Bornite

Bornite (Cu5FeS4) is a copper iron sulfide mineral commonly found in hydrothermal veins, contact metamorphic rocks and in the enriched zone of sulfide copper deposits. It is a common ore of copper and is easily recognized because it tarnishes to iridescent shades of blue, purple, green and yellow. It is often mined as an ore of copper.

FIGURE 2
Bornite stands out for the amazing metallic blue-green color it turns after exposure to the air. That gives bornite the nickname peacock ore. The colors are from an iridescent tarnish that forms on bornite upon exposure to air. The tarnish is made of assorted copper oxides or hydroxides that form a mere atoms thin layer over the bornite. The thickness of the layers is close to the wavelength of light. When light waves bounce between the bornite surface and the top of the tarnish layer they will leave with the wavelengths of various colors. This effect is the same as the rainbow effect that occurs with oil on water. In the case of bornite, the tarnish will have a purplish, violet or blue color. Because bornite is often intergrown with chalcopyrite which tarnishes to more greens and yellows, the peacock ore may have many colors ranging from purple to blue to green to yellow. In Cornish mines it was known as 'horse-flesh' ore, because it has is pink copper color.

FIGURE 3
Other properties of bornite are the following: Cleavage: Indiscernible Fracture: Conchoidal Mohs Scale Hardness: 3 Luster: Metallic Streak: Grayish Black Specific Gravity: 4.9 5.3 Rock Type: Igneous, Metamorphic

Bornite's crystals, if found, are usually distorted cubes with curved faces. Even rarer are the distorted octahedrons and dodecahedrons. These are isometric crystals. However, bornite's structure at normal temperatures is not isometric. Bornite is only isometric at temperatures above 228C and it was above this temperature that the crystals formed. As bornite cooled it structurally altered to possibly a tetragonal structure but outwardly it retained the isometric forms. Bornite occurs mostly massive, as well as in group of tiny crystals and globular.

Pyrite
Pyrite (FeS2) is commonly called Fools Gold because of its similarity in color, shape, and habit to Gold. In the old mining days, pyrite was often confused with gold as they occur together, although Gold and Pyrite can very easily be distinguished by simple observation and testing of characteristics. Fire was pyrites most prominent gift to human society. Sparks are created when pyrite is struck against metal or a hard surf ace and this was one of the earliest methods humans discovered to create flame. Pyrites name comes from the Greek phrase, pyrite lithos, which means stone which strikes fire. Although no longer considered a valuable mi neral in its own right, pyrite in a rock often signals the presence of other hydrothermal minerals and metal ores that do have significant value.

FIGURE 1FIGURE 1
There are other shiny brassy yellow minerals, but pyrite is by far the most common and the most often mistaken for gold. Whether it is the golden look or something else, pyrite is a favorite among rock collectors. It is so common in the earth's crust that it is found in almost every possible environment; hence it has a vast number of forms and varieties. Pyrite has been mined for its sulfur content. During WWII, sulfur was in demand as a strategic chemical and North American native sulfur mines were drying up. A sulfide deposit near Ducktown, Tennessee contained commercially valuable deposits of pyrite and other sulfides and produced the needed sulfur as well as iron and other metals. The sulfur was used in the production of sulfuric acid, an important chemical for industrial purposes. Now most sulfur production comes from H2S gas recovered from natural gas wells.

FIGURE 2
Pyrite occurs in all different shapes and forms. The smaller crystal aggregates may give off a beautiful glistening effect in light, and the larger crystals may be perfectly formed, including fascinating perfect cube and penetration twins and other bizarre crystal forms. It can form very well crystallized specimens, which occur as cubes, pyritohedrons, and octahedrons. Combinations of these forms also occur. Crystals are usually striated. Pyrite crystals frequently form penetration twinning, especially in the cubic form. Cubes are often elongated. Pyrite also occurs as massive, radiating, grainy, flaky, mammilary, encrusting, nodular, fibrous, and as groups of small crystals.

FIGURE 3
Other properties of pyrite are the following: Streak: Black with a slightly green tinge Hardness: 6 6.5 Crystal system: Isometric Specific gravity: 4.9 5.2 Luster: Metallic Fracture: Conchoidal Rock type: Igneous, Sedimentary, And Metamorphic

Bornite's crystals, if found, are usually distorted cubes with curved faces. Even rarer are the distorted octahedrons and

Other properties of Bornite are the following:

Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed primarily of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of the mineral calcite. It commonly forms in clear, warm, shallow marine waters. It is usually an organic sedimentary rock that forms from the accumulation of shell, coral, algal and fecal debris. It can also be a chemical sedimentary rock formed by the precipitation of calcium carbonate from lake or ocean water. Physically, limestones are quite impervious, hard, compact, fine-grained calcareous rocks of sedimentary nature. It has a hardness of 3-4 based on Mohs Scale; a quite low porosity; resistant on weather impact; it has a density of 2.5-2.7 Kg/cc; and it has a compressive strength of 60-170 N/mm2

CHALK
A variety of limestone that probably was formed by the accumulation of shells of Foraminifera and/or by chemical precipitation of calcium carbonate. Pure chalk is white, but it may be stained with iron oxide or other impurities. It is a soft porous rock that crumbles easily. It has greater resistance to weathering and slumping than the clays with which it is usually associated, thus forming tall steep cliffs where chalk ridges meet the sea. Chalk hills, known as chalk downland, usually form where bands of chalk reach the surface at an angle, so forming a scarpslope. Because chalk is porous it can hold a large volume of ground water, providing a natural reservoir that releases water slowly through dry seasons.

LITHOGRAPHIC LIMESTONE
A dense limestone with a very fine and very uniform grain size that occurs in thin beds that separate easily to form a very smooth surface. In the late 1700's a printing process (lithography) was developed to reproduce images by drawing them on the stone with an oil-based ink and then using that stone to press multiple copies of the image. The generally accepted theory for the origin of lithographic and sublithographic limestones is that they were formed in shallow stagnanthypersaline and anoxic lagoons. The combination of mild hypersalinity and low oxygen content is believed to have inhibited the formation of microbial mats and prevented the invasion of bottom dwelling organisms. Microbial mats and bottom dwelling organisms would have left fossils, and bottom dwelling organisms would have churned the accumulating sediment, producing a less homogeneous rock. Stagnancy was required to avoid churning or sculpting of the sediment by currents or wave action.

OOLITIC LIMESTONE
Oolitic limestone is a carbonate rock made up mostly of ooliths (or ooids) which are sand-sized carbonate particles that have concentric rings of CaCO3. These rings are formed around grains of sand or shell fragments that were rolled around on the shallow sea floor, gathering layer after layer of limestone. A limestone composed mainly of calcium carbonate "oolites", small spheres formed by the concentric precipitation of calcium carbonate on a sand grain or shell fragment. Oolites are small rounded particles or grains, so named because they look like fish eggs. Oolites commonly are formed by layers of material (usually calcite), that have been deposited around some tiny particle such as a sand grain or fossil fragment and are rolled back and forth in quiet waters. Some of the oolites may be of algal origin. When the grains formed by the process are more than two millimeters in diameter (about the size of the head of a pin), they are called pisolites.

