Minerals, their Characteristics and Classification

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance that is formed through geological
processes and that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure, and
specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and
does not have a specific chemical composition. Minerals range in composition from pure elements and
simple salts to very complex silicates with thousands of known forms. The study of minerals is called
mineralogy.

The chemical composition may vary between end members of a mineral system. For example the
plagioclase feldspars comprise a continuous series from sodium and silicon-rich albite (NaAlSi3O8) to
calcium and aluminium-rich anorthite (CaAl2Si2O8) with four recognized intermediate compositions
between. Mineral-like substances that don't strictly meet the definition are sometimes classified as
mineraloids. Other natural-occurring substances are nonminerals. Industrial minerals is a market term
and refers to commercially valuable mined materials.

A crystal structure is the orderly geometric spatial arrangement of atoms in the internal structure
of a mineral. There are 14 basic crystal lattice arrangements of atoms in three dimensions, and these are
referred to as the 14 "Bravais lattices". Each of these lattices can be classified into one of the seven
crystal systems, and all crystal structures currently recognized fit in one Bravais lattice and one crystal
system. This crystal structure is based on regular internal atomic or ionic arrangement that is often
expressed in the geometric form that the crystal takes. Even when the mineral grains are too small to see
or are irregularly shaped, the underlying crystal structure is always periodic and can be determined by
X-ray diffraction. Chemistry and crystal structure together define a mineral. In fact, two or more
minerals may have the same chemical composition, but differ in crystal structure (these are known as
polymorphs). For example, pyrite and marcasite are both iron sulfide, but their arrangement of atoms
differs. Similarly, some minerals have different chemical compositions, but the same crystal structure:
for example, halite (made from sodium and chlorine), galena (made from lead and sulfur) and periclase
(made from magnesium and oxygen) all share the same cubic crystal structure.

Crystal structure greatly influences a mineral's physical properties. For example, though diamond
and graphite have the same composition (both are pure carbon), graphite is very soft, while diamond is
the hardest of all known minerals. This happens because the carbon atoms in graphite are arranged into
sheets which can slide easily past each other, while the carbon atoms in diamond form a strong,
interlocking three-dimensional network.
There are currently more than 4,000 known minerals, according to the International
Mineralogical Association, which is responsible for the approval of and naming of new mineral species
found in nature. Of these, perhaps 100 can be called "common", 50 are "occasional", and the rest are
"rare" to "extremely rare".

Commercially valuable minerals and rocks are referred to as industrial minerals. Rocks from
which minerals are mined for economic purposes are referred to as ores (the rocks and minerals that
remain, after the desired mineral has been separated from the ore, are referred to as tailings).
Identification of Minerals
Common minerals can be identified readily, if their ordinary physical properties are known.
These include such properties as colour, streak luster, hardness, cleavage fracture, form, specific gravity,
tenacity, feel, fluorescence, phosphorescence, magnetism and crystal form.

Physical Properties of Minerals

1. Colour
Colour in minerals is caused by the absorption, or lack of absorption, of various wavelengths of
light.
Some minerals posses a characteristic colour e.g. the lead grey of galena, the black of magnetite,
and green of chlorite. But in other case such as quartz, the colour is variable and cannot be relied on as a
guide to identify minerals. The variations in the colour of a mineral may be due to:
• Isomorphous variations in the colour of a mineral
• Minute colour inclusions, and
• A small amount of some substance in solid solution

➢ Copper, Cu, produces the azure blue colour of azurite,

➢ Iron, Fe, produces the red colour of limonite,
➢ Cobalt, Co, produces the violet-red colour in erythrite,

2. Streak
Streak is the colour of mineral in powder form.
The minerals are rubbed against unglazed porcelain plate (called streak plate) to obtain the
streak. In some cases the colour of the streak differs remarkably from the colour of the mineral. Streak is
useful, for example, in distinguishing the various oxides of iron; hematite (Fe2O3) gives a red streak,
limonite (hydrated Fe2O3) a brown, and magnetite (Fe3O4) a grey streak.

