Minerals

and
Rocks
 Minerals are the basic
Mineral — a naturally building blocks of rocks.
occurring (not man-made
or machine generated),
inorganic (not a
byproduct of living things)
solid with an orderly
crystalline structure and a
definite chemical
composition
Mineral Name Halite (table salt)
Chemical composition Na Cl

Luster Non-metallic – vitreous; transparent to translucent

Hardness Soft (2-2.5)

Color White

Streak White

Crystal Form / Habit Cubic

Cleavage Perfect cubic

Specific Gravity Light (2.2)

Other Properties Salty taste; very soluble; produces reddish spark in

flame
There are several different mineral properties which must be
identified and defined.
1. Luster – it is the quality and intensity of reflected light exhibited
by the mineral

Metallic – generally opaque and exhibit a

resplendent shine similar to a polished metal

Non-metallic – vitreous (glassy), adamantine

(brilliant/diamond-like), resinous, silky,
pearly, dull (earthy), greasy, among others.
 2. Hardness – it is a measure of the resistance of
a mineral (not specifically surface) to abrasion.
• Introduce students to the use of a
hardness scale designed by German
geologist/mineralogist Friedrich Mohs
in 1812 (Mohs Scale of Hardness).
• The Mohs Scale of Hardness measures
the scratch resistance of various
minerals from a scale of 1 to 10, based
on the ability of a harder
material/mineral to scratch a softer
one.
Pros of the Mohs scale:
• The test is easy.
• The test can be done anywhere, anytime, as long as there is
sufficient light to see scratches.
• The test is convenient for field geologists with scratch kits who
want to make a rough identification of minerals outside the lab.

Cons of the Mohs scale:

• The Scale is qualitative, not quantitative.
• The test cannot be used to accurately test the hardness
of industrial materials.
3. Crystal Form/Habit
The external shape of a crystal or groups of crystals is displayed /
observed as these crystals grow in open spaces. The form
reflects the supposedly internal structure (of atoms and ions) of
the crystal (mineral).
It is the natural shape of the mineral before the development of
any cleavage or fracture. Examples include prismatic, tabular,
bladed, platy, reniform and equant. A mineral that do not have a
crystal structure is described as amorphous.
The crystal’s form also defines the relative growth of the crystal
in three dimensions, which include the crystal’s length, width
and height.
4. Color

a. A lot of minerals can exhibit same or similar colors.

Individual minerals can also display a variety of colors
resulting from impurities and also from some geologic
processes like weathering.
b. Examples of coloring: quartz can be pink (rose quartz),
purple (amethyst), orange (citrine), white (colorless quartz)
etc. c.
5. Streak, on the other hand, is the mineral’s color in powdered form.
It is inherent in almost every mineral, and is a more diagnostic
property compared to color. Note that the color of a mineral can be
different from its streak.
Examples of streak: pyrite (FeS2) exhibits gold color but has a black or
dark gray streak.
6. Cleavage – the property of some minerals
to break along specific planes of weakness
to form smooth, flat surfaces
• These planes exist because the bonding of atoms
making up the mineral happens to be weak in those
areas.
• When minerals break evenly in more than one
direction, cleavage is described by the number of
cleavage directions, the angle(s) at which they meet,
and the quality of cleavage (e.g. cleavage in 2
directions at 90°).
Cleavage is different from habit; the two are distinct,
unrelated properties. Although both are dictated by
crystal structure, crystal habit forms as the mineral is
growing, relying on how the individual atoms in the
crystal come together. Cleavage, meanwhile, is the
weak plane that developed after the crystal is formed.
7. Specific Gravity – the ratio of the density of the
mineral and the density of water

• This parameter indicates how many times more the mineral weighs
compared to an equal amount of water (SG 1).
• For example, a bucket of silver (SG 10) would weigh ten times more
than a bucket of water.

8. Others – magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to

acid, etc. For example, magnetite is strongly magnetic;
sulfur has distinctive smell; halite is salty; calcite fizzes
with acid as with dolomite but in powdered form; etc.
Minerals, like many other things, can also be categorized.
The most stable and least ambiguous basis for
classification of minerals is based on their chemical
compositions.
Element Element + Element + O2 Element + SO4 Element + S2 Element + CO3 Element +
SiO4 Halogens

