The plane of the other three axes is parallel to the fourth axis.
Symmetry Elements of Crystallographic Systems
MINERALOGY
• Mineralogy is the study of minerals.
• Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific
study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including
optical) properties of minerals.
• Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of
mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their
geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.
3 Parts of Mineralogy:
1. Crystallography – the study of internal and external geometry of
crystals.
2. Chemical Mineralogy – the study of chemical structure and
properties of mineral.
3. Physical Mineralogy – the study of physical properties of
mineral.
Knowledge of mineralogy is necessary for a civil engineer because physical
properties of rocks are dependent upon the properties and composition of their
constituent minerals.
Brief History of Mineralogy
The Greeks produced the first written works on minerals as early as
300BC. However, like so many other intellectual disciplines the downfall
of both the Greek and Roman empires resulted in a gap of some 1300
years where little progress in understanding occurred.
In the mid 1500’s the German physician Agricola wrote several treatises
that focused on minerals and mining lore. His account summarized a
great deal of previous observations that formed the foundation for the
emergence of mineralogy as a science.
Mineral
• is a naturally occurring substance
• is a homogeneous solid
• is a chemical element or compound whose composition can be
representable by a chemical formula (E.g. SiO2)
• is inorganic
• has an ordered atomic structure
There are over 4,900 known mineral species; over 4,660 of these have
been approved by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA).The
silicate minerals compose over 90% of the Earth's crust. Minerals are
distinguished by various chemical and physical properties.
Minerals are broadly grouped into
1. Rock forming minerals
2. Ore-forming minerals
• In civil engineering practice, it is important to have knowledge
of the important rock- forming types.
• The ore-forming minerals are to be understood in detail by the
mining, Metallurgical and Mineral Engineering professionals.
Individual Crystal Systems and the Axial System
Seven unique crystal systems (listed in order of decreasing symmetry)
1. Cubic System - have equal lengths and are all perpendicular to
one another
2. Hexagonal System - three of the four axes have equal lengths,
equal angles separating them, and they all lie on the same plane.
Lattice points can be found on each of the two six-sided faces of
hexagonal cells
3. Tetragonal System - only two of the three axes are equal in
length, and all three axes are perpendicular to one another.
4. Rhombohedral System - trigonal or also called as
rhombohedral have crystals contain faces that are all the same
length along all three axes, but none of the axes is
perpendicular to the others. It is also identical in terms of both
size and shape.
5. Orthorhombic System - three axes are not equal in length, as
in the isometric system, but they are perpendicular to one
another
6. Monoclinic System - All three axes are unequal in length, and
two axes are perpendicular to
7. Triclinic System - all three axes are unequal in length, and none
is perpendicular to another
Symmetry Elements of Crystal Systems
• Symmetry is understood as a sort of regularity in the
arrangement of faces on the body of a crystal.
• It can be studied with reference to three different characters,
commonly called elements of symmetry. These are: plane of
symmetry, axis of symmetry, and center of symmetry.
1. Plane of Symmetry - Any imaginary plane passing through the
center of a crystal in such a way that it divides the crystal in two
exactly similar halves is called plane of symmetry
2. Axis of Symmetry - defined as an imaginary line in a crystal
passing through its center in such a way that when a crystal is given
a complete rotation along this line, a certain crystal face comes to
occupy the same position at least twice.
i. Two-Fold (Diad) Symmetry - This requires that a crystal
must be rotated by an angle of 180° to bring the reference
face occupy the same position.
ii. Three-Fold (Triad) Symmetry - Objects that repeat
themselves upon rotation of 1200 are said to have a 3-
fold axis of rotational symmetry (360/120 =3), and they
will repeat 3 times in a 3600 rotation.
iii. Four-Fold (Tetrad)Symmetry - If an object repeats itself
after 90o of rotation, it will repeat 4 times in a 360o
rotation
iv. Six-Fold (Hexad) Symmetry - if rotation of 60o about an
axis causes the object to repeat itself, then it has 6-fold
axis of rotational symmetry (360/60=6).
3. Center of Symmetry - A crystal is said to possess a center of
symmetry if on passing an imaginary line from some definite face,
edge or corner on one side of the crystal through its center another
exactly similar face or edge or corner is found on the other side at
an equal distance from the center.

