Marba, Amme Camile G.

Geo101P/T
Geo-2/2012108614

A. Non-Metallic Minerals (With Reaction to Acid)

Mineral

Properties

Chemical
Formula
CaCo3

Calcite
This is a creamyellow,
heavily striated,
complex rhombohe
dral-scalenohedral
crystal of Calcite
from a classic
locality. While
Calcite is generally
common and
inexpensive,
beautiful and rate
crystals like this
one are very
desirable.

Hardness: 3.0. Color: colorless and

transparent or white when pure; wide
range of colors possible.
Crystal System: Hexagonal.
Cleavage: perfect rhomohedral
Fracture: none.
Habit: crystals common. Also massive,
granular, oolitic, or in a variety of other
habits. Effervesces in cold dilute HCL.
Strong double refraction in transparent
varieties. Common and widely
distributed rock-forming mineral in
sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.

Hardness: 3.5-4.0.
Color: Colorless, White, Gray, Yellowish
white, Reddish white.
Crystal System: Orthorombic.
Cleavage: distinct. Fracture: sub
conchoidal. Habit: columnar, forms

Variable
Formula:
(Ca,Fe,Mg,M
n,Zn,Co)CO3

CaCo3
(polymorp
hous to
Calcite)

columns; fibrous, crystals made of fibers;

pseudo hexagonal, crystals show a
hexagonal outline.

Arag
onite

Dolomite
Dolomite is a very
common mineral
and is best known
for its saddleshaped curved
crystal aggregates

Malachite
Malachite is a very
popular mineral
with its intense
green color and
beautiful banded
masses. The

Hardness: 3.5-4.0.
Color: colorless, white, gray, greenish,
yellow-brown; other colors possible.
Crystal System: Hexagonal.
Cleavage: Rhombohedral.
Fracture: none.
Habit: Dolomite most commonly forms
in groups of small rhombohedral crystals
very often with curved, saddle-like faces.
Also occurs prismatic, (although usually
slightly curved), grainy, botryoidal,
coxcomb, and massive. A rare form from
a few locations is as colorless
transparent rhombohedrons or
rhombohedral aggregates.

Hardness: 3.5-4
Color: Light to dark green, sometimes
banded with darker and lighter shades of
green, and sometimes sparkling
Cystal System: Monodinic
Cleavage: 1,1 - basal. Not usually
discernible because crystals are tiny.
Fracture: Splintery
Crystal Habit: Most common habit is as
large crusts of microscopic crystals. Also
occurs as bundles of thin long splinters.
Large individual crystals are very rare

CaMg(CO3)2

Cu2CO3(OH)
2

banded specimens
are formed by
massive,
botryoidal,
reniform, and
especially
stalactitic Malachite
that are dense
intergrowths of
tiny, fibrous
needles.

A.

and are usually pseudomorphs

after Azurite or Cuprite. When they are
not pseudomorphs, they
are prismatic, tabular, re-entrant twins,
and thin splinters.
Also
occurs acicular, radiating, reniform, botr
yoidal,
as banded masses, earthy, stalactitic, tu
berose, as thin wires, and as thin films
coating other minerals

Non-metallic Minerals (No Reaction to HCL)

Mineral
Apatite

Apatite is named from

the Greek word apate,
which means "deceit",
since Apatite has a
similar appearance to
so many minerals.

Asbestos
(Fiberous
Serpentine)

Formula

Hardness: 5.0.
Color: varies; greenish yellow, blue,
green, brown, purple, white. Crystal
System: Hexagonal.
Cleavage: poor basal. Fracture:
conchoidal. Habit: crystals common.
Also, massive or granular forms.
Hardness: 2.0-3.0.
Color: varies; shades of green most
common. Crystal System:
Monoclinic.
Cleavage: none.
Fracture: none.
Habit: occurs in massive, platy, and
fibrous forms.

Ca5(PO4)3
(OH,F,Cl).

Mg3Si2O5(
OH)4.

