LESSON 2

Minerals: Building blocks of rocks

LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Identify common rock-forming minerals using their physical and chemical properties;
and
 Discuss the origin and formation of common minerals.

CONTENT

Origin and Formation of Minerals

Geologist Frank Christopher Hawthorne (2010) defines minerals as “solid, naturally

occurring chemical elements or compounds that are homogenous, meaning they have a
definite chemical composition and a very regular arrangement of atoms.” The composition of
minerals are the chemical elements listed on the periodic table. The International Association of
Mineralogy has identified more than 4, 000 types of minerals which come in different shapes,
colors and texture. Some are very common with great usefulness and some are rare and
expensive.
Minerals are defined as naturally occurring inorganic crystalline solid with definite
chemical compositions. Commercially or industrially produced are not true minerals such as
synthetic ruby or sapphire. Seashells, coral reefs, bones and teeth are made of minerals. There
are many different types of minerals and each type is made of particular groups of atoms. The
atoms are arranged in network called a crystal lattice. The lattice of atoms is what gives a
mineral a crystal shape. This description of minerals shows five important properties of minerals:
naturally occurring, inorganic, solid, posses an internal structure, and definite chemical
composition. However, these minerals are the results of organic processes. Crystalline solid has
atoms arranged in a geometric pattern.
The process of mineral formation is known as crystallization. The two most common
mechanisms for mineral formation are: precipitation from saline solution and cooling. The first
mechanism involves the evaporation of seawater which leads to the precipitation of the
minerals. Magmas and lavas cool and crystallize to form minerals.
Every mineral is a crystal because of its crystalline structure. A crystal is any solid element
or compound whose atoms are arranged in a regular pattern. Different types of minerals have
different crystal shapes. Most minerals can grow into crystal shapes if they have enough space
as they grow. But there are often so many different crystals growing in the same little area that
they all compete for space and none of the crystals is able to grow very large. There are two
main ways that new crystals of minerals grow. Some minerals form when molten rock, called
magma below a planet’s surface and lave above, cools and atoms bond together into mineral
crystals. Other minerals form when water that has atoms of dissolved elements in it, evaporates
away. The atoms get very close to each other and may bond together to form solid minerals.
Minerals are naturally occurring because they are formed through natural process within
the earth, including volcanic eruptions, precipitation of a solid out of a liquid, and weathering of
pre-existing minerals. A synthetic diamond may look identical to a natural process. Ceramics,
plastics and other substances even with a specific chemical compositions and structure but
synthesized by manufactures cannot be considered a true mineral.
All minerals are solids. Liquids and gases are not considered minerals because their
structure is constantly changing. They do not have characteristic crystal structure. Minerals are
inorganic substances. Inorganic compounds are substances that do not contain carbon-
hydrogen bonds. Leaves, bones, peat, shell or soft animal tissue are not considered minerals
because they are produced through organic activity. Fossils, although they were once living,
have generally had their living tissues completely replaced by inorganic processes after burial;
thus, they are considered to be composed of minerals. On the other hand, there are some
materials produced by organisms but are considered inorganic. An example is a limestone. It is
composed of the shells of dead corals, clams and other marine organisms. Shells contain calcite
which is a mineral.
Minerals have specific chemical composition. Substances with definite chemical
composition are either made up of one kind of atom or two or more kinds of atoms combined in
a definite proportion. This means that minerals may exist as either an element or chemical
compounds. Most minerals exist as compounds expressed using a chemical formula. Example is
a halite with a chemical formula of NaCl. A few minerals, such as gold and silver, consist only of
one element. They are represented by the chemical symbol of the element.

