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Organic Mineraloids?
If you read information about mineraloids written by a variety of authors, you will discover that some authors include organic materials, such as amber and jet, in their list of mineraloids. Some mineralogists agree with such classifications, but others feel this stretches the definition of a mineraloid too far. Amber is a fossil plant resin found in sediments…
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Can Liquids Be Mineraloids?
Water and mercury are often classified as mineraloids. They are the only two natural inorganic substances that have a definite chemical composition and are liquids at room temperature. They are also the only two liquids that crystallize into minerals within the range of temperatures and pressures encountered at Earth’s surface. Water crystallizes into the mineral…
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Mineraloid-forming Environments
Most mineraloids form at the low temperatures and low pressures found at Earth’s surface and in shallow subsurface environments. Materials such as opal, psilomelane, chrysocolla, limonite, and a wide variety of supergene materials crystallize from gels or colloids in the shallow subsurface. Many of these materials will eventually transform into minerals with time, heat, or pressure.…
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Mineraloids from the Sky
Tektites and moldavites are varieties of natural glass that formed from the impact of an asteroid or comet. These objects struck the Earth at hypervelocity, and the force of their impact produced a tremendous amount of heat energy. The explosion that occurred upon impact flash-melted the target rock and produced a shower of molten material over thousands to…
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Examples of Mineraloids
There are a number of familiar materials that can be classified as mineraloids. For example, opal is an amorphous hydrated silica with a chemical composition of SiO2.nH2O. The “n” in its formula indicates that the amount of water is variable. Therefore, opal is a mineraloid. Obsidian and pumice are igneous rocks that solidified so rapidly from a melt that their atoms were…
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What Are Mineraloids?
A mineraloid is a naturally occurring, inorganic solid that does not exhibit crystallinity. It may have the outward appearance of a mineral, but it does not have the “ordered atomic structure” required to meet the definition of a mineral. Some mineraloids also lack the “definite chemical composition” required to be a mineral. To be considered a…
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Minerals in the Sedimentary Cover
Both the oceanic and continental crusts are partly covered with a thin layer of sedimentary rocks and sediments. These consist mainly of clastic rocks such as sandstone, siltstone and shale, along with carbonate rocks such as dolostone and limestone. These clastic rocks are composed of mainly quartz, clay minerals, and a small amount of micas and feldspar minerals. The carbonate…
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Minerals of the Continental Crust
As a second example, let’s consider the rocks of the continental crust. The continental crust is made up mainly of rocks with a granitic to andesitic composition. These rocks are composed mainly of alkali feldspar, quartz, and plagioclase feldspar, with smaller amounts of amphiboles and micas. This small number of minerals makes up most of the continental crust.
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Minerals of the Oceanic Crust
As an example of the influence of just a few minerals, let’s consider the rocks of the oceanic crust. The oceanic crust is mainly composed of basalt and gabbro. These two rock types are made up of mainly of plagioclase feldspar and pyroxenes, with smaller amounts of olivine, micas and amphiboles. This small group of minerals makes up most of…
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What Are Rock-Forming Minerals?
Scientists have identified over 4,000 different minerals. A small group of these minerals make up almost 90% of the rocks of Earth’s crust. These minerals are known as the common rock-forming minerals. To be considered a common rock-forming mineral, a mineral must: A) be one of the most abundant minerals in Earth’s crust; B) be one of the original minerals present at…