COMMON ROCK-FORMING MINERALS generally dull to opaque with a porcelain-like appearance.

Colour
varies from red, pink and white (orthoclase), to green, grey and
While rocks consist of aggregates of minerals, minerals white (plagioclase). Feldspar is also hard but can be scratched by
themselves are made up of one or a number of chemical elements quartz. Feldspar in igneous rocks forms well-developed crystals
with a definite chemical composition. Minerals cannot be broken which are roughly rectangular in shape, and they cleave or break
down into smaller units with different chemical compositions in along flat faces. The grains, in contrast to quartz, often have
the way that rocks can. More than two thousand three hundred straight edges and flat rectangular faces, some of which may meet
different types of minerals have been identified. Luckily many are at right angles.
rare and the common rocks are made up of a relatively small
number of minerals.

Identifying the common minerals

Since minerals are the building blocks of rocks, it is important

that you learn to identify the most common varieties. Minerals
can be distinguished using various physical and/or chemical
characteristics, but, since chemistry cannot be determined
readily in the field, geologists us the physical properties of
minerals to identify them. These include features such as crystal
form, hardness (relative to a steel blade or you finger nail),
colour, lustre, and streak (the colour when a mineral is ground to
a powder). More detailed explanations of these terms and other
aspects of mineral identification may be found in field handbooks
Mica: Mica is easily distinguished by its characteristic of peeling
or textbooks. Generally the characteristics listed above can only
into many thin flat smooth sheets or flakes. This is similar to the
be determined if the mineral grains are visible in a rock. Thus the
cleavage in feldspar except that in the case of mica the cleavage
identification key distinguishes between rocks in which the
grains are visible and those in which the individual mineral planes are in only one direction and no right angle face joins
occur. Mica may be white and pearly - muscovite, or dark and
components are too small to identify.
shiny - biotite.
The six commonest minerals
Pyroxene: The most
The six minerals olivine, quartz, feldspar, mica, pyroxene and common pyroxene
amphibole are the commonest rock-forming minerals and are mineral is augite.
used as important tools in classifying rocks, particularly igneous Augite is generally dark
rocks. Except for quartz, all the minerals listed are actually green to black in colour
mineral groups. However, instead of trying to separate all the and forms short, stubby
minerals which make up a group, which is often crystals which, if you
not possible in the field, they are dealt with look at an end-on
here as a single mineral with common section, have square or
characteristics.. rectangular cross-
sections.
Olivine: Olivine, or peridot in the
jewelry trade, is yellow-green,
translucent and glassy looking. Crystals
are uncommon; 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- Amphibole: The
developed cleavage. most common
amphibole is
Quartz: Quartz hornblende.
is a glassy Hornblende is quite
looking, similar to augite in
transparent or that both are dark
translucent minerals, however
mineral which hornblende crystals
varies in colour are generally longer
from white and and thinner and
grey to smoky. shinier than augite
When there are and the mineral
individual cross-sections are diamond shaped.
crystals they
are generally Quartz and feldspar are light-coloured minerals; mica, pyroxene
clear, while in larger masses quartz looks more milky white. and amphibole are dark coloured. The colour of a rock will be
Quartz is hard - it can easily scratch a steel knife blade. In the determined by the proportions of light and dark-coloured
rock, quartz grains are irregular in shape because crystal faces minerals present. If most of the grains are quartz and feldspar
are rare and quartz then the overall appearance of the rock will be light, while the
does not have a opposite will be true if the minerals are mainly mica, pyroxene
cleavage (that is, it and amphibole. The colour of a rock with between 25 and 50%
does not break on dark minerals is intermediate.
regular flat faces). http://www.empr.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Geoscience/PublicationsCatalogue/InformationCirculars/IC1987-
05/Pages/contain.aspx
Feldspar: Feldspar is
the other common,
light-coloured rock-
forming mineral.
Instead of being glassy
like quartz, it is
PROPERTIES OF MINERALS
3. Crystal Form/Habit
There are several different mineral properties which must The external shape of a crystal or groups of crystals is
be identified and defined. displayed / observed as these crystals grow in open
1. Luster – it is the quality and intensity of reflected light spaces. The form reflects the supposedly internal structure
exhibited by the mineral (of atoms and ions) of the crystal (mineral). It is the
a. Metallic – generally opaque and exhibit a resplendent natural shape of the mineral before the development of
shine similar to a polished metal any cleavage or fracture.
b. Non-metallic – vitreous (glassy), adamantine Examples include banded, columnar, botryoidal and cubic.
(brilliant/diamond-like), resinous, silky, pearly, dull A mineral that do not have a crystal structure is described
(earthy), greasy, among others. as amorphous.

