IGNEOUS ROCKS

1. Gabbro

Common Characteristics:

· a coarse-grained, dark-colored, intrusive igneous rock with allotriomorphic texture.

· usually black or dark green in color and composed mainly of the minerals plagioclase and augite.

Uses:

· The crushed gabbro is used as a basic material in construction projects, as a crushed

stone for road construction, as a railway ballast and as a filler where a resistant crushed
stone is needed.

· Bright polished gabbro cemetery signs are used in kitchen stalls, floor tiles, facade stone
and other size stone products.

Group – Plutonic Igneous Rock Texture – phaneritic (medium to coarse

grained).
Colour – Dark grey to black.
Mineral content – predominantly plagioclaseand
pyroxene ( augite) with lesser olivine. Silica (SiO
2) content – 45%-52%.

2. Diorite

Common Characteristics:

· coarse – grained intrusive igneous rock that

commonly mineralogy is plagioclase feldspar and
dark colored minerals such as hornblende and
biotite.
 · Diorite is intrusive igneous rock cause we can see minerals on naked eyes and also plutonic
rock to phonetic texture.

· It is usually grey to dark-grey in colour, but it can also be black or bluish-grey, and frequently
has a greenish cast.

Uses of Diorite:

· In the dimension stone industry, diorite is often cut into facing stone, tile, ashlars, blocking,
pavers, curbing, and a variety of dimension stone products. These are used as construction stone, or
polished and used as architectural stone.

· It is used as a base material in the construction of roads, buildings, and parking areas. It is also
used as a drainage stone and for erosion control.

3.

Granite

Common Characteristics:

● Granite is a light-colored igneous rock with grains large enough to be visible with the unaided eye.
It forms from the slow crystallization of magma below Earth's surface.
 ● Granite is composed mainly of quartz and feldspar with minor amounts of mica, amphiboles, and
other minerals. This mineral composition usually gives granite a red, pink, gray, or white color
with dark mineral grains visible throughout the rock.

Uses:

● countertops ● stair treads

● floor tiles ● building veneer
● paving stone ● cemetery monuments
● curbing

Granite is used all around us - especially if you live in a large modern city.

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4. Basalt
Common Characteristics:
 ● Basalt is a dark-colored, fine-grained, igneous rock composed mainly of plagioclase and
pyroxene minerals. It most commonly forms as an extrusive rock, such as a lava flow,
● It has a composition similar to gabbro. The difference between basalt and gabbro is that basalt is
a fine-grained rock while gabbro is a coarse-grained rock.

Uses:

● Basalt is used for a wide variety of purposes. It is most commonly crushed for use as an
aggregate in construction projects. Crushed basalt is used for road base, concrete aggregate,
asphalt pavement aggregate, railroad ballast, filter stone in drain fields, and may other purposes.
● Basalt is also cut into dimension stone. Thin slabs of basalt are cut and sometimes polished for
use as floor tiles, building veneer, monuments, and other stone objects.

Group – volcanic. Mineral content – groundmass generally of

pyroxene ( augite), plagioclase and olivine,
Colour – dark grey to black. possibly with minor glass; if porphyritic the
phenocrysts will be any of olivine, pyroxene or
Texture – aphanitic (can be porphyritic). plagioclase. Silica (SiO 2) content – 45%-52%.

Rhyolite (ADD)
Common Characteristics:

● an extrusive igneous rock with a very high silica content.

 ● elsic igneous extrusive rock and it is a fine-grained and dominated by quartz and alkali feldspar.
● The various types of rhyolites are of gray, bluish gray or pink color with vitreous texture and
individual spherical aggregates of feldspar and a number of concentrically arranged and spiral
cracks, known under the name of perlite.

Uses:

● Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Hotels, Interior Decoration, Kitchens

● As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Paving Stone, Office Buildings
● Arrowheads, As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls,
● Construction Aggregate, Cutting Tool, for Road Aggregate, Knives
● Artifacts
● Gemstone, Laboratory bench tops, Jewelry
Group – Volcanic Occurrence: Rhyolite has been found on
islands far from land, but such oceanic
occurrences are rare
Colour – Variable, but light coloured.

