Adam C.

Simon

Ph.D., University of Maryland, 2003

Research Associate
Department of Geology
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
p: 301 405 0235
f: 301 314 9661
e-mail: asimon@geol.umd.edu
 Minerals
Minerals are what rocks are
made of, and the sources of
elements that are essential
to our lives.

Their beauty has captivated

artist and scientist alike
through time.
 What is a Mineral?

• naturally occurring
• inorganic compound
• specific chemical composition
• defined crystal structure
• consistent physical properties
 Naturally-Formed Inorganic Compounds

Naturally-formed means that synthetic crystalline materials are not

properly minerals. Distinguishing the natural from the synthetic
becomes more difficult all the time.

Inorganic compounds are comprised completely of inorganic

components (although they may be organically produced and still
be considered minerals: shells, bones, kidney stones).

organic:
C, N, O, H - dominated
 Specific Chemical Composition
As we will see in a bit, some minerals are
actually mineral groups.
Members of a group conform to a general type of structure, have
similar physical properties, and are chemically closely related,
but they have some specific chemical differences.

Hence, individuals that make up a group are defined as

separate minerals. For simplicity, it is convenient to call them by
a group name.
Example: the mineral we will
just call pyroxene is more
specifically one of the following:
augite, diopside, hedenbergite,
pigeonite, enstatite, ferrosilite,
etc.
 Crystal Structure

Atomic Force
Microscope image of a
graphite crystal surface.
Each bright spot is a
single carbon atom.

The three dimensional array of this pattern is the crystal structure

of the mineral. Therefore, the shapes of crystals are dictated at a
fundamental level by the way individual small mineral units are
linked and stacked.
 Crystal
Structure

The mineral halite

(NaCl), on a
molecular scale,
consists of sodium
(Na) atoms bonded
to chlorine (Cl)
atoms.

These form a three dimensional network whose

pattern (cubic) dictates many of the macroscopic
physical properties of the mineral.
 Physical Properties:
Physical properties are what we use to identify minerals
without the aid of sophisticated chemical
or crystallographic equipment.

They are things like how samples break, their shapes and
colors, and with what they may be combined.

It is less important to know all of the physical properties for

all the minerals than it is to recognize which are the key
physical properties: those which permit rapid identification,
or at least to rule out what an unknown specimen is not.
Physical Properties: Hardness
1 talc
Hardness of a substance relates to 2 gypsum
its ability to resist physical abrasion. (fingernail)
3 calcite
This property is closely linked to (copper penny)
bond strength, but also to atomic 4 fluorite
packing. 5 apatite
(pocket knife)
The scale of Friedrich Mohs is used 6 feldspar
as a good low-tech hardness test. 7 quartz
8 topaz
9 corundum (ruby)
You do not need to memorize the Mohs scale:
just understand what it is and why it is important.
10 diamond
 Physical Properties: Cleavage
Cleavage is the regular, systematic breakage of a mineral along
predictable planes. The cleavage planes are crystallographically
controlled: they come from planes of weak bonds in a crystal
structure.
Number and Orientation of Cleavage Planes

Fig. 5.18a-e
 Cleavage
This is a thin slice of a ~1 cm wide crystal of amphibole, showing
two cleavage planes that meet at a non-90-degree angle.
All amphibole samples will show this cleavage pattern.

Note: this mineral has both a recognizable crystal form and good cleavage: there
is no requirement that minerals in nicely-formed crystals have any cleavage.
 Cleavage
Here is a cm-size sample of the same mineral, amphibole.
This shows how discerning cleavage in a real sample
is not always very easy.

Look carefully where the sample has broken for

the presence or absence of repeated parallel planes.
 It is important to note
Cleavage
the number of planes,
their relative quality
(how easy they are to
detect), and the angles
they make with one
another.
Calcite is a mineral that
shows three excellent
cleavages that do not
meet at 90 degree
angles. All calcite
crystals will break into
characteristic ‘rhombs’.
 Physical Properties: Crystal Form
Crystals often have characteristic forms, shapes or ‘habits’.
For instance, minerals like garnet and pyrite
very commonly form equant crystals,
the former 12-sided (dodecahedra), the latter 6-sided (cubes).

