Mineralogy

• The branch of geology concerned with the study of minerals.

• Scientific discipline that is concerned with all aspects of minerals, including their physical
properties, chemical composition, internal crystal structure, and occurrence and
distribution in nature and their origins in terms of the physicochemical conditions of
formation.

Mineralogist

 A person who studies minerals, which technically include all naturally occurring solid
substances.

BRANCHES OF MINEROLOGY

• Crystallography- The study of the crystal lattice structure of minerals.

• Crystal chemistry - The branch of mineralogy that deals with how the chemical composition
of a mineral relates to its crystal structure.
• Physical mineralogy- Concerned with the physical properties and descriptions of minerals.
• Chemical Mineralogy - Identifying minerals to determine the chemical composition of the
earth's crust.
• Optical Mineralogy - Using light to determine the crystal structure of minerals.
• X-ray Mineralogy - Using x-ray diffraction techniques to determine the crystal structure of
minerals.
• Economic Mineralogy - The study of new, economically important uses for minerals.

FORMING MINERALS

 Quartz

A chemical compound consisting of one part silicon and two parts oxygen. It is
silicon dioxide (SiO2). It is the most abundant mineral found at Earth's surface, and its
unique properties make it one of the most useful natural substances.

Quartz is the most abundant and widely distributed mineral found at Earth's
surface. It is present and plentiful in all parts of the world. It forms at all temperatures. It
is abundant in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. It is highly resistant to both
mechanical and chemical weathering. This durability makes it the dominant mineral of
 mountaintops and the primary constituent of beach, river, and desert sand. Quartz is
ubiquitous, plentiful and durable. Minable deposits are found throughout the world.

USES OF QUARTZ

Quartz is one of the most useful natural materials. Its usefulness can be linked to its
physical and chemical properties. It has a hardness of seven on the Mohs Scale which makes it
very durable. It is chemically inert in contact with most substances. It has electrical properties and
heat resistance that make it valuable in electronic products. Its luster, color, and diaphaneity make
it useful as a gemstone and also in the making of glass.

 Feldspar

“Feldspar” is the name of a large group of rock-forming silicate minerals that make
up over 50% of Earth’s crust. They are found in igneous, metamorphic,
and sedimentary rocks in all parts of the world. Feldspar minerals have very similar
structures, chemical compositions, and physical properties. Common feldspars
include orthoclase(KAlSi3O8), albite (NaAlSi3O8), and anorthite (CaAl2Si2O8).

Feldspar minerals have many uses in industry. They are used to manufacture a wide
variety of glass and ceramic products. They are also widely used as fillers in paints, plastics
and rubber. Several popular gemstones are feldspar minerals. These
include moonstone, sunstone, labradorite, amazonite and spectrolite.

USES OF FELDSPAR

About 600,000 metric tons of feldspar is produced each year in the United States. Most of
this feldspar is crushed into fine granules or powders and then consumed in factories that produce
plate glass, ceramic tile, fiberglass insulation, paints, plastics, pottery, container glass and other
products. Most of these products play an important role in commercial and residential
construction, and the demand for feldspar is supported by the health of the construction industry.

 Augite

Augite is a rock-forming mineral that commonly occurs in mafic and

intermediate igneous rocks such as basalt, gabbro, andesite, and diorite. It is found in
these rocks throughout the world, wherever they occur. Augite is also found in ultramafic
rocks and in some metamorphic rocks that form under high temperatures.
 Augite is the most common pyroxene mineral and a member of the clinopyroxene
group. Some people use the names "augite" and "pyroxene" interchangeably, but this
usage is strongly discouraged. There are a large number of pyroxene minerals, many of
which are distinctly different and easy to identify. Augite, diopside, jadeite, spodumene,
and hypersthene are just a few of the distinctly different pyroxene minerals.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF AUGITE

Augite is usually green, black, or brown in color with a translucent to opaque

diaphaneity. It usually exhibits two distinct cleavage directions that intersect at slightly less
than 90 degrees. A hand lens is often needed to properly observe the cleavage, especially
in fine-grained rocks.

Light reflecting from cleavage surfaces and crystal faces of augite produces a
vitreous luster, while light striking other surfaces produces a dull luster. Augite has a Mohs
hardness of 5.5 to 6. Its specific gravity of 3.2 to 3.6 is higher than most other minerals in
the rocks in which it occurs.

 Hornblende

Hornblende is a field and classroom name used for a group of dark-colored

amphibole minerals found in many types of igneous and metamorphic rocks.
These minerals vary in chemical composition but are all double-chain inosilicates with very
similar physical properties.

 Biotite

Biotite is a name used for a large group of black mica minerals that are commonly
found in igneous and metamorphic rocks. These include annite, phlogopite, siderophyllite,
fluorophlogopite, fluorannite, eastonite, and many others. These micas vary in chemical
composition but are all sheet silicate minerals with very similar physical properties.

