Submitted To Dr.

Rizwan Riaz

Submitted by Muhammad Fahad Noor

Roll No. BSCF-1805

Class Civil Sunday

Semester 5th

Subject Engineering Geology

 MINERALS

In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid
chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure, that
occurs naturally in pure form

Color, luster, streak, hardness, cleavage, fracture, and crystal form are the most useful

physical properties for identifying most minerals. Other properties-such as reaction with acid, magnetism,
specific gravity, tenacity, taste, odor, feel, and presence of striations-are helpful in identifying certain minerals
Using Characteristics of Minerals to Identify Them. Most minerals can be characterized and
classified by their unique physical properties: hardness, luster, color, streak, specific gravity, cleavage,
fracture, and tenacity.

Basic Minerals which makes most part of the Earth

 Feldspar Group

 Definition
The feldspar, a very complex mixture of oxygen, silicon, aluminum and trace elements
like sodium, potassium, calcium and more exotic elements like barium, are by far the most
common minerals, making up almost 58% of all to geologist accessible rocks, especially
magmatic and metamorphic ones
 Chemical Composition
Feldspars (KAlSi3O8 – NaAlSi3O8 – CaAl2Si2O8) are a group of rock-forming
tectosilicate minerals that make up about 41% of the Earth's continental crust by
weight. Feldspars crystallize from magma as both intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks and
are also present in many types of metamorphic rock.Density: 2.56

Specific gravity: 2.55–2.76

Category: Tectosilicate

Refractive index: 1.518–1.526.

 Physical Identification

Feldspar is believed by metaphysical adherents to be a gemstone of

creativity. Feldspar helps with finding unconventional and exciting ways to achieve goals by
stimulating creative thinking. Feldspar increases your self-respect, self-esteem and self-
awareness.

Pink , white, gray, brown, blue and Its Crystal Feldspar crystal (18×21×8.5 cm)
from Jequitinhonha valley, Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil
 Other than Feldspar Group there are different minerals which are discussed as under;

1. Plagioclase
Plagioclase is a series of tectosilicate minerals within the feldspar group. Rather than referring to
a particular mineral with a specific chemical composition, plagioclase is a continuous solid solution
series, more properly known as the plagioclase feldspar series.
They are harder than glass; most often white to gray in color, and have well-developed cleavage planes
that often exhibit fine parallel grooves or striations. Color is variable however, and in mafic igneous rocks,
the more calcium-rich plagioclase may be dark gray to almost black.
Color: White, gray, bluish white

Chemical Formula: (Na,Ca)(Si,Al)4O8

2. Quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silicon and oxygen atoms. The atoms are linked
in a continuous framework of SiO silicon-oxygen tetrahedral, with each oxygen being shared between
two tetrahedral, giving an overall chemical formula of SiO
Silica (quartz): Silica, SiO2, is a chemical compound that is composed of one silicon atom and two
oxygen atoms. It appears naturally in several crystalline forms, one of which is quartz.
Quartz belongs to the trigonal crystal system. The ideal crystal shape is a six-sided prism terminating
with six-sided pyramids at each end.

3. Orthoclase
Orthoclase, or orthoclase feldspar, is an important tectosilicate mineral which forms igneous rock.
The name is from the Ancient Greek for "straight fracture," because its two cleavage planes are at right
angles to each other. It is a type of potassium feldspar, also known as K-feldspar
A common rock-forming mineral occurring typically as white or pink crystals. It is a potassium-rich alkali
feldspar and is used in ceramics and glass-making.
Orthoclase, or orthoclase feldspar (endmember formula KAlSi3O8),
Color: Green, Yellow

4. Amphibole
Amphibole is a group of inosilicate minerals, forming prism or needlelike crystals, composed of double chain
SiO ₄ tetrahedral, linked at the vertices and generally containing ions of iron and/or magnesium in their
structures. Amphiboles can be green, black, colorless, white, yellow, blue, or brown.
Any of a class of rock-forming silicate or aluminosilicate minerals typically occurring as fibrous or
columnar crystals ."Acid rocks consist mostly of quartz and feldspars, with a little mica or amphibole"
Long prismatic, acicular, or fibrous crystal habit, Mohs hardness between 5 and 6, and two directions of
cleavage intersecting at approximately 56° and 124° generally suffice to identify amphiboles in hand
specimens. The specific gravity values of amphiboles range from about 2.9 to 3.6
Numerous common amphiboles can be represented within the Mg7Si8O22(OH)2 (magnesio-
anthophyllite)–Fe7Si8O22(OH)2 (grunerite)–“Ca7Si8O22(OH)2” (hypothetical pure calcium amphibole)
compositional field (Figure 1). This diagram is commonly referred to as the amphibole quadrilateral.
Amphiboles crystallize into two crystal systems, monoclinic and orthorhombic. ... The chief differences
from pyroxenes are that (i) amphiboles contain essential hydroxyl (OH) or halogen (F, Cl) and (ii) the
basic structure is a double chain of tetrahedra (as opposed to the single chain structure of pyroxene).
An important group of rock-forming minerals in igneous and metamorphic rocks, amphiboles share a
similar crystal structure and cleavage pattern, but contain different proportions of sodium (Na), calcium
(Ca), iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mg), which substitute for one another in its crystal structure

