The factors governing mineral composition of sedimentary rock

are :
1.

The nature of gathering ground- The agents of decay,

disintegration and transportation are the suppliers of the sediments. The
composition of an ultimate sedimentary rock will actually reflect the sum
total of the composition of the areas over which these agents operate for
obtaining the sediments. Streams eroding carbonate rich hill will carry
mostly carbonate particles in them and therefore become the source for
limestone rocks, similarly those running over silica rich terrain may
contain quartz as a dominant load fraction and become the source of
sandstones. But where the same stream flows over a sequence of igneous,
sedimentary, methamorphic rocks, its load would be made up of different
types of minerals
2. Duration of transport- This factors defines the extent in terms of time
and distance for which any load of sediments is transported from the
gathering ground to the settlement basin. Sediments that are soft and
fragile wear out easily whereas hard, resistant and durable grains from the
gathering ground are often transported to the ultimate destination. Quartz
is one example of resistant minerals and hence is represented in many
type of sedimentary rock.
3. Mixing up of sediments- In rocks formed along sea shore from the
detritus carried up to that place by many long distance streams, a variety
of sediments may get mixed up by waves and currents before actual
settling starts. Thus a rock formed in such a situation may have a complex
mineralogical composition. In the continental facies the glacial
environment may not allow the embedded load any chance for sorting .
The morainic rocks formed at glacial terminals, therefore, may show all
sorts of minerals and rock fragments occurring in the same sedimentary
rock. In spite of the factors mentioned above, the bulk of most common
sedimentary rocks is made up only of few common rock forming minerals
like quartz, calcite, feldspar, gypsum and clay minerals.
4. Allogenic and authigenic minerals Sometimes the minerals of
sedimentary rock are grouped into two classes allogenic and authigenic.
The allogenic minerals are those which have been formed outside the
basin of deposition, that is, they have been brought there by some natural
agent of transport. Quartz, feldspar, amphiboles, pyroxenes, olivine and
corundum are some examples of allogenic minerals. The authigenic
materials are those that have been formed within the basin of deposition.
Commonly they are the result of chemical, biochemical activity that takes
place in the basin of deposition. Calcite, dolomite, anhydrite and gypsum
are few examples of minerals of this group.