How Are Minerals Formed?


HOW ARE MINERALS FORMED?

MINERALS are naturally occuring, inorganic solids, with a characteristic chemical composition, having a regular atomic structure throughout. Man-made industrial diamonds are not considered true minerals. Having said that, there are also some Organic Minerals, such as Amber. Purists are reluctant to call organic minerals minerals, but they satisfy at least three of the criteria for inorganic mineral makeup, and therefore the point is open to debate.

How Many Minerals are there? There are about 4000 listed minerals on this planet but only a relatively few have gained popularity due to their pleasing apperance, often bizarre shapes, exquisite spectrum of colours, and trading value. Minerals are generally composed of more than one element or compound. Those which are made up of only one element are called Native Elements e.g. gold, silver, mercury, copper. The Conquistadores fell in love with New World gold and "liberated" it by the ship-load to fill the coffers of Government and Church in Spain. Silver too, along with Topaz, Tourmaline, Agate, Ruby, Diamond and many other precious rocks and minerals, have been highly prized for as long as Man was first enchanted by their beauty, commercial value and status it imparted to the wearer.

So, just how are minerals formed? Minerals can be formed in a wide variety of geological environments; deep inside volcanos, at the bottoms of deep oceans, deserts, salt lakes and cooling deep deposits of molten rock. Also, under the influence of heat and or pressure, when solutions and gasses holding concentrations of specific elements cool or evaporate, minerals growths are deposited inside rock fissures or voids. These minerals are sometimes forced through as a suspension in water, the water then evaporating leaving the mineral deposits as crystals (e.g. Amethyst) when the rock void is not fully filled or as Agates, when the rock is completely filled. These minerals are only visible when the rock is split open; it takes some skill to decide which rock to crack open! More about that later. An example of such crystal and mineral specimens for collectors are Geodes which are round rocks containing precipitated mineral salts, these being comomonly Agates (caused by mineral salt crystals forming inside Basalt rocks), Amethysts, Quartz, Jasper.

Minerals don't necessarily need heat or pressure to be formed; water saturated with mineral salts can leave deposits (Stalactites) as it drips down from the roof of a cave, forming corresponding Stalagmites directly below, over the centuries, where the drips hit. Eventually both grow to meet each other and thicken over the years. Sometimes, as a novelty, tourists can hang an item on a line at a cave, over which calcium carbonate saturated water runs; over a period of a few months it becomes encased in a hardening deposit of Calcium Carbonate.

THE THREE TYPES OF ROCK.Ok, the basic scene has been set, now let's examine in more detail the different mechanisms involved in mineral formation. All minerals are formed from ROCKS, which are an aggregate or mixture of various minerals and are the basic materials from which a mineral is formed.Rocks can be either:
Igneous - formed due to volcanic activity from the Earth's core.
Metamorphic - formed because of pressure or heat (e.g. tectonic plates colliding) on existing rocks, changing them into another type of rock.
Sedimentary - resulting from the layered compaction of weathered rock materials and/or shells.

Let us examine these rocks a little further:-

IGNEOUS ROCKS(from the Latin ignis - fire) can be further categorised as being



Latest News:



Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news
Myanmar's Suu Kyi to get family letters, news mags (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
Detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has managed to wring small concessions from the ruling generals in the form of letters from her family and some international news magazines, her lawyer said on Friday. JCDecaux in talks for News Outdoor Group in Russia (AP via Yahoo! News)
French outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux SA said Thursday it is negotiating to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media company News Corp. JCDecaux and News Corp. in talks to combine outdoor ad groups (International Herald Tribune)
The News Corp. chief executive, Rupert Murdoch, has recently expressed nervousness about investments in Russia, where News Outdoor generated the bulk of its revenue last year. News Corp tightens grip on Premiere with new CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
Rupert Murdoch tightened his grip on German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere by appointing News Corp executive Mark Williams as CEO in a move to get the company back on track. SEC Looks Into UAL Stock Scare; Implications For Online News? (paidContent.org via Yahoo! Finance)
A ton of digits have been devoted to this in other spots but the SEC's decision to investigate takes it to another level. The backstory: a six-year-old news story about UAL declaring bankruptcy made it into the Tribune-owned Sun-Sentinel's current news flow, was picked up by a Google News bot and, via a reporter for a newsletter, made it onto Bloomberg News. SEC Looks Into UAL Stock Scare; Implications For Online News? (CBS News)
A ton of digits have been devoted to this in other spots but the SEC's decision to investigate takes it to another level. The backstory: a six-year-old news story about UAL declaring bankruptcy made it into the Tribune-owned Sun-Sentinel 's current news flow, was picked up by a Google (NSDQ: GOOG) News bot and, via a reporter for a newsletter, made it onto Bloomberg News. After a lot of buck ... DIVA TALK: Chatting with In the Heights ' Mandy Gonzalez Plus News of Fraser, Testa and Bundy (Playbill)
News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage. Help News pick Stadium's greatest moment (New York Daily News)
The News is marking the countdown to the final game at The House That Ruth Built by reflecting on Yankee Stadium's greatest moments - and we're asking you - the reader - to help us pick out the best of the best. JCDecaux in talks to buy News Corp. billboard unit (AP via Yahoo! Finance)
In a deal that would create the world's largest outdoor advertising company, French conglomerate JCDecaux SA said Thursday that it is in talks to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media company News Corp. Phila. mayor to announce grim budget news (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
The Nutter administration is expected to announce grim budget news today, which is all but certain to lead to significant spending cuts - perhaps as high as 10 percent - in some city departments, according to three sources familiar with the budget.


Warning: MagpieRSS: Failed to parse RSS file. (> required at line 14, column 29) in /home/.hellodolly/jsteiner64/scholarlyarticles.org/outdoors/magpierss/rss_fetch.inc on line 238
Site:

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/.hellodolly/jsteiner64/scholarlyarticles.org/outdoors/inc/ads-body.inc on line 52

MORE RESOURCES:
Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for outdoors
Tribu Outdoors brings X-Tour in Davao (Mindanao Times)

TRIBU OUTDOORS and Henyo (Mgt. Consultancy and Events Organizing) will bring its first-ever X-Tour in Davao set this November 7 to 9 at the Victoria Plaza Mall Car Park in Bajada. Hunter safety enhances love for outdoors (Wahpeton News)

During the fall of 1983 I was 11 years old, and like many North Dakota 6th graders I was enamored with sports and the outdoors. The order depended on the day, and for the most part the draw was equal. Stories wanted for Outdoors Edition (McComb Enterprise-Journal)

The Enterprise-Journal Outdoors Edition will publish Oct. 23, and stories are wanted. The annual issue features readers? first-person accounts of outdoor adventures ranging from exotic to local. Keep the story to around 1,000 words, or about four double-spaced typewritten pages. Outdoors benefits children?s well-being (West Side Leader & South Side News Leader)

CVNP ? For nearly four years, I have been writing this column to offer insights into visiting Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP). I try to diversify the columns, but I find myself routinely returning to the topic of getting children involved in the outdoors. Women in the Outdoors helps women learn, laugh and lighten up (Morris Daily Herald)

Do you love the outdoors but can't find the time to enjoy it? Are you tired of your typical Saturday? errands, laundry, kids, cleaning, chores? the same old rut? Then Women of the Outdoors may be the perfect escape for you. Outdoors events (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Today marks the start of The Great Pennsylvania Outdoor Challenge, personal challenges that supporters of parks and forests set to help raise funds for state parks and forests. Hair stylist loves job, outdoors (The Staunton News Leader)

Kristen Kirby has been working as a hair stylist at Kokomo Joe?s Tanning and Hair since April, but she?s only been full-time for the past month. ?Working with hair has been a dream ever since I have been in second grade,? Kirby, 20, says, laughing. ?I told people hair was my life.? ESPN Outdoors Saltwater Series Schedule (ESPN)

ESPN Outdoors Saltwater Series Schedule Of the Outdoors ? Jig Fishing: The Ultimate Catching Tool (Yankton Press & Dakotan)

With all of the traveling I do, I have the opportunity to talk with a lot of anglers. At a recent in store promotion, I was talking with a group of fishermen talking about different fishing techniques. Outdoors: (The Capital)

With Chesapeake Bay water temperatures already slipping below 80 degrees in some places, we can expect catching to gradually improve from now on.
Warning: MagpieRSS: Failed to parse RSS file. (> required at line 14, column 29) in /home/.hellodolly/jsteiner64/scholarlyarticles.org/outdoors/magpierss/rss_fetch.inc on line 238
Site:

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/.hellodolly/