Note that NEITHER of these minerals have decent cleavage.

Although their crystal structure makes for well-formed crystals, if
broken, they would not come apart in orderly planes.
 Universal Features of Crystals

All quartz crystals, regardless of shape or size, have

well-defined characteristic interfacial angles.
 Crystal Form

All tourmaline crystals have the characteristic rounded trigonal

cross-section, but this can easily be masked if a number of
crystals grow side-by-side.
Crystal Form Again, the value of describing crystal
form or habit is that some minerals
have the same appearance
all the time.
Some descriptors that may be used
are acicular (needle-like), radiating,
prismatic (rod-shaped), fibrous,
globular ...
 Crystal Form
Some minerals are characteristic in
that they don’t tend to form nice
crystals.

Silver and gold, like many of the

native elements, tends to form
irregular, even wiry forms that may
be masses of tiny crystals.

Malachite (hydrous Cu-carbonate)

tends to forms aggregates of tiny
fibrous crystals. The swirly appearance
depends on how the sample is cut.
 Some common minerals show extreme
Crystal Form variety in crystal forms. All of these
photos are of the mineral calcite.
 Crystals: Natural and Modified

This diamond comes from a single crystal, but the crystal has
been modified by cutting, grinding and polishing.
Just because something has facets,
do not assume that these are crystal faces!
 Crystals: Natural and Modified

Most unmodified diamonds are octahedral crystals (8 faces).

What causes some minerals to form nice crystals commonly,
whereas others look like a mess?
 Physical Properties:
color: transmitted or reflected light
streak: color of the powdered mineral
luster: the ‘appearance’ of minerals
(metallic, glassy, resinous, silky) --
can be highly subjective

association: Principally for

chemical reasons, certain
minerals will tend to be found
together, and some minerals will
virtually never be seen together.
Physical Properties:

fracture: how minerals break

when not in cleavage planes
(e.g., conchoidal fracture of
quartz)

density: (specific gravity) depends on chemical composition

(Fe, Pb) and packing of atoms
 Physical Properties:

A mineral like native sulphur is always yellow in color and soft, but
there are several other soft, yellow minerals.
What is a physical property that might be useful in distinguishing
between sulphur and something that looks like it?
 Polymorphs
Diamond and graphite are both made entirely of carbon, yet they
have different names and, clearly, have
different physical properties.
They are what we call polymorphs:
materials having the same chemical composition,
but different crystal structures.
The C Polymorphs
diamond: carbon atoms
bonded covalently in 3D
network -- strong in all
directions
Fig. 5.09

graphite: carbon atoms

covalently bonded in layers
connected by van der Waals
forces -- makes for mineral of
low hardness that easily
cleaves in one direction
 When / Why do Minerals Form?
• crystallization on cooling
• precipitation at low temperature
• recrystallization
Remember that one essential detail about minerals is a
crystalline structure. This means that rocks, even if very fine
grained, are composed of crystals at some level.
Crystal does not mean something big or necessarily pretty.
Note also that glass violates the definition of mineral:
glasses neither have crystalline structures nor do they possess a
specific chemical composition.
 Rock-Forming Silicates
The minerals that make up 95% of the crust are silicates*.
As such, they are the most important rock-forming minerals.
The most important of these are:
• quartz
• feldspar
• mica (and clays)
• amphibole
• pyroxene
• olivine
• garnet
* note: even so, they are only 1/3 of all known minerals. What does this tell us?
 Silica
The fundamental unit of the minerals known as silicates is
the silica tetrahedron. Each tetrahedron is made up a silicon
atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms. The group has a net
negative charge of -4, so it likes to bond with cations.

oxygen atoms
schematically
shown as a
pyramid

schematic
silicon atom representation
at center
 Basic Silicate Structures

By
combining
and
stacking
tetrahedra,
we can
derive the
basic
structures of the dominant minerals of the Earth’s crust and mantle.
 Silicates
olivine, garnet tourmaline

pyroxene amphibole mica

group group group
Pyroxene Structure
metal cations (Fe, Mg, Ca)
Each silica tetrahedron in a
pyroxene attaches to just
one other, forming long
single chains.

