Sumeena K J

2018-11-109
Dept. Of soil science and
Agricultural chemitry
Minerals
 A mineral is a naturally occurring homogeneous solid
with a definite chemical composition and ordered
atomic arrangement formed usually by inorganic
processes.
 A mineral satisfies all four of the following criteria:
• It is a naturally occurring substance;
• It is an inorganic substance;
• It has an orderly internal structure, and;
• It has a fixed, (or uniformly variable) chemical
composition.
 Minerals that are original components of rocks are called
primary minerals. (feldspar, mica, etc.).
 Minerals that are formed from changes in primary
minerals and rocks are called secondary minerals (clay
minerals).
 Those minerals that are chief constituents of rocks
are called as essential minerals (Feldspars, pyroxenes
micas etc) and those which are present in small
quantities, whose presence or absence will not alter the
properties of rocks are called accessory minerals
(tourmaline, magnetite etc).
Relative occurrence of minerals in soil
Classification of minerals based on
different parameters
 1. Based on amount present
Essential minerals
Accessory minerals

Essential minerals
They form major parts of rocks .
present in quantities varying from 95-98%
eg : calcite, silicate minerals
Accessory minerals
 Those primary minerals which occur only in very
small but significant quantities (2-5%)
Apatite
These are the group of phosphate minerals with similar
chemical compostions and physical properties.
 Individual Apatite minerals are:
Fluorapatite - Ca5(PO4)3F
Chlorapatite - Ca5(PO4)3Cl
Hydroxylapatite - Ca5(PO4)3OH
 Apatite is best known for its use as an index mineral
with a hardness of 5 in the Mohs Hardness Scale. It is
usually green in color, but can be yellow, brown, blue,
purple, pink, or colorless.
 Apatite is a brittle material. It breaks by both fracture
and cleavage, but the cleavage is generally indistinct.
Hexagonal apatite crystals are sometimes found
in igneous and metamorphic rocks.
Tourmaline -Earth's most colorful mineral
 "Tourmaline" is the name of a large group of boron
silicate minerals.
 Tourmaline is a complex boron silicate mineral with a
generalized chemical composition of:
XY3Z6(T6O18)(BO3)3V3W
 Letters in the formula above represent positions in the atomic
structure of tourmaline that can be occupied by ions listed
below.
 X = Ca, Na, K, [] ([] = vacancy)
 Y = Li, Mg, Fe+2, Fe+3, Mn+2, Al, Cr+3, V+3
 Z = Mg, Al, Fe+3, V+3, Cr+3
 T = Si, Al, B
 V = OH, O
 W = OH, F, O
 The wide range of compositions and color zoning within
crystals causes tourmaline to occur in more colors and
color combinations than any other mineral group.
 The most common occurrence of tourmaline is as an
accessory mineral in igneous and metamorphic rocks.
It often occurs as millimeter-size crystals scattered
through granite, pegmatite, and gneiss.
Epidote
 The "Epidote Group" is the name of a group of silicate
minerals that share common structural and
compositional characteristics;
 Epidote is a silicate mineral that is commonly
found in regionally metamorphosed rocks of
low-to-moderate grade.
 In these rocks, epidote is often associated with
amphiboles, feldspars, quartz, and chlorite.
 Epidote has a chemical composition of
Ca2(Al2,Fe)(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH).
 Members of the epidote mineral group have a crystal
structure that consists of isolated and paired silica
tetrahedrons. They share a generalized chemical
composition of A2M3(Si2O7)(SiO4)O(OH).
 "A" is a pairing of calcium, manganese, strontium,
lead, or sometimes a rare earth element.
 "M" is usually aluminum pairing with iron,
magnesium, manganese, or vanadium.
 2. Based on mode of origin
Primary minerals
Secondary minerals

Primary minerals
they are inherited from the parent rocks , make
up the main part of the sand and silt fractions of soil
and formed of elevated temperature.
Eg. Micas, hornblende, quartz
Secondary minerals
Formed by low temperature reactions and inherited by soils
from sedimentary rocks or formed in soils by weathering
Eg. Serpentine , clay minerals
 Based on specific gravity
light minerals
heavy minerals

light minerals
having specific gravity < 2.85
eg. Quartz - 2.6
feldspar - 2.65
muscovite – 2.5-2.75
Heavy minerals
having specific gravity > 2.85
eg. Hematite - 5.3
pyrite - 5.0
limonite - 3.8
olivine - 3.5
 Based on chemical composition
Native elements
( eg. Graphite, sulphur, gold, copper etc)
Oxides and Hydroxides
( eg. Quartz (SiO2) , hematite (Fe2O3))
Sulphur bearing minerals
Sulphate bearing (eg. gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O)
Sulphide bearing (eg. Pyrite)
Carbonate bearing minerals (eg.calcite CaCO3)
Halides (eg. Rock salt)
Silicates (eg. Orthoclase , micas, olivine etc)
Physical properties of minerals
1. Color
2. Streak
3. Fracture/ cleavage
4. Hardness
5. Luster
6. Crystal form
7. Taste
8. Specific gravity
9. Effervescence (fizz)
10. Fluorescence
Color
 Denotes the natural colour of the mineral
 The most obvious, but least reliable.
 Calcite has more colours
 Sulfur and Pyrite have same colour
Streak
 Refers to the colour of the powder form of the mineral
When an unknown mineral is rubbed against a piece
of unglazed porcelain (streak plate) it produces a
colored line.
 Hematite - red
 Magnetite - Black
 Talc - white
Fracture
 These terms describe the way a mineral breaks.
Fracture is the nature of the surface produced as a
result of its breakage or the irregular breaking of
crystal.
 Conchoidal - curved surface
 Uneven - Uneven surface
 Hackly - Jagged surface
 Earthy - Like chalk
 Even - Smooth
Cleavage
 It is the tendancy to break
 Some minerals break along certain well defined planes
called cleavage planes.
 Gypsum - 1 set
 Calcite - 2 sets
 Flourite - 3 sets
Hardness
 Hardness It is a measure of the relative ability of a
mineral to resist scratching (breaking of lattice
structure). The stronger the binding force between the
atoms, the harder the mineral.
Luster
 Appearance
 The way a mineral reflects light Metallic (Magnetite);
sub-metallic, Vitreous (Opal), Resinous(Pyrite),
Pearly, Adamentine (Diamond), silky (Asbestos) and
greasy.
Crystal form
 Crystal structure is the result of regular grouping of atoms
that are homogeneous. A crystal is a polyhedral form,
which means it is a geometric solid. It has a specific set of
faces, corners and edges, which is consistent with the
geometric packing of the atoms
 There are 6 basic crystal forms
1. Isometric
2. Tetragonal
3. Hexagonal
4. Orthorhombic
5. Monoclinic
6. Triclinic
 Taste
This property is used to identify the mineral halite (salt)
 Specific Gravity
This characteristic relates to the minerals density. If the
mineral is heavy for its size , then it has a high specific gravity
 Effervescence
When some minerals are exposed to acids, they begin to
fizz (calcite).
 Fluorescence
Some minerals display the phenomenon of
photoluminescence. They "glow" when exposed to UV light.
Opal and Fluorite.
Thank you