Travertine
Travertine is a natural stone such as Marble, Granite, Onyx, Limestone, Slate etc. The key difference between Travertine and other natural stones lies in the formation of the rock, the hardness of the stone and the appearance. Travertine is formed in hot springs and/or limestone caves. Travertine is not the same as Marble or Limestone which falls in the metamorphic rock category. Key characteristics of Travertine stone are the holes within the stone which are caused by carbon dioxide evasion.

FIGURE 1
Travertine has a light transmission of typically subtransluscent in all but extremely thin pieces. It has a dull to pearly or even subvitreous. It has a hardness of 3-4 on Mohs Scale. Travertine has a variety of colors, such as, colorless, white, pink, yellow and brown, with a streak of white. It has a density of 2.71 Kg/cc and a specific gravity of 1.68. Travertine is a terrestrial sedimentary rock, formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from solution in ground and surface waters, and/or geothermally heated hot-springs. Similar (but softer and extremely porous) deposits formed from ambient-temperature water are known as tufa.

FIGURE 2
Modern travertine is formed from geothermally heated supersaturated alkaline waters, with raised pCO2 ). On emergence, waters degas CO2due to the lower atmospheric pCO2, resulting in an increase in pH. Since carbonate solubility decreases with increased pH, precipitation is induced. Precipitation may be enhanced by factors leading to a reduction in pCO2, for example increased air-water interactions at waterfalls may be important, as may photosynthesis. Precipitation may also be enhanced by evaporation in some springs. Both calcite and aragonite are found in hot spring travertines; aragonite is preferentially precipitated when temperatures are hot, while calcite dominates when temperatures are cooler. When pure and fine, travertine is white, but often it is brown to yellow due to impurities. Travertine may precipitate out directly onto rock and other inert materials as in Pamukkale or Yellowstone for example.

FIGURE 3
Travertine is often used as a building material. The Romans mined deposits of travertine for building temples, aqueducts, monuments, bath complexes, and amphitheaters such as the Colosseum, the largest building in the world constructed mostly of travertine. Travertine is one of several natural stones that are used for paving patios and garden paths. It is sometimes known as travertine limestone or travertine marble; these are the same stone, although travertine is classified properly as a type of limestone, not marble. The stone is characterised by pitted holes and troughs in its surface. Although these troughs occur naturally, they suggest signs of considerable wear and tear over time. Some installers use a grout to fill the holes, whereas others leave them open travertine can be purchased "filled" or "unfilled." It can also be polished to a smooth, shiny finish, and comes in a variety of colors from grey to coral-red. Travertine is most commonly available in tile sizes for floor installations.

Pumice
Pumice is a type of volcanic rock formed when lava with extremely high levels of water and gases is violently ejected from a volcano. Once the rock hardens, the result is a very light, buoyant material.

Figure 1 Pumice is a pyroclastic igneous rock. It is formed by volcanic gases that dissolve in liquid magma during explosive volcanic eruptions. The expansion of these gases causes foaming in the lava. When the frothy lava is expelled from the volcano, the liquid rapidly solidifies around the foam, which creates air pockets as the dissolved gases are suddenly released. It can be created by any type of magma, but rhyolite produces more pumiceous stone than basalt and andesite.

Figure 2 Pumice is a type of glass. It is formed by silica-rich magmas that also create obsidian. Traces of minerals such as feldspar, pyroxene, amphibole and zircon are commonly found in pumice. The color of pumice is determined by the type of lava from which it was formed. White pumice is formed from rhyolite, andesite pumices are generally yellow or brown, and basalt forms a pitch black pumiceous.

Figure 3 Pumice appears sponge like. It is rather abrasive and has a gritty feel that is similar to coarse sand. Pumice is an extremely porous glass, which makes it very light. Pumice is so light that it actually floats and says that blocks of pumice have been spotted floating in the ocean after volcanic eruptions. A block can float as far as 4,000 miles before it becomes waterlogged and begins to sink. Pumice is a common ingredient in soaps and cleansers, but it also has many other uses. It is often used by manufacturers to grind glass used in televisions and its light weight makes it ideal for use in landscaping. Pumice stones are also used to exfoliate, smooth and remove dead skin cells.

Calcite
Calcite is a rock-forming mineral with a chemical formula of CaCO3. It is extremely common and found throughout the world in sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks. Some geologists consider it to be a "ubiquitous mineral" - one that is found everywhere.

FIGURE 1
Calcite, which gets its name from "chalix" the Greek word for lime, is a most amazing and yet, most common mineral. It is one of the most common minerals on the face of the Earth, comprising about 4% by weight of the Earth's crust and is formed in many different geological environments. Calcite can form rocks of considerable mass and constitutes a significant part of all three major rock classification types. It forms oolitic, fossiliferous and massive limestones in sedimentary environments and even serves as the cements for many sandstones and shales. Limestone becomes marble from the heat and pressure of metamorphic events. Calcite is even a major component in the igneous rock called carbonatite and forms the major portion of many hydrothermal veins. Some of these rock types are composed of better than 99% calcite.

FIGURE 2
Calcite is the principal constituent of limestone and marble. These rocks are extremely common and make up a significant portion of Earth's crust. They serve as one of the largest carbon repositories on our planet. The properties of calcite make it one of the most widely used minerals. It is used as a construction material, abrasive, agricultural soil treatment, construction aggregate, pigment, pharmaceutical and more. It has more uses than almost any other mineral.

FIGURE 3
Calcite is intricately tied to carbon dioxide in another way. Since many sea organisms such as corals, algae and diatoms make their shells out of calcite, they pull carbon dioxide from the sea water to accomplish this in a near reverse of the reaction above. Environmentally then, calcite is very important and may have been quite important to the successful development of our planet in the past. By pulling carbon dioxide out of the sea water, this biological activity allows more of the carbon dioxide in the air to dissolve in the sea water and thus acts as a carbon dioxide filter for the planet. Environmentalists are now actively engaged in determining if this activity can be increase by human intervention to the point of warding off the "green house gas effect".

Alabaster
Alabaster is a translucent stone, usually white, that is used for sculpture and interior decorations. It consists of the mineral gypsum with a very fine grain, massive habit, and even coloring. "Alabaster" is also used to refer to a similar type of marble, but a better name for that is onyx marble, or even better just marble.

CALCITE ALABASTER

GYPSUM ALABASTER Gypsum alabaster was very widely used for small sculpture for indoor use in the ancient world,. Fine detail could be obtained in a material with an attractive finish without iron or steel tools. Alabaster was used for vessels dedicated for use in the cult of the deity Bast in the culture of the Ancient Egyptians, and thousands of gypsum alabaster artifacts dating to the late 4th millennium BC also have been found in Tell Brak (present day Nagar), in Syria.

BLACK ALABASTER

The "Oriental" alabaster was highly esteemed for making small perfume bottles or ointment vases called alabastra, the vessel name has been suggested as a possible source of the mineral name. Calcite alabaster is found as either a stalagmitic deposit, from the floor and walls of limestone caverns, or as a kind of travertine, similarly deposited in springs of calcareous water. Its deposition in successive layers gives rise to the banded appearance.

