Origin
Ceramics
Precious
materials
Metals
End
component
Minerals or Rocks?
Mineral: ‘Mineral’ means a class of substances
occurring in nature, of definite chemical composition
and usually, a characteristic crystal structure,
Difference between a mineral and a rock….
A mineral is a pure substance with a specific composition and structure, while a rock is typically a mixture of several different
minerals
Definition of Minerals:
Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic substances that possess a definite
chemical composition and a characteristic crystalline structure. They are the
building blocks of rocks and are found in the Earth's crust. Minerals are
typically solid, although some can exist as liquids or gases under specific
conditions.
Minerals are vital components of rocks, ores, and soils. Minerals are
essential for various industrial processes, including construction,
manufacturing, and energy production. Additionally, many minerals are
valued for their aesthetic qualities and are used in jewelry and ornamental
items.
Formation of minerals: How the Minerals forms?
• Magma:
• At the high temperatures that exist
deep within Earth, some geological
materials are liquid.
• As magma rises up through the crust,
either by volcanic eruption or by more
gradual processes, it cools and
minerals crystallize.
• Precipitation from gaseous
emanations:
• The evolution of hydrothermal
plume in the air from the volcanic
eruption and precipitates in some
other regions
5
• Precipitation from aqueous solution:
• (i.e., from hot water flowing
underground, from evaporation of a lake
or inland sea, or in some cases, directly
from seawater)
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• Metamorphism:
• Formation of new minerals directly
from the elements within existing
minerals under conditions of elevated
temperature and pressure,
• It involves the change in minerals or
geologic texture in preexisting rocks
• Weathering:
• During which minerals unstable at Earth’s surface may be altered to other
minerals, (ex: Radioactive minerals)
• Organic formation:
• Formation of minerals within shells (primarily calcite) and
teeth and bones (primarily apatite) by organisms (these
organically formed minerals are still called minerals
because they can also be form inorganically).
• Opal is a mineraloid (i.e., not an actual mineral) because
although it has all of the other properties of a mineral, it
does not have a specific structure.
• Pearl is not a mineral because it can only be produced by
organic processes.
Crystalline: A three dimensional periodic Amorphous: Random arrangement-
arrangement of atoms No periodic arrangement of atoms
In 3-Dimenion
In case of two atoms
Properties of Minerals
Minerals are universal: A crystal of hematite on Mars will have the same properties as
one on Earth.
1. Color: One of our key ways of identifying objects.
Color arises due to varying proportions of trace elements
within the mineral:
For example, Quartz:
• Yellow (citrine) due to trace amounts of ferric iron
(Fe3+), The mineral Sulphur Not all are by just color:
• Rose quartz has trace amounts of manganese, is always a distinctive Hematite exits as Red and Black
• Purple quartz (amethyst) has trace amounts of iron, and unique yellow. and shiny metallic
• Milky quartz, which is very common, has millions of
fluid inclusions (tiny cavities, each filled with water).
2. Streak : Minerals, “colour” is what you see when light reflects off the surface of the
sample.
Mineral gets ground to a powder and we can get a better impression of its “true” colour
Lustre is the way light reflects off the surface of a mineral, and the degree to which it
3. Lustre: penetrates into the interior.
Sulfur reflects less
Diamond has an adamantine Quartz is not sparkly and has light than quartz,
luster. a vitreous, or glassy, luster. so it has a resinous
luster.
Two types: Metallic and Non-metallic.
• Metallic: Light gets reflected from the surface. Even a thin sheet of metal—such as aluminium
foil—will not allow light to pass through it/reflective.
• Non-metallic: Many minerals may look as if light will not pass through them, but if you take a
closer look at a thin edge of the mineral you can see that it does.
• if a non-metallic mineral has a shiny, reflective surface, then it is called “glassy.”
• If it is dull and non-reflective, it is “earthy.”
• Other types of non-metallic lustres are “silky,” “pearly,” and “resinous.”
4. Hardness
The resistance of a material to local plastic deformation
achieved from indentation of a predetermined geometry
indenter onto a flat surface of metal under a
predetermined load.
