PNG UNIVERISTY OF TECHNOLOGY

MINING ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

MP236 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY & MINERALOGY
LECTURE 1 3 MINERALS
Introduction
All activities of human beings and even life itself can be traced back to minerals.
In the same ways as cells are the building blocks of living organisms, minerals are
the building blocks of rocks.
Minerals like cells are composed of atoms and elements, with the most common
elements occurring in the most common minerals.
Minerals can be identified on the basis of their physical properties, which result from
chemical composition and atomic structure of the individual minerals.
The principal bases of grouping and classifying minerals are thus chemical
composition and crystal structural.
What is a mineral?
The solid earth is composed of minerals.

Elements essential to life, metal of

industry, materials for building, are all obtained from

made up of minerals.

The Ca & P in bones. Fe in blood, are made available to the body through plants
which extracted these elements from the minerals.
Mineral is a naturally occurring in organic solid having a regular atomic
arrangement and a chemical composition that is either fixed for e.g. quartz (SiO 2) or
varies between fixed limit, for example Olivine (Mg 2SiO4 to Fe2SiO4).
The reference to a regular atomic arrangement may also be expressed by referring
to the solid as crystalline.
How do minerals form?
Minerals form when elements combine to form a solid as a result of some change in
the physical condition. In a liquid, atoms and group of atoms are in constant
motion. Atoms bond briefly but collision with other atoms break these arrangement.
However, when for example, basaltic lava cools, atoms of Mg, Fe, Si and O gradually
lose heat energy and their movement slows down enough to form permanent
bonds. They may combine to form minerals known as Olivine.
At the same time atoms of Ca, Na, Al, Si, & O are combining to form minerals like
plagioclase feldspar.

Weathering of minerals in the rocks is a reversal of the Bowens reaction series.

Processes of Mineral Formation
Minerals form in and on earth by a variety of processes. A particular mineral will
only form when the chemical composition of the system and physical condition,
such as temperature and pressure are appropriate to that minerals.
e.g. Pyrite Any temp. pressure and pH
Marcasite Any temp. pressure but acid pH
The process of mineral formation may be classified in the following ways.
(a)

Igneous
Crystallized from magma (molten rock) at temperatures generally between
600o & 1200oC, and from the surface to depth of 30 km or more.

(b)

Weathering
Crystallized under surface condition following chemical reaction between preexisting minerals, and the atmosphere or surface solution.

(c)

Sedimentary
Crystallized from solution by the evaporation of water, forming the
evaporative minerals such as Halite and Gypsum or precipitated from water
due to changes in chemical conditions. Example Chert (silica), Iron stone and
Carbonates (calcite, aragonite).

(d)

Metamorphism
Recrystallization and reaction within pre-existing rocks produce new minerals
in response to variation in temperature and pressure.

Uses of Minerals
1.

Resource for extraction of metals due to their chemical nature.

Copper (Cu) from chalcopyrite (CuFeS2)

2.

Source of materials to use untreated a result of their physical properties, for

example gemstone and use of garnet as an abrasive.

3.

A source of chemical component essential to living organisms (nutrients) a

result of their chemical properties.
Minerals are also fundamental to the study of geology because they are:

(a)
Essential component of rocks and thus indicate the chemical
constitution of rocks.
(b)
Indicators of the physical condition of formation of rocks.
e.g. Andalusite, Sillimanite, kyanite Al 2SiO5 polymorph
(c)
Indicators of the processes and history of formation of rocks.

What are Crystals?

Minerals may occur as single crystals or aggregates of small crystals.
A single crystal is a solid composed of a regular arrangement of atoms. This regular
arrangement normally results when any liquid solidifies.
The regularity of atomic structure leads to regularity and symmetry in crystal shape,
and to properties that vary according to direction in the crystal.
Crystal varies greatly in size. Some may be meters long while others may less than
a micrometer (m), that is 0.000001 metre in length. Even when they are as small
as 0.01 m their crystal character is still detectable with X-Rays.
What makes up a mineral?
Elements of the earth are contained in minerals, with the common minerals being
composed of common elements. Well known minerals may not be common at all.
The mineral, diamond, makes up less than one part in 10 14 of the Earths Crust,
whereas the feldspar mineral group makes up about 60 wt% of earths crust.
Oxygen is by far the most abundant element in the earths crust followed by silicon
(Table 1).
Table 1 Abundance of Elements
Element
Oxygen
Silicon
Aluminum
Iron
Calcium
Sodium
Potassium
Magnesium
Titanium

Symbol

Wt %

O
Si
Al
Fe
Ca
Na
K
Mg
Ti

46/6
27.72
8.13
5.00
3.63
2.83
2.59
2.09
0.44

Volume
%
91.97
0.80
0.77
0.68
1.48
1.60
2.14
0.56
0.03

Oxygen is one of the largest atoms, whereas silicon is one of the smallest. Silicon
atoms nestle in the gaps between the oxygen atoms in almost all minerals, and the
relatively small Al, Mg, and Fe atoms also fit into cavities between oxygen atoms.
Mineral Groups
Compound of silicon and oxygen, the silicate minerals are by far the most common
mineral group. The silicate group is divided up into a number of separate families
according to the number and arrangement of the different component (Table 2).