Banded Columnar

2. Hardness – it is a measure of the resistance of a mineral

(not specifically surface) to abrasion. Botryoidal Cubic
a. Introduce students to the use of a hardness scale
designed by German geologist/mineralogist 4. Color and streak
Friedrich Mohs in 1812 (Mohs Scale of Hardness). a. A lot of minerals can exhibit same or similar colors.
b. The Mohs Scale of Hardness measures the scratch Individual minerals can also display a variety of colors
resistance of various minerals from a scale of resulting from impurities and also from some geologic
1 to 10, based on the ability of a harder processes like weathering.
material/mineral to scratch a softer one. b. Examples of coloring: quartz can be pink (rose
c. Pros of the Mohs scale: quartz), purple (amethyst), orange (citrine), white
i. The test is easy. (colorless quartz) etc.
ii. The test can be done anywhere, anytime, as long c. Streak, on the other hand, is the mineral’s color in
as there is sufficient light to see scratches. powdered form. It is inherent in almost every mineral,
iii. The test is convenient for field geologists with and is a more diagnostic property compared to color.
scratch kits who want to make a rough Note that the color of a mineral can be different from
identification of minerals outside the lab. its streak.
d. Cons of the Mohs scale: d. Examples of streak: pyrite (FeS2) exhibits gold color
i. The Scale is qualitative, not quantitative. but has a black or dark gray streak.
ii. The test cannot be used to accurately test the e. The crystal’s form also defines the relative growth of
hardness of industrial materials. the crystal in three dimensions, which include the
crystal’s length, width and height.
Mohs scale of Hardness

Gold’s streak is golden yellow vs. Pyrite’s streak is

black
5. Cleavage – the property of some minerals to break 6. Specific Gravity – the ratio of the density of the mineral
along specific planes of weakness to form and the density of water
smooth, flat surfaces a. This parameter indicates how many times more the
a. These planes exist because the bonding of atoms mineral weighs compared to an equal amount of water (SG
making up the mineral happens to be weak in those 1).
areas. b. For example, a bucket of silver (SG 10) would weigh ten
b. When minerals break evenly in more than one times more than a bucket of water.
direction, cleavage is described by the number of
cleavage directions, the angle(s) at which they meet, 7. Others – magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to
and the quality of cleavage (e.g. cleavage in 2 acid, etc. For example, magnetite is strongly magnetic; sulfur
directions at 90°). has distinctive smell; halite is salty; calcite fizzes with acid as
c. Cleavage is different from habit; the two are distinct, with dolomite but in powdered form; etc.
unrelated properties. Although both are dictated by
crystal structure, crystal habit forms as the mineral is MINERAL GROUPS
growing, relying on how the individual atoms in the
crystal come together. Cleavage, meanwhile, is the 1. Silicates – minerals containing the two most abundant
weak plane that developed after the crystal is formed. elements in the Earth’s crust, namely, silicon and
oxygen.
a. When linked together, these two elements
form the silicon oxygen tetrahedron – the
fundamental building block of silicate minerals.
b. Over 90% of rock-forming minerals belong to
this group.
2. Oxides – minerals composed of oxygen anion (O2-)
combined with one or more metal ions
3. Sulfates – minerals containing sulfur and oxygen in
the form of the (SO4)- anion
4. Sulfides – minerals containing sulfur and a metal;
some sulfides are sources of economically
important metals such as copper, lead, and zinc.
5. Carbonates – minerals containing the carbonate
(CO3)2- anion combined with other elements
6. Native Elements – minerals that form as individual
elements
a. Metals and Intermetals – minerals with high
thermal and electrical conductivity, typically
with metallic luster, low hardness (gold, lead)
b. Semi-metals – minerals that are more fragile
than metals and have lower conductivity
(arsenic, bismuth)
c. Nonmetals – nonconductive (sulfur, diamond)
7. Halides – minerals containing halogen elements
(fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), iodine (I),
astatine (At), and tennessine (Ts)) combined with one or
more metal
 Element + Element +
Element Element + O2 Element + SO4 Element + S2 Element + CO3
SiO4 Halogens
Native Silicate Oxide Sulfate Sulfide Carbonate Halide

Gold Quartz Hematite Gypsum Pyrite Calcite Chlorine

Bismuth Olivine Magnetite Barite Galena Dolomite Flourine

Diamond Talc Chromite Bornite Malachite Halite

Anhydrite

Biotite Orthoclase

Microcline Plagioclase Feldspar

Muscovite Clay Mineral

Augite Hornblende
Calcite