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Thursday, August 18, 2011

Types of Minerals

The Various types of minerals depend upon the nature of the chemical compounds that contains the given metal. These are:
1. OXIDES:  Oxides are those minerals in which a metal occurs in combination with oxygen. Examples of such minerals are,
            (a).       Iron as Hematite (Fe2O3), Magnetite (Fe2O3. FeO), Chromate (Fe3O4Cr2).
            (b).      Aluminium as Bauxite                        (Al2O3 . 2H2O)
            (c).       Manganese as Pyolusite                      (MnO2)
            (d).      Tin as Tin stone or Cassiterite             (SnO2)
            (e).       Titanium as Rutile                               (TiO2)
            (f).       Copper as Cuprite                               (Cu2O)
2. SULPHIDES:  Sulphide are those minerals in which a metal occurs in combination with sulphur.
            For Examples:–        
            (a).       Iron as Iron Pyrites                 (FeS2)
            (b).      Copper as Copper Pyrites       (CuFeS2)
            (c).       Copper as Copper Glance       (Cu2S)
            (d).      Mercury as Cinnabar               (HgS)
            (e).       Zinc as Zinc Sulphide             (ZnS)
            (f).       Lead as Lead Sulphides          (PbS)
3. CARBONATES:  These are those minerals in which a metal occurs as a carbonates.
            For Example:
            (a).       Calcium as Calcite                  (CaCO3)
            (b).       Magnesium as Dolomite         (CaCO3 . MgCO3)
            (c).       Zinc as Calamine                     (ZnCO3)
            (d).      Iron as Siderite                        (FeCO3)          
4. SULPHATES:  The minerals in which a metal occurs as sulphates are sulphate minerals.
            For Example
            (a).       Barium as Barytes                   (BaSO4)
            (b).      Lead as Anglesite                   (PbSO4)
            (c).       Calcium as Gypsum                (CaSO4 . 2H2O)
            (d).      Magnesium as Epsom Salt      (MgSO4 . 7H2O)
            (e).       Sodium as Glaber’s salt          (Na2SO4 . 10H2O)
5. HALIDES:  These are minerals in which a metal occurs in combination with a halogen. Examples of halide minerals are:
            (a).       Sodium as common salt          (NaCl)
            (b).      Aluminium as Cryolite            (Na3AlF6)
            (c).       Calcium as Fluorite                 (CaF2)
            (d).      Silver as Horn Silver               (AgCl)
            (e).       Magnesium as Carnallite         (KCl. MgCl2 . 6H2O)
6. PHOSPHATES:  The minerals in which a metal occurs as a phosphate are called phosphate minerals. Example;
                        Calcium as hydroxyapatite [Ca3(PO4)5(OH)2]
7. SILICATES:  The minerals in which the metal occurs as a silicate are called Silicate Minerals.
            For example.
            (a).       Silicon as Quartz (SiO2)
            (b).      Calcium and Magnesium as Asbestos (CaSiO3.MgSiO3)
            (c).       Aluminium as China Clay (Al2O3.SiO2.2H2O)

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