Physical Properties of Minerals
The physical characteristics of minerals include traits which are used to
identify and describe mineral species. These traits include color, streak,
luster, density, hardness, cleavage, fracture, tenacity, and crystal habits
or forms.
1. Tenacity - The property of tenacity describes the behavior of a
mineral under deformation. Minerals can be:
i. Brittle - Breaks or powders easily.
ii. Malleable - can be hammered into thin sheets.
iii. Sectile - can be cut into thin shavings with a knife.
iv. Ductile - bends easily and does not return to its original
shape.
v. Flexible - bends somewhat and does not return to its
original shape.
vi. Elastic - bends but does return to its original shape.
2. Hardness - It is traditionally defined as the level of difficulty with
which a smooth surface of a mineral specimen may be scratched.
Determined based on Mohs Hardness Scale.
3. Cleavage - A cleavage plane is a plane of structural weakness
along which a mineral is likely to split smoothly. Cleavage thus
refers to the splitting of a crystal between two parallel atomic planes.
4. Fracture - If the mineral contains no planes of weakness, it will
break along random directions called fracture. Several different
kinds of fracture patterns are observed.
i. Conchoidal fracture - breaks along smooth curved
surfaces.
ii. Fibrous and splintery - similar to the way wood breaks.
iii. Hackly - jagged fractures with sharp edges.
iv. Uneven or Irregular - rough irregular surfaces
5. Streak - It is the color produced by a fine powder of the mineral
when scratched on a streak plate. Often it is different than the color
of the mineral in nonpowdered form.
6. Luster - Refers to the general appearance of a mineral surface to
reflected light. Two general types of luster are designated as
follows:
i. Metallic - looks shiny like a metal. Usually opaque and
gives black or dark colored streak.
ii. Non-metallic – Non-metallic lusters are referred to as
a. vitreous - looks glassy - examples: clear quartz,
tourmaline.
b. resinous - looks resinous - examples: sphalerite,
sulfur.
c. pearly - iridescent pearl-like - example:
apophyllite.
d. greasy - appears to be covered with a thin layer of
oil - example: nepheline.
e. silky - looks fibrous. - examples - some gypsum,
serpentine, malachite.
f. adamantine - brilliant luster like diamond.
7. Color - Color is sometimes an extremely diagnostic property of a
mineral, for example olivine and epidote are almost always green in
color. But, for some minerals it is not at all diagnostic because
minerals can take on a variety of colors. These minerals are said to
be allochromatic. For example, quartz can be clear, white, black,
pink, blue, or purple.
8. Specific Gravity - Specific Gravity of a mineral is a comparison or
ratio of the weight of the mineral to the weight of an equal amount
of water.
9. Crystal Form - The internal atomic arrangement of a mineral is
manifested outwardly by development of geometric shapes or
crystal characters.
Importance of Knowledge of Minerals’ Properties to Civil Engineering
It is important for civil engineers to know the properties of minerals especially
those that form rocks, to enable them to consider different rocks for any
required purpose (e.g. as a foundation rock, as a road metal, as concrete
aggregate, as building stones, as floorings, or roofing minerals as decorative
material).
Rock Forming Minerals
Rock-forming mineral, any mineral that forms igneous, sedimentary, or
metamorphic rocks and that typically, or solely, forms as an intimate part
of rock-making processes. Rocks is assemblies of minerals.
All the minerals constituting the rocks can be classified into two main
types:
▪ Essential Minerals: These are the minerals which form more
than 50% of the rocks.
▪ Accessory Minerals: These minerals occur in limited quantities
as small crystals.
1. Quartz
• It is found in Magmatic, metamorphic and
sedimentary masses.
• Quartz is a chemical compound consisting of
one part silicon and two parts oxygen (SiO2).
• It has a hardness of seven on the Mohs Scale
• Quartz which is pure and clean is used in
optical and chemical industry and ceramic
industry.
• Quartz sand is used in the production of glass.
2. Augite
• Augite is a rock-forming mineral that commonly
occurs in mafic and intermediate igneous rocks.
• Augite is usually green, black, or brown in color
with a translucent to opaque diaphaneity.
• Augite does not have any physical, optical, or
chemical properties that make it especially
useful.
3. Biotite
• Biotite is a name used for a large group of
black mica minerals that are commonly found
in igneous and metamorphic rocks.
• Black mica with perfect cleavage and a
vitreous luster on the cleavage faces.
• Biotite has a small number of commercial
uses.
4. Calcite
• Calcite is a rock-forming mineral with a
chemical formula of CaCO3.
• The construction industry is the primary
consumer of calcite in the form of limestone
and marble.
• Modern construction uses calcite in the form of
limestone and marble to produce cement and
concrete.
5. Feldspar Family
• Feldspar is the name given to a
group of minerals distinguished by
the presence of alumina and silica
(SiO2) in their chemistry.This group
includes aluminum silicates of soda,
potassium, or lime.
• Feldspar is used to make dinnerware and bathroom and
building tiles. In ceramics and glass production, feldspar is
used as a flux.
6. Hornblende Mineral Group
• Hornblende is a group name used to
describe Ferro-hornblende and Magnesio-
hornblende, but the term is generally more
inclusive for all calcium aluminum
amphiboles.
• It is compose of Complex basic silicate of