Asbestos describes any

mineral that is
extremely fibrous and
flexible. The term is
very commonly used to
describe the fibrous
form of Chrysotile
Serpentine, and may
also be used in regards
to the fibrous variety of
Tremolite or Actinolite

Augite
Augite is isomorphous
with the minerals
Diopside and
Hedenbergite. It is an
intermediary member
between these
minerals, forming a
series, but contains
additional sodium and
aluminum within its
chemical structure

Hardness: 5.5-6.0.
Color: dark green to black.
Crystal System: Monoclinic.
Cleavage: good, two planes at nearly
90 degrees; may exhibit welldeveloped parting. Fracture: none.
Habit: short, stubby eight-sided
prismatic crystals. Often in granular
crystalline masses. Most important
ferromagnesium mineral in dark
igneous rocks.

Hardness: 2.5-3.0. Color: dark

green, brown, or black.
Crystal System: Monoclinic.
Cleavage: perfect basal forming
elastic sheets. Fracture: none.
Habit: crystals common as

(Ca,Na)
(Mg,Fe,Al,T
i)
(Si,Al)2O6

K(Mg,Fe)3(
AlSi3O10)
(F,OH)2.

Biotite
Biotite is very hard to
clean because if
washed it will absorb
water internally and
start to break apart.
The best way to wash
Biotite and other Micas
is with a dry electric
toothbrush.

Chalcedony
(Cryptocrystalline
Quartz)

Chlorite
Chlorite is very common,
and is often an
uninteresting green
mineral coating the
surface of more important
minerals

pseudohexagonal prisms, more

commonly in sheets or granular
crystalline masses. Common mineral
accessory mineral in igneous rocks,
also important in some metamorphic
rocks. Chemical Formula:

Hardness: 7.0.
Color: White, blue, red, green,
yellow, orange, brown, pink, purple,
gray, black, colorless, and
multicolored. Often banded in many
different color combinations and a few
rarer forms are iridescent.
Crystal System: Hexagonal.
Cleavage: none.
Fracture: varies; sometimes exhibits
conchoidal like mentioned above.
Habit: occurs in a wide variety of
sedimentary rocks and veins, cavities,
or dripstone.

Hardness: 2.5-3.0. Color: green to

green-blue. Crystal System:
Monoclinic. Cleavage: perfect basal
forming flexible nonelastic sheets.
Fracture: none. Habit: occurs as
foliated masses or small flakes.

Chemical
Formula:
Silica
(silicon
dioxide,
SiO2).

(Fe, Mg,
Al)6(Si,
Al)4O10(O
H)8.

Al2O3
Hardness: 9.0. Color: varies; yellow,
brown, green, purple; gem varieties
blue (sapphire) and red (ruby).
Corrundum
Crystal System: Hexagonal.
Corundum is a very hard,
Cleavage: none. Fracture: basal
tough, and stable mineral.
For all practical purposes, parting common with striations on
parting planes. Habit: barrel-shaped
it is the hardest mineral
after Diamond, making it crystals common, frequently with
deep horizontal striations.
the second hardest
mineral. It is also
unaffected by acids and
most environments. -

Hardness: 6.0-7.0. Color: pale to

dark green to yellow-green. Crystal
System: Monoclinic. Cleavage:
none. Fracture: brittle. Habit:
massive or striated prisms.

{Ca2}
{Al2Fe3+}
[O|OH|
SiO4|
Si2O7].

Epidote
Epidote is also almost
identical
in composition to Clinozoi
site but lacks significant
iron in its structure. It
forms a series with
Clinozoisite, and in many
cases the actual
distinction between these
two minerals cannot be
made.

CaF2.
Hardness: 4.0. Color: colorless when
pure; occurs in a wide variety of
colors: yellow, green, blue, purple,
brown, and shades in between.
Crystal System: Cubic (Isometric).