Black alabaster is a rare form of the gypsum-based mineral. This black form is found in only three veins in the world, one each in Oklahoma, Italy, and China. Alabaster Caverns State Park, near Freedom, Oklahoma is home to a natural gypsum cave in which much of the gypsum is in the form of alabaster. There are several types of alabaster found at the site, including pink, white, and the rare black alabaster.

Andesite Porphyry
Andesite-porphyry is a porphyry with andesitic chemism. The term porphyry is used for igneous rock composed of large, conspicuous cr ystals (phenocrysts) and a fine grained to glassy groundmass (matrix) in which the phenocrysts are embedded. Since the term porphyry refers only to the texture of the rock and not to its composition, the expression porphyritic rock is often used.

ANDESITE PORPHYRY Andesite is a fine-grained, extrusive igneous rock composed mainly of plagioclase with other minerals such as hornblende, pyroxene and biotite. Color: Variable (gray, rose) Grain size: Fine grained to glassy matrix, coarse grained penocrysts Texture: Porphyric Class: Igneous Rocks

HORNBLENDE ANDESITE PORPHYRY This is how an andesite porphyry looks like when other mineral is present in the ore. Hornblende andesite porphyry is an intermediate volcanic igneous rock. Like most porphyrys, it cooled at two separate rates, causing two sizes of crystals to be visible. The mineral assembly is typically dominated by plagioclase, with pyroxene and/or hornblende. Biotite, quartz, magnetite, and sphene are common accessory minerals. Alkali feldspar may be present in minor amounts.

ANDESITE PORPHYRY CLOSE UP The composition of andesite is classified as "intermediate" among igneous rocks, implying that its silica content is in the range of 52-63 percent. Its texture ranges from aphanitic to porphyritic. Occurrences: Andes (South America), North Am. (USA: Arizona, Cascades), Italy (Eolian Islands, Tuscany, Umbria), Kamchatka, Japan. Minerals: Phenocrysts, plagioclase, pyroxene and/or hornblende, biotite (+ magnetite, zircon, apatite, ilmenite, garnet)

Malachite
Malachite is a green, very common secondary copper mineral with a widely variable habit. Malachite is perhaps the oldest known green pigment. Typically it is found as crystalline aggregates or crusts, often banded in appearance, like agates. It is also frequently found as a pseudo morph after Azurite crystals, which are generally more tabular in shape.

BOTRYOIDAL MALACHITE Malachite, a copper carbonate, , is found in varying shades of green. It is 3.5- 4.0 on the hardness scale with a specific gravity o f3.25- 4.10. It has cleavage and the fracture is splintery. Malachite falls within the monoclinic crystal system. It may be found thin, translucent crystals, but more often seen as botryoidal, banded opaque masses. It has very strong pleochroism (colorless, yellow-green, dark green) and no fluorescence. The mineral was given this name due to its resemblance to the leaves of the Mallow plant.

MALACHITE POLISHED SURFACE The coloring agent is copper, and the malachite is formed from copper-containing solution or near copper ore deposits. This oxidation zone of copper deposits also creates azurite, limonite, and chalcopyrite, which are all found in association with malachite. Except for its vibrant green color, the properties of malachite are similar to those of azurite and aggregates of the two minerals occur frequently. Malachite is more common than azurite and is typically associated with copper deposits around limestone, the source of the carbonate.

MALACHITE STALACTITES Archeological evidence indicates that the mineral has been mined and smelted at Timna Valley in Israel for over 3,000 years. Since then, malachite has been used as both an ornamental stone and as a gemstone. Malachite was used as a mineral pigment in green paints from antiquity until about 1800. The pigment is moderately lightfast, very sensitive to acids and varying in color. The most important geographic location are in Zaire, as well as the Ural Mountains, where massive blocks were mined and became wall paneling and table tops for Russian czars.

Manganese
Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature that is often in combination with iron, and in many minerals. Manganese ores may accumulate in metamorphic rocks or as sedimentary deposits, frequently forming nodules on the sea floor. It is widely distributed in the terrestrial crust, making it the 12th most abundant element there. It is a metal with important industrial alloy uses, which is added to improve the strength, toughness, stiffness, hardness, wear resistance, and hardenability of steels. In glass making manganese is used as a decolorizing agent for green glasses due to impurities. At the same time, it gives glass an amethyst color and is the coloring agent in natural amethyst.

PYROLUSITE
Named after the Greek pyr, for fire, and louo, meaning to wash, in reference to Pyrolusites use due to its ability to pull tints from glass. Pyrolusite has a chemical formula MnO2 and is a common mineral with many localities and can be found in highly oxidized manganese-rich hydrothermal deposits and rocks, in bogs, lakes, and shallow marine conditions, and can often be found as a product of altered manganite. It has known Physical Properties: Cleavage: {110}, perfect. Fracture: Uneven. Hardness: 66.5, to 2 when massive. Density: 5.06; Optical Properties: Opaque. Color: Light steel-gray, iron-gray to iron-black. Streak: Black, bluish black. Luster: Metallic; Mineral Group: Rutile group.

RHODOCHROSITE
Named for the Greek rhodon, meaning rose and chrosis, meaning coloring. Rhodochrosite has a chemical formula MnCO3 and is found in low-temperature to mid-temperature hydrothermal vein deposits, metamorphic rock, commonly in carbonatites, in sediments either as an authigenic or secondary mineral, and occasionally in granite pegmatites. A gemstone with a deep red color and forms during oxidation of Mn-bearing ores in a carbonate environment. It has known Physical Properties: Cleavage: {1011}. Fracture: Uneven to conchoidal. Tenacity: Brittle. Hardness: 3.54. Density: 3.70; Optical Properties: Transparent to translucent. Color: Pink, rose-red, pale rose to colorless in transmitted light. Streak: White. Luster: Vitreous, pearly in aggregates; Mineral Group: Calcite group.

MANGANITE
This specimen shows incredible, highly reflective luster to which Ilfeld, Germany Manganites are famous for. The columnar, shiny black prismatic crystals of Manganite reach 2cm. Manganite has a chemical formula Mn3+O(OH). It is formed in low-temperature hydrothermal or hot-spring manganese deposits replacing other manganese minerals in sedimentary deposits. It has known Physical Properties: Cleavage: {010}, perfect; {110} and {001}, good. Fracture: Uneven. Tenacity: Brittle. Hardness: 4. Density: 4.294.34; Optical Properties: Opaque, transparent on thin edges. Color: Dark steel-gray to iron-black. Streak: Reddish brown to nearly black. Luster: Submetallic.

Andesite
Andesite is an extrusive rock intermediate in composition between rhyolite and basalt. Andesite lava is of moderate viscosity and forms thick lava flows and domes. The word andesite is derived from the Andes Mountains in South America, where andesite is common. Andesite is the volcanic equivalent of diorite.

DACITE Dacite is a felsic extrusive rock, intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. It is often found associated with andesite, and forms lava flows, dikes, and, in some cases, massive intrusions in the centres of old volcanoes. Dacite is the volcanic equivalent of granodiorite.

ANDESITE Many rocks with an overall fine-grained texture display scattered minerals that are more than 1mm across. This porphyritic texture indicates that the magma sat and cooled a bit below the earths surface, thus giving time for the large crystals to grow, before erupting onto the surface and cooling very quickly.