sodium, calcium, magnesium, and aluminum. Some
members have potassium, titanium, and fluoride.
• Hornblende is usually an uninteresting gangue material,
especially when it is confused with ore minerals due to its
shiny luster.
7. Muscovite
• Muscovite mica is a natural resource
excavated from a mica mine. Large slabs of
muscovite mica are found in pegmatite. It
can be easily cleaved into thin flat pieces by
a sharp needle or knife.
• Muscovite is usually colourless but may be light gray,
brown, pale green, or rose-red in colour.
• It is a good electrical and thermal insulator.
8. Garnet
• Garnet is not a single mineral, but describes
a group of several closely related minerals.
• When the term "Garnet" is used, it is usually
connotative of the dark red form.
• Red Garnet gemstones (Almandine and Pyrope) are very
affordable and faceted into all types of jewerly, including
necklaces, rings, bracelets, and earrings.
Formation of Minerals
Minerals are crystalline solid substances, meaning the atoms making
up a mineral are arranged in an ordered, three-dimensional, structure.
The distances and angles between an individual atom and the neighbors
it is bonded to are constant.
Minerals form under an enormous range of geologic conditions. There
are probably more ways to form minerals than there are types of
minerals themselves. Minerals can form from volcanic gases, sediment
formation, oxidation, crystallization from magma, or deposition from a
saline fluid, to list a few.
1. Formation from Hot Material
• A rock is a collection of minerals. Imagine a rock that
becomes so hot it melts. Many minerals start out in liquids
that are hot enough to melt rocks. Magma is melted rock
inside Earth, a molten mixture of substances that can be
hotter than 1,000oC. Magma cools slowly inside Earth,
which gives mineral crystals time to grow large enough to
be seen clearly.
• Granite is rock that forms from slowly cooled magma,
containing the minerals quartz (clear), plagioclase feldspar
(shiny white), potassium feldspar (pink), and biotite
(black).
2. Formation from Solutions
• Water on Earth, such as the water in the oceans, contains
chemical elements mixed into a solution. Various
processes can cause these elements to combine to form
solid mineral deposits.
3. Minerals from Salt Water
• When water evaporates, it leaves behind a solid
precipitate of minerals.
• Water can only hold a certain amount of dissolved
minerals and salts. When the amount is too great to stay
dissolved in the water, the particles come together to form
mineral solids, which sink. Halite easily precipitates out of
water, as does calcite.
• Some lakes, such as Mono Lake in California or The Great
Salt Lake in Utah, contain many mineral precipitates.
4. Minerals from Hot Underground Water
• Magma heats nearby underground water, which reacts
with the rocks around it to pick up dissolved particles. As
the water flows through open spaces in the rock and cools,
it deposits solid minerals. The mineral deposits that form
when a mineral fills cracks in rocks are called veins.
• Quartz veins formed in this rock.
• When minerals are deposited in open spaces, large
crystals form.
• Amethyst formed when large crystals grew in open spaces
inside the rock. These special rocks are called geodes.
5. Minerals can also form in several other ways:
i. Precipitation from aqueous solution (i.e., from hot water
flowing underground, from evaporation of a lake or inland
sea, or in some cases, directly from seawater)
ii. Precipitation from gaseous emanations (e.g., in volcanic
regions)
iii. Metamorphism — formation of new minerals directly from
the elements within existing minerals under conditions of
elevated temperature and pressure.
iv. Weathering — during which minerals unstable at Earth’s
surface may be altered to other minerals.
v. Organic formation — formation of minerals within shells
(primarily calcite) and teeth and bones (primarily apatite)
by organisms (these organically formed minerals are still
called minerals because they can also form inorganically).
Environments
The environments of mineral formation geologically are highly varied;
within the earth’s crust, different temperatures and depths result in
varied minerals and on earth’s surface, low temperature lead to
precipitation from saline brine (slightly salty water).
i. Endogenetic (hypogene) – Deep seated processes in the
interior of the earth.
ii. Exogenetic (hypergene) – Surface processes (at or near the
earth’s surface as well as in the atmosphere and hydrosphere)
In geologic environments where mineral formation is taking place, the
kinds of minerals that for, depend on various factors such as:
o Temperature
o Pressure
o The chemical activity of water present
o The mobility and relative abundance of chemical element.
The mineral formed is defined by two fundamental properties.
i. Crystal Structure – The geometric arrangement of the ions
(atoms) composing the minerals.
ii. Chemical Composition – The proportions of different
chemical elements contained.
Coal
• Coal is one of the fuels used to cook food. Earlier, it was used
in railway engines to produce steam to run the engine. It is also
used in thermal power plants to produce electricity. Coal is also
used as a fuel in various industries.
• As coal contains mainly carbon, the slow process of conversion
of dead vegetation into coal is called carbonization. Since it
was formed from the remains of vegetation, coal is also called
a fossil fuel.
 • When heated in air, coal burns and produces mainly carbon
dioxide gas.Coal is processed in industry to get some useful
products such as coke, coal tar and coal gas.

