not
brittle may be referred to as Non-brittle minerals.)
Sectile - Sectile minerals can be separated with a knife, much like wax but usually not as soft. An
example is Gypsum.
Malleable - If a mineral can be flattened by pounding with a hammer, it is malleable. All
true metals are malleable. An example is Silver.
Ductile - A mineral that can be stretched into a wire is ductile. All true metals are ductile. An
example is Gold.
Flexible but inelastic - Any mineral that can be bent, but remains in the new position after it is
bent is flexible but inelastic. If the term flexible is singularly used, it implies flexible but inelastic.
An example is Copper.
Flexible and elastic - When flexible and elastic minerals are bent, they spring back to their original
position. All fibrous minerals, and some acicular minerals belong in this category. An example
is Chrysotile Serpentine.

Specific Gravity

The specific gravity of a mineral is the weight of that mineral divided by the weight of an equal
volume of water.
The specific gravity of water equals 1.0.
Most silicate, or rock-forming, minerals have specific gravities of 2.6 to 3.4; the ore minerals are
usually heavier, with specific gravities of 5 to 8.
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.
Minerals with a specific gravity under 2 are considered light, between 2 and 4.5 average, and
greater than 4.5 heavy.

Habit / Form

Habit is the general appearance a mineral tends to have – whether it is found as blocky crystals,
long slender ones, or aggregates of some type, etc. If the crystals are glassy but cubic in shape
you know they aren’t quartz. If they are rounded like a soccer ball you know they aren’t
tourmaline. And so on…

Distinct crystals may be described as:

Blocky or Equant – Roughly box-like or

ball-like, as in pyrite.

Rhodolite garnet, 8 cm across,

Brazil
Tabular - Shaped like a pad of paper (thin
tabular) or a deck of playing cards (thick
tabular).

Barite 4cm across, Bolivia

Prismatic – Elongated with opposite faces

parallel to one another, in which case
they may be short and stout, or long and
thin. Includes minerals such as quartz and
tourmaline crystals

Tourmaline (elbaite) 9 cm tall,

California

Bladed - Long thin crystals may be

flattened like the blade of a
knife. Actinolite is often bladed.

Stibnite, 5cm across, Romania

 Acicular – Needle-like.

Millerite, 1.5cm. long,

Wisconsin

Filiform or Capillary – Like hair or

thread.

Pyrite filament 0.2 mm long,

New Mexico, Dan Behnke
photograph

Groups of distinct crystals may be described as:

Druzy - Covering a surface in more-or-
less outward pointing clusters of small
crystals, such as druzy quartz crystals.

Quartz on chrysocolla, Mexico

2cm across

Divergent or Radiating - Growing

outward from a point in sprays or
starbursts, such as some hemimorphite
exhibits.

Adamite 3.5 cm across,

Mexico

Reticulated – Interconnected like a

lattice or trellis, such as rutile.

Cerussite, Tsumeb, Namibia

2 cm across
 Dendritic or Arborescent - Slender
divergent branch- or fern-like clusters,
such as some native silver crystals.

Copper, Michigan, 4cm tall

Compact parallel or radiating groups of individual crystals may be described as:

Columnar – Stout parallel clusters

with a column-like appearance, such
as some forms of the serpentine
minerals.

Quartz, 4cm tall, New Mexico

Fibrous – Aggregates of parallel or

radiating slender fibers, such as
Chrysotile.

Silver 2cm across, Czech Republic

Stellate – Long thin crystals radiating
outwards in all directions, like a
starburst or in a circular pattern, such
as Astrophyllite.

Natrolite, 10 cm tall,
Tasmania, Australia

Spherical or Globular – Compact

clusters radiating outwards forming
rounded, ball-like, shapes.

Azurite, 10cm across, Arizona

The next three habits tend to grade
into each other

Botryoidal – Globular or ball-like

clusters – like a bunch of grapes.
 Hematite, 2cm across,
Wisconsin

Mammillary – Large rounded masses

resembling human breasts.

Quartz variety chalcedony, 4cm

across, Nebraska

Reniform – Radiating compact clusters

of crystals ending in rounded, kidney-
like, surfaces, such as hematite often
exhibits.

Hematite 6 cm across, Wisconsin

A mineral aggregate composed of scales or flakes may be described as:

Foliated – Looking like overlapping flakes

or leaves and easily separable into
individual leaves or flakes, usually at least
somewhat "wavy" in appearance, such as
the chlorite minerals.

Talc, 6 cm across, Michigan

 Micaceous – Like foliated, but splits into
very thin sheets, like the mica minerals.

Mica schist, Black Hills,

South Dakota, 10cm across

Lamellar – Flat, platy, grains thicker than

flakes or leaves, but overlapping like
foliated, such as Molybdenite.

Molybdenite &
ferrimolybdenite (yellow),
Canada 3cm across.

Plumose – Feather-like sprays of fine

scales, similar to dendritic but with a
much finer structure, such as one form of
native silver.