Table 2. The Silicate Minerals

Structure
Island
Single chain
Double chain
Sheet

Silicate Group
(SiO4)4(SiO3)2(Si4O11)6(Si2O5)2-

Family
Olivine
Pyroxene
Amphibole
Mica

Framework

(SiO2)

Quartz
Feldspar

Mineral Example
Fosterite (Mg2SiO4)
Augite
Hornblende
Muscovite
(KAP2(Si3Al)O10(OH)2
Quartz (SiO2)
Orthoclase (KAPSi3O8)

Augite
[Ca (Mg, Fe, Al)(Si, Al)2O6]
Hornblende [Ca2 (Mg, Fe)5 (Si, Al)8 O22 (OH)2]
Carbon combines will oxygen to produce carbonate group of minerals, mostly
associated will surface process. Most common carbonate is calcite (CaCO 3), the
major constituent of the sedimentary rock limestone. Abundance of oxygen means
the oxide group of minerals is important in the rocks of the crust. Iron oxide provide
much of the spectacular red-brown coloring in rocks.
Sulfur, the second most abundant non-metallic element after oxygen, combines
readily with metals to form many of the important sulfide ore minerals. eg. galena
PbS.
It also combines with oxygen to form the sulfate group which is commonly
associated with the minerals which crystallize from seawater evaporates eg.
gypsum (CaSO4 2H2O)
How are minerals identified?
Particular minerals may be defined by its chemical composition and atomic
structure. These properties can be determine in a well equipped laboratory with
chemical analysis such as EPMA and XRD. But these are impractical in the field.
Fortunately, the characteristics of composition and structure tend to give each
mineral a unique set of physical properties which are often easily observable. By
determining some of these properties.
The more common minerals can be
identified easily.
Properties that are useful for distinguishing a particular mineral from other similar
minerals are termed diagnostic properties.
(i)

Colour the surface reflection of light after penetration into the minerals.

(ii)

Steak is the colour of the powder of the mineral seen by scraping the
mineral on the white unglazed ceramic tile.
The colour can also be imparted to large crystals by a small amount for a
chemical element dissolved in the mineral, as is done in staining glass.

Quartz is often naturally coloured because of small amount of impurities,

although its streak is always white.

Some trace of elements give characteristics colors to the non-metallic

minerals for example:

copper (Cu) bright green or blue

iron (Fe2+) dull green, yellow green
iron (Fe+3) yellow, rust brown, red
chromium (Cr): brilliant green, orange
uranium (U): yellow orange

Color of metallic minerals is unaffected by small amount of impurity.

(iii)

Lustre is the surface reflection of the mineral.

It is described as:
(a)
(b)
(c)

Earthy (or dull), which essentially is no shine, like chalk.

Non-metallic is shiny, as for quartz and other non-opaque mineral.
Metallic characteristics of metals and opaque minerals.

Lustre of metallic and non-metallic minerals can be divided into a number of

distinguishable group.
Adamantine lustre of diamond
Glassy (vitreous) bright shine of broken glass or quartz
Pearly slightly in descent lustre shown by some ploty minerals
Silky lustre caused by aggregate of thin fibres
Resinous sphalerate and a few semi-transparent minerals
(iv)

Habit is the shape as commonly seen in grains or crystals. Many minerals

grow as well developed crystals in a form that is controlled by atomic
structure.
Terms used to describe crystal habits are listed below:
Shape of Single Crystals
Acicular long needle like crystal
Columnar long but thick
Equant roughly equal sizes in all 3 dimensions
Bladed long, flat but narrow
Tabular thin and flat
Shapes of Aggregate Crystals
Concretionary roughly spherical concentric layers

Botroyoidal roughed aggregate like bunch of grape

Mammilary breast-like, rounded surfaces
Pisolitic pea-sized spherical concretion
Oolitic small concretions like fish eggs
Fibrous clusters of thin threads
Radiating needle-like crystals pointing outward from a common center
Stalactitic thin tapering columns
Dendritic fern-like branching shapes
Massive compact, with no particular shape
(v)

Density density of a solid is its mass per unit volume. The specific gravity
(SG) is the weight of the sample divided by the weight of a equal volume of
water at 4oC light (SG < 3) medium (SG 5-4) heavy (4-6) and very heavy
(>6).

(vi)

Hardness the hardness of a mineral (i.e. how easily it is scratched) depends

on the strength of the chemical bond. In stronger bonds, the two bonded
atom tends to be closer together. The opposite is true for weaker bond. The
interatomic distance thus controls a mineral hardness.
In 1824 Austrian mineralogist, F. Mohs chose 10 minerals and number them
on the basis that a mineral higher in grade would scratch one lower in scale.
Hardness

Types of Mineral

Common

Substance
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
(vii)

Talc
Gypsum 1
Calcite
Fluorite
Apatite
Orthoclase
Quartz
Topaz
Corundum
Diamond

Fingernail 2.5
Copper Coin 3.5
Knife Glade 5.5

Cleavage many minerals have a tendency to split in particular directions.

Mica provides an excellent example of cleavage.
Cleavage is usually
described by the number of direction of cleavage and the angle between
them.
Terms used to describe clearage
Eminent leaving very shinny surface
Perfect readily cleave by a gently hammer tap
Good cleavage is always noticeable
Distinct cleavage is not easy to see without a hand lens
Poor generally not seen in hand specimens