2. A mineral:A mineral:
is a naturally occurring inorganic crystallineis a naturally occurring inorganic crystalline
solidsolid
has an ordered internal arrangement of atomshas an ordered internal arrangement of atoms
has specific physical properties that are eitherhas specific physical properties that are either
fixed or that vary within some defined range.fixed or that vary within some defined range.
has a definite chemical composition that mayhas a definite chemical composition that may
vary within specific limitsvary within specific limits
4. Importance of mineralogy
As different rocks are used in different civil
constructions so as a civil engineer we must be know to
enable them to consider different rocks for different
construction purposes. Knowledge of properties like
strength, durability, and appearance of rocks can be
assessed by only with the knowledge of minerals that
forms rocks.
5. Different methods of study of minerals
Study of physical properties
Study of chemical properties
Study of optical properties
X-ray analysis
6. Study of Physical Properties of Minerals
Form
Colour
Streak
Luster
Fracture
Cleavage
Hardness
Specific gravity
Degree of transparency
Special Properties
Other Properties
7. Importance of Physical properties of
minerals
Since every mineral possess different physical
properties so it is easy to know about the mineral by
knowing its physical properties.
From the civil engineering point of view it is very
important to know the physical properties of
minerals to use them in different constructions.
8. 1. Form:
Form is nothing but the physical
appearance of mineral. It I also called as
structure of the mineral.
Tabular form: mineral occurs in the
form of a flattened, square, rectangular
shape with uniform thickness
Lamellar form: mineral appears as thin
separable layers.
Bladed form: mineral appears as if
composed of thin, flat, parts as it is cutted
with blade.
9. Bladed form
Granular form: mineral appears
in the form of densely packed
grains.
Massive form: no definite
shape for minerals.
Reni form: mineral appears
with no. of overlapped kidney-
shaped structures.
Granular form Massive form Reni form
10. 2. Colour: The colour of the any mineral is a
light dependent property. Sometimes it is because of
the presence of trace elements, sometimes due to
composition.
3. Streak: It is the colour of mineral powder.
Different minerals exhibit different streak most of
them exhibit white colour.
4. Lusture: It is the shining property of
mineral. It is dependent on;
•The refractive index
•The absorption capacity if light
•The nature of reflecting surface
11. Typical lustures of minerals
Metallic: shines like a metal. Eg: galena
Vitreous: shines like a glass. Eg: quartz
Pearly: shines like a pearl. Eg: mica
Silky: shines like a silk. Eg: gypsum
Resinous: shines like a resin. Eg:opal
Greasy: shines like a grease. Eg: graphite
Dull: shine is almost absent. Eg: chalk.
Adamantine: shines like a diamond. Eg:
diamond
12. 5. Fracture:
It is the nature of the randomly broken surface of a
mineral. It is less useful property of mineral because
most of the minerals shows same fracture.
Typical fractures of minerals
• Even : broken surface is smooth and flat. Eg: chalk
• Uneven: broken surface is irregular. Eg: most of the minerals.
• Hackly: broken surface is irregular with separable layers. Eg:
asbestos.
• Conchoidal: broken surface shows concentric rings. Eg: opal
• Sub-conchoidal; broken surface shows concentric rings with
less curvature. Eg:agate
15. 7. Hardness:
It may be defined as the
resistance offered by
mineral to scratching.
Based upon the Moh’s
scale of hardness
minerals are arranged
according to their
hardness from 1 to 10.
16. 8.Specific gravity(density):
Density of a mineral is defined as mass per unit
volume of the mineral.
Density types of minerals
Low density - sp.gravity<2.5
Medium density - sp.gravity 2.5 to 3.5
High density - sp.gravity>3.5
17. 9. Degree of transparency:
The property of the mineral to pass light through it.
They may be classified as,
•Transparent
•Translucent
•opaque
10. Special properties: some minerals exhibit
special properties.
18. Advantages of study of minerals by
physical properties
Study of mineral in field it self.
Does not require any equipment
No need of chemicals
No loss or wastage of minerals
Quickest method
Cheapest, simplest and least tedious
19. Study of chemical composition
From definition minerals have its own distinctive
chemical composition. If the composition is known it is
easy to identify the mineral.
Study of optical properties
Making use of polarized light under crossed nicols, different optical
properties of the minerals like colour, refractive index, total
refraction etc. are studied.
21. X-ray analysis
It make use of the atomic structure of the mineral to
identify them. X-rays are similar to light waves but
have a much shorter wavelength.
22. Atomic structure of mineral by x-ray analysis
From: http://www.geology.fau.edu/course_info/fall02/gly4200/X-RAY.htm