Texture – Aphanitic, Glassy, Porphyritic

Igneous Equivalent: Granite

Mineral Content – Groundmass generally of

quartz and plagioclase, with lesser amounts
oforthoclase, biotite, amphibole ( augite),
pyroxene ( hornblende), and glass; phenocrysts
of plagioclase and quartz, often with amphibole
and / or biotite, sometimes orthoclase. Silica
(SiO 2) content – 69%-77%.
 5. Andesite

Common Characteristics:

● Andesite is a gray to black volcanic rock with between about 52 and 63 weight
percent silica (SiO2).
● it is usually gray in color and may be fine-grained or porphyritic.
● Andesite is the volcanic equivalent of diorite.
● It consists of the plagioclase feldspar minerals andesine and oligoclase,
together with one or more dark, ferromagnesian minerals such as pyroxene
and biotite.

Uses
 ● It is used for making tiles because it is resistant to slipping.
● It is used as filling material in construction and road construction.
● Used in landscaping and garden designs.
● Used in the construction of sculptures and monuments.

Group – volcanic. Chemical Composition of Andesite

Andesite is an intermediate sub-alkalic

Colour: Variable, but typically rock with SiO2 contents ranging

bluish-grey or grey (lighter coloured
between 57 and 63 wt. %, and Na2O +
than basalt).
K2O contents around 5 wt. %.

Intermediate rocks are also

Texture: Aphanitic to porphyric
with redish phenocrysts of garnet and
plagioclase.Alterations: Plagioclases
are in places transformed to clay
minerals.
Major minerals of Andesite:
Plagioclase, hornblende, almandine.
characterized by an increased CaO
content compared to that in acidic
rocks. Similar CaO contents (6 – 7 wt.
%) are also typical for diorite – the
plutonic equivalent of andesite. The

andesite from Šiatorska Bukovinka is

Accessory minerals of metaluminous, medium-potassic rock
Andesite:Ilmenite, apatite and with A/CNK = 0.95 and A/NK = 2.38.
orthopyroxene. The Mg/(Mg + Fe2+) ratio was

recalculated after the conversion of all

Fe2O3 to FeO. Trace element contents

in andesites with garnets are similar to

those without garnets.

 6. Tuff

Common Characteristics:
● tuff, a relatively soft, porous rock that is usually formed by the compaction and
cementation of volcanic ash or dust.
● It can be classified as either sedimentary or igneous rock.
● Tuffs may be grouped as vitric, crystal, or lithic when they are composed
principally of glass, crystal chips, or the debris of pre-existing rocks
● volcanic tuff is a pyroclastic, consolidated rock composed of compacted and
cemented volcanic ash, from volcanic eruption
Uses

● It is a relatively soft rock, so it has been used for construction since ancient

times.

● It’s primary economic value is as a building material.

Color: Light to dark brown Tuff Formation.Most tuff formations

include a range of fragment sizes and

Texture: Pyroclastic varieties. These range from fine-grained

dust and ash (ash tuffs) to medium-

Chemical Composition: Felsic
sized fragments called lapilli (lapilli

tuffs) to large volcanic blocks and

Mineral Composition: Predominantly Glass
bombs (bomb tuffs). Tuffs originate

when foaming magma wells to the

surface as a mixture of hot gases and

incandescent particles and is ejected

from a volcano.
 7. Ignimbrite

Common Characteristics:
● Ignimbrite is a pyroclastic igneous rock that is an expansion of hardened tuff.
● It is made up by crystal and rock fragments in a glass-shard groundmass, althouugh
the original texture of the groundmass is probably obliterated due to high degrees of
welding.
● Ignimbrites are consist of a mostly sorted aggregate of volcanic ash and and
pumice lapilli
● The ash consists may be loose and unconsolidated or lithified rock known as lapilli-
tuff

Group: Volcanic
Uses

● The layering of ignimbrites is used when the stone is worked, as it sometimes splits
into convenient slabs, useful for flagstones and in garden edge landscaping.
● In the Hunter region of New South Wales ignimbrite serves as an excellent aggregate
or ‘blue metal’ for road surfacing and construction purposes.
● As it sometimes splits into convenient slabs, useful for flagstones and in garden
edge landscaping.