DIORITE Diorite is a coarse-grained, intrusive igneous rock that is intermediate in composition between granite and gabbro. Its composition is very similar to the finegrained extrusive rock known as andesite. Diorite is composed primarily of plagioclase feldspar, amphibole, and pyroxine minerals with small amounts of biotite mica. It typically contains very little quartz. When identifying diorite look for a rock that as abundant white and dark minerals - a salt and pepper appearance.

Tuff
A relatively soft, porous rock that is usually formed by the compaction and cementation of volcanic ash or dust. Tuffs may be grouped as vitric, crystal, or lithic when they are composed principally of glass, crystal chips, or the debris of pre-existing rocks, respectively. Some of the world's largest deposits of vitric tuff are produced by eruptions through a large number of narrow fissures rather than from volcanic cones

WELDED TUFF
Welded tuff is a pyroclastic rock of any origin, that was sufficiently hot at the time of deposition to weld together. Strictly speaking, if the rock contains scattered pea-sized fragments or fiamme in it, it is called a welded lapilli-tuff. Welded tuffs (and welded lapilli-tuffs) can be of fallout origin, or deposited from pyroclastic density currents, as in the case of ignimbrites. During welding, the glass shards and pumice fragments adhere together (necking at point contacts), deform, and compact together, resulting in a 'eutaxitic fabric'.

BASALTIC TUFF
Basaltic tuffs are also of wide spread occurrence both in districts where volcanoes are now active and in lands where eruptions have long since ended. They are found in places, where there are Palaeogene volcanic rocks. They are black, dark green or red in colour; vary greatly in coarseness, some being full of round spongy bombs a foot or more in diameter.

RHYOLITE TUFF
Rhyolite tuffs contain pumiceous, glassy fragments and small scoriae with quartz, alkali feldspar, biotite, etc. The broken pumice is clear and isotropic, and very small particles commonly have crescentic, sickle-shaped, or biconcave outlines, showing that they are produced by the shattering of a vesicular glass, sometimes described as ash-structure. The tiny glass fragments derived from broken pumice are called shards; the glass shards readily deform and flow when the deposits are sufficiently hot, as shown in the accompanying image of welded tuff.

Siltstone
Siltstone is a hardened sedimentary rock that is composed primarily of angular silt-sized particles (0.0039 to 0.063 mm [0.00015 to 0.0025 inch] in diameter) and is not laminated or easily split into thin layers. Siltstones, which are hard and durable, occur in thin layers rarely thick enough to be classified as formations. Siltstone usually forms offshore, in quieter environments than the places that make sandstone.

SILTSONE FOUND IN ESTONIA 20:12, 20 April 2005, this siltsone was found during an geological expedition of the country. Siim Sepp, is an Estonian, a geology student of the university of Tartu took this photograph. Due to a clay rich area for where this siltstone was found, the reddish clay sits greatly contributed to the color of this siltstone. Silstones color highly depends on its environment thus silts may have different colors. Some colors of siltstones are grey, white, yellowish and brown.

PHYSICAL CHARACERISTICS Siltstone, is highly rich in silts (98% of the stone) has a grainy surface which gives it a fragile texture. Yet, this kind of stone is commonly fairly hard and usually does not split along flat planes. Siltstones do not have a Mohs hardness. Relatively speaking, however, some siltstones are relatively easily broken due to its different silt composition.

SILTSTONE FOUND IN MOUNTAINSIDE Siltstones is also one of the many types of gray stone found in the mountainside, near rivers and shale, sandstone and mudstone places. The above picture was found in a mountain side of Dong Nang Non, Thailand

Selenite
Selenite is a very common sedimentary mineral composed primarily of calcium sulfate dihydrate CaSO42H2O. It is one of evaporates rocks, formed when bodies of water evaporate leaving behind chemicals that were dissolved in them. Lakes, rivers, oceans and ground water have all elemental chemicals dissolved in them. It is a form of gypsum. Selenite minerals are clear and colorless. It can be translucent or transparent. It is very soft only a 2 on the Mohs scale of hardness, meaning selenite can be scratched wit h fingernail.

HOURGLASS SELENITE Selenite is a crystallized form of gypsum. Gypsum is a common mineral that takes on a great variety of crystal forms and shapes. On the Salt Plains, the crystals are formed just below the salt encrusted surface. They are seldom found deeper than 2 feet below the surface. Because these crystals form in wet soil, sand and clay particles are included within the crystal. These particles often form an "hourglass" shape inside the crystal. This hourglass shape cannot be found in selenite crystals in other places of the world; it is only found here at the Salt Plains of NW Oklahoma.

SELENITE CLUSTER Cluster of transparent selenite crystals. Some of these crystals are water-clear, others have brown internal inclusions. Mostly found in Naica Mine, Saucillo, Chihuahua, Mexico. Selenite can form the largest crystals in the world. In the Naica caves in Chihuahua, Mexico single crystals can reach a length of 33 feet and weigh over 55 tons.

GOLDEN SELENITE Golden selenite that is from Naica Mine in Mexico. Selenite mineral specimen with bladed crystal terminations. The golden crystals exhibits translucency due to the presence of other minerals or druse. Other minerals intermixing with selenite gives the color since selenite is clear and colorless. It can form large beds hundreds of feet thick and covering many square miles.

Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure. Coal is composed primarily of carbon along with variable quantities of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.

LIGNITE

BITUMINOUS

ANTHRACITE

Sometimes called "brown coal," this is a brownishblack coal with generally high moisture and ash content and lower heating value. It is the geologically youngest and lowest ranked coal. It contains 25 to 35 percent carbon and has the lowest heating value, 4,000 to 8,300 Btus per pound.

Sometimes called "soft coal", this coal is 45 to 86 percent carbon, softer than anthracite, and has a heat content between 10,500 and 14,000 Btus per pound.

Sometimes called 'hard coal," this coal is 86 to 97 percent carbon and has the highest energy content of all coals, nearly 15,000 Btus per pound.

Quartz Diorite
Diorite is a coarse-grained, intrusive igneous rock that is intermediate in composition between granite and gabbro. Its composition is very similar to the fine-grained extrusive rock known as andesite.

FIGURE 1 Quartz diorite is an igneous, plutonic (intrusive) rock of felsic composition with phaneritic texture. Feldspar is present as plagioclase (typically oligoclase or andesine) with 10% less potassium feldspar. Quartz is present at between 5 to 20% of the rock. Biotite, amphiboles and pyroxenes are common dark accessory minerals.

FIGURE 2 Diorite is composed primarily of plagioclase feldspar, amphibole, and pyroxine minerals with small amounts of biotite mica. It typically contains very little quartz. When identifying diorite look for a rock that as abundant white and dark minerals - a salt and pepper appearance. With a hand lens, look for the cleavage faces of plagioclase feldspar intersecting at oblique angles. Also, look for vitreous cleavage faces on the dark amphibole minerals.

FIGURE 3 Diorites may be associated with either granite or gabbro intrusions, into which they may subtly merge. Diorite results from partial melting of a mafic rock above a subduction zone. It is commonly produced in volcanic arcs, and in cordilleran mountain building such as in the Andes Mountains as largebatholiths. The extrusive volcanic equivalent rock type is andesite.

