What is Mineral?

Rocks are composed of minerals. A mineral is a naturally occurring substance which is usually solid,
crystalline, stable at room temperature and inorganic.

Minerals themselves are made up of one or a number of chemical elements with a definite chemical
composition. Minerals cannot be broken down into smaller units with different chemical compositions in
the way that rocks can.

What are the physical properties of minerals?

There are several different mineral properties which must be identified and defined.

Luster - refers to how light is reflected from the surface of a mineral.

a. Metallic - generally opaque and exit a resplendent shine similar to a polished metal

Minerals exhibiting metallic luster look like metal, such as a silvery appearance or that of a flat piece of
steel.

b. Non-metallic - vitreous (glassy), adamantine (brilliant/diamond-like), resinous, silky, pearly, dull

(earthy), greasy, among others.

2. Hardness – It is the ability of mineral to resist scratching.

Friedrich Mohs, a German mineralogist, developed a hardness scale over 100 years ago. The hardest
mineral known, diamond, was assigned the number 10. It is called the Mohs Hardness Scale. It ranks the
order of hardness of minerals and some common objects.

3. Crystal Form/Habit – refers to the chracteristic shape of a mineral unit (either an individual crystal or a
group of crystal).

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. A mineral that do not
have a crystal structure is described as amorphous.

4. Color - one of the most obvious characteristic of a mineral, but generally not the most useful
diagnostic feature. Minerals are colored because certain wave lengths of light are absorbed, and the
color results from a combination of those wave lengths that reach the eye.
5. Streak - is the mineral’s color in powdered form. It can be useful for identifying metallic and earthy
minerals. Non-metallic minerals usually give a white streak because they are very light-colored. Other
minerals may have very distinctive streaks.

Hematite, for example, always gives a reddish-brown streak no matter what type of luster it displays.

Cleavage - It is the ability of a mineral to break along preferred planes.

The number of cleavage planes in a mineral may also aid its identification. Cleavage typically occurs in
either one, two, three, four or six directions.

Specific Gravity - is the "heaviness" of a mineral. It is defined as a number that expresses the ratio
between the weight of a mineral and the weight of an equal volume of water. Water has a specific
gravity of “1.”

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.

What are the chemical properties of minerals?

Every substance on earth is made of atoms, the building blocks of all matter.

There are all different types of atoms, and each type of atom is classified as an element.

Atoms will bond together to form molecules, which are organized agglomerations of different types of
atoms.

Molecules form mixtures and compounds.

Mixtures are groups of molecules that can be separated by physical means.

Compounds are groups of molecules with a definitive arrangement, and can only be separated by
chemical means.

***Every mineral contains a defined ratio of specific molecules in its structure.

What are the common rock-forming minerals using their physical and chemical properties?

Some of the common rock forming minerals along with their physical and chemical properties:

Quartz

It is pure or nearly pure silica and is hard and glassy mineral.

It is transparent to translucent in nature and its colour varies from white and grey to smokey.

It does not have a cleavage and thus does not break into regular flat faces.
Hardness = 7, Specific gravity = 2.66

Feldspar

It is silicates of alumina, with alkaline substances like potassium, sodium and calcium.

Its appearance is not so glassy as that of Quartz and is dull to opaque with a porcelain-like appearance.

A stone readily meets the decay if it contains large proportions of feldspar mixed with other minerals.

Hardness = 6, Specific gravity = 2.5 to 2.7

Mica

It contains silicates of aluminium with potassium.

It is soft and readily affected by atmosphere and chemicals.

It has perfect cleavage, causing it to easily break into thin sheets.

Hardness = 2.5 and Specific gravity = 3.

Hornblende

Complex silicate with hardness = 5.5 and specific gravity = 3.2.

Dark coloured mineral found in many types of igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Calcite

Leading constituent of limestone and marble.

Hardness = 3 and specific gravity = 2.7.

Dolomite

It is Magnesium carbonate with chemical composition as CaMg(CO3)2.

Metamorphic rocks like dolomitic marble and few sedimentary rocks have dolomite as the major
constituent.

It has three directions of perfect cleavage.

Moh’s hardness is 3.5 to 4, specific gravity is 2.8 to 2.9