Colour: Typically light-coloured (e.g. case of phonolite tuffs, the feldspathoid

pinkish-white, pale grey etc). minerals such as nepheline and leucite.

Texture:Aphanitic if not welded, eutaxitic Commonly in most felsic ignimbrites the

if welded. quartz polymorphs cristobalite and

tridymite are usually found within the

welded tuffs and breccias. In the

Chemical Composition of Ignimbrite
majority of cases, it appears that these
The mineralogy of an ignimbrite is
high-temperature polymorphs of quartz
controlled primarily by the chemistry of
occurred post-eruption as part of an
the source magma.
autogenic post-eruptive alteration in

some metastable form. Thus although

The typical range of phenocrysts in
tridymite and cristobalite are common
ignimbrites are biotite, quartz, sanidine
minerals in ignimbrites, they may not be
or other alkali feldspar, occasionally
primary magmatic minerals.
hornblende, rarely pyroxene and in the
 8. Pumice

Common Characteristics:
● Pumice is a light-colored, extremely porous igneous rock that forms during
explosive volcanic eruptions.
● pumice, a very porous, frothlike volcanic glass that has long been used as an
abrasive in cleaning, polishing, and scouring compounds.
● It is also employed as a lightweight aggregate in precast masonry units, poured
concrete, insulation and acoustic tile, and plaster.
● Pumice is pyroclastic igneous rock that was almost completely liquid at the
moment of effusion and was so rapidly cooled that there was no time for it to
crystallize.
Uses

● It is commonly used in cement, concrete and breeze blocks and as an abrasive

in polishes, pencil erasers, exfoliates and to produce stone-washed jeans.

● It is also used to remove dry skin from the bottom of the foot during the

pedicure process at some beauty salons.

● It is also used as an abrasive, especially in polishes, pencil erasers, and the

production of stone-washed jeans.

● There is high demand for pumice, particularly for water filtration, chemical spill

containment, cement manufacturing, horticulture and increasingly for the pet

industry.

● It was also used in the early book making industry to prepare parchment paper

and leather bindings.

Color: white to light-gray or light-tan pumices; the most common are

Texture: Aphanitic and vesicular
feldspar, augite, hornblende, and zircon.
(contains abundant small gas cavities)
The cavities (vesicles) of pumice are
Composition: felsic (rhyolitic)
sometimes rounded and may also be

elongated or tubular, depending on the

Pumice Composition
Pumice is primarily Silicon Dioxide,
some Aluminum Oxide and trace
amounts pf other oxide. Mall crystals of
various minerals occur in many
flow of the solidifying lava. The
occurring among old volcanic rocks, the
cavities are usually filled with deposits
of secondary minerals introduced by
percolating water.
 9. Sandstone

Common Characteristics:
-Sandstone is a clastic or fragmental sedimentary rock composed of “sand” sized grains (2-⅙
mm).
-It can be distinguished from mudstone by its coarser grain size or “grittier” feel of the surface.

10. Mudstone
Common Characteristics:
-Mudstone is a clastic or fragmental sedimentary rock composed of very fine- grained material
(mud size ≤ 1/16 mm).
-Mudstone may exhibit very fine layering (lamination) or can be massive or without internal
structures.
 - OBSIDIAN (ADD)

Obsidian has a glassy lustre and is slightly harder than window glass. Though obsidian is
typically jet-black in colour, the presence of hematite (iron oxide) produces red and brown
varieties, and the inclusion of tiny gas bubbles may create a golden sheen. Other types with
dark bands or mottling in gray, green, or yellow are also known.
Their abundant, closely spaced crystallites (microscopic embryonic crystal growths) are so
numerous that the glass is opaque except on thin edges. Many samples of obsidian contain
spherical clusters of radially arranged, needlelike crystals called spherulites.

Uses
Obsidian was used by Native Americans and many other early peoples for weapons,
implements, tools, and ornaments and by the ancient Aztec and ancient Greek civilizations for
mirrors. Because of its conchoidal fracture (smooth curved surfaces and sharp edges), the
sharpest stone artifacts were fashioned from obsidian. Some of these, mostly arrowheads, have
been dated by means of the hydration rinds that form on their exposed surfaces through time.
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

11. CONGLOMERATE
Common Characteristics:
-mostly composed of fragments derived from pre-existing igneous, metamorphic, and
sedimentary rocks embedded in a matrix.
-The clasts are subrounded to well-rounded and may come from one to several sources. They
are further described as being matrix or clast supported, depending on how much clasts are
touching each other
12. LIMESTONE
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed primarily of calcite, a calcium carbonate
mineral with a chemical composition of CaCO3. It usually forms in clear, calm, warm,
shallow marine waters.