Quartz (Massive)
Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is one of the most common rock-building minerals and is the reason why most rocks are hard. It is mostly found in massive form, namely it is not in crystal form. Massive quartz exhibits a trigonal crystal system. It may appear colorless or in different colors like white, pink, rose, red and etc. It is very hard having a Mohs hardness of 7. It is vitreous and leaves a white streak. It has no cleavage but has a conchoidal fracture. It is found either transparent or translucent and has a specific gravity range of 2.60-2.70 g/cm3.

ROSE QUARTZ Rose quartz is a type of quartz that is pink in color caused by trace amounts of manganese or titanium. Ancients believed that it helps women have beautiful complexion and that it prevents wrinkles.

QUARTZITE Quartzite is a non-foliated metamorphic rock that is produced by the metamorphism of sandstone. It is composed primarily of quartz.

MILKY QUARTZ A type of quartz that turned white due to bubbles and liquids present during its formation. Its name comes from the fact that its color looks like milk.

Magnetite
Magnetite is a mineral, one of the two common naturally occurring iron oxides (chemical formula Fe3O4) and a member of the spinel group. Magnetite is the most magnetic of all the naturally occurring minerals on Earth.[6] Naturally magnetized pieces of magnetite, called lodestone, will attract small pieces of iron, and this was how ancient people first noticed the property of magnetism.

MAGHEMITE Maghemite exhibits ferrimagnetic ordering with a high Nel temperature (~950 K), which together with its low cost and chemical stability led to its wide application as a magnetic pigment in electronic recording media since the 1940s.

GOETHITE Goethite is an iron bearing oxide mineral found in soil and other low-temperature environments. Goethite has been well known since prehistoric times for its use as a pigment. Evidence has been found of its use in paint pigment samples taken from the caves of Lascaux in France.

CHESTERITE Chesterite is a rare silicate mineral that can be compared toamphiboles, micas, and jimthompsonite. It was named after Chester, Vermont, where it was first described in 1977. The specific geologic setting within its origin is the Carleton talc quarry in Chester, Vermont.

Jade
Jade is best known as a green ornamental stone. Its colors vary from light to dark green, but it may also be other colors such as white, gray, and purple. Jade is actually the gemstone name for two different mineral forms, Jadeite and Nephrite. These two minerals can be identical in appearance and are similar in their physical properties, and until modern times no distinction was made between the two different types of Jade. While Nephrite is generally only green, cream, or white, Jadeite colors can range through the color spectrum with more exotic colors.

JADEITE Jadeite is made up of interlocking granular pyroxene crystals. It occurs in a wide range of colors, such as green, lilac, white, pink, brown, red, blue, black, orange and yellow. It has a dimpled surface when polished. The most prized variety, imperial jade, is a deep rich emerald green due to chromium content

CHLOROMELANITE Chloromelanite is a type of jadeite. Its color ranger from dark green to black.

NEPHRITE Nephrite is found as aggregates of fibrous amphibole crystals. Its composite forms an interlocking structure that are tougher than steel. Its colors may vary from a dark green (which is rich in iron) to a cream color (which is high in magnesium). It may be homogeneous in color, banded or blotchy.

Anhydrite
Anhydrite is a sedimentary mineral composed of calcium, sulfur, and oxygen. It is also known as calcium sulfate. Good specimens of natural anhydrite are often sought by mineral and rock [Link] is usually white, colorless, or gray. It can also be found with violet or blue tones. When it has a soft blue color it may be referred to as angelite. Scratching the mineral on a streak plate usually results in white residue. It is relatively soft, only rating 3.5 on the Mohs hardness scale..

BLUE ANHYDRITE
Angelite or Blue Anhydrite is a fairly new discovery in the gem and mineral world. Discovered in 1987 in Peru, during the Harmonic Conversion, it's colors may be white, gray or colorless, as well as blue to violet. The most common color is a blue-gray color that most stones for jewelry are created in. Blue is the color of the present time, the Aquarian Age. The Aquarian is seen as the truth seeker; however, she or he must go forward in truth, for if they do not go forward, they will go backwards out of fear. Angelite combats this [Link] will help you unlock the secrets of the spoken word, giving voice to your truth. Psychologically, angelite counteracts harshness; if somebody is acting insensitively in a situation, angelite will help that person to become more compassionate. It also teaches them acceptance of that which cannot be changed.

SATIN SPAR GYPSUM

Gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O) and anhydrite (CaSO4) are two related minerals formed in Indiana during periodic episodes of ancient sea water evaporation in restricted basins. Large deposits of both minerals are located in northwestern and southwestern [Link] deposits are commonly associated with dolostone and limestone. Anhydrite may be converted to gypsum with the addition of the water accompanied by a volume increase that destroys any planar features in the beds. The reverse is also possible, creating anhydrite by dehydrating [Link] minerals display vitreous luster and are white in color and streak. The calcium in either mineral may besubstituted by small amounts of strontium and barium. The differences in their physical characteristics help toidentify these minerals. Gypsum is a soft mineral that can be scratched with your fingernail and has four differentcleavage surfaces. Its crystals display a variety of forms, the most common being a granular, massive rockknown as alabaster Aggregates of fibrous gypsum form a variety called satin spar.

FIGURE 3

Shale
Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock that forms from the compaction of silt and clay-size mineral particles that we commonly call "mud". This composition places shale in a category of sedimentary rocks known as "mudstones". Shale is distinguished from other mudstones because it is fissile and laminated. "Laminated" means that the rock is made up of many thin layers. "Fissile" means that the rock readily splits into thin pieces along the laminations. Shale is the most abundant sedimentary rock and is in sedimentary basins worldwide.

OIL SHALEBITUMINOUS SHALE Oil shale, also known as kerogen shale, is an organic rich fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds). It usually meets the definition of "shale" in that it is "a laminated rock consisting of at least 67% clay minerals," however; it sometimes contains enough organic material and carbonate minerals that clay minerals account for less than 67% of the rock. Oil shale belongs to the group of sapropel fuels. Geologists can classify oil shales on the basis of their composition as carbonate-rich shales, siliceous shales, or cannel shales. It contains organic matter that yields substantial amounts of oil and combustible gas upon destructive distillation. Most of the organic matter is insoluble in ordinary organic [Link] shale is argillaceous shale that contains bitumen, a mixture of hydrocarbons that may be used as fuel, as a paving material, or in a number of other applications. This type of shale is often found

BARNETT SHALE
The Barnett shale is an organic and silica-rich black mudstone of middle to late Mississippian age. Long considered the probable source rock for several regional oil and gas reservoirs, it is located in the Forth Worth Basin of north-central Texas. The basin is bounded to the east by the Ouachita fold and thrust belt, to the north by basement uplift arches, to the west by the Bend arch, and to the south by the Llano uplift. Open fractures and faults are rare within the Barnett, with nearly all fractures seen in core and logs filled with calcite. The Barnett shale consists of siliceous organic-rich mudstone, limestone, and minor dolomite. The shale intervals generally contain high silica (35-50%), relatively low clay (<35%), and significant organic carbon (3-10%). The organic-rich portions of the reservoir average 5-6% porosity and generally less than 25% water saturation.