Chemical Properties of Minerals

Minerals can be identified according to its chemical composition:
Native minerals. Minerals composed of one kind element. They are in the purest and
uncombined forms. These substances are usually good conductors of heat and
electricity. They are typically malleable, ductile and metallic luster. Common examples
include gold, copper, lead and silver.
Native semimetal minerals. These minerals are easily broken than metals and have a
lower conductivity of the heat and the electricity. Examples are arsenic, antimony and
bismuth.
Native non-metallic minerals. These minerals are generally brittle, sometimes they are
clear as crystal, and do not conduct heat and electricity. Common important examples
of this group of minerals includes sulfur and phosphorous.
Compound minerals. This group of minerals is composed of two or more elements that
are chemically bonded. The characteristics of a compound mineral differ from its
component elements.
Examples are:
a. Sulfides- these are compound minerals that are composed of different metals bonded
with sulfur,
b. Oxides- these minerals are composed of a metal in combination with oxygen.
c. Halides- these are minerals made up of metals and halogens such as chlorine, fluorine,
bromine or iodine.
d. Carbonates- these are minerals containing a carbonate group.
e. Phosphates- these are minerals having a phosphate group.
f. Sulfates- these are minerals containing a sulfate group.
g. Silicates- these are minerals with silicon and oxygen. This group is the largest type of
mineral in our surface.
Physical Properties of Minerals
There are two important properties than can distinguish one mineral from the other-
chemical composition and crystal structure. However, these two properties can only be
determined by analyzing the mineral in the laboratory. Such as analysis is expensive and time
consuming. Geologists identify minerals by their physical properties. Most minerals have distinct
appearances that can be used to recognize them. These properties are color, hardness, luster,
crystal forms, specific gravity, streak, fracture and cleavage.

Color is the most obvious property of a mineral. This property is often used in mineral’s
identification. However, this can be unreliable because the presence of impurities and
imperfections in crystal structures may alter the real color of the minerals. For example,
the quartz which can be clear, smoky, pink, purple, or yellow as a result of impurities. The
presence of some elements may also produce different colors in minerals. Corundum for
example, a normally cloudy, translucent blue or brown mineral, becomes beautiful clear
gem known as ruby with the addition of small amount of chromium. When a small
amount of iron or titanium is added to it, corundum becomes striking blue gem called
sapphire. This makes it difficult to solely use color to identify a mineral.
Streak is a property of mineral attributed to the color of the mineral in the powder form.
The mineral is rubbed across a streak plate which is a piece of unglazed porcelain called
a streak plate. For most minerals the streak is not the same as the color of a solid lump of
the mineral. For example, iron pyrite is brass yellow, but their streak is always greenish-
black. Although the color of the mineral may vary greatly, its streak does not, thus streak
is more reliable for identification than the color of the mineral itself. For instance, the
mineral hematite or iron oxide appear, as either dull red mineral or a shin black form but
both leave the same streak which is red. Hematite has different color but its streak is
always reddish brown.
Crystal form refers to the characteristic shape of an individual crystal. It is also defined by
the angular relationships between crystal faces. The crystal symmetry (regularity of form)
of mineral can be classified as cubic (e.g. galena), tetragonal (e.g. zircon), hexagonal
(e.g. quartz), orthorhombic (e.g. staurolite), monoclinic (e.g. mica) and triclinic (e.g.
feldspar).
Hardness is the fundamental property of the mineral because it is easily measured. It is
related to the strength of the chemical bond between atoms that make up the mineral.
The chemical bond is responsible for the resistance of the mineral to scratching. There
are two general tests for hardness: scratch test and Mohs hardness scale. Scratch test is
done by scratching a mineral using an object with known hardness scale. If the mineral is
scratched, it is harder than the object. Mohs hardness scale which is developed by
Friedrich Mohs (Austrian mineralogist) is a more accurate test. In the Mohs hardness scale,
1 is the softest and 10 is the hardest
 Mohs Hardness Scale
Minerals Hardness Scratch Test
Talc 1 Fingernail scratches it easily.
Gypsum 2 Fingernail scratches it.
Calcite 3 Copper penny scratches it.
Fluorite 4 Steel knife scratches it easily.
Apatite 5 Steel knife scratches it.
Feldspar 6 Steel knife does not scratch it; it scratches
window glass easily.
Quartz 7 Hardest common mineral. It scratches steel and
hard glass easily.
Topaz 8 Harder than any common mineral.
Corundum 9 It scratches topaz.
Diamond 10 Hardest of all minerals; scratches all common
minerals.