In 1812 German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs came
up with a list of 10 reasonably common minerals
that had a wide range of hardnesses.
5. Density
Density is a measure of the mass of a mineral per unit volume,
Minerals Density (gm/cc)
Quartz, feldspar, calcite, amphibole, and 2.6 – 3.0 gm/cc
mica
Pyrite, hematite, and magnetite >5.0 gm/cc
6. Crystal Habit
In a rock, Minerals like to grow in their own
shapes Crystallographic habit plane, provided
adjacent minerals allows
Crystallographic plane is characteristic
associated with the crystal structure of materials
*Crystal habit is a reflection of how minerals like to grow
7. Cleavage and Fracture : Cleavage and fracture describe how it breaks.
Cleavage is the tendency of a mineral to break along certain planes to
make smooth surfaces.
A mineral that naturally breaks into perfectly flat surfaces is exhibiting
cleavage.
Cleavage is what we see when a mineral breaks along a
specific plane or planes, while fracture is an irregular break.
Some minerals tend to cleave along planes at various fixed
orientations, some do not cleave at all (they only fracture).
Minerals that have cleavage can also fracture along surfaces
that are not parallel to their cleavage planes.
• Minerals are made up of a cation (a positively charged ion) + an anion (a negatively charged ion (e.g., S2−)) or an anion complex
(e.g., SO42−).
For example, in the mineral hematite (Fe2O3), the cation is Fe3+ (iron) and the anion is O2− (oxygen). The two Fe3+ ions have an
overall charge of +6 and that balances the overall charge of −6 from the three O2− ions.
• These include oxides, sulphides, carbonates, silicates, and others.
• Silicates are by far the predominant group in terms of their abundance within the crust and mantle.
• Exclude those with (CO32-), (SO42-), (SiO44-).
• If oxygen +Hydrogen -> hydroxide mineral – Limonite & Bauxite
• Sulphides are mineral with S-2 anion with -2
• Sulphates are mineral with SO4-2 anion with -2
• Carbonates are mineral with CO3-2 complex. anion with -2
• Phosphate are mineral with PO4-2 complex. anion with -2
• Silicate minerals include the elements Si and O in varying proportion ranging
from Si:O2 to Si-O4
• Native elements are single element minerals: Gold, Copper, Sulphur, Graphite
Classification of Minerals:
To be classified as a mineral, a substance must meet several criteria:
• Firstly, it must occur naturally, meaning it is not artificially created by human
intervention.
• Secondly, minerals are inorganic, which means they are not derived from living
organisms.
• Thirdly, minerals have a specific chemical composition and structure, composed of
various elements in fixed proportions. For example, quartz is composed of silicon and
oxygen (SiO2).
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Minerals can be classified into several categories based on various
criteria. Here are some common classifications of minerals:
Native Elements: These minerals consist of a single element in their pure form.
Examples include gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), and diamond (C).
Silicates: Silicates are the most abundant group of minerals and are composed primarily
of silicon (Si) and oxygen (O). They make up a significant portion of the Earth's crust.
Examples of silicate minerals include quartz, feldspar, mica, and clay minerals.
Carbonates: Carbonate minerals are composed of carbon (C), oxygen (O), and other
elements such as calcium (Ca) or magnesium (Mg). Common carbonate minerals include
calcite, dolomite, and siderite.
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Oxides: Oxide minerals consist of oxygen (O) combined with one or more metallic
elements. Examples include hematite (Fe2O3), magnetite (Fe3O4), and rutile
(TiO2).
Sulfides: Sulfide minerals are composed of sulfur (S) combined with one or more
metallic elements. Well-known sulfide minerals include pyrite (FeS2), galena
(PbS), and sphalerite (ZnS).
Sulfates: Sulfate minerals contain the sulfate ion (SO4) combined with metallic
elements. Gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O) and barite (BaSO4) are common sulfate
minerals.