Serpentinite
Serpentinite is composed dominantly of the serpentine minerals (chemical formula MgSiO (OH) ). It is green to dark green coloured. It is usually formed by alteration of ultramafic rocks, such as dunites and peridotites by a process called serpentinization. It is common beneath the oceanic crust, where it forms by the alteration of the mantle rock peridotite. But it is seldom seen on land except in rocks from subduction zones, where oceanic rocks may be preserved. Most people call it serpentine (SER-penteen) or serpentine rock, but serpentine is the set of minerals that make up serpentinite (ser-PENT-inite). It gets its name from its resemblance to snakeskin, with a mottled color, waxy or resinous luster and curving, polished surfaces.

SERPENTINE (CHRYSOTILE)
Chrysotile is a mineral of the serpentine group that crystallizes in thin, flexible fibers. As you can see on this specimen from northern California, the thicker the vein, the longer the fibers. It is one of several different minerals of this type, suitable for use as fireproof fabric and many other uses, that together are called asbestos. Chrysotile is the dominant form of asbestos by far, and in the home it is generally harmless although asbestos workers must beware of lung disease due to chronic overexposure to the fine airborne fibers of powdered asbestos. A specimen like this is completely benign.

SERPENTINE (ANTIGORITE)
Antigorite (a magnesium iron hydroxysilicate), like amesite, is a member of the serpentine subfamily of phyllosilicates this large miniature cluster of silky green antigorite is from the Jeffrey Quarry, Asbestos, Qubec, Canada.

CHRYSOTILE ASBESTOS ORE

Chrysotile asbestos is the fibrous form of the mineral lizardite of the serpentine group of minerals. Its chemical formula is Mg3[Si2O5](OH)4 with some Fe2+ substituting for Mg. The amount of iron substitution affects the refractive indices and the birefringence. This is the most common form of asbestos used commercially, comprising about 93% of all the asbestos mined. It is also the least hazardous of the asbestos minerals. It is the most flexible of the asbestos minerals and is the one typically used in making asbestos cloth and asbestos paper.

Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock consisting of sand or quartz grains cemented together, typically red, yellow, or brown in color . The sediment particles are clasts, or pieces, of minerals and fragments of rock, thus
sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock. It is composed mostly of sand, which means particles of a medium size, so sandstone is a medium-grained clastic sedimentary rock. More precisely, sand is between 1/16 millimeter and 2 mm in size (silt is finer and gravel is coarser). Sandstone may include finer and coarser material and still be called sandstone, but if it includes more than 30 percent grains of gravel, cobble or boulder size it's classified instead asconglomerate or breccia (together these are called rudites).

MICAS Micas are significant rock forming minerals being found in all three rock types: igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. Because thin flakes of mica are generally flexible and brittle, it is surprising how resistant and durable mica crystals can be in withstanding high temperatures and pressures in metamorphic regimes as well as the punishment of erosional environments. The term "mica" is so familiar to the general public that it is often considered a mineral in itself.

PHYLLOSILICATE SUBCLASS In the Phyllosilicates, rings of tetrahedrons are linked by shared oxygens to other rings in a two dimensional plane that produces a sheet-like structure. The typical crystal habit of this subclass is flat, platy, book-like and most all members display good basal cleavage. Although members tend to be soft, they are remarkably resilient. Members of this group are often the last to chemically breakdown in erosional and weathering processes and thus constitute a significant amount of soils and fine grained sedimentary rocks. This group is also generally tolerant of high pressures and temperatures and they make-up a large part of metamorphic rocks.

FELDSPAR The feldspars are a group of minerals that have similar characteristics due to a similar structure. All feldspars have low symmetry, being only monoclinic, 2/m, to triclinic, bar 1. They tend to twin easily and one crystal can even be multiply twinned on the same plane, producing parallel layers of twinned crystals. They are slightly hard at around 6, and have an average density at 2.55 to 2.76. They have a rather dull to rarely vitreous luster. Crystals tend to be blocky. Some feldspars may be triboluminescent. They have two directions of cleavage at nearly right angles. Feldspars also tend to crystallize inigneous enviroments, but are also present in many metamorphic rocks.

Marble
Marble is a non-foliated metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however, stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone. Marble is commonly used for sculpture and as a building material.

SWEDISH GREEN MARBLE Swedish green marble is a marble from the quarries of Kolmarden in Sweden. It is fine-grained, with a variable green color due to serpentines in the stone. It is considered as one of the hardest marbles in the world.

SIENNA MARBLE Sienna marble is quarried in Northern Italy in areas around town with the same name. It is one of the most beautiful of all the marbles having a color range from violet, red, blue and white.

CREOLE MARBLE Creole marble is a marble from quarries in Pickens County, Georgia. It is coarse-grained, displays a white or gray background while veins or clouds are black or dark blue. Based on the tone and coloring, it is sold as Light Creole, Medium Creole, and Dark Creole.

Jasper
The name Jasper is derived from the Greek word iaspi meaning ''spotted stone.'' It is a form of chalcedony that may contain up to 20 percent foreign materials or inclusions, including organic material and mineral oxides, which determine the color, pattern and appearance of the stone. Uniformly colored jasper is rare; usually it is multicolored, spotted or banded. It is an opaque form of Chalcedony, which is a microcrystalline variety of the mineral Quartz. It often contains an abundance of impurities, and therefore some regard it as a rock instead of a mineral. Jasper is usually associated with brown, yellow, or reddish colors, but may be used to describe other opaque colors of Chalcedony such as dark or mottled green and orange. Some forms of Jasper are banded, and these banded Jaspers may appear similar to Agate

BRECCIATED RED JASPER

Brecciated Red Jasper in rounded fragments naturally cemented together in a gray material; appears similar to breccia. It has a higher content of hematite and the veins are clearly visible across this mineral. Occasionally it also includes bands of quartz.

HELIOPTROPE JASPER
Helioptrope Jasper is a dark green, opaque jasper with small red spots rich in iron oxides. Heliotrope is also known as bloodstone, but should not be confused with hematite which is named for its blood-red streak. The deep green color can be caused by various embedded minerals of microscopic size, as like chlorite or actinolite. The green parts of heliotrope are practically opaque. The red spots are colored by embedded hematite, Fe2O3

DALMATIAN JASPER Dalmatian Jasper has a Trigonal crystal system and is the mineral class of oxide in the Quartz group. Basically, most Jaspers are fine grained Quartz that holds lots of foreign materials. Dalmatian Jasper forms in a sedimentary manner when the original silicic acid solution seeps into sandy rock and becomes saturated with lots of suspended particles. The orange color spots come from iron, the darker black to brown spots can be anything from old plant material to old sea bottom materials (shells, etc.). The pale yellow background comes from finely ground clay and sand particles. Dalmatian Jasper can be found world-wide.

Gneiss
Gneiss is an old German word meaning bright or sparkling. Gneiss is foliated metamorphic rock that has a banded appearance and is made up of granular mineral grains. It typically contains abundant quartz or feldspar minerals. It is a rock of great variety with large mineral grains arranged in wide bands. It means a type of rock texture, not a composition.

