Mineral Properties, Uses, and

Identification

ESC 1000
 Minerals
A solid inorganic substance of natural occurrence.
These are the five things that define a mineral:
• Inorganic
• Naturally Occurring
• Solid
• Definite Crystalline Structure
• Definite Chemical Composition

How many minerals are there???

 Physical Properties
• Shape • Texture
• Luster • Magnetism
• Color • Specific Gravity
• Hardness • Taste
• Streak • Odor
• Cleavage • Effervesces with HCl
Note: there are more than this that will be very
important to your mineral identification skills should
you choose to take a mineral class later.
 Shape: Crystals vs. Granules
• Important : Most mineral specimens are
irregular grains, very few display their
characteristic crystal habit.
 Shape: Crystal Habit

Every mineral has a crystal form. The crystal form is the

shape that a will crystal take if it grows unimpeded.
 Luster: Metallic vs. Non-Metallic
• Luster: a reflective property of mineral
surfaces.
• Usually we begin by separating the Metallic
and Non-Metallic minerals.
• Minerals can be further divided into sub-
categories based on luster
• Important: Some minerals exhibit both
metallic and non-metallic properties.
 Luster: Metallic
There are two types of metallic minerals:
Metallic and Sub-Metallic.
 Luster: Non-Metallic
• Adamantine
• Resinous
• Glassy/Vitreous
• Pearly
• Greasy/Oily
• Silky
• Dull
• Earthy
 Color
• Wavelengths of visible light are absorbed or
reflected by the mineral
• Some minerals change color or have various
forms of different color
• Sometimes color is determined by trace
elements.
• You cannot rely on color when it comes to
mineral identification.
Hardness
 Streak

Color of a powdered mineral which is tested by

rubbing the mineral across a porcelain streak
plate.
 Breakage
Cleavage: Tendency of
a mineral to break
along flat planes of
weaker bonding.
• Cleavage Planes 0+
Fracture: Cleavage is
absent and mineral
breaks irregularly
 Cleavage
The ability of a mineral to
break or come apart in a
consistent way
• breakage is along atomic
planes
• cleavage is consistent
with crystal symmetry
and may be one to multi-
directional from one
mineral to another.
 Fracture
Describes the inability
of a mineral to break in
a consistent way and
therefore not along
cleavage planes

Conchoidal- a smooth,
curved breakage in all
directions
 Other Physical Properties
Magnetism: Some minerals are magnetic. This ranges
from weakly to strongly magnetic.
Specific Gravity: The specific gravity of a material is a
comparison of its weight with the weight of an equal
volume of water. Specific gravity measures the density of a
material.
Taste: Some minerals exhibit a specific taste.
(i.e. Halite and Sylvite)
Odor
Effervesces with HCl: Fizz or give off bubbles.
 Activities
• 1.1: 2, 3, 4
• 1.2: 1
• 1.6: 1, 2
• Identification