MINERALO

GY

MODULE #5
 01
MINERALO
GY
Mineralogy - is the scientific discipline that
is concerned with all aspects of minerals,
including their physical properties, chemical
composition, internal crystal structure, and
occurrence and distribution in nature and
their origins in terms of physiochemical
conditions of formation.
 02
ASPECTS OF
MINERALO
GY
 Physical Mineralogy - is the study
of physical properties of minerals,
such as cohesion cleavage, elasticity,
color, luster, streak, hardness, and
average density.
Chemical Mineralogy - is
the study of chemical
formula and chemical
properties of the minerals.
Environmental Mineralogy- studies
complex and very different
conditions of the origin of minerals,
understand element behavior in
ecosystems, natural and industrial
effects of minerals, and mitigates
potential contamination problems.
 Economic Mineralogy- is broader,
and includes minerals, metals, rocks
and hydrocarbons (solid and liquid)
that are extracted from the earth by
mining, quarrying and pumping.
Descriptive Mineralogy- deals with
the classification of minerals into
groups based on their common
properties, mostly chemical and
structural properties.
 Crystallography- studies of crystal
forms in which the mineral
crystallize, as well as their internal
structure, relations and distribution
of atoms, ions or ionic groups in the
crystal lattice.
 03
MINERALS
MIneral is a naturally occurring
inorganic substances which has a
definite chemical composition,
normally uniform throughout its
volume.
Minerals are naturally occurring
homogeneous (one that can be divided
into repeating units that are exactly the
same) solid chemical substances.
 04
CRYSTALLOGRAPH
Y
A mineral specimen, in occasional circumstances, forms a
single crystal or cluster of crystals. The study of this regularity
of form and of the internal structure of the mineral to which it
is related, is called crystallography.
 05
PHYSICAL
PROPERTIES OF
MINERALS
COLOR
In mineralogy, color is one of the
primary diagnostic properties of
natural compounds of great
importance in geological prospecting
for the identification of minerals.
STREAK
The streak also called
“POWDER COLOR” of a
mineral is the color of the
powder produced when it is
dragged across an un-weathered
surface.
HARDNESS
Hardness is measured by the
resistance which a smooth surface
offers to abrasion. The degree of
hardness is determined by
observing the comparative ease or
difficulty which one mineral is
scratched by another
THE MOHS SCALE of mineral
hardness is a qualitative ordinal
scale characterizing scratch
resistance of various mineral
through the ability of harder
material to scratch softer
material. Created in 1812 by
German geologist and
mineralogist Friedrich Mohs.
The hardest natural mineral in the
world is LONSDALEITE, a rare
mineral made of carbon atoms. This
mineral can withstand up to 58% more
stress than diamond.
CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE is
the basic arrangement or base
orientation of solid material.
Cleavage and Fracture
Cleavage is the tendency of a crystal to
break along smooth, flat planes of
structural weakness. A cleavage plane is
always parallel to a crystal face.
PARTING is the separation of
lamellae in a crystallized mineral,
not due to cleavage. Cleavage is
due to a structural weakness
between lattice planes in the crystal
while parting.
FRACTURE is the tendency of a
mineral to break along the curved
surface with a irregular shapes.
DIAPHANEITY OR
TRANSPARENCY
The Diaphaneity of a mineral
describes the ability of light to pass
through it. Transparent minerals do
not diminish the intensity of light
passing through them. An example
of a transparent mineral is
muscovite (potassium mica) some
varieties are sufficiently clear to
have been used for windows.
TENACITY
Tenacity describes the reaction of a
mineral to stress such as crushing,
bending, breaking, or tearing.
DIFFERENT FORMS OF
TENACITY:
● BRITTLE - if a mineral is
hammered and the result is a
powder or small crumbs, it is
considered brittle.
● SECTILE - Sectile minerals
can be separated with a knife,
much like wax but usually
not as soft.
● MALLEABLE- if a mineral
can be flattened by pounding
with a hammer, it is
malleable.
● DUCTILE - A mineral that can MAGNETISM - Magnetism occurs
be stretched into a wire is (most often) when there is an imbalance
ductile. in the structural arrangement of the iron
● Flexible but inelastic - Any ions. Ions is found in two principle ionic
mineral that can be bent, but states called ferrous and ferric ions.
remains in the new position
after it is bent is flexible but
inelastic.
● FLEXIBLE AND ELASTIC -
When flexible and elastic
minerals are bent, they spring
back to their original position.
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF
MINERALS:
● FERROMAGNETISM -
describes strong attraction to
magnetic fields.
● PARAMAGNETISM - is a
weak attraction to magnetic
fields.
● DIAMAGNETISM - only one
mineral, Bismuth, is
diamagnetic, meaning it is
repelled from magnetic fields.
LUSTER
Luster describes how a mineral appears
to reflects light, and how brilliant or dull
the mineral is.
THE TERMS USED TO DESCRIBE
LUSTER ARE:
● METALLIC - minerals with a
metallic luster are opaque and
reflective like metal.
● SUBMETALLIC - describes a
mineral that is opaque to nearly
opaque and reflects well.
● VITREOUS - this luster
accounts for roughly 70% of all
minerals. Minerals with a
vitreous luster have reflective
properties similar to glass.
● ADAMANTINE - transparent
to translucent minerals with a
high refractive index yield an
adamantine luster, meaning
they display extraordinary
brilliance and shine.
● RESINOUS - this is the luster of
many yellow, dark orange or brown
minerals with moderately high
refractive indices - honey like, but
not necessarily the same color.
● SILKY - a silky luster is the result of
a mineral having fine fibrous
structure.
● PEARLY - describes a luster similar
to the inside of a mollusk shield or
shirt button. Some minerals may
exhibit a pearly luster on cleaved
crystal surfaces parallel and below
reflecting surface of a mineral.
● GREASY - luster of a mineral ● DULL - this luster defined minerals
with poor reflective qualities, much
that appears as if it were coated
like unglazed porcelain. Most
with grease. minerals with a dull luster have a
● PITCHY - minerals with a tar- rough or porous surface.
like appearance have a pitchy
luster. Minerals with a pitchy
luster are usually radioactive
and have gone through the
process of metamiction.
● Waxy - a waxy luster describes
a mineral that appears as if it
were coated with a layer of
wax.