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Halides: Halide minerals are composed of halogen elements such as fluorine (F),
chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), or iodine (I) combined with metallic elements. Examples
include halite (NaCl), fluorite (CaF2), and sylvite (KCl).
Phosphates: Phosphate minerals contain the phosphate ion (PO4) combined with
metallic elements. Apatite, which is an important source of phosphorus, is a well-
known phosphate mineral.
Sulfosalts: Sulfosalt minerals are complex minerals containing both sulfide and
arsenic or antimony combined with metallic elements. Examples include tetrahedrite
and enargite.
These classifications are based on chemical composition and provide a systematic way to organize and categorize the
diverse array of minerals found on Earth.
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A minimum metal content required for a deposit to
qualify as an ore varies from metal to metal.
Many non ferrous ore contains only one per metals or some times less then
it.
Gold can be recovered profitable from an ore containing 1 ppm level of
metals
Iron containing less then 45 per in an ore is said to be low grade.
Every ton of material deposited have Contained value –depend upon metal
content and current price of the contained metal.
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Sampling
• Sampling is the mean where by a small amount of material is taken from
the main bulk in such a manner that it is representative of the large
amount.
• This sampling must be accurate because great responsibility rest on a
very small sample.
• Objective of sampling: is to estimate grades and contents of sampling
unit in an unbiased manner and with an acceptable and affordable
degree of precision.
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But the problem is that accurate sampling is difficult due to two main factors one is different size of particles,
and inhomogeneity of material.
Sampling is the removal from a given lot of material a portion that is representative of the whole yet of
convenient size for analysis.
How sampling is done
It is done either by hand or by machine.
Hand sampling is usually expensive, slow, and inaccurate, so that it is generally applied only where the
material is not suitable for machine sampling.
Many different sampling devices are available, including shovels, pipe samplers, and automatic machine
samplers. For these sampling machines to provide an accurate representation of the whole lot, the
quantity of a single sample, the total number of samples, and the kind of samples taken are of decisive
importance.
A number of mathematical sampling models have been developed in order to arrive at the appropriate
criteria for sampling. 24
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Product of comminution
• Here region A represent valuable mineral Where as AA represents
rich in valuable mineral but is highly intergrown with the gangue
mineral . During comminution a range of fragments are produced
ranging from fully liberated mineral and gangue particles.
Here from the figure we can see
• Type 1- is rich in mineral and are classified as concentrate since as
they have an acceptable degree of locking with the gangue, which
limits the concentrate grade.
• Type 4- is tailing since small amount of mineral presents reduces the
recovery of mineral into the concentrate.
• Types 2, 3- are of middle degree where regrinding needed to promote
economic liberation of mineral.
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Minerals
Metallic Non-metallic Energy Mineral
Ferrous Nonferrous Eg: Clays, Salts,
Precious: Eg: Coal, Petroleum
Iron based Iron, Mn, Eg: Copper, tin, Al, Sulphur, limestone,
Gold, Platinum, Silver and Natural gas
Co, Ni Lead.. etc granite
Coal : INDIA is 5th largest reserve country of the world: 300 Billion Tonnes (2019)
Uses: 1) Power generation, 2) Energy supply to industry and 3) Domestic needs.
To meet the gap, India
imports Coal
Coal occurs in rock series of two main geological ages, namely:
1) Gondowana, a little over 200 million years in age
2) Tertiary deposits which are only about 55 million years old.
Coals in India can be subdivided into mainly three locations:
1.Lower Gondowana Coalfields: West Bengal, Bihar, Madha Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim.
2.Upper Gondowana Coalfields: Gujrat, Madhapradesh, Maharashtra
3.Tertiary Coalfields: Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Madras, Kerala, Gujrat
Gondowana Coals are most important in India and account for more than 90% of coal
production in country. Tertiary Coals contribute very little of the total coal production in
India. They usually have high sulfur content (2-8%).
TYPES OF COAL
There are four major types of coal. Type refers to steps in a slow, natural process called “coalification,” during
which buried plant matter changes into an ever denser, drier, more carbon rich, and harder material.
