Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The term pegmatite is thus purely a textural description. [6] [7] Geologists typically prefix the term with a compositional description, so that granitic pegmatite is a pegmatite with the composition of granite while nepheline syenite pegmatite is a pegmatite with the composition of nepheline syenite. [6]
The individual crystals in an aphanitic igneous rock are not distinguishable to the naked eye. Examples of aphanitic igneous rock include basalt , andesite , and rhyolite . Glassy or vitreous textures occur during some volcanic eruptions when the lava is quenched so rapidly that crystallization cannot occur.
The way a mineral splits (or “cleaves”), particularly along planes in the crystal structure. Cleavage is generally described by. how well a mineral can be split to produce a flat plane, a process controlled by planes of weakness in the crystal structure. the number of distinct directions of these cleavage planes; the angles between those ...
Evaporite – Water-soluble mineral deposit formed by evaporation from an aqueous solution; Flint – Cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz; Geyserite – Form of opaline silica often found around hot springs and geysers; Greywacke – Sandstone with angular grains in a clay-fine matrix; Gritstone – Hard, coarse-grained, siliceous ...
The central portions of pegmatites are often miarolitic as the pegmatite dike crystallizes from the outside walls toward the center. The volatile portion of the magma is gradually excluded from the forming crystal phases until it becomes trapped within the body and forms the cavities which often contain minerals of elements incompatible with ...
Orthoclase crystal twinning from the Organ Mountains in New Mexico. Orthoclase is a common constituent of most granites and other felsic igneous rocks and often forms huge crystals and masses in pegmatite. Typically, the pure potassium endmember of orthoclase forms a solid solution with albite, the sodium endmember (NaAlSi 3 O 8), of plagioclase.
MVT deposits are believed to form in very shallow water, most likely less than 50 meters in depth, whereas sedex deposits can form under relatively deep marine conditions; Mineralization is characterized by coarse grain size, cavities, breccia fragments and euhedral crystals. In contrast, sedex mineralization is commonly fine grained and laminated
The mineral occurs in pegmatite deposits and is easily mistaken for albite and other feldspars. Its density, cleavage and flame test for lithium are diagnostic. Amblygonite forms a series with montebrasite, the low fluorine endmember. Geologic occurrence is in granite pegmatites, high-temperature tin veins, and greisens.