Flourite

Cleavage: perfect octahedral (four

Fluorite is one of the more directions parallel to faces of an
famous fluorescent
octahedron). Fracture: none. Habit:
minerals. Many specimens twins fairly common. Common as a
strongly fluoresce, in a
vein mineral.
great variation of color

Garnet

Hardness: 7.0-7.5. Color: varies but

dark red and reddish brown most
common; white, pink, yellow, green,
black depending on composition.
Crystal System: Cubic (Isometric).
Cleavage: none. Fracture: none.
Habit: crystals common. Also in
granular masses.

(Fe,Mg,Ca,
Al)X3Y2(Si
O4)3

Garnet is not a single mineral,

but a group contains closely
related, isomorphous minerals
that form a series with each
other

Geothite
(Limonite)
Limonite is scientifically not
considered a true mineral as it
lacks a definitive chemical
formula and crystal structure.

Hardness: 5.0-5.5 but apparently

may be as low as 1.0. Color: dark
brown, yellow-brown, reddish brown,
brownish black, yellow. Crystal
System: Orthorombic. Cleavage:
perfect parallel to side pinacoid.
Fracture: uneven. Habit: crystals
uncommon. Usually massive or earthy
as residual from chemical weathering,
or stalactic by direct precipitation.
Often radiating fibrous forms. This
species includes the common brown
and yellow-brown ferric oxides
collectively called limonite.

Hardness: 2.0. Color: colorless to

white, gray, yellowish orange, light
brown. Crystal System: Monoclinic.
Cleavage: good in one direction
producing thin sheets. Fracture:

FeO(OH).

CaSO42H
2O.

conchoidal in one direction, fibrous in

another. Habit: crystals common and
simple in habit; twinning common.
Varieties include selenite, coarsely
crystalline, colorless and transparent;
satinspar, parallel fibrous structure;
Gypsum
and alabaster, massive fine-grained
Gypsum has the same
gypsum. Occurs widely as
chemical composition as
the mineral Anhydrite, but sedimentary deposits and in many
other ways.
contains water in its
structure whereas
Anhydrite does not.

NaCl.

Halite
Halite, the natural form of salt,
is a very common and wellknown mineral. It is found in
solid masses, and as a dissolved
solution in the oceans and in
salt lakes.

Hardness: 2.5. Color: colorless, also

white, gray, yellow, red. Crystal
System: Cubic (Isometric).
Cleavage: perfect cubic. Fracture:
none. Habit: crystals common, also
massive or coarsely granular.
Characteristic taste of table salt.

Hardness: 5.0-6.0. Color: dark

green, dark brown, black. Crystal
System: Monoclinic. Cleavage:
perfect on two planes meeting at 56o
and 124o. Fracture: none. Habit:
long six-sided crystals common.

Ca2(Mg,
Fe, Al)5
(Al,
Si)8O22(O
H)2

Hardness: 2.0-2.5. Color: white,

often stained by impurities to red,
brown or gray. Crystal System:

Al2Si2O5(
OH)4.

Horneblende
(Amphibole)

Triclinic. Cleavage: perfect basal but

rarely seen because of small grain
size. Fracture: none. Habit: found in
earthy masses. Earthy odor when
damp.
Kaolinite
Kaolinite is a clay mineral,
with a soft consistency
and earthy texture. It is
easily broken and can be
molded or shaped,
especially when wet.

K-Feldspar

Muscovite
Muscovite is the most
common form of mica. Its
name is derived from
"Muscovy Glass", which
describes thick sheets of
transparent mica that
were once used as a glass

Hardness: 6.0. Color: varies; white,

cream, or pink; sanidine, the hightemperature variety, is usually
colorless. Crystal System:
(Orthoclase, Sanidine, Microclie)
Monoclinic, (Orthoclase, Sanidine)
Triclinic (Microcline). Cleavage: two
planes at nearly right angles.
Fracture: none. Habit: crystals not
common. Has glossy appearance.
Distinguished from other feldspars by
absence of twinning striations.

Hardness: 2.5-3.5. Color: colorless

to shades of green, gray, or brown.
Crystal System: Monoclinic.
Cleavage: perfect basal yielding thin
sheets that are flexible and elastic;
may show parting. Fracture: none.
Habit: usually in small flakes or
lamellar masses. Commercial deposits
are generally found in granite
pegmatites. Chemical Formula:

KAlSi3O8.