1. Anthracite (Age- 350 my): The highest rank of coal. It is a hard, brittle, and black lustrous coal, often
referred to as hard coal, containing a high percentage of fixed carbon(90%) with high energy content
(34K kJ/Kg above) and a low percentage of volatile matter.
2. Bituminous (Age- 300 my): Bituminous usually has a carbon high %C = 50-70% with energy (25-35
kJ/Kg). Bituminous coal appears shiny and smooth when you first see it, but look closer and you
may see it has layers.
3. Subbituminous (Age- 100 my): Subbituminous coal is black in color and dull (not shiny), %C = 40%
with energy = 20-25 kJ/Kg.
4. Lignite (Age- 60 my): Lignite coal, aka brown coal, is the lowest grade coal with the least
concentration of carbon %C = 30% with energy = 10-20 kJ/Kg
Also, there is peat. Peat is not actually coal, but rather the precursor to coal. Peat is a soft organic
material consisting of partly decayed plant and, in some cases, deposited mineral matter. When peat is
placed under high pressure and heat, it becomes coal.
Iron ore: India holds 7th position in iron ore reserve and 4th in production
Two important ores:
1) Hematite (Fe2O3)
2) Magnetite(Fe3O4)
The total reserves of iron ore in the country were about 20 billion tonnes in the year 2010.
About 95 per cent of total reserves of iron ore is located in the States of Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka,
Goa, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
In Odisha, iron ore occurs in a series of hill ranges in Sundergarh, Mayurbhanj and Jhar. The important mines are
Gurumahisani, Sulaipet, Badampahar (Mayurbhaj), Kiruburu (Kendujhar) and Bonai (Sundergarh).
In Jharkhand , most of the important mines such as Noamundi and Gua are located in Poorbi and Pashchimi
Singhbhum districts. This belt further extends to Durg, Dantewara and Bailadila. Dalli, and Rajhara in Durg are the
important mines of iron ore in the country.
In Karnataka, iron ore deposits occur in Sandur-Hospet area of Ballari district, Baba Budan hills and Kudremukh in
Chikkamagaluru district and parts of Shivamogga, Chitradurg and Tumakuru districts.
In Maharashtra, the districts of Chandrapur, Bhandara and Ratnagiri,
In Telangana, Karimnagar and Warangal district.
Kurnool, Cuddapah and Anantapur districts of Andhra Pradesh,
Salem and Nilgiris districts of Tamil Nadu
In Goa, mining is mostly concentrated in four talukas namely, Bicholim in North Goa district and Salcete, Sanguem
and Quepem in South Goa district.
Types of Iron ore and
properties:
Mineral potential area:
• The total reserves/resources ~
GOLD 501.83 MT (2015)
• Gold in its purest form, is a bright, slightly reddish yellow, dense, soft malleable and ductile metal.
• It is one of the least reactive chemical elements and is solid under standard conditions.
• Gold often occurs in free elemental (native) form, as nuggets or grains, in rocks, in vein, and in alluvial deposits.
• Gold is a relatively scarce metal in the world and a scarce commodity in India. The domestic demand is mainly
met through imports.
• The consumption of gold produced in the world is about 50% in jewellry, 40% in investment, and 10% in
industry.
• The production of gold ore ~ 582 thousand tonnes during 2016-17 increased by 3% as compared to that in the
previous year.
• Production of primary gold in 2016-17 at 1,594 kg increased by 20% as compared to that in the previous year.
Gold reserves in India
2%
3% 2%
3%
Bihar
Rajasthan
21% 44%
Karnataka
West Bengal
Andhar Pradesh
25%
Jharkand
Kerala, MP, Maharashtra
• Gold usually occurs in Auriferous [(of rocks or minerals)
containing gold] rocks.
• It is also found in sands of several rivers.
• Karnataka is the largest producer of gold in India.
• Gold mines are located in Kolar [Kolar Gold Field], Dharwad,
Hassan and Raichur [Hutti Gold Field] districts.
• Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) is one of the deepest mines of the world.