Limestone is usually a biological sedimentary rock, forming from the accumulation of

shell, coral, algal, fecal, and other organic debris. It can also form by chemical
sedimentary processes, such as the precipitation of calcium carbonate from lake or
ocean water.

Limestone is rich in fossil content. Much knowledge of the Earth’s chronology and
development has been derived from the study of fossils embedded in limestone and
other carbonate rocks.

Uses:
Limestone is used extensively in road and building construction and is a material
found in the aggregate, cement, building stones, chalk, and crushed stone.

Texture: granular
Grain size: 0.001 mm (0.00004 inch) to visible particles.
 Colour: usually white but it can be other colors (gray, black, pink)

13. CHERT
Chert, sometimes called “flint”, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of quartz
(SiO2) that is microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz. It is usually organic rock but
also occur inorganically as a chemical precipitate or a diagenetic replacement. It occurs
as nodules, concretionary masses, and as layered deposits.

Uses:
Make Sharp Tools
Making Fire
Sharpening Steel

Texture: Non-clastic sedimentary rock

Grain size: Cryptocrystalline, cannot be seen except under very high magnification.
Hardness: Hard
Colour: All colours, dependent on impurities present when precipitated.
Clasts: None
Other features: Smooth to touch, glassy, exhibits conchoidal fracture.

- SILTSTONE (ADD)
Siltstone is a clastic sedimentary rock that formed from grains whose sized between that of
sandstone and mudstone. It can found different environmental conditions different color and
textures. Siltstone generally are red and gray color with flat bedding planes. Darker colored
siltstone have plant fossils and other carbon-rich matter. It is hard and durable and do not easily
split into thin particles or layer. Although often mistaken as a shale, siltstone lacks the fissility
and laminations which are typical of shale. Siltstones may contain concretions. Unless the
siltstone is fairly shaly, stratification is likely to be obscure and it tends to weather at oblique
angles unrelated to bedding. Mudstone or shale are rocks that contain mud, which is material
that has a range of silt and clay. Siltstone is differentiated by having a majority silt, not clay.

Origin: Detrital/Clastic
Texture: Clastic; Fine-grained (0.004 – 0.06 mm)
Composition: Quartz, clay minerals
Color: Reddish brown
Miscellaneous: Massive; Feels slightly gritty
Depositional Environment: Flood plain, Delta, or Mid-continental Shelf
Grain size: Fine- grained

Siltstone Characteristics and Properties

● Generally uniform, moderately consolidated to semi-lithified, silty sediment.

● Typically blue-grey to olive green and brown; fracture surfaces are stained
orangebrown to black.
● Local intervals of colluvium.
● No macroscopic shell, plant or fossil material.
● Little or no evidence of bedding or other sedimentary structures.
● Found beneath the coarse alluvium/colluvium sequence and above ‘basement’
lithologies such as granite, rhyolite and metasedimentary rocks.

Uses

● It is rarely mining for use as a construction material or manufacturing feedstock.

● The pore spaces of siltstone serve as good aquifer. It is rarely porous enough or
extensive enough to serve as an oil or gas reservoir.
● Its main use is as a low-quality fill when better materials are not locally available.
BRECCIA (ADD)

Common Characteristics:

● Breccia is a term most often used for clastic sedimentary rocks that are composed of large
angular fragments (over two millimeters in diameter). The spaces between the large angular
fragments are filled with a matrix of smaller particles and a mineral cement that binds the rock
together.
● Breccia can be any color. The color of the matrix or cement along with the color of the angular
rock fragments determine its color.

Uses:
The rock, breccia, has very few uses. It can be used as fill or road base where the technical requirements
are minimal. It is rarely used in important projects because its composition, degree of cementation and
competence are highly variable..

Texture: clastic (coarse-grained).

