EES 330 Lab test 1

Plagioclase Feldspar

(Ca,Na)AlSi3O8, hardness 6, sodium makes albite (lighter) calcium makes labradorite (bluer), 2 planes cleavage, blocky/brick like, white gray or colorless, internal striations

Olivine

(Mg2,Fe2)SiO4 granular, sandpapery, gemstone peridot, most of the mantle, no cleavage, greenish/yellowish, dull luster in our samples but can be glassy. big nodules of xenoliths

Bauxite

ALUMINUM ORE, light color and weight, grows in tropical soils, small spheres, grows around nucleus, tiny peas, kinda looks like conglomerate

Apatite

Accessory Mineral, takes in Uranium, greenish brown, glassy luster, TEETH+BONES, columnar mineral, hardness 5

Corundum

Al2O3, Hardness 9, purplish crystals, barrel shaped, 6 sided, vitreous luster

Andalustite

Al2SiO5, Dull luster, cross sections look like plus signs, found in schists, high temp but not high pressure

Kyanite

Al2SiO5, blueish, usually darker in the center, shiny luster, bladed mineral, high pressure but not so high temp

Sillimanite

Al2SiO5, fibrous, looks like hairs, white but can be yellowish, metamorphic grade indicator, high temp and pressure, sometimes has garnet with it

Barite

BaSO4, very heavy, felsic, can be bladed, platy, disc like, whitish-cream-orangish-pinkish, shiny/pearly luster, high specific gravity

Calcite

CaCO3, Hardness 3, will fizz with acid, cleavage, Great Barrier Reef/corals, translucent/opaque

Flourite

CaF2, FLOURINE ORE, purplish greenish yellowish grayish, glassy luster, 4 planes cleavage, hardness 4, translucent/opaque

Native Copper

Cu, really heavy, copper color, metallic luster, some more dull. forms in flakes/branches (dendritic)

Chalcopyrite

CuFeS2, metallic luster, can't scratch with nail, greenish/gold, brassy yellow, some smaller reddish or rainbow flakes

Chalcocite

CuS2, dark and mafic, black/greyish, shiny but often dull tarnish, occurs with chalcopyrite

Biotite Mica

Fe/Mg mica, darker, one plane of cleavage, sheet like

Hematite

Fe2O3, IRON ORE, red streak, metallic/rusty luster, mafic- red/black, very heavy, planes of cleavage, platy

Magnetite

Fe3O4, IRON ORE, magnetic, mafic, black, very heavy, rusty red streak, common in other minerals in small proportions, hardness 6, can be in little cubes

Siderite

FeCO3, two planes of cleavage, IRON ORE, iron rich, reddish/dark, rusty, looks like rusty calcite

Chromite

FeCr2O4, mafic, dark black, no cleavage, uneven, same size tiny crystals, shiny/metallic luster

Pyrite

FeS2, iron sulfide, cubey, metallic luster, gold color, faces have striations, mined for sulfur

Ilminite

FeTiO3, TITANIUM ORE, sample not on test, black layers in sand, does not weather well, iron oxide

Limonite/Goethite

Gossens! Iron ore, mafic, reddish orange/black, no cleavage, sandy, dull luster, oxidized cap for other mineral deposits

Chlorite

Green mica, shiny luster, sheet like/soft, foliated

Gypsum

Hardness 2, salt, forms from evaporation, pinkish/whitish, light, "cake like", 100% gypsum, fibrous growth from precipitating on sea floor

Talc

Hardness of 1, in yogurt, soap like, greasy feel, soft, sheet silicate, main ingredient in soapstone, foliated

Cinnabar

HgS, MERCURY ORE, no sample on test, toxic, occurs with mercury, dense

Tourmaline

In pegmatite, no cleavage, usually black but can be in any color, splintery, elongated, fractured easily, confused with hornblende

Pyrrhotite

Iron sulfide, crumbling foundations, mafic, weak magnetism, smells like metal, dull/slight metallic luster, pretty heavy

Orthoclase Feldspar

KAlSi3O8, "Kspar", salmon colored, hardness 6, internal wavy stripes (striations), can also be greenish blue but very rare

