MINERALS IN ROCKS

AQUINO, ESCALANTE, RAMOS, TABOADA

WHAT IS A MINERAL?

MINERALS

- FROM THE LATIN WORD ‘MINERALE’, OR ‘SOMETHING MINED’

- SOLID INORGANIC SUBSTANCE OF NATURAL OCCURENCE

GEMS

- ‘GEMSTONE’, ‘JEWEL’

- IS A PIECE OF MINERAL USED TO MAKE JEWELRY AND ADORNMENTS

MINERALS AND GEMS – ARE THEY DIFFERENT?

NO. THEY ARE NOT DIFFERENT AT ALL!

AGAIN, MINERALS HAVE SPECIFIC CHEMICAL COMPOSITION;

GEMS ARE COMBINATIONS OF MINERALS.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS

1.COLOR

2.STREAK

3.HARDNESS

4.CLEAVAGE OR FRACTURE

5.CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE

6.DIAPHANEITY

7.TENACITY

8. MAGNETISM

9. LUSTER

10. ODOR

11. TASTE

12. SPECIFIC GRAVITY

COLOR

- MOST MINERALS HAVE DISTINCTIVE COLORS USED FOR IDENTIFICATIONSTREAK

- STREAK IS THE COLOR OF MINERAL IN POWDERED FORM. STREAK SHOWS THE TRUE COLOR OF THE MINERAL

HARDNESS

- IS A MEASURE OF MINERAL’S RESISTANCE TO SCRATCHINGCLEAVAGE

- MINERALS TEND TO BREAK ALONG LINES OR SMOOTH SURFACES WHEN HIT SHARPLY. DIFFERENT MINERALS BREAK IN DIFFERENT WAYS SHOWING DIFFERENT TYPES OF CLEAVAGE.

CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE

- MINERAL CRYSTALS OCCUR IN VARIOUS SHAPES AND SIZES. TRANSPARENCY OR DIAPHANEITY

- DIAPHANEITY IS A MINERAL’S DEGREE OF TRANSPARENCY OR ABILITY TO ALLOW LIGHT TO PASS THROUGH IT. 

TENACITY

- TENACITY IS THE CHARACTERISTIC THAT DESCRIBES HOW THE PARTICLES OF A MINERAL HOLD TOGETHER OR RESIST SEPARATION. MAGNETISM

- IS THE CHARACTERISTIC THAT ALLOWS A MINERAL TO ATTRACT OR REPEL OTHER MAGNETIC MATERIALS.

LUSTER

- LUSTER IS THE PROPERTY OF MINERALS THAT INDICATES HOW MUCH THE SURFACE OF A MINERAL REFLECTS LIGHT. ODOR

- MOST MINERALS HAVE NO ODOR UNLESS THEY ARE ACTED UPON IN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING WAYS: MOISTENED, HEATED, BREATHED UPON, OR RUBBED.

TASTE

- ONLY SOLUBLE MINERALS HAVE A TASTE, BUT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT MINERALS NOT BE PLACED IN THE MOUTH OR ON THE TONGUE. SPECIFIC GRAVITY

- SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF A MINERAL IS A COMPARISON OR RATIO OF THE WEIGHT OF THE MINERAL TO THE WEIGHT OF AN EQUAL AMOUNT OF WATER. 

MOHS SCALE

- IN 1812 THE MOHS SCALE OF MINERAL HARDNESS WAS DEVISED BY THE GERMAN MINERALOGIST FREDERICH MOHS (1773-1839), WHO SELECTED THE TEN MINERALS BECAUSE THEY WERE COMMON OR READILY AVAILABLE. 

MINING

- MINING IS THE EXTRACTION OF VALUABLE MINERALS OR OTHER GEOLOGICAL MATERIALS FROM THE EARTH FROM AN OREBODY, LODE, VEIN, SEAM OR REEF WHICH FORMS THE MINERALIZED PACKAGE OF ECONOMIC INTEREST TO THE MINER.

MINERAL ORES

- A MINERAL OR AN AGGREGATE OF MINERALS FROM WHICH A VALUABLE CONSTITUENT, ESPECIALLY A METAL, CAN BE PROFITABLY MINED OR EXTRACTED.

MINING

- MINING IS THE EXTRACTION OF VALUABLE MINERALS OR OTHER GEOLOGICAL MATERIALS FROM THE EARTH FROM AN OREBODY, LODE, VEIN, SEAM OR REEF WHICH FORMS THE MINERALIZED PACKAGE OF ECONOMIC INTEREST TO THE MINER.