Grain size: > 2mm; clasts easily visible to the

naked eye, should be identifiable.

Hardness: Soft to hard, dependent on clast

composition and strength of cement.

Colour: Dependent on clast and matrix Other features: Rough to touch due to angular
composition. clasts.

Clasts: variable, but generally harder rock types

and / or minerals dominate.
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
14. SLATE
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated metamorphic rock that is created by the alteration of
shale or mudstone by low-grade regional metamorphism. It is popular for a wide variety
of uses such as roofing, flooring, and flagging because of its durability and attractive
appearance.

Uses:
roofing slates
interior flooring
exterior paving
decorative aggregate

Colour: Variable colour – black, blue, green, red, brown and buff.
Texture – Foliated Metamorphic Rock, Foliation on a mm Scale.
Grain size – Very fine-grained; crystals not visible to the naked eye.
Hardness – Hard and brittle.
Other features – smooth to touch.

15. PHYLLITE
Phyllite is a foliated metamorphic rock that has been low pressure and heat. Phyllite
formation from slate that is further metamorphosed so that very fine grained mica
mineral achives. It composed of mainly flake-shaped mica minerals. This mica minerals
is strong parallel alignment, so easly to split into sheets or slabs. Also alignment of mica
grains gives a reflective sheen on phyllite. Generally Phyllite is gray, black or greenish
color and frequently weathers out of a tan or brown.
 Uses:
used as landscape, paving or sidewalk stone.

Colour: Black to gray or light greenish gray in color, Shiny Gray

Hardness: 1-2 on the Mohs Hardness, Also fissility (a tendency to split into sheets)
Grain size: Very fine grained white mica achieves a preferred orientation
Texture: Foliated, Fine-grained, Well-developed schistosity

16. MARBLE
Common Characteristics:
-Composed of interlocking crystals of calcite or dolomite
-Can be scratched by glass but not by a fingernail
-Reacts with acid (bubbles are produced)

Occurrence:
-Usually associated with intrusive igneous bodies

Uses:
-Construction material
-Tiling material
-Decorative material

QUARTZITE (ADD)

- is a compact, hard, non foliated, medium to coarsely crystalline, and almost mono mineral
metamorphic rocks with granoblastic texture.
- It forms when a quartz-rich sandstone is altered by the heat, pressure, and chemical activity of
metamorphism.
-The interlocking crystalline structure of quartzite makes it a hard, tough, durable rock. It is so
tough that it breaks through the quartz grains rather than breaking along the boundaries
between them. This is a characteristic that separates true quartzite from sandstone.

-Quartzite is usually white to gray in color. Some rock units that are stained by iron can be pink,
red, or purple. Other impurities can cause quartzite to be yellow, orange, brown, green, or blue.

Uses

-Quartzite is a decorative stone and may be used to cover walls, as roofing tiles, as flooring,
and stairsteps. Its use for countertops in kitchens is expanding rapidly. It is harder and more
resistant to stains than granite. Crushed quartzite is sometimes used in road construction.

-The quartz content of quartzite gives it a hardness of about seven on the Mohs Hardness
Scale. Its extreme toughness made it a favorite rock for use as an impact tool by early people.

-Its conchoidal fracture allowed it to be shaped into large cutting tools such as ax heads and
scrapers. Its coarse texture made it less suitable for producing tools with fine edges such as
knife blades and projectile points. Obsidian, flint and agate were better suited for tools where
sharpness was important.

ADD (GNEISS)
Common Characteristics:

Gneiss is a medium- to coarse-grained, semischistose metamorphic rock. It is characterized by

alternating light and dark bands differing in mineral composition (coarser grained than schist). The
lighter bands contain mostly quartz and feldspar, the darker often contain biotite, hornblende, garnet or
graphite. The minerals are orientated due to schistosity.

Uses:

● Gneiss usually does not break up alongside planes of weak point like maximum other
metamorphic rocks. This allows contractors to apply as a overwhelmed stone in road production,
building web site guidance, and landscaping tasks
● It is long lasting sufficient to carry out properly as a size stone. These rocks are sawn or sheared
into blocks and slabs utilized in a ramification of constructing, paving, and curbing initiatives

Name origin: Gneiss word first has been used Colour: generally alternating lighter and darker sub-
English since at least 1757. Probably origin is german parallel discontinuous bands.
word Gneis that mean “spark” (rock glitters).

