MINERALS

What is the definition of a

mineral?
To be considered a mineral something must be…. MINERALS VS ROCKS
❖ naturally occurring
❖ Inorganic – it does not form ❖ Minerals are building
from the remains of living
organisms blocks of rocks
❖ Solid
❖ Ordered Crsytal structure ❖ While rocks are solid
❖ Definite chemical composition – aggregate of minerals
minerals can be made of
elements or compounds

Naturally Occurring
❖ Mineral must occur naturally on earth
❖ Gold, copper, silver, graphite
Inorganic
❖ The mineral cannot rise from materials that
were once part of a living
❖ Coal occurs naturally in the Earth’s crust, but it
comes from the remains of plants and animals
that lived million years ago

Solid
❖ A mineral is always solid, with
a definite volume and shape
Definite Chemical
Composition
❖ A mineral always contains certain
elements in definite proportions
- examples, the mineral of
quartz has one atom of silicon for
every two atoms of oxygen
Crystal Structure
❖ The particles of a mineral line
up in a pattern that repeats
over and over again.
❖ A crystal has flat sides, called
faces, that meet at sharp
edges
 Composition
of
Minerals

Silicate mineral
Any of a large group of silicon-oxygen compounds that are widely
distributed throughout much of the solar system.
 Oxide
mineral

❖ includes those
minerals in
which the oxide
anion (O ) is
bonded to one
or more metal
alloys.
 Sulfide
mineral
❖ any member
of a group of
compounds of
sulfur with
one or more
metals.
 The group of sulphates
❖ correspond to sulphuric acid, H2SO4.
❖ In the list of sulphate minerals, there are metals in place of the hydrogen of the acid;
❖ they are to be distinguished from sulphides, which contain no oxygen, but are made up of
sulphur and metals.
 Halide mineral
❖ any of a group of naturally occurring inorganic compounds that are salts
of the halogen acids (e.g., hydrochloric acid).
❖ Such compounds, with the notable exceptions of halite (rock
salt), sylvite, and fluorite, are rare and of very local occurrence.
 Carbonate mineral

❖ any member of a family

of minerals that contain
the carbonate ion, CO32-, as
the basic structural and
compositional unit.
❖ The carbonates are among
the most widely
distributed minerals in the
Earth’s crust.
 Native element
minerals
❖ are those elements that
occur in nature in
uncombined form with a
distinct mineral
structure.
❖ The elemental class
includes metals and
intermetallic elements,
metalloids, and
nonmetals.
Color

❖ While color can be an identifying

factor in some types of minerals,
this property is often not useful
for identifying minerals.

❖ This is because small amounts of

different elements can give the
same mineral different colors.
Streak
❖ Streak is the color of a mineral in it’s
powdered form
❖ Streak is obtained by rubbing a mineral
across a streak plate, a piece of
unglazed porcelain.
❖ While the color of a mineral may vary
from sample to sample, the streak
usually doesn’t vary.
❖ Therefore streak can be a good
indicator to differentiate between
mineral groups.
Luster