Native Silicate Oxide Sulfate Sulfide Carbonate Halide

Gold Quartz Hematite Gypsum Pyrite Calcite Chlorine

Bismuth Olivine Magnetite Barite Galena Dolomite Fluorine

Diamond Talc Chromite Anhydrite Bornite Malachite Halite

 The elements listed below comprise almost 99% of the
minerals making up the Earth’s crust.
Element Symbol % by weight of Earth’s % atoms
crust
Oxygen O 46.6 62.6
Silicon Si 27.7 21.2
Aluminum Al 8.1 6.5
Iron Fe 5.0 1.9
Calcium Ca 3.6 1.9
Sodium Na 2.8 2.6
Potassium K 2.6 1.4
Magnesium Mg 2.1 1.8
All other elements 1.4 <0.1
1. Silicates – minerals containing the two most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust,
namely, silicon and oxygen. a. When linked together, these two elements form the
silicon oxygen tetrahedron - the fundamental building block of silicate minerals. b.
Over 90% of rock-forming minerals belong to this group.
2. Oxides – minerals composed of oxygen anion (O2 - ) combined with one or more
metal ions
3. Sulfates – minerals containing sulfur and oxygen in the form of the (SO4) - anion
4. Sulfides – minerals containing sulfur and a metal; some sulfides are sources of
economically important metals such as copper, lead, and zinc.
5. Carbonates – minerals containing the carbonate (CO3)2 - anion combined with other
elements
6. Native Elements – minerals that form as individual elements a. Metals and
Intermetals – minerals with high thermal and electrical conductivity, typically with
metallic luster, low hardness (gold, lead) b. Semi-metals – minerals that are more
fragile than metals and have lower conductivity (arsenic, bismuth) c. Nonmetals –
nonconductive (sulfur, diamond)
7. Halides – minerals containing halogen elements combined with one or more metals
Rocks are aggregate of minerals. It
can be composed of single
mineral (e.g. Quartzite, a
metamorphic rock composed
predominantly of Quartz) or more
commonly, as an aggregate of two
or more minerals. A mineral name
can be used as a rock name (e.g.
Gypsum Rock which is composed
predominantly of the mineral
Gypsum (CaSO4)).
 Rock
Classifications

Rocks are classified on the basis

of the mode of formation. The
three rock types are igneous,
sedimentary and metamorphic
rocks.
1. Igneous rocks - rocks that are formed from the
solidification of molten rock material (magma or
lava). Molten rock material can solidify below the
surface of the earth (plutonic igneous rocks) or at
the surface of the Earth (volcanic igneous rocks).
Minerals are formed during the crystallization of
the magma. Note that the rate of cooling is one
of the most important factors that control crystal
size and the texture of the rock in general.
Differentiate magma and lava.

Magma is a molten rock material beneath

the surface of the earth.

Lava is molten rock material extruded to

the surface of the earth through volcanic
or fissure eruptions.
Plutonic or Intrusive rocks
• from solidified magma underneath the earth
• gradual lowering of the temperature gradient at depth towards the surface would
cause slow cooling/crystallization
• Phaneritic texture
• Examples: granite, diorite, gabbro

Volcanic or Extrusive rocks

• from solidified lava at or near the surface of the earth
• fast rate of cooling/crystallization due to huge variance in the temperature
between Earth’s surface and underneath
• common textures: aphanitic, porphyritic and vesicular
• examples: rhyolite, andesite, basalt
• pyroclastic rocks: fragmental rocks usually associated with violent or explosive type
of eruption. Examples tuff and pyroclastic flow deposits (ignimbrite)
Igneous rocks are also classified according to
silica content: felsic, intermediate, mafic and
ultramafic.
• felsic: also called granitic; >65% silica, generally light-colored
• intermediate: also called andesitic; 55-65% silica; generally
medium colored (medium gray)
• mafic: also called basaltic; 45-55% silica; generally dark
colored
• ultramafic: <45% silica; generally very dark colored;
composed mainly of olivine and pyroxene
• which are the major constituents of the upper mantle
Photographs of common intrusive rocks with their
extrusive counterparts
Sedimentary rocks- These are rocks that formed through the
accumulation, compaction, and cementation of sediments.
They generally form at surface or near surface conditions.
• Sedimentary processes at or near the surface of the Earth include:
weathering of rocks, sediment transport and deposition, compaction and
cementation
• Factors in sedimentary processes: weathering and transport agents
(water, wind ice)
• Common sedimentary features: strata and fossils
• Strata: >1cm is called bedding and anything less is called lamination;
layering is the result of a change in grain size and composition; each layer
represents a distinct period of deposition.
• Fossils: remains and traces of plants and animals that are preserved in
rocks
Non-clastic / Chemical/Biochemical – derived from
sediments that precipitated from concentrated solutions
(e.g. seawater) or from the accumulation of biologic or
organic material (e.g. shells, plant material). They are
further classified on the basis of chemical composition.

Clastic/terrigenous - form from the accumulation and

lithification of sediments derived from the breakdown of
pre-existing rocks. They are further classified according to
dominant grain size.
Conglomerate on top left relatively large and
rounded clasts as compared to the angular clasts
of the breccia on top right.

Sandstone middle left with visible grains and

prominent layering and claystone on middle right
with several embedded fossils.

Non-clastic sedimentary rocks limestone on

bottom left and coquina on bottom right.
Metamorphic rocks - rocks that form from the
transformation of pre-existing rocks (igneous,
sedimentary, or metamorphic rocks) through
the process of metamorphism. Metamorphism
can involve changes in the physical and
chemical properties of rocks in response to
heat, pressure, and chemically active fluids.
They are commonly formed underneath the
earth through metamorphism
Contact metamorphism
• Heat as the main factor: occurs when a pre-existing rocks get in contact
with a heat source (magma) • Occurs on a relatively small scale: around
the vicinity of intruding magma
• Creates non-foliated metamorphic rocks (e.g. hornfels)

Regional metamorphism
• Pressure as main factor: occurs in areas that have undergone
deformation during orogenic event resulting in mountain belts • Occurs
in a regional/large scale
• Creates foliated metamorphic rocks such as schist and gneiss
• Non-foliated rocks like marble also form thru regional metamorphism,
where pressure is not intense, far from the main geologic event
Non-foliated rocks: Hornfels
(left), a finegrained rock
that forms through contact
Foliated rocks (bottom)
metamorphism of non-
from shale as precursor
carbonate rocks. Marble
rock. Metamorphic grade
(right) is formed through
increases (from slate to
the metamorphism of
gneiss) as pressure
limestone or dolostone;
increases.
traces of fossils/remains are
obscured by
recrystallization.
 The
Rock
Cycle