[Usually, gold mines are the deepest mines in the world.
Bonding and Lattices
An Atom always wants to have a full outer shell to be atomically stable (i.e., two electrons for hydrogen and
helium or eight electrons for most elements).
This is accomplished by:
Ionic bonding
1) Transferring electrons with other atoms .... Ionic bond N = 11 N = 17
2) Sharing electrons with other atoms ..... Covalent bond
Covalent bonding
Cl Cl
Depiction of a covalent bond between two chlorine atoms
Depiction of a Ionic bond between Na and Cl
Packing structure of Ionic solids
• It is necessary to understand the way atoms are Linear
packed together or coordinated by larger anions, like
oxygen depends on the radius ratio of the cation to the Triangular
anion, rAnion/RCation.
• The number of anions surrounding a central cation Tetrahedral
is called Coordination Number (C.N) or ligancy.
• C.N is a function of the ionic sizes and the space
Octahedral
Cubic
Hexagonal or cubic closed packing
C.N.
Coord.
Ion (with Ionic Radius, Å
Since oxygen is the most abundant element in the Polyhedron
Oxygen)
crust, oxygen will be the major anion that K+ 8 - 12
cubic to 1.51 (8) - 1.64
closest (12)
coordinates the other cations.
Na+ 8-6 1.18 (8) - 1.02 (6)
cubic to
Thus, for the major ions that occur in the crust, we octahedral
Ca+2 8-6 1.12 (8) - 1.00 (6)
can make the following table showing the
Mn+2 6 0.83
coordination and coordination polyhedra that are
expected for each of the common cations. Fe+2 6 0.78
Mg+2 6 0.72
Octahedral
Fe+3 6 0.65
Ti+4 6 0.61
Al+3 6 0.54
Al+3 4 0.39
Tetrahedral
Si+4 4 0.26
C+4 3 Triangular 0.08
Silicate Minerals
• Silicon and oxygen bond together to create a silica tetrahedron, which is a four-sided pyramid
shape with O at each corner and Si in the middle.
• The bonds in a silica tetrahedron have mixed character of covalent and Ionic bonding. As a
result of the ionic character, silicon becomes a cation (with a charge of +4) and oxygen becomes
an anion (with a charge of –2).
• The net charge of a silica tetrahedron (SiO4) is: 4 + 4(−2) = 4 − 8 = −4.
Isolated tetrahedron
Olivine
Isolated silica tetrahedron (SiO4) is:
4 + 4(−2) = 4 − 8 = −4.
• Olivine, is composed of isolated tetrahedra bonded to
Iron and/or Magnesium ions.
• In olivine, the −4 charge of each silica tetrahedron is
balanced by two divalent (i.e., +2) iron or magnesium
cations. Olivine can be either Mg2SiO4 or Fe2SiO4, or
some combination of the two (Mg,Fe)2SiO4.
• The divalent cations of Mg and Fe are quite close in
radius (0.73 versus 0.62 angstroms).
Garnet
These minerals share a common crystal structure and a generalized
chemical composition of X3Y2(SiO4)3.
"X" = Ca, Mg, Fe2+ or Mn2+,
"Y" = Al, Fe3+, Mn3+, V3+ or Cr3+.
These minerals are found throughout the world in Metamorphic,
igneous, and sedimentary rock.
Garnet Minerals
Mineral Composition Specific Gravity Hardness Colors
Almandine Fe3Al2(SiO4)3 4.20 7 - 7.5 red, brown
Pyrope Mg3Al2(SiO4)3 3.56 7 - 7.5 red to purple
orange to red to
Spessartine Mn3Al2(SiO4)3 4.18 6.5 - 7.5
brown
green, yellow,
Andradite Ca3Fe2(SiO4)3 3.90 6.5 - 7
black
green, yellow, red,
Grossular Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 3.57 6.5 - 7.5
pink, clear
Uvarovite Ca3Cr2(SiO4)3 3.85 6.5 - 7 green
Pyroxene: XSiO3
• In pyroxene, silica tetrahedra are linked together in a single chain,
where one oxygen ion from each tetrahedron is shared with the
adjacent tetrahedron, hence there are fewer oxygens in the structure.