Manganese oxide dendrites,

Grant Co. New Mexico 6 cm
across

A mineral composed of grains is simply said to be granular. Granular minerals may be

composed of rounded or semi-rounded grains, or of angular grains.

A few other descriptive terms are:

Massive – No crystal structure visible,
though the mineral may be
crystalline. Some massive minerals may
also be granular.

Forsterite and magnetite,

Arizona 3cm across

Banded – Showing different bands or

layers of color or texture, as in some
agates or some fluorite.

Goethite, 8 cm tall, Wisconsin

Concentric – In rounded masses showing

layers around the mass in shells, working
outward from the center, as in some
agates.

Quartz var. Lake Superior

agate, 5 cm across, Michigan
The next three habits tend to grade into
each other, oolites and pisolites tend to
be uncommon
Oolitic – Masses of small round spheres
about the size of fish eggs (0.25-2.0mm).

Manganese oxide, 3cm across,

Australia

Pisolitic - Roughly pea-size rounded

masses.

Manganese oxide, 6cm across,

Australia

Concretionary – Masses formed by

mineral being deposited around a
nucleus, may be spherical or rounded but
may also be a wide variety of other
shapes.

Top - outside of concretion,

2cm across, Illinois;
 Bottom - interior of split
concretion showing fern leaf
fossil

Geode – A rock with a hollow, roughly

spherical, interior with concentric bands
of mineral (usually agate) on the wall
and possibly crystals on the interior
surface, pointing inwards.

Geode, with quartz and calcite

crystals, 8cm across, Mexico

Additional Properties

Special properties help identify some minerals. These properties may not be distinctive enough in
most minerals to help with their identification or they may be present only in certain minerals.
Feel
The "feel" of a mineral can sometimes help identify it. Some minerals are greasy to the touch,
others are smooth, and others have a rough feel.
Diamond, which absorbs heat better than any substance, has a unique, cold feel at room
temperature.
Talc gives a slippery feel.
Taste
Some minerals have a distinctive taste.
Acid or sour: sulfuric acid, indicates the presence of sulfur
Alkaline: potash
Astringent: (puckering) alum
Bitter: Epsom or bitter salts
Cooling: saltpeter (NaNO3)
Metallic: decomposed FeS2, brassy taste
Saline: salty, NaCl, etc.
Odor
Several minerals give off a distinctive odor in certain conditions. Sulfur specimens, in normal
room conditions, give off a mild odor resembling the smell of a lighting match. However if heated
or struck, they will give off a powerful odor like rotten eggs. Many sulfides, such as Pyrite, also
give off a rotten-egg odor if heated or struck.
Native Arsenic specimens give off a very mild garlic smell in normal room conditions. However,
if heated or struck, they give off a powerful garlic odor. Some minerals containing arsenic in
their chemical formula, such as Arsenopyrite, also give off a garlic odor if struck or heated. (One
should never heat a mineral that possibly contains arsenic since its fumes are toxic.)
If wet or in moist conditions, minerals of the clay group, such as Kaolinite, give off an odor
resembling fresh clay.
Magnetism
Some minerals are attracted to a hand magnet. Some minerals are strongly attracted to the magnet,
others are weakly attracted, and one mineral is actually repelled. There are also several minerals
that are attracted to magnetic fields only when heated.
In virtually all cases, the presence of the element iron as a component of the mineral's chemical
structure is responsible its magnetic properties.
Magnetic properties of minerals are defined as follows:
Ferromagnetism describes strong attraction to magnetic fields. This property is exhibited in few
minerals, notably Magnetite and Pyrrhotite.
Paramagnetism is weak attraction to magnetic fields. The attraction is usually discernible, but it
may be so weak that it is undetectable. Most paramagnetic minerals become strongly magnetic
when heated. A small number of paramagnetic minerals, such as Platinum, are not essentially
paramagnetic, but contain iron impurities which are responsible for the paramagnetism. However,
some specimens lacking iron also exist, and these are not paramagnetic. Some examples of
paramagnetic minerals are Hematite and Franklinite.
Diamagnetism. Only one mineral, Bismuth, is diamagnetic, meaning it is repelled from magnetic
fields.
Another property, which is unnamed, is attraction to magnetic fields when heated. Some
iron sulfides and oxides become ferromagnetic after heating, as a result of combined sulfur or
oxygen ions freeing themselves from the iron. Some minerals may even act as magnets when
heated.
Only a variety of one mineral acts as a magnet, generating magnetic fields on its own. This mineral
is Lodestone, the magnetic variety of Magnetite, which found in only a few deposits throughout
the world. Although it is only weakly magnetic, its magnetism is definitely discernible.
Reaction with Acids
Some minerals, especially carbonate minerals, react visibly with acid.
When a drop of dilute hydrochloric acid is placed on calcite (CaCO3), it readily bubbles or
effervesces, releasing carbon dioxide.

Bubbles / Effervesces produced due to calcite’s reaction with hydrochloric acid.