Al2(AlSi3O
10)
(F,OH)2.

substitute in Russia.

Olivine
Olivine is one of the most
common minerals in the
earth, and is a major rock
forming mineral. Despite
this, good specimens and
large crystals are
uncommon and sought
after.

Plagioclase

Quartz
Quartz is one of the most
well-known minerals on
earth. It occurs in

Hardness: 6.5-7.0. Color: olivegreen to yellowish; nearly pure Mgrich varieties may be white (forsterite)
and nearly pure Fe-rich varieties
brown to black (fayalite). Crystal
System: Orthorombic. Cleavage:
indistinct. Fracture: none. Habit:
usually in granular masses. Crystals
uncommon. A mineral of basic and
ultrabasic rocks.

Hardness: 6.0-6.5. Color: white or

gray, reddish, or reddish brown.
Crystal System: Triclinic. Cleavage:
two planes at close to right angles,
twinning striations common on basal
cleavage surfaces. Fracture: none.
Habit: crystals common for Na-rich
varieties, uncommon for intermediate
varieties, rare for anorthite. Twinning
common. Twinning striations on basal
cleavage useful to distinguish from
orthoclase. Some varieties show play
of colors.
Hardness: 7.0. Color: typically
colorless or white, but almost any
color may occur. Crystal System:
Hexagonal. Cleavage: none.
Fracture: conchoidal. Habit:
prismatic crystals common with
striations perpendicular to the long
dimension; also a variety of massive
forms. Color variations lead to

(Mg,Fe)2Si
O4.

NaAlSi3O8

CaAl2Si2O
8.

SiO2.

basically all
mineral environments,
and is the important
constituent of many rocks.

Sillimanite

Sphalerite

varieties called smoky quartz, rose

quartz, milky quartz, and amethyst.
Common mineral in all categories of
rocks.
Hardness: 6.0-7.0. Color: white,
gray, or pale brown. Crystal System:
Orthorombic. Cleavage: good, one
direction. Fracture: none. Habit:
slender prisms.
Hardness: 3.5-4.0. Color: yellow,
yellow-brown to dark brown. Crystal
System: Cubic (Isometric).
Cleavage: perfect dodecahedral (six
directions at 120 degrees). Fracture:
none. Habit: crystals common as
distorted tetrahedral or dodecahedra.
Twinning common. Also massive or
granular.
Hardness: 7.0. Color: brown to graybrown. Crystal System: Monoclinic.
Cleavage: good, one direction.
Fracture: none. Habit: prismatic;
forms twins in shape of crosses.

Al2SiO5.

ZnS.

Fe2+2Al9
O6(SiO4)4
(O,OH)2.

Staurolite
Staurolite is best known
for its distinctive, crossshaped penetration twins,
where two rectangular
crystals intersect each
other to form a perfect
cross.

Hardness: 1.5-2.5. Color: yellow.

Crystal System: Orthorombic.
Cleavage: poor. Fracture: brittle.
Habit: transparent to translucent
crystals; earthy masses.
Sulfur

Hardness: 1.0. Color: usually pale

green, also white to silver-white or
gray. Crystal System: Monoclinic.
Cleavage: perfectly basal, massive
forms show no visible cleavage.
Fracture: none. Habit: crystals
Talc
Talc is known for being the extremely rare. Soapy feel is
softest mineral on earth.
diagnostic.

Mg3Si4O1
0(OH)2.

It is number 1 on the
Mohs hardness scale, and
can be easily scratched by
a fingernail.

Tourmaline
Tourmaline is not a single
mineral, but a group of
several closely related
minerals. The three most
well-known members are
Elbaite, Schorl, and
Dravite. Other lesser
known members include
Uvite, Liddicoatite and
Buergerite.