Sylvite

KCl, felsic light salt, reddish pink, more opaque than Halite, good fertilizer

Lepidolite

Lithium mica, purplish/yellow, coarse grained, metallic luster,

Pyrolusite

MnO2, manganese nodules on the ocean floor, dendritic, fibrous, needlelike, will smudge fingers, dark/mafic, hardness varies from 2-6

Molybendite

MoS2, metallic luster, silvery blue, lighter than expected, hardness 1.5-2, sheet flakey

Orpiment/Realgar

Orpiment- yellow, Realgar- red, mostly dull luster, used in pesticides, vibrant, looks poisonous and is poisonous.

Galena

PbS, metallic luster, very heavy, perfect cubic cleavage, silverfish, almost blue hue, can be grayer

Bornite

Peacock Ore, rainbow, blues and purples, metallic luster, looks like an oil spill, occurs often with chalcopyrite, Cu5FeS4

Rhodochrosite

Pinkish grey, some samples banded, other botryoidal (grape bunch)

Muscovite Mica

Potassium Mica, clear/yellowish/golden, one plane of cleavage, sheet like, sheet silicate, sparkly makeup

Stibnite

Sb2S3, fibrous, enlongated needle blades, metallic luster, silvery/light grey, smells like burnt matches?

Staurolite

Shiny luster, 4 sided, dark brown/black, forms in crosses, found in schist, high temp and pressure

Quartz

SiO2, no cleavage, hardness 7, called chert/flint when very fine grained

Sphalerite

ZnS, ZINC ORE, shiny luster, resinous, looks like tree sap, mafic, darkish brown/black w/ orange yellow patches, white yellow streak that smells bad like sulfur

Zircon

accessory minerals, no samples on test, forms as prismatic crystals, colorless, red, brown, yellow, green, gray, used for dating

Hornblende

black/dark greenish, 2 planes cleavage, hardness 6, splintery lines going in direction of mineral

Chrysocolla

bright blueish green, occurs with malachite, little lines in samples, copper silicate, occurs with malachite

Sulfur

bright yellow, yellow streak, smells like eggs, gas formations near volcanoes

Nepheline

chunky, lighter colored, one of the hardest minerals to identify, hardness 6, has cleavage, no sample on test

Actinolite-Tremolite

cousins to hornblende; tremolite=white, actinolite=green, very foliated, shiny luster, splintery elongate/asicular/needlelike, radiating masses

Malachite

dull luster, bright turquoise, can be banded like agates

Graphite

feels greasy like talc, hardness 1-2, used for writing

Serpentine

makes asbestos, hardness 4, greenish/blackish green/yellowish green, crystalline; sheared/smooth surface, makes countertops, chess boards, tables

Pyroxene

metallic luster, mafic, greenish/black, 5-6 hardness

Garnet

metallic luster, reddish purple brown, 12-24 sided, looks like choccy chips 6.5-7.5 hardness

Dolomite

not on test, is a rock mineral and mtn range, felsic/light, carbonate, makes up marble

Epidote

often just a coating, cosmo and Wanda, pistachio green, vitreous luster, only gemstone in Willimantic

Beryl

pale green/yellow/blue/pink, moderately opaque, vitreous luster, blue clear; aquamarine, green clear; emerald

Azurite

pen ink blue, small crystals deposits in small amounts, sometimes botryoidal like a grape bunch

Glaucophane

sample not on test, no cleavage, dull luster, darker colored, only formed at subduction zones, tells us about the tectonic environment

Zeolite

smells bad, white chalky/powdery look, porcupine, stunning crystal form, very collectable

Halite

translucent/transparent, 3 planes cleavage, sometimes scratch with nail, glassy luster, tastes like salt

Titanite (Sphene)

wedge shaped/prismatic crystals, color variety within a single crystal, white streak, used for dating, no sample on test

Kaolinite

white chalky powdery, very soft absorbs water, aquitard- impermeable lines landfills, kitty litter, feldspar weathers to clay, geologic hazard in London