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Some examples of minerals in iron-rich rocks containing oxides are limonite, hematite, and magnetite. An example of a mineral in iron-rich rock containing carbonates is siderite and an example of minerals in an iron-rich rock containing silicate is chamosite. [2] They are often interbedded with limestones, shales, and fine-grained sandstones.
Banded iron formation – Distinctive layered units of iron-rich sedimentary rock that are almost always of Precambrian age Breccia – Rock composed of angular fragments Calcarenite – Type of limestone that is composed predominantly of sand-size grains
Ironstone (sandstone with iron oxides) from the Mississippian Breathitt Formation, Mile Marker 166, I-64, Kentucky. Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially.
Iron-rich sedimentary rocks are composed of >15% iron; the most common forms are banded iron formations and ironstones. [ 6 ] Phosphatic sedimentary rocks are composed of phosphate minerals and contain more than 6.5% phosphorus ; examples include deposits of phosphate nodules , bone beds, and phosphatic mudrocks.
The rarest elements in the crust are not the heaviest, but are rather the siderophile elements (iron-loving) in the Goldschmidt classification of elements. These have been depleted by being relocated deeper into the Earth's core; their abundance in meteoroids is higher.
Elemental iron is virtually absent on the Earth's surface except as iron-nickel alloys from meteorites and very rare forms of deep mantle xenoliths.Although iron is the fourth most abundant element in Earth's crust, composing about 5% by weight, [4] the vast majority is bound in silicate or, more rarely, carbonate minerals, and smelting pure iron from these minerals would require a prohibitive ...
Banded iron formation from the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. A typical banded iron formation consists of repeated, thin layers (a few millimeters to a few centimeters in thickness) of silver to black iron oxides, either magnetite (Fe 3 O 4) or hematite (Fe 2 O 3), alternating with bands of iron-poor chert, often red in color, of similar thickness.
The rocks have spectra resembling quartz-rich dacites and granitoids, suggesting that at least some parts of the Martian crust may have a diversity of igneous rocks similar to Earth's. [30] Some geophysical evidence suggests that the bulk of the Martian crust may actually consist of basaltic andesite or andesite.