Biotite is a rock-forming mineral found in a wide range of crystalline igneous rocks

such as granite, diorite, gabbro, peridotite, and pegmatite. It also forms under
metamorphic conditions when argillaceous rocks are exposed to heat and pressure to
form schist and gneiss. Although biotite is not very resistant to weathering and transforms
into clay minerals, it is sometimes found in sediments and sandstones.

PROPERTIES OF BIOTITE
 Biotite is very easy to identify, and with a little experience a person will be able to
recognize it on sight. It is a black mica with perfect cleavage and a vitreous luster on the
cleavage faces. When biotite is separated into thin sheets, the sheets are flexible but will
break upon severe bending. When held up to the light, the sheets are transparent to
translucent with a brown, gray, or greenish color. Experienced observers can sometimes
recognize phlogopite by its brown color.

USES OF BIOTITE

Biotite has a small number of commercial uses. Ground mica is used as a filler and extender
in paints, as an additive to drilling muds, as an inert filler and mold-release agent in rubber
products, and as a non-stick surface coating on asphalt shingles and rolled roofing. It is also used
in the potassium-argon and argon-argon methods of dating igneous rocks.

THE OTHER "FOOL'S GOLD"

Biotite has been known to cause excitement in inexperienced gold panners. A few tiny
flakes of biotite swishing in a gold pan can produce bright bronze-colored reflections in the pan
when struck by sunlight. These reflections can fool the inexperienced panner into thinking that he
has found gold. If the panner regains his composure, removes one of these flakes from the pan
and pokes it with a pin, it will break. First-time panners quickly learn to do some testing before
shouting "gold" - which probably isn't a good idea even when gold is found because it can attract
unwanted visitors to your panning spot.

Small flakes of biotite have also been known to cause excitement when they are observed
in rocks. Their bronze-colored reflections can fool the inexperienced observer into thinking that
tiny flakes of gold are present. Again, the pin test or a hand lens will usually yield a quick answer
as to whether it is real gold or fool's gold.

 MUCOVITE

Muscovite is the most common mineral of the mica family. It is an important rock-
forming mineral present in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. Like other
micas it readily cleaves into thin transparent sheets. Muscovite sheets have a pearly to
vitreous luster on their surface. If they are held up to the light, they are transparent and
nearly colorless, but most have a slight brown, yellow, green, or rose-color tint.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Muscovite is easily identified because its perfect cleavage allows it to be split into thin,
flexible, elastic, colorless, transparent sheets with a pearly to vitreous luster. It is the only common
mineral with these properties.

USES OF MUSCOVITE

Ground mica, mostly muscovite, is used in the United States to manufacture a variety of products:

• Paint
• Drilling Muds
• Plastics
• Rubber
• Asphalt Roofing
• Cosmetics

Sheet Mica

• Diaphragms for oxygen breathing equipment

• Marker dials for navigation compasses
• Optical filters
• Pyrometers
• Retardation plates in helium-neon lasers
• Missile systems components
• Medical electronics
• Optical instrumentation
• Radar systems
• Radiation detector windows
• Calibrated capacitors

• Calcite

Calcite is a rock-forming mineral with a chemical formula of CaCO3. It is extremely

common and found throughout the world in sedimentary, metamorphic,
and igneous rocks. Some geologists consider it to be a "ubiquitous mineral" - one that is
found everywhere.
 Calcite is the principal constituent of limestone and marble. These rocks are
extremely common and make up a significant portion of Earth's crust. They serve as one
of the largest carbon repositories on our planet.

• GARNET

Garnet is the name used for a large group of rock-forming minerals.

These minerals share a common crystal structure and a generalized chemical composition
of X3Y2(SiO4)3. In that composition, "X" can be Ca, Mg, Fe2+ or Mn2+, and "Y" can be Al, Fe3+,
Mn3+, V3+ or Cr3+.

These minerals are found throughout the world in metamorphic, igneous,

and sedimentary rocks. Most garnet found near Earth's surface forms when a sedimentary
rock with a high aluminum content, such as shale, is subjected to heat and pressure intense
enough to produce schist or gneiss. Garnet is also found in the rocks of contact
metamorphism, subsurface magma chambers, lava flows, deep-source volcanic eruptions,
and the soils and sediments formed when garnet-bearing rocks are weathered and eroded.

Most people associate the word "garnet" with a red gemstone; however, they are
often surprised to learn that garnet occurs in many other colors and has many other uses.
In the United States, the major industrial uses of garnet in 2012 were waterjet cutting
(35%), abrasive blasting media (30%), water filtration granules (20%), and abrasive
powders (10%).
 WRITTEN
REPORT
GROUP 1
ANACAN, Jenn Mariz T.
ANG, Kim Kenneth O.
TORRES, Ma. Angela M.
TRINIDAD, Edrian Marion G