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Lecture 16
Systematic Description of Minerals
Part 3:
Silicates I: Introduction to Silicates, Nesosilicates, and Sorosilicates
CRUST MOSTLY Oxygen O and SilicoN Si 27% of all known minerals are silicates 40% of common minerals are silicates >90% minerals in the earths crust are silicates
Electostatic Valence w/ O-2 big 1/8 - 1/12 Weak 1/6 - 1/8 1/3 1/4 2/6 = 1/3 2/6 = 1/3 2/6 = 1/3 3/6 = 1/2 4/6 = 2/3 3/6 = 1/2 3/4 4/4 = 1 Strong
medium
small
Zircon usually contains radioactive Uranium and Thorium, and is frequently used to date plutonic rocks.
Garnet A3B2Si3O12
Color wine or straw-yellow. They may also be white, gray, green, blue, pink, or reddish-yellow and transparent or translucent.
Double silicon tetrahedra linked by one bridging oxygen Commonly also contains island tetrahedra (SiO4) Typically monoclinic symmetry Si O
2 7
Epidote
Hemimorphite most frequently occurs as the product of the oxidation of the upper parts of Sphalerite (ZnS) bearing ore bodies, accompanied by other secondary minerals which form the so-called iron cap or gossan. Hemimorphite is an important ore of zinc and contains up to 54.2% of the metal.
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Systematic Description of Minerals
Part 4