• The result is that the oxygen-to-silicon ratio is lower than in olivine (3:1
instead of 4:1), and the net charge per silicon atom is less (−2 instead of
−4). (4 + 3(−2) = 4 − 6 = −2)
• Therefore, fewer cations are necessary to balance that charge.
• Pyroxene compositions are of the type MgSiO3, FeSiO3, and CaSiO3, or
some combination of these
• The structure of pyroxene is more “permissive” than that of olivine—
meaning that cations with a wider range of ionic radii can fit into it.
Amphibole
In amphibole structures, the silica tetrahedra are linked in
a double chain that has an oxygen-to-silicon ratio lower
than that of pyroxene, and hence still fewer cations are
necessary to balance the charge.
Amphibole is even more permissive than pyroxene and its
compositions can be very complex.
Hornblende, for example, can include sodium, potassium,
calcium, magnesium, iron, aluminum, silicon, oxygen,
fluorine, and the hydroxyl ion (OH−).
(Ca,Na)2-3(Mg,Fe,Al)5(Al,Si)8O22(OH)2
Mica
• In mica structures, the silica tetrahedra are arranged in
continuous sheets, where each tetrahedron shares three
oxygen anions with adjacent tetrahedra.
• There is even more sharing of oxygens between adjacent
tetrahedra and hence fewer cations are needed to balance the
charge of the silica-tetrahedra structure in sheet silicate
minerals.
• Bonding between sheets is relatively weak, and this
accounts for the well-developed one-directional cleavage in Mineral: Muscovite
micas.
Chemical Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Quartz
• Quartz is another 3 dimensional network framework silicate with each
tetrahedra corner is attached to neighboring tetrahedras
• Most common in Igneous and metamorphic rock.
• Quartz has vast varieties of colors due to impurities:
• Yellow (citrine) due to trace amounts of ferric iron (Fe3+),
• Rose quartz has trace amounts of manganese,
• Purple quartz (amethyst) has trace amounts of iron,
• Milky quartz, which is very common, has millions of fluid inclusions
(tiny cavities, each filled with water).
Feldspar: Framework silicates
•Feldspars are the most common mineral of the earth crust
•Feldspars are frame work silicates where each tetrahedra
share all corner with its four neighboring tetrahedras.
•A portion of tetradras contain Al3+instead of Si4+.
•The charge is balance by incorporating Na+, K+ or Ca2+
•A three dimensional silica structure with Si:O ratio is 3:8.
The three main common feldspars are:
1) Orthoclase: KAlSi3O8
2) Albite: NaAlSi3O8
3) Anorthosite: CaAl2Si2O8
Orthoclase
Albite
Anorthite
Three main common feldspars are:
1) Orthoclase: KAlSi3O8 The Albite and Anorthosite form a solid solution of feldspars called
2) Albite: NaAlSi3O8 Plagioclase
3) Anorthosite: CaAl2Si2O8
Feldspathoids
• The feldspathoids are a group of tectosilicate minerals which
resemble feldspars but have a different structure and much lower
silica content.
• The feldspathoid group minerals are sodium, potassium, and
calcium aluminosilicates, many of which resemble the feldspars in
appearance.
• They are relatively rare.
• The aluminum to silicon ratio is nearly 1:1 in most of the
feldspathoids but is closer to 1:3 in most of the feldspars.
• Theses include Nepheline, Analcime and Leucite
Tourmaline is a complex boron silicate mineral
with a generalized chemical composition of:
XY3Z6(T6O18)(BO3)3V3W
Letters in the formula above represent positions
in the atomic structure of
tourmaline.
CYCLOSILICATES = RING SILICATES 6-fold rings
of Si.
Double island silicates: each tetrahedron shares
one corner with another tetrahedron
Basic structural unit: (Si2O7) 6-
Some sorosilicate: combination of single and
double island (ex.: Epidote)