LEWISIAN GNEISS
Lewisian Gneiss is a suite of Precambrian metamorphic rocks that outcrop in the northwestern part of Scotland, forming part of the Hebridean Terrane. These rocks are of Archaean and Paleoproterozoic age, ranging from 3.01.7 Ga. They form the basement on which the Torridonian and Moine Super group sediments were deposited. The Lewisian consists mainly of granitic gneisses with a minor amount of supracrustal rocks. Rocks of the Lewisian complex were caught up in the Caledonian orogeny, appearing in the hanging walls of many of the thrust faults formed during the late stages of this tectonic event.

ACASTA GNEISS
The Acasta Gneiss is a rock outcrop of Hadean tonalite gneiss in the Slave craton in Northwest Territories, Canada. Located on an island about 300 kilometres north of Yellowknife, the Acasta River rock deposit, believed to be 4.031 to 3.58 billion years old, is the oldest known intact crustal fragment on Earth. Found in 1989, it was named for the nearby Acasta River east of Great Bear Lake. The Acasta outcrop is found in a remote area of the Tlicho people land settlement. It is the oldest known exposed rock in the world. The rock exposed in the outcrop is derived from a 4.2 billion year old granitoid; an age based on radiometric dating of zircon crystals at 4.2 Ga. The Acasta Gneiss is important in establishing the early history of the continental crust. It was formed in the Basin Groups unofficial period of the Hadean eon, which came before the Archean.

AUGEN GNEISS
Augen (from German "eyes") is large, lenticular eye-shaped mineral grains or mineral aggregates visible in some foliated metamorphic rocks. In cross section they have the shape of an eye. Augen form in rocks which have undergone metamorphism and shearing. The core of the augen is a porphyroblast or porphyroclast of a hard, resilient mineral such as garnet. The augen grows by crystallization of a mantle of new mineral around the porphyroblast. The mantle is formed contiguous with the foliation which is imparted upon the rock, and forms a blanket which tapers off from either side of the porphyroblast within the strain shadows. A metamorphic rock which is clotted with augen is often called an augen gneiss. A long wall of this augen gneiss can be felt at the Mineral and Lapidary Museum of Western North Carolina.

Breccia
Breccia is a term most often used for clastic sedimentary rocks that are composed of large angular fragments (over two millimeters in diameter). The spaces between the large angular fragments can be filled with a matrix of smaller particles or mineral cement that binds the rock together. Breccia forms where broken, angular fragments of rock or mineral debris accumulate. One possible location for breccia formation is at the base of an outcrop where mechanical weathering debris accumulates. Another would be in stream deposits near the outcrop such as an alluvial fan. Some breccias form as debris flow deposits. The angular particle shape reveals that they have not been transported very far (transport wears the sharp points and edges of angular particles into rounded shapes). After deposition the fragments are bound together by a mineral cement or by a matrix of smaller particles that fills the spaces between the fragments.

LIMESTONE BRECCIA
A breccia that contains clasts of multiple types of limestone. Specimen is about four inches (ten centimeters) across.

CHERT BRECCIA
The angular clasts in this breccia are chert fragments. The matrix is an iron-stained mix of clay through sand-size particles. The specimen is about two inches (5cm) across.

IMPACT BRECCIA
A 457.7-gram breccia specimen from the Popgai impact crater in northern Siberia. Note the variety of colors, sizes, shapes and textures within a single massthe result of a major meteorite impact which threw millions of tons of rock into the air. As fragments fell back to earth, rocks from different strata were mixed together.

Gabbro
Gabbro is a coarse-grained, dark-colored, intrusive igneous rock. It is usually black or dark green in color and composed mainly of the minerals plagioclase and augite. It is the most abundant rock in the deep oceanic crust. Gabbro has a variety of uses in the construction industry. It is used for everything from crushed stone base materials at construction sites to polished stone counter tops and floor tiles.

FIGURE 1 Essexite is also called nepheline monzogabbro is a dark gray or black holocrystalline plutonic igneous rock. Its name is derived from the type locality in Essex County, MA. It contains plagioclase as the dominant feldspar, as well as orthoclase feldspar, augite, biotite,hornblende, olivi ne, and nepheline. As the proportion of nepheline increases, essexite grades intotheralite.

FIGURE 2 This gabbro has a lot of coarse, dark pyroxene crystals in it. There is also a lot of plagioclase, but it is tough to spot because it is also quite dark. The shiny cleavage planes in the upper part of this sample are all plagioclase.

FIGURE 3 This typical gabbro is made of pyroxene and plagioclase, but it is tough to see really good features of either mineral

Diabase
Diabase, also called Dolerite, is a common igneous rock which is mainly composed of calcium-rich plagioclase feldspar and pyroxene. It is usually found in smaller relatively shallow intrusive bodies such as dikes and sills. This rock solidified from a basaltic magma within a few hundred meters of the surface, probably beneath a volcano. It cooled rapidly, giving it a fine-grained, peppery appearance. Diabase is an extremely hard rock, making it difficult to carve and work with.

KORPI BLACK The black diabase Korpi Black is a fine grained granite-like natural stone from Finland. As a diabase, Korpi Black is most likely suitable for applications as gardening decoration, and sillier usages.

COBBLESTONE Cobblestones are stones that were frequently used in the pavement of early streets. "Cobblestone" is derived from the very old English word "cob", which had a wide range of meanings, one of which was "rounded lump" with overtones of large size. "Cobble", which appeared in the 15th century, simply added the diminutive suffix "le" to "cob", and meant a small stone rounded by the flow of water; essentially, a large pebble. It was these smooth "cobbles", gathered from stream beds, which paved the first "cobblestone" streets.

PRESELI SPOTTED DOLERITE This metamorphosed dolerite comes from the Preseli Mountains, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is particularly notable for its spotted appearance in hand specimen, an effect caused by low grade regional metamorphism during the Caledonian orogeny. This rock and its location are particularly important to the history of the United Kingdom because the same rock was used to build Stonehenge, over 200 km to the east.

Schist
Schist is a coarse grained metamorphic rock. Shale is the parent rock. It is made up of clay minerals. Shale can metamorphose into slate, phyllite,schist or gneiss depending on the degree of heat and pressure. Schist has a greater degree of metamorphism than phyllite but less than gneiss. It is classed as a medium-grade metamorphic rock and is associated with regional metamorphism do to mountain building. The crystals in schist are large enough to see with the naked eye. They are flattened and elongated. Schist contains more than 50% platy and elongated minerals. Schist is foliated or layered in appearance. Quartz, micas, and amphiboles are primary minerals in schist. Schist comes from a Greek word meaning "to split"

GREEN SCHIST
Greenschist are metamorphic rocks that formed under the lowest temperatures and pressures usually produced by regional metamorphism, typically 300450 C (570840 F) and 14 kilobars (14,50058,000 psi).[1] The name comes from commonly having an abundance of green minerals such as chlorite, serpentine, and epidote, and platy minerals such as muscovite and platy serpentine. The platiness causes the tendency to split, or have schistosity.

