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THE CASE OF THE SCARLETT STREAK: MINERAL IDENTIFICATION

THE CASE OF THE SCARLETT STREAK: MINERAL IDENTIFICATION. Virginia T. McLemore New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources New Mexico Tech. What is a mineral?. What is a mineral?. naturally occurring inorganic solid homogeneous crystalline material

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THE CASE OF THE SCARLETT STREAK: MINERAL IDENTIFICATION

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  1. THE CASE OF THE SCARLETT STREAK:MINERAL IDENTIFICATION Virginia T. McLemore New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources New Mexico Tech

  2. What is a mineral?

  3. What is a mineral? • naturally occurring • inorganic • solid • homogeneous • crystalline material • with a unique chemical element or compound with a set chemical formula • usually obtained from the ground

  4. A crystal is composed of a structural unit that is repeated in three dimensions. This is the basic structural unit of a crystal of sodium chloride, the mineral halite.

  5. Why are minerals important?

  6. Why are minerals important? • Identification of rocks • commodities that we use every day • foundation of understanding geology and geologic processes that affect us everyday • understanding geologic hazards

  7. Minerals have distinctive physical and chemical properties that allow for their identification.

  8. Habit (Crystal forms and shapes) Hardness Cleavage Streak Color Luster Transparency Twinning Fracture Specific Gravity Associated Minerals Fluorescence Magnetism Odor Feel Taste Solubility Reaction to acids Radioactive minerals Meteoritic minerals Properties of minerals

  9. Hardness

  10. Hardness • ease or difficulty with which the mineral can be scratched • controlled by the strength of bonds between atoms

  11. Cleavage

  12. Cleavage • Way the mineral breaks or fractures • one direction of weakness, or in other minerals, 2, 3, 4, or as many as 6 may be present • determine the angular relation between the resulting cleavage surfaces • perpendicular • acute • obtuse

  13. www.ironorchid.com/minerals/

  14. From:geology.csupomona.edu/alert/mineral/minerals.htm

  15. Streak

  16. color of a mineral when it is powdered crushing and powdering a mineral eliminates some of the effects of impurities and structural flaws Black - Graphite Black - Pyrite Black - Magnetite Black - Chalcopyrite Gray - Galena Limonite - Yellow-brown Hematite - Red-brown Streak

  17. From:geology.csupomona.edu/alert/mineral/minerals.htm

  18. academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/geology/leveson/core/linksa/mineral_id...academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/geology/leveson/core/linksa/mineral_id...

  19. Luster

  20. way a mineral’s surface reflects light metallic earthy waxy greasy vitreous (glassy) adamantine (or brilliant, as in a faceted diamond) Luster From:geology.csupomona.edu/alert/mineral/minerals.htm

  21. www.ironorchid.com/minerals/

  22. Habit (Crystal forms and shapes) Hardness Cleavage Streak Color Luster Transparency Twinning Fracture Specific Gravity Associated Minerals Fluorescence Magnetism Odor Feel Taste Solubility Reaction to acids Radioactive minerals Meteoritic minerals Properties of minerals

  23. Color From:geology.csupomona.edu/alert/mineral/minerals.htm

  24. Crystal shape six crystal systems governed by the mineral's internal structure triclinic monoclinic orthorhombic tetragonal hexagonal isometric Habit From:geology.csupomona.edu/alert/mineral/minerals.htm

  25. Specific Gravity • specific gravity • ratio of mineral density to the density of water • similar to weight • density • ratio of the mass of a mineral to its volume

  26. academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/geology/leveson/core/linksa/mineral_id...academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/geology/leveson/core/linksa/mineral_id...

  27. academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/geology/leveson/core/linksa/mineral_id...academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/geology/leveson/core/linksa/mineral_id...

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