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OBTERMAISINFORMAES

ENTENDI

How do Geologists identify minerals?

Evengeologistscanhaveadifficulttimeidentifyingminerals.Thereareover4,000knownminerals,and
approximately80100newonesarediscoveredeachyear.Ofallthese,onlyafewhundredareconsidered
common.
Tohelpwithidentification,geologistsmustlookcloselyatthephysicalpropertiesofamineral.Theseproperties
caninclude:color,streak,hardness,cleavage,specificgravity,crystalform,andothers.
ReadTheDifferenceBetweenRocksandMinerals
Color
Somemineralscanberecognizedbytheircolor:azuriteisalwaysadeepblueandmalachiteisgreen.Generally,

coloraloneisnotthebesttoolinidentificationbecausecolorcanbe
highlyvariable.Somemineralscanoccurinavarietyofdifferentcolors
duetoimpuritiesinthechemicalmakeupofthemineral.Forexample,
calciteiscommonlywhite,butcanbeblue,brown,yellow,orange,red,
graytoblack,orcolorless.
Luster
Lusterreferstothebrightnessoflightreflectedfromthemineral'ssurface.
Themaintypesoflusteraremetallicandnonmetallic.Someofthemoreimportantnonmetalliclustersare:
Adamantine:brilliant,likethatofadiamond.
Earthy:dull,likekaolin.
Silky:havingthesheenofsilk,likesatinspar,avarietyofgypsum.
Greasy:oilyappearance.
Resinous:waxyappearance,likesphalerite.
Vitreous:theappearanceofbrokenglass,likequartz.
Nacreous(pearly):likemotherofpearlforexample,pearlyluster
onfossilgastropodsandcephalopods.
ReadaboutLusterofMineralshere.
Streak
Astreaktestisaccomplishedbyrubbingthemineralonaporcelainplate,
alsoknownasastreakplate.Thecolorofthestreakleftbythemineralis
sometimesdifferentfromthecolorofthemineralitself.Astreaktest
comesinhandywhenidentifyingmineralssuchashematite.Hematitecan
befoundinvariouscolorsfromblacktored,butitalwaysleavesared
streak.
Readaboutstreakhere.
Hardness
Hardnessisameasureofamineralsresistancetoabrasion.Anumerical
valueforhardnessisdeterminedusingascalethatrangesfrom1(softest)
to10(hardest).DevelopedbyaGermanmineralogist,FriedrichMohs,the
MohsHardnessScaleassignshardnessvaluesto10representativeminerals
aswellasothercommonmaterials(penny,knifeblade,etc.).Talcisthe
softestmineralanddiamondisthehardestmineral.
ReadmoreaboutTheMohsscaleofmineralHardness

Cleavage
Cleavagecanbeobservedinmineralsthattendtobreakalongoneormoreflatsurfacesorplanes.Thenumberof
cleavageplanes,andtheirorientationsrelativetoeachother,canbediagnosticofparticularminerals.Mineralsthat
displaycleavageinclude:calcite,halite,fluorite,topaz,andgalena.However,notallmineralshavecleavage,such
asquartzandpyrite.

ReadaboutCleavageofmineralshere.

SpecificGravity
Specificgravityistherelativeweightofthemineraltoanequalvolumeof
water.Forexample,goldhasaspecificgravityof1519.3andisthus15
to19.3timesasheavyaswater.Itispossibletomakeafairlygood
estimateofspecificgravitybycheckingthemineralsweightinyourhand.

CrystalForm&MineralHabit
Crystalformisresponsiblefortheminerals
geometricshapeandarrangementofcrystalfaces.
Thecrystalformwillalwaysremainthesamein
everysamplefoundofthesamemineral,although
thecrystalformisbetterdisplayedinsomesamples
thaninothers.Sometimes,growthpatterns,called
themineralhabit,disguisetheidealformofthe
crystal.However,thesehabitscanalsoaidin
identification.Somecommonlyfoundhabits
include:botryoidal(whichresemblesaclusterof
grapes),striated(parallelgroovesoncrystalfaces),
andacicular(needlelike).
Tenacity
Howwellamineralresistsbreakageisknownastenacity.Tenacityisdescribedusingtheseterms:
BrittleMineralcrushestoangularfragments(quartz).
MalleableMineralcanbemodifiedinshapewithoutbreakingandcanbeflattenedtoathinsheet
(copper,gold).
SectileMineralcanbecutwithaknifeintothinshavings(talc).
FlexibleMineralbendsbutdoesn'tregainitsshapeoncereleased(selenite,gypsum).
ElasticMineralbendsandregainsitsoriginalshapewhenreleased(muscoviteandbiotitemica).
AcidTest
Whencarbonates(especiallycalcite)aretreatedwithcold,dilutehydrochloricacid,theywilleffervesce,foam,and
bubble,andgiveoffcarbondioxidegas.Whensulfides,suchasgalena,pyrite,andsphalerite,aretreatedwith
dilutehydrochloricacid,theywillgiveofftherotteneggodorofhydrogensulfide.
Fluorescence
Someminerals,suchascalcite,gypsum,halite,uraniumminerals,andfluorite,willfluoresceinbrilliantcolorswhen
viewedwithanultraviolet(UV)light.UVlightisnotnormallyvisibletothehumaneye,andyoushouldavoid

lookingdirectlyattheUVsource,asitcandamageeyesight.
OtherPhysicalProperties
Doesthemineralhaveataste(forexample,salt)?
Isthemineralfluorescent(forexample,scheelite)?
Doesthemineralgiveoffanodor(forexample,sulfur)?
Isthemineralmagnetic(forexample,magnetite)?
Doesdilutehydrochloricacidcausethemineraltofizzoreffervesce(forexample,calcite)?
Isthemineralradioactive(forexample,uraninite)?
Nowyouarereadyformineralidentification.
Onceyouhaveobservedandnotedthesemineralproperties,you
cantakeyourinformationtoabookortoanonlineresource.
Startwithmytableoftherockformingminerals,becausethese
arethemostcommonandtheonesyoushouldlearnfirst.Each
mineral'snameislinkedtoagoodphotographandnotestohelp
youconfirmtheidentification.Ifyourmineralhasmetallicluster,
gotomyMineralswithMetallicLustergallerytoseethemost
likelymineralsinthisgroup.

Seealso:HowtoIdentifyMineralsin10Steps(photos)

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