MANHATTAN SCHIST
Manhattan Schist is Devonian in age. It has undergone at least 4 well-defined stages of deformation and is very strongly deformed in most exposures. The photo shows a glacially smoothed surface exhibiting parallel glacial striations. Bands of pegmatite are visible in the photograph (and in the second closeup photo). Summit Rock, the highest point in Central Park, located between 83rd-84th Streets along Central Park West, is composed of Manhattan Schist.

MEDIUM-GRADE SCHIST
This view is of the flat cleavage surface of a medium-grade schist. The rock has a purplish sheen because both dark mica (biotite) and light mica (muscovite) are present. It is just coarse enough to distinguish individual mica flakes, and some of them are reflecting the light from the illuminating lamps and appear as white specks. Also visible are large dull red-brown garnet crystals up to 1 cm across.

Chert
Chert is a microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline sedimentary rockmaterial composed of silicon dioxide (SiO2). It occurs as nodules, concretionary masses and as layered deposits. Chert breaks with a conchoidal fracture, often producing very sharp edges. Early people took advantage of how chert breaks and used it to fashion cutting tools and weapons. It varies greatly in color (from white to black), but most often manifests as gray, brown, grayish brown and light green to rusty red; its color is an expression of trace elements present in the rock, and both red and green are most often related to traces of iron (in its oxidized and reduced forms respectively).

FLINT Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and often has a glassy or waxy appearance. A thin layer on the outside of the nodules is usually different in colour, typically white and rough in texture. From apetrological point of view, "flint" refers specifically to the form of chert which occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Similarly, "common chert" (sometimes referred to simply as "chert") occurs in limestone.

JASPER Jasper is a variety of chert formed as primary deposits, found in or in connection with magmatic formations which owes its red color to iron(III) inclusions. Jasper frequently also occurs in black, yellow or even green (depending on the type of iron it contains). Jasper is usually opaque to near opaque.

RADIOLARITE Radiolarite is a variety of chert formed as primary deposits, found in or in connection with magmatic formations which owes its red color to iron(III) inclusions. Jasper frequently also occurs in black, yellow or even green (depending on the type of iron it contains). Jasper is usually opaque to near opaque.

Conglomerate
Conglomerate is a sedimentary rock formed from rounded gravel and boulder sized clasts cemented together in a matrix. The rounding of the clasts indicates that they have been transported some distance from their original source (e.g. by a river or glacier), or that they have resided in a high energy environment for some time (e.g. on a beach subject to wave action). The cement that binds the clasts is generally one of either calcite, silica or iron oxide. The matrix can consist solely of the cementing material, but may also contain sand and / or silt sized clasts cemented together among the coarser clasts. Conglomerates can be further divided according to: Class - conglomerate can be divided into two broad classes: Clast supported - where the clasts touch each other and the matrix fills the voids; and Matrix supported - where the clasts are not in contact and the matrix surrounds each clast; Clast size - fine (2 - 6mm), medium (6 - 20mm), coarse (20 - 60mm), very coarse (> 60mm).

PETROMICT CONGLOMERATE If the phenoclasts include a lot of a fresh metastable rock types of conglomerate is called petromict. The dark stones in this beach exposure of the San Onofre Breccia are andesitic lava.

OLIGOMICT CONGLOMERATE If the phenoclasts come from a few different parent rocks the conglomerate is called oligomict (ALLigomict). Because the matrix and phenoclasts differ in their composition the conglomerate is called extraformational.

MONOMICT CONGLOMERATE If all the phenoclasts come from the same parent rock the conglomerate is called monomict. If the matrix and phenoclasts come from the same parent the conglomerate is called intraformational.

Chalcopyrite
Chalcopyrite (or copper pyrite), looks like, and is easily confused with Pyrite, FeS2. Chalcopyrite is one of the minerals refered to as "Fool's Gold" because of its bright golden color. But real gold is a more buttery yellow and is ductile and malleable.

QUARTZ

MONCHEITE CHALCOPYRITE

TELARGPALITE CHALCOPYRITE

Quartz is the most common mineral found on the surface of the Earth. A significant component of many igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, this natural form of silicon dioxide is found in an impressive range of varieties and colours. There are many names for different varieties. Cryptocrystalline varieties of quartz are listed separately under chalcedony, and include agate.

White mocheite with chalcopyrite (orange, blue and violet tarnishing colors) in silicate matrix. Polished section (from microphone analysis) in reflected light.

Gray long-prismatic crystal of oulankaite with light grayish telargpalite and pale yellowish-white rims of tulameenite in massive yellowish chalcopyrite. Polished section (from microprobe analysis) in reflected light.

Biotite
Biotite is a common phyllosilicate mineral within the mica group. More generally, it refers to the dark mica series, primarily a solid-solution series between the iron-endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more aluminous endmembers include siderophyllite. Biotite is a sheet silicate. Iron, magnesium, aluminium, silicon,oxygen, and hydrogen form sheets that are weakly bound together by potassium ions. It is sometimes called "iron mica" because it is more iron-rich than phlogopite. It is also sometimes called "black mica" as opposed to "white mica" (muscovite) both form in some rocks, in some instances side by side.

MEROXENE SOMMA Like other mica minerals, biotite has a highly perfect basal cleavage, and consists of flexible sheets, or lamellae, which easily flake off. It has a monoclinic crystal system, with tabular toprismatic crystals with an obvious pinacoid termination. It has four prism faces and two pinacoid faces to form a pseudohexagonal crystal. Although not easily seen because of the cleavage and sheets, fracture is uneven. It appears greenish to brown or black, and even yellow when weathered. It can be transparent to opaque, has a vitreous to pearly luster, and a grey-white streak. When biotite is found in large chunks, they are called books because it resembles a book with pages of many sheets.

BIOTITE IN PLAIN POLARIZED LIGHT Biotite displays perfect cleavage in one direction. The maximum absorption color is shown when the polarizer is parallel to the cleavage. Under crossed polars biotite displays a distinctive mottled texture as it nears extinction. In extinction position small spots fail to extinguish. These traits are charicteristic of birdseye extinction which is common in micas. In plane polarized light, biotite is seen as as dark brown to grey against the surrounding mostly colorless minerals. Under crossed polars "bird's eye extinction" can easily be seen when the mineral is nearly extinct. Often, the mineral color masks the interference colors when the mineral is not extinct.

BIOTITE IN PLAIN LIGHT In plain light, biotite in a granite appears a slightly drab brown. Radiation damage from zircon can leave pleochroic spots that fade to extinction at a different rate that the surrounding, undamaged material. There are several small opaque grains as well. Under polarized light biotite appears green with pink undertones. It is surrounded by quartz and feldspars. This is an image of a thin section containing biotite. It is seen now in plane polarized light as a brown to tan color. Under cross-polarized light, the biotite thin section appears darker brown in areas as well as a pink-yellow color in others.

Chromite
A brownish-black mineral that consists of a mixed oxide of chromium and iron and is the principal ore of chromium.

FIGURE 1 Relatively hard, metallic, black OXIDE MINERAL of chromium and iron that is the chief commercial source of chromium. Chromite is commonly found as brittle masses in perdotites, serpentines, and other basic igneous and metamorphic rocks. The principal producing areas are South Africa, Russia, Albania, the Philippines, Zimbabwe, Turkey, Brazil, India, and Finland.

FIGURE 2

FIGURE 3