3. Luster
Luster is a description of the way light interacts with the surface of a crystal.
Or It is the appearance of a mineral surface in reflected light.
It is described according to the degree of brightness from splendent to dull. It may be described
as metallic, as in pyrite or galena; glassy or vitreous, as in quartz; resinous or greasy, as in opal; pearly,
as in talc; or silky, as in fibrous minerals such as asbestos and satin-spar (fibrous gypsum). Minerals
with no luster are described as dull.

4. Crystal Habit or Form

The development of an individual crystal or an aggregate of crystals, to produce a particular
external shape depends on the temperature and pressure during their formation. The shape or crystal
habit is of use in identification of some minerals.

• Individual crystals
➢ Acicular --- in fine needle-like crystals, e.g. schorl, natrolite
 ➢ Platy --- broad, flat crystal e.g. wulfenite
➢ Tabular --- elongate crystal which is also flat e.g. feldspar
➢ Prismatic --- crystal is elongated in one direction e.g. indicolite
➢ Fibrous --- longcrystals-like fibers e.g. asbestos, okenite

• Crystal aggregates (amorphous minerals often assume this form)

➢ Dendritic --- crystal diverge from each other like branches e.g. denritic deposits of
manganese oxide
➢ Raniform --- kidney-shaped e.g. kidney iron ore, a variety of hematite
➢ Botryoidal --- like a bunch of grapes e.g. chalcedony
➢ Amygdaloidal --- infilling of steam vesicles or holes in lavas by salts carried in solution

5. Cleavage
Cleavage is the tendency of a mineral to split in certain regular directions. These directions
depend on the arrangement of the atoms in a mineral are parallel to definite crystal faces.
Perfect, good, distinct, and imperfect are terms used to describe the quality of mineral cleavage.
Mica, for example, has a perfect cleavage; feldspars have two sets of good cleavage planes. Calcite has
three directions of cleavage.

6. Fracture
The nature of a broken surface of a mineral is known as fracture.
This breaking should be in any other direction than the cleavage. Unlike cleavage, fracture does
not produce smooth planes. The various types of fractures are as follows:
• Uneven fractures: when the broken surface is rough or irregular, e.g. apatite.
• Even fractures: when the mineral breaks with a flat surface e.g. flint.
• Conchoidal fractures: when the mineral breaks with curved surfaces often with concentric
markings like a shell e.g. quartz.
• Hackly fractures: when the broken surface has a small irregularities like broken metal, e.g.
native copper.
(There are two types of breaks that minerals can have either cleavage or fracture. Cleavage is the
tendency of some minerals to break along flat surfaces and fracture is when some minerals to break
along a curved or irregular surface.)

7. Hardness
Hardness is measure of the strength of the structure of the mineral relative to the strength of its
chemical bonds.
Hardness can be accessed through scratching. Hardness of a mineral is described as its
resistance to the scratching. It is determined by comparison with the standard minerals of the Mohs
Hardness scale which is given follow:

Mohs Hardness Scale

1. Talc
2. Gypsum
 Fingernail at 2.5
3. Calcite
Copper coin at 3.5
4. Fluorite
5. Apatite
Window glass or typical knife blade at 5.5
6. Orthoclase
Streak plate or good steel file at over 6.5
7. Quartz
8. Topaz
9. Corundum
10. Diamond
Mohs hardness scale is only relative. An absolute hardness scale is given as:

Mineral Name Hardness

1. Talc Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 1
2. Gypsum CaSO4·2H2O 3
3. Calcite CaCO3 9
4. Fluorite CaF2 21
5. Apatite Ca5(PO4)3(OH,Cl,F) 48
6. Orthoclase KAlSi3O8 72
7. Quartz SiO2 100
8. Topaz Al2SiO4(OH,F)2 200
9. Corundum Al2O3 400
10. Diamond C (pure carbon) 1600

