Introduction to basic minerology and petrology

1. Minerals and Rocks An introduction to Geology: Mineralogy and Petrology

2. Minerals A mineral is a naturally occurring solid with a specific chemical composition and atomic arrangement (crystalline structure).* Quartz = Silica + Oxygen or SiO2 * Some references also add “inorganic” to the definition, but there are some rare organic minerals too (i.e., whewillite).

3. Methods to Identify Minerals Color Streak Luster Fluorescence Chemical Composition Hardness Talc Gypsum Calcite Fluorite Apatite Orthoclase Quartz Topaz Corundum Diamond ( Mnemonic Devise - The Geologist Can Find An Ordinary Quartz Tourists Call Diamond) Specific Gravity Crystal Form Optical Properties Cleavage Fracture Magnetism Electrical Properties Melting Point Geologic Setting

4. Copper

5. Gold

6. Pyrite (Fool’s Gold)

7. Arsenic

8. Bauxite (aluminum ore)

9. Kaolin Mine Near Thomson, Georgia

10. Barite (rose morphology)

11. Quartz

13. There are three primary types of rocks:Sedimentary Igneous Metamorphic

15. Shale

17. Limestone with fossils

18. Shale

19. Sandstone

20. Peat Coal

22. There are two main categories of igneous rocks:Intrusive – formed underground Extrusive – formed above ground

24. Obsidian

26. ← Obsidian Pumice ->

27. Basalt – vesicular (with holes), dense, and thin-section

29. Greenstone

30. Slate

31. Schist

33. Greenstone

34. Slate with Pyrite ↓ ↑ Slate (plain)

35. Gneiss

36. Schist – highly folded