GeologyRocks and MineralsMineral BasicsMineral Advanced

 

 

-Stage 1.1.2-

 

Minerals - Advanced

 

 

       This page is dedicated to the more interesting thing about minerals as well as a greater understanding of them. Minerals are mostly known for their prettiness from the forms that they can develop but there those same minerals found in your everyday life that you don't notice.

 

More Mineral Websites

                            

            THE CRYSTAL           University of Colorado Mineral Structure Data

        LATTICE GALLERY

                                                                                                            

 

Mineralogy Help

     When I was in mineralogy ~6 years ago, learning over 100 minerals as well as their chemical formulas and properties was probably the hardest thing in geology I have ever done. So I made a study sheet that hopefully could help some of you. Just click on the box to download it.

 

 

  

Chemical Formula

  • Minerals are sorted according to their chemical formula.

  • The formula has 2 parts; the cation and the anion.

    • Cation - The first half of the chemical formula. It contains a positive charge is the mineral were to be dissolved.

    • Anion - The second half of the chemical formula. It contains a negative charge and what is used to categorized minerals.

    Ex - HCl - Halite (AKA salt)

    H - Cation

    Cl - Anion

     - Grouped as Chloride (due to the Chlorine anion)

Ex - KAlSi3O8 - Orthoclase

KAl - Cation

Si3O8 - Anion

 - A silicate due to Si and O group

  • Most anions are more than one element (like Si and O) that form a tight bond that cannot be easily broken
Mineral Structure

  • The properties of a specific mineral always remain the same because the structure of a mineral is always the same.

  • Some minerals have the same formula but different structures giving the completely different properties.

Graphite (both have C as their chemical formula) Diamond

                           

Since graphite is formed into sheets, it falls apart much more easily than diamond which is formed into an impenetrable lattice

  • Many mineral properties like cleavage are also a result of the crystal structure

Halite                                     Halite Structure

        

The square shape of the structure causes the mineral to break off in tiny cubes (a perfect example of cleavage in 3 directions @ 90o

 

 

 

Carbon structures from the Molecule of the Month page. Halite picture from The Amethyst Galleries. Halite structure picture from The Crystal Lattice Gallery

Abundance

  • Most minerals are not that common, they are formed in extreme circumstances, are destroyed easily, or the building blocks for the minerals are just not present.

  • Other minerals, usually the ones with the most basic structure and elements are extremely common. These can even be found in your backyard sometimes. These include:

    • Quartz

    • Feldspar - A group of minerals

    • Micas - Another group of minerals including muscovite and biotite

    • Pyroxenes - A group of minerals including augite and diopside

    • Amphibole - A group of minerals including hornblende
This page is owned by Jim Lehane. Unless cited, images found on this site have been taken or created by Jim Lehane. Any use of these images should be cited appropriately. If you would like larger copies of the images than those provided on the site you can send me an e-mail, and we will make arrangements. Thanks for your cooperation.
Comments or questions can be sent via e-mail to Jazinator@hotmail.com