Coke

• It is a tough, porous and black substance. It is an almost pure

form of carbon. Coke is used in the manufacture of steel and in
the extraction of many metals.

Coal Tar

• It is a black, thick liquid with an unpleasant smell. It is a mixture

of about 200 substances. Products obtained from coal tar are
used as starting materials for manufacturing various
substances used in everyday life and in industry, like synthetic
dyes, drugs, explosives, perfumes, plastics, paints,
photographic materials, roofing materials, etc.

Petroleum

• Petrol and diesel are obtained from a natural resource called

petroleum. The word petroleum is derived from petra (rock)
and oleum (oil) as it is mined from between the rocks under
Earth.
• Petroleum was formed from organisms living in the sea. As
these organisms died, their bodies settled at the bottom of the
sea and got covered with layers of sand and clay. Over
millions of years, absence of air, high temperature and high
pressure transformed the dead organisms into petroleum and
natural gas.

Origin and Occurrence of Petroleum in India

Petroleum has an organic origin and is found in sedimentary basins,

shallow depressions and in the seas (past and present). Most of the
oil reserves in India are associated with anticlines and fault traps in
the sedimentary rock formations of tertiary times, about 3 million
years ago. Some recent sediment, less than one million years also
show evidence of incipient oil.

As already mentioned, oil as well as natural gas in India occur in

sedimentary rocks. About 14.1 lakh sq km or about 42 per cent of
the total area of the country is covered with sedimentary rocks out
of which about 10 lakh sq km form marine basins of Mesozoic and
Tertiary times.

India was a very insignificant producer of petroleum at the time of

Independence and remained so till Mumbai High started production
on a large scale. In fact, off-shore production did not start till the mid
1970s and the entire production was received from on-shore oil
fields.