Mineralogy: Felsic minerals such as feldspar

Parent Rock: Shale, granitic and volcanic rocks (orthoc
lase,

Texture: Foliated, foliation on a scale of cm or more.

Grain size: Medium to coarse grained; seeing with

the naked eye.

Hardness: Hard.

plagioclase) and quartz generally form the light

coloured bands; mafic minerals such as biotite,
pyroxene ( augite) and amphibole ( hornblende)
generally form the dark coloured bands; garnet
porphyroblasts common.

Other features: Generally rough to touch.

SCORIA (ADD)

Scoria is a dark-colored igneous rock an extremely vesicular basaltic lava with very small (<
1mm) vesicles. You can find scoria all over North America: The red variety of scoria (it also
comes in black) is commonly used as landscaping pebbles at Taco Bell. Landscapers know this
rock as lava rock. Scoria usually has a composition similar to basalt, but it can also have a
composition similar to andesite.

This is the red variety of scoria. It ranges in color from black or dark gray to deep reddish
brown. The basaltic lava starts out black, but oxidation of iron during eruption and emplacement
of the scoria turns it red.

USES

One of the main uses of scoria is in the production of lightweight aggregate. The scoria is
crushed to desired sizes and sold for a variety of uses. Crushed scoria is used as roofing
granules, ground cover in landscape projects, and as a substrate in hydroponic gardening.
Scoria is also used as rip-rap, drainage stone, and low-quality road metal. Small amounts of
scoria are used as sauna rock and as a heat sink in barbecue grills.
DACITE (ADD)

Dacite is a fine-grained igneous rock that is normally light in color. It is often porphyritic. Dacite
is found in lava flows, lava domes, dikes, sills, and pyroclastic debris. It is a rock type usually
found on continental crust above subduction zones, where a relatively young oceanic plate has
melted below.

Dacites consisting mostly of plagioclase and quartz are usually light in color, often white to light
gray. Those with abundant hornblende and biotite can be light gray to light brown. The darkest
dacites usually contain abundant augite or enstatite.

USES

Dacite is sometimes used to produce crushed stone. It performs well as fill and as a loose
aggregate in a wide variety of construction projects. It does not perform well as a concrete
aggregate because its high silica content reacts with the cement.
SCHIST (ADD)

Schists have mineral crystals large enough to be identified and usually have wavy, undulating
foliation textures caused by micas and other platy minerals. Distinctively metamorphic minerals
such as garnet, staurolite, kyanite, and sillimanite occur in schists, depending on the
metamorphic grade and starting composition of the parent rock.

USES

Schist is often the host rock for a variety of gemstones that form in metamorphic rocks. Gem-
quality garnet, kyanite, tanzanite, emerald, andalusite, sphene, sapphire, ruby, scapolite, iolite,
chrysoberyl and many other gem materials are found in schist.

Type: Medium-grade metamorphic rock

Texture – Foliated, Foliation, Schistosity

Texture Grain size – Fine to medium grained; can often see crystals with the naked eye.

Hardness –Hard.

Colour – Usually alternating lighter and darker bands, often shiny. (Schist is darker in color than
gneiss.)

Mineralogy – Mica minerals ( biotite, chlorite, muscovite), quartz and plagioclase often present
as monomineralic bands, garnet porphyroblasts common.

Other features –Smoothish to touch.

Name origin: The name is derived from the Greek word that means “to split.”
GYPSUM (ADD)

Gypsum is an evaporite mineral most commonly found in layered sedimentary deposits in

association with halite, anhydrite, sulfur, calcite, and dolomite. Gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O) is very
similar to Anhydrite (CaSO4). The chemical difference is that gypsum contains two waters and
anhydrite is without water. Gypsum is the most common sulfate mineral.

USES

Gypsum uses include: manufacture of wallboard, cement, plaster of Paris, soil conditioning, a
hardening retarder in portland cement. Varieties of gypsum known as "satin spar" and
"alabaster" are used for a variety of ornamental purposes; however, their low hardness limits
their durability.