the triangles
represent silica
tetrahedra, viewed
from above

Although this only shows a small

part of the structure, the chains
stretch in both directions infinitely.
Amphibole Structure metal cations (Fe, Mg, Ca)

The silicate network in

amphiboles is made of
two linked chains, not one.

the triangles
represent silica
tetrahedra, viewed
from above

Although this only shows a small

part of the structure, the chains
stretch in both directions infinitely.
 Micas are sheet-structured silicates.
Mica Structure Silica tetrahedra link together to form
2-D sheets. The sheets link weakly
with large “interlayer” cations.

metal cations (Fe, Mg, Ca)

interlayer cations (Na, K, H2O)

side view

view from above at silica layer

 Expanding Clays

Clay minerals are structurally

and chemically a lot like micas.
Many clays are able absorb
large volumes of water into their
structures (in the interlayer site).
 Complex Silicate Structures
As silica tetrahedra are more intimately linked together,
the minerals formed progressively change.

The framework silicates are the most complex of the silicates.

Every silica tetrahedron is intimately connected to another.
 Framework Even within a group of silicates, physical
Silicates properties depend on the specific mineral.

All feldspars have two cleavage Quartz does not show

planes; simple, blocky crystal cleavage; terminated, prismatic
forms are characteristic. crystals are very common.
 Framework Silicates

The feldspar structure has The quartz structure does not

planes of weak bonds, have planes of weak bonds,
hence, cleavage. hence no cleavage.
 Distinguishing the Feldspars

Plagioclase feldspars show

striations (very fine-scale
grooves) on one cleavage face,
never seen in alkali feldspars.
Some varieties of plagioclase also
plagioclase = Ca,Na feldspar
alkali feldspar = K, Na feldspar are iridescent.
 Why Groups?
Most common minerals are chemically more diverse
than they are made to seem.
Yes, quartz is just SiO2, but a name like ‘feldspar’ refers
to a group of structurally-similar, chemically distinct
minerals.
These minerals are both feldspars:
orthoclase (a.k.a. alkali feldspar) = (K,Na)AlSi3O8
plagioclase = (Ca,Na)Al2Si2O8
(no, you don’t need to memorize these formulas)
Significant of (non-silicate) Minerals
Although the silicates are critical, there are a few other
minerals that are important in making up some rocks.
These include:
calcite (CaCO3),
gypsum (CaSO4 . 2H2O),
halite (NaCl),
magnetite (Fe3O4),
pyrite (FeS2),
galena (PbS)
graphite (C)
 Significance
calcite (carbonate) -- makes up the rocks limestone and marble

gypsum (sulphate) -- common evaporite mineral

halite (chloride) -- common evaporite mineral

magnetite (oxide) -- widespread minor mineral and ore of Fe

pyrite (sulphide) -- widespread minor mineral

galena (sulphide) -- major ore of Pb

graphite (native element) -- widespread minor mineral

 Minerals and Rocks
Rocks are materials made up of one or more minerals.
Rocks are typically placed into one of three categories,
based on how they form:

igneous rocks form from the cooling of molten rock

sedimentary rocks form from the deposition of sedimentary

particles, as well as the precipitation of minerals from

solutions of dissolved minerals near the Earth’s surface

metamorphic rocks form from preexisting rocks, where new

minerals/textures are formed/introduced, mainly by changes

in temperature or pressure
The Rock
Cycle
 Credits

Some images in this presentation from:

J Rakovan, Miami Univ., Ohio
Marshak, Earth: Portrait of a Planet (1st ed.)
Plummer, McGeary and Carlson, Physical Geology (8th ed.)
NOVA
NMNH, Dept. Mineral Sciences
the Clausthal online mineral collection
Amethyst Galleries
D Sherman, Bristol Univ.
SJ Friedmann, Univ. Maryland
AW Hewat
Press and Siever, Understanding Earth (3rd ed.)