Luster is the property of the mineral which is attributed to the manner by which mineral
reflects light. Mineral has a metallic luster when it reflects most of the light hitting its
surfaces. On the other hand, non-metallic minerals can be described as vitreous or
glassy- like quartz, pearly- like pearl, earthly and resinous or waxy-like ore of zinc.
Cleavage refers to the tendency of some minerals to break along flat surfaces due to
weak chemical bond. The quality of the cleavage varies with the strength of the
chemical bond. Most minerals contain inherent weaknesses within their atomic structures.
The surfaces are the planes of weak bonds in the crystal. The quality of the cleavage
varies with the strength of the bond. For example, mica slits very easily in the same
direction and is said to have one perfect cleavage. Feldspar on the other hand splits in
two different directions, at or near right angles, and is said to have two good cleavages.
There are even those that cleave in three directions. Some minerals like quartz have no
cleavage because they have no planes of weak bond. The number of cleavage planes,
the quality of cleavage, and the angles between cleavage planes are the bases for
identifying minerals.

Classification of Minerals
There is great number of known minerals. There are more than 3500 of them that make
up the earth’s crust. These minerals are classified into different groups.
Silicate minerals. Silicates are the most commonly found group of minerals in the earth’s
crust. This makes up about 92% of earth’s crust. They have silicon and oxygen as their
primary components. Silicon and oxygen are the two most abundant elements in the
crust, thus, explains why silicates are the largest group of minerals on earth. Most silicate
minerals are formed by the cooling of molten rocks. As the molten rocks come closer to
 the surface inside the earth’s crust, they start cooling very fast and combine with the
most abundant element in the earth’s crust. This group includes quartz, feldspars, mica,
amphiboles, pyroxenes, and olivine among others.
Oxides. Oxides are minerals that have oxygen (O) as anion. They are mostly of metallic
elements. Together with silicates, oxides are the most common types of minerals in
volcanoes, especially after an eruption. They include magnetite, hematite, chromite,
cuprite and corundum.
Sulfides. Sulfide have S as anion. This group of minerals comprises an economically
important class of minerals. Most major ores of important metals such as copper, lead
and silver are sulfides. Most sulfides are metallic, opaque, soft to average in hardness
and have high densities, black or dark-colored streaks and cinnabar. This group includes
sphalerite, galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite, cinnabar, and bornite.
Sulfates. This mineral group has the sulfate ion (SO4) within its molecular structure. The
typical sulfate mineral is vitreous, average to above average in density, average in
hardness. It includes minerals like gypsum and barite.
Native elements. Many pure elements are found in the form of minerals in ores or mines.
For example, uncombined carbon is often found in its pure state in the form of graphite
or more rarely as diamond. Gold, silver and sulfur are other elements which are also
found in its pure state. Even though these are pure elements they qualify to be known as
minerals. Native elements include gold, silver, copper, nickel, zinc, lead, sulfur, diamond,
mercury, iron, platinum, arsenic, bismuth, antimony among others.
Halides. Halides are relatively small group of minerals, which have one of the halogens as
anions. Halogens are a special group of elements that usually have a charge of negative
one when chemically combined. The group includes halite (rock salt), fluorite among
others.
Carbonates. Carbonates are minerals which have CO3 as anion. They are formed when
a single carbonate ion reacts with a metal ion of complementing polarity. They are easy
to identify because they react to hydrochloric acid. It includes calcite, magnesite,
dolomite and among others.
Phosphates. Phosphates are minerals that have PO4 as anions. The typical phosphate is
vitreous to dull, often strongly colored, above average in density and average in
hardness. They tend to be colorful minerals. The group includes apatite, arsenite,
turquoise and among others.

Commercially Important Minerals

The following minerals are considered commercially important. They may not be as
abundant as others but are important especially in industries.
Ore minerals. Are minerals from which metals are usefully recovered. Few of the elements
are recovered as single element such as native gold and native silver.
Industrial minerals. Are not considered ore because they are mined purposely for
extraction of metals. For examples, halite are mined for table salt, gypsum for plaster and
sheetrock, apatite and other phosphorous minerals as sources of phosphate fertilizers,
limestone as raw materials of cement and native sulfur to be used for the manufacture of
sulfuric acid, insecticides, fertilizers and rubber.
Sources: Quinto, M. & Florida, J. (2017). Earth Science for Senior High School. Mutya
Publishing House, Inc.
Baleva, R. et al., (2017). Earth Science for Senior High School. Mutya Publishing House, Inc.