5. Pyroxene
The pyroxenes are a group of important rock-forming inosilicate minerals found in many igneous
and metamorphic rocks
Any of a group of igneous-rock-forming silicate minerals that contain calcium, sodium, magnesium,
iron, or aluminum, usually occur in short prismatic crystals or massive form, are often laminated, and
vary in color from white to dark green or black.
Pyroxenes crystallize in both the orthorhombic and monoclinic crystal systems. Typically pyroxenes
occur as stubby prismatic crystals. They are chemically analogous to the amphiboles except that, as
discussed above, hydroxyls are absent in the pyroxene structure. They are similar in colour, lustre, and
hardness to the amphiboles but have slightly higher densities owing to the absence of hydroxyls.
Pyroxenes have two distinctive planes of cleavage with intersecting angles of about 87° and 93°.
Perpendicular to their cleavage planes, pyroxenes have nearly square cross sections, which, together
with the cleavage directions, are diagnostic properties.
The chemical composition of minerals of the pyroxene group can be expressed by the general formula
XYZ2O6, in which X= Na+, Ca2+, Mn2+, Fe2+, Mg2+, Li+; Y= Mn2+, Fe2+, Mg2+, Fe3+,
Al3+, Cr3+, Ti4+; and Z= Si4+, Al3+. The range of possible chemical substitutions in pyroxene is
 constrained by the sizes of the available sites in the structure and the charge of the substituting cations.
The Xcation sites in general are larger than the Ycation sites

6. Olivine
The mineral olivine is a magnesium iron silicate with the formula (Mg²⁺, Fe²⁺)₂SiO ₄. Thus, it is a
type of nesosilicate or orthosilicate. The primary component of the Earth's upper mantle, it is a common
mineral in Earth's subsurface, but weathers quickly on the surface
An olive-green, grey-green, or brown mineral occurring widely in basalt, peridotite, and other basic
igneous rocks. It is a silicate containing varying proportions of magnesium, iron, and other elements.
The most abundant olivine occurs in the system from forsterite (Mg2SiO4) to fayalite (Fe2SiO4).
Most of the naturally occurring olivines are intermediate in composition to these two end-members and
have the general formula (Mg, Fe)2SiO4.
Color: Yellow to yellow-green

7. Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate. The Mohs scale of
mineral hardness, based on scratch hardness comparison, defines value 3 as "calcite". Other
polymorphs of calcium carbonate are the minerals aragonite and vaterite
a white or colourless mineral consisting of calcium carbonate. It is a major constituent of sedimentary
rocks such as limestone and is deposited in caves to form stalactites and stalagmites.
Over 800 forms of calcite crystals have been identified. Most common are scalenohedra, with faces in
the hexagonal {2 1 1} directions (morphological unit cell) or {2 1 4} directions (structural unit cell); and
rhombohedral, with faces in the {1 0 1} or {1 0 4} directions (the most common cleavage plane).
Scalenohedral faces are chiral and come in pairs with mirror-image symmetry; their growth can be
influenced by interaction with chiral biomolecules such as L- and D-amino acids. 

8. Biotite

It  is a common group of phyllosilicate minerals within the mica group, with the

approximate chemical formula K(Mg,Fe)AlSi3O10(F,OH) . It is primarily a solid-solution series between
the iron-endmicamember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more aluminous end-
members include siderophyllite and eastonite.
A black, dark brown,or greenish black micaceous mineral, occurring as a constituent of many igneous
and metamorphic rocks
A generally black or dark green form of mica that is a constituent of crystalline rocks and consists of a
silicate of iron, magnesium, potassium, and aluminum.
It is a name used for a large group of black mica minerals that are commonly found in igneous and
metamorphic rocks. These include annite, phlogopite,

9. Garnet
Garnets are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and
abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in
chemical composition. The different species are pyrope, almandine, spessartine, grossular, uvarovite
and andradite. 
t revitalises, purifies and balances energy, bringing serenity or passion as appropriate. Inspires love and
devotion. Garnet balances the sex drive and alleviates emotional disharmony. It activates and
strengthens the survival instinct, bringing courage and hope.
Garnets have the general chemical formula A 3B 2Si 3O 12, where A is a divalent cation (Fe 2+, Ca 2+,
Mg 2+, Mn 2+) and B is a trivalent cation (Fe 3+, Al 3+, Cr 3+). The end-members pyrope, almandine,
and spessartine form one solid solution series, while the end-members grossular, andradite 
Any of a group of hard, vitreous minerals, silicates of calcium, magnesium, iron, or manganese with
aluminum or iron, varying in color: a deep-red transparent variety is used as a gem and as an abrasive.
Color: virtually all colors, blue is very rare

10. Clay
Any of a group of hard, vitreous minerals, silicates of calcium, magnesium, iron, or manganese with
aluminum or iron, varying in color: a deep-red transparent variety is used as a gem and as an abrasive.
Clay minerals are composed essentially of silica, alumina or magnesia or both, and water, but iron
substitutes for aluminum and magnesium in varying degrees, and appreciable quantities of potassium,
sodium, and calcium are frequently present as well.
The small size of the particles and their unique crystal structures give clay materials special properties.
These properties include: cation exchange capabilities, plastic behaviour when wet, catalytic
abilities, swelling behaviour, and low permeability
Most clay minerals form where rocks are in contact with water, air, or steam. Examples of these
situations include weathering boulders on a hillside, sediments on sea or lake bottoms, deeply buried
sediments containing pore water, and rocks in contact with water heated by magma (molten rock)
Typical bulk density of clay soil is between 1.1 and 1.3 g/cm3. This calculates to a porosity between 0.58
and 0.51. This seems counterintuitive because clay soils are termed heavy, implying lower porosity.