File:Iron oxide-stained quartz nodule (Indiana, USA) 3.jpg

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English: Iron oxide-stained quartz nodule from Indiana, USA.

A mineral is a naturally-occurring, solid, inorganic, crystalline substance having a fairly definite chemical composition and having fairly definite physical properties. At its simplest, a mineral is a naturally-occurring solid chemical. Currently, there are over 5900 named and described minerals - about 200 of them are common and about 20 of them are very common. Mineral classification is based on anion chemistry. Major categories of minerals are: elements, sulfides, oxides, halides, carbonates, sulfates, phosphates, and silicates.

The silicates are the most abundant and chemically complex group of minerals. All silicates have silica as the basis for their chemistry. "Silica" refers to SiO2 chemistry. The fundamental molecular unit of silica is one small silicon atom surrounded by four large oxygen atoms in the shape of a triangular pyramid - this is the silica tetrahedron - SiO4. Each oxygen atom is shared by two silicon atoms, so only half of the four oxygens "belong" to each silicon. The resulting formula for silica is thus SiO2, not SiO4.

The simplest & most abundant silicate mineral in the Earth's crust is quartz (SiO2). All other silicates have silica + impurities. Many silicates have a significant percentage of aluminum (the aluminosilicates).

Quartz (silicon dioxide/silica - SiO2) is the most common mineral in the Earth's crust. It is composed of the two most abundant elements in the crust - oxygen and silicon. It has a glassy, nonmetallic luster, is commonly clearish to whitish to grayish in color, has a white streak, is quite hard (H≡7), forms hexagonal crystals, has no cleavage, and has conchoidal fracture. Quartz can be any color: clear, white, gray, black, brown, pink, red, purple, blue, green, orange, etc.

The sample seen here is a decent-sized quartz nodule from Indiana. Quartz geodes are fairly common in parts of Indiana. This example is probably not a geode - it's too heavy to have a significant interior cavity. The reddish coloration is from hematite (iron oxide) staining.

Locality: unrecorded site in Indiana, USA


Photo gallery of quartz:

www.mindat.org/gallery.php?min=3337
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Source https://www.flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/53345218167/
Author James St. John

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This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
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This image was originally posted to Flickr by James St. John at https://flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/53345218167. It was reviewed on 28 November 2023 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

28 November 2023

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current21:02, 28 November 2023Thumbnail for version as of 21:02, 28 November 20233,030 × 2,753 (6.75 MB)Ser Amantio di Nicolao (talk | contribs)Uploaded a work by James St. John from https://www.flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/53345218167/ with UploadWizard

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