Hardness: 7.0-7.5. Color: black,

green, yellow, pink, blue. Crystal
System: Hexagonal. Cleavage:
none. Fracture: brittle. Habit:
elongated opaque to transparent
prisms with triangular cross sections

(Ca,K,Na,
[])
(Al,Fe,Li,M
g,Mn)3(Al,
Cr,Fe,V)6
(BO3)3(Si,
Al,B)6O18(
OH,F)4.

B. Metallic Minerals
Mineral

Properties

Chemical
Formula

Hardness: 3.5-4.0. Color: brassyellow, often tarnished to bronze or

purple. Crystal System: Hexagonal.
Cleavage: none. Fracture: uneven.

CuFeS2

Habit: may occur as small crystals

but usually massive. Chemical
Formula:.

Chalcopyrite
Chalcopyrite has a
golden yellow color,
which often
resembles Gold.
However, its physical
properties such
as streak and tenacity
are very different from
Gold and can easily
distinguish it.

Hardness: 3.0-3.5. Color: copper.

Crystal System: Cubic (Isometric).
Cleavage: none. Fracture: hackly.
Habit: distorted cubes and
octahedrons; dendritic masses.

Cu

Copper
Copper is one of the most
famous and useful metals,
and has been important
since ancient civilizations for
ornaments and coinage.

Hardness: 2.5. Color: lead-gray.

Crystal System: Cubic (Isometric).
Cleavage: perfect cubic. Fracture:
none. Habit: crystals common, easily
identified by cleavage, high specific
gravity, and softness.
Galena
Galena is the most
common mineral
containing lead, and

PbS

has been well-known

throughout the
centuries.

Graphite

Hematite

Ilmenite

Hardness: 1.0. Color: dark-gray to

black Crystal System: Hexagonal.
Cleavage: perfect basal. Fracture:
none. Habit: characteristic greasy
feel, marks easily on paper. Crystals
uncommon, usually as foliated
masses. Common metamorphic
mineral.
Hardness: 5.0-6.0. Color: steel-gray
in specularite, dull to bright red in
other varieties. Crystal System:
Hexagonal. Cleavage: none; basal
parting. Fracture: uneven. Habit:
crystals uncommon. May occur in
crystalline, botryoidal, or earthy
masses.
Hardness: 5.0-6.0 Color: black.
Crystal System: Hexagonal.
Cleavage: none. Fracture:
conchoidal fracture. Habit: compact,
massive crystals usually thick tabular.
Chemical Formula:
Hardness: 5.5-6.0. Color: black.
Crystal System: Cubic (Isometric).
Cleavage: none; some octahedral
parting. Fracture: none. Habit:
usually in granular masses. Strongly
magnetic, some specimens show
polarity (lodestones). Widespread
occurrence in a variety of rocks.
Chemical Formula:

Magnetite
Magnetite is best

Fe2O3.

CuFeS2.

FeFe2O4.

known for its property

that it is strongly
attracted to magnets.
Some forms of
Magnetite from specific
localities are in fact
themselves magnets.

Pyrite
(Fools Gold)
Pyrite has the same
chemical formula as
the rarer mineral
Marcasite, but it
crystallizes in a
different crystal
system, thereby
scientifically classifying
it as a separate mineral
species.

Hardness: 6.0-6.5. Color: brassyellow, may be iridescent if tarnished.

Crystal System: Cubic (Isometric).
Cleavage: none. Fracture:
conchoidal. Habit: crystals common.
Usually cubic with striated faces.
Crystals may be deformed. Massive
granular from also. Most widespread
sulfide mineral. Known as fools
gold.

FeS2

ZrSiO4

Zircon
Zircon is a well-known
mineral that makes an
important gemstone of
many colors. Its
brilliant luster and fire,
combined with
good hardness, make it
a desirable gem.

Hardness: 7.5. Color: usually shade

of brown, colorless. Crystal System:
Tetragonal. Cleavage: poor;
prismatic. Fracture: none. Habit:
crystals common. Also grainy, as
fibrous aggregates, and as rounded,
waterworn pebbles.