ODOR
Several minerals give off a
distinctive odor in certain
conditions, especially when
the minerals is heated.
TASTE
Taste is not the first (or possibly
even the last) property someone
would associate with minerals.
Taste is sometimes a very good
characteristic and a key to
identification in some cases. The
most commonly “tasted” mineral
is halite or rock salt.
SPEICIFIC GRAVITY
Specific Gravity also known as SG,
is a measurement that determines
the density of minerals. Two
minerals may be the same size, but
their weight may be very different.
The specific gravity of a mineral
determines how heavy it is by its
relative weight to water.
OSMIUM
Is perhaps the descent naturally
occurring element on the Earth,
which belongs to the precious
platinum group of metals. It has
a specific gravity of 22.6.
Whereas LITHIUM is the least
dense mineral on Earth with a
specific gravity of 0.534.
 06
ROCK FORMING
MINERALS
These are any mineral that forms igneous, sedimentary, or
metamorphic rocks and that typically, or solely, forms as an
intimate part of rock-making process. In contrast are those
minerals that have a limited mode of occurrence or are formed
by more unusual processes, such as the ores of metals, vein,
minerals, and cavity fillings.
 07
ENGINEERING
SIGNIFICANCE OF
ROCKS
It is important to know the properties of rocks
precisely to enable them to consider different rocks
for any required purpose. All properties of rock are,
in turn, depended on the properties of their
constituent materials. Thus, properties of civil
engineering importance such as their strength,
durability , and appearance of rocks can be
assessed only with the knowledge of the minerals
that form rocks.