❖ Luster is used to describe how light is

reflected from the surface of a mineral
❖ Minerals that have the appearance of
metals, regardless of their color, are said
to have a metallic luster.
❖ Minerals with nonmetallic lusters are
described by a variety of names: vitreous ❖ Examples of only a few of the
or glassy, pearly, silky, earthy, brilliant. different lusters that can be seen
❖ Materials that fall in between can be said in minerals.
to have a sub-metallic luster Metallic ❖ Galena (left) has a metallic luster,
lusters Glassy translucent luster ❖ amber (middle) is resinous,
❖ quartz (right) is glassy.
Crystal Form
❖ Crystal Form is the visible expression
of a mineral’s internal arrangement of
atoms.
❖ Every mineral has a crystal form
based off one of six distinct crystal
systems
❖ Usually, when a mineral forms slowly
and without space restrictions, it will
develop into a crystal with
well-formed sides.
❖ When the mineral is crowded in it’s
growth however, it results in an
intergrown mass of smaller crystals.
 Crystal Form
and Habit
❖ Some minerals have
a definite chemical
composition, it forms
a definite structure
which crystallizes in a
specific crystal form
❖ Habit is the outward
appearance of the
mineral’s crystal
form.
Hardness
� Hardness is one of the most useful
properties used to differentiate between
mineral groups
� Hardness is the measure of resistance of a
mineral to being scratched.
� The harder the mineral, the less likely it can
be scratched.
�To test for hardness, you can rub a mineral
against a mineral with a known hardness.
� Scientists use a standard hardness scale
called a Mohs Scale.
� A Mohs Scale consists of 10 minerals
arranged from 10 (hardest) to 1 (softest).
Cleavage
� In the atomic structure of a mineral,
some bonds are weaker than others.
� These weak bonds are places where a
mineral will break when stress is applied.
� Cleavage is the tendency of a mineral to
break, or cleave, along flat, even surfaces.
� Minerals called Micas show the simplest
cleavages; breaking into thin flat sheets
� Quartz, on the other hand, has no
cleavage but fractures instead.
� Some minerals have cleavage in more
than one direction.
Fracture
� Minerals that do not show
cleavage when stressed are said to
fracture
� Fracture is the uneven breakage
of a mineral.
� Quartz shows a curved scalloped
fracture called a conchoidal fracture
� Other minerals, like asbestos,
break into splinters or fibers when
stressed.
� Many minerals have an irregular
fracture.
Density
❖ The density of a pure element has a
constant unchanging value.
❖ Thus density can be used to
determine the purity or identity of
The density of water, 1 g/cm3
some minerals.
❖ The density of minerals varies
widely from about
1.01 g/cm3 to about 17.5 g/cm3.
❖ Specific gravity – is a measure of the
density of a mineral

pure gold, pure iron,

19.3 g/cm3 7.6 g/cm3
Corundum
❖ is a rock-forming mineral
that is found in igneous,
metamorphic, and
sedimentary rocks.
❖ It is an aluminum oxide with
a chemical composition of
Al2 O3 and a member of the
trigonal crystal system.
Chemical ❖ Corundum has historically been used as an
Classification: Oxide abrasive, but it is most famous as the mineral
Diaphaneity: Transparent to of ruby and sapphire.
translucent ❖ They are used to make industrial bearings,
Luster: Adamantine to scratch-resistant windows for electronic
vitreous instruments, wafers for circuit boards, and many
Streak: Colorless (harder than other products.
the streak plate)
 GOLD METALLIC MINERALS
❖ Metallic minerals are minerals that contain
metals their chemical formula
❖ They have a shine of their own.
❖ They are associated with igneous and
metamorphic rocks.
❖ They are quite ductile.
❖ They can be extracted by melting the metallic
minerals.
❖ Metallic resources are things like Gold, Silver,
Tin, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Iron, Nickel,
Chromium, and Aluminum.
Limestones
NON-METALLIC MINERALS
❖ Non-metallic minerals are minerals that do not
contain any metal elements in their compounds.
❖ They do not have shine of their own
❖ They are associated with sedimentary rocks.
❖ They are not ductile and can be broken upon a
collision.
❖ They do not yield new products upon melting.
❖ Nonmetallic resources are things like sand, gravel,
gypsum, halite, Uranium, limestone.
Abundance of Elements
 What is the difference between a rock, mineral and ore?

A rock is a mixture of minerals

A minerals is a any solid element or

compound formed naturally within
the Earth’s crust.

A minerals Ore is a mineral which contains enough metal to

make it worth while extracting the metal from earth.
 What is the difference between Ore
and Mineral?
• Ore contains minerals.
• All ores are minerals, but not all minerals are ores.
• Ores are mineral deposits whereas mineral is a native form in
which metals exist.
• Ores are used to extract metals economically. Therefore, in ores,
large amount of metals are present.
• Ores can be defined as of economical importance whereas
minerals are more of scientific importance.
Examples of an Ore
Stunning Fluorite from Denton
Mine, Cave-in-Rock, Hardin
County, Illinois, USA

Chalcopyrite covering
chalcocite from Daye mine,
China.

Examples of
Minerals
Amazing Azurite found in
Bisbee Arizona!

Wulfenite and mimetite - Mexico

 MINING
❖
ORES
If an ore is found to be profitable, it will probably be mined.
❖ The ores are extracted from the earth through mining;
❖ They are then refined (often via smelting) to extract the valuable
element, or elements.

Two major types of mining:

Surface mining
❖ allows extraction of ores that are close to Earth’s surface
Underground mining
❖ It is used to recover ores that are deeper into Earth’s
surface.