8. Specific Gravity
Specific gravity is the weight of the mineral compared with the weight of an equal volume of
water.
Thus a mineral with specific gravity 4 is four times as heavy as water. Minerals range from 1 to
over 20 in sp. gravity, but most lie between 2 and 7. Sp. gravity of some common minerals found in
sediments are given as:
Glauconite: 2.3 Feldspar: 2.56 – 2.7 Quartz: 2.65 Muscovite: 2.8 – 3.0
Apatite: 3.2 Hornblende: 3.2 Topaz: 3.6 Zircon: 4.7
Magnetite: 5.2 Cassiterite: 6.9

9. Taste
Some of the more common minerals that have a significantly distinct taste:
• Borax (sweet alkaline)
• Chalcanthite (metallic & slightly poisonous)
• Epsomite (bitter)
• Glauberite (bitter salty)
• Halite (salty)
 • Hanksite (salty)

10. Other properties: fluorescence (response to ultraviolet light), magnetism, radioactivity, tenacity
(response to mechanical induced changes of shape or form), piezoelectricity and reactivity to
dilute acids.

Common Rock-Forming Minerals

While rocks consist of aggregates of minerals, 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.

The six minerals olivine, quartz, feldspar, mica, pyroxene and amphibole are the commonest
rock-forming minerals and are used as important tools in classifying rocks, particularly igneous rocks.
Except for quartz, all the minerals listed are actually mineral groups. However, instead of trying to
separate all the minerals which make up a group, which is often not possible in the field, they are dealt
with here as a single mineral with common characteristics.
Quartz: Quartz is a glassy looking, transparent or
translucent mineral which varies in colour from white
and grey to smoky. When there are individual crystals
they are generally clear, while in larger masses quartz
looks more milky white. Quartz is hard - it can easily
scratch a steel knife blade. In many rocks, quartz
grains are irregular in shape because crystal faces are
rare and quartz does not have a cleavage (ie, it does
not break on regular flat faces).

Feldspar: Feldspar is the other common, light-

coloured rock-forming mineral. Instead of being glassy
like quartz, it is generally dull to opaque with a
porcelain-like appearance. Colour varies from red,
pink, and white (orthoclase) to green, grey and white
(plagioclase). Feldspar is also hard but can be
scratched by quartz. Feldspar in igneous rocks forms
well developed crystals which are roughly rectangular
in shape, and they cleave or break along flat faces. The
grains, in contrast to quartz, often have straight edges
and flat rectangular faces, some of which meet at right
Orthoclase
angles.
Mica: Mica is easily distinguished by its characteristic
of peeling into many thin flat smooth sheets or flakes.
This is similar to the cleavage in feldspar except that in
the case of mica the cleavage planes are in only one
direction and no right angle face joins occur. Mica may
be white and pearly (muscovite) or dark and shiny
(biotite).

Pyroxene: The most common pyroxene mineral

is augite. Augite is generally dark green to black in
colour and forms short, stubby crystals which, if you
look at an end-on section, have square or rectangular
cross-sections.

Amphibole: The most common amphibole

ishornblende. Hornblende is quite similar to augite in
that both are dark minerals, however hornblende
crystals are generally longer, thinner and shinier than
augite and the mineral cross-sections are diamond-
shaped.

Olivine: Olivine, or peridot in the jewellery trade, is

yellow-green, translucent and glassy looking. Crystals
are not common; it usually occurs as rounded grains in
igneous rocks or as granular masses. Olivine is almost
as hard as quartz; it does not have a well-developed
cleavage.

Quartz and feldspar are light-coloured minerals; mica, pyroxene, amphibole and olivene are
dark-coloured. The colour of a rock will be determined by the proportions of light and dark-coloured
minerals present. If most of the grains are quartz and feldspar then the overall appearance of the rock
will be light, while the opposite will be true if the minerals are mainly mica, pyroxene, amphibole or
olivine. The colour of a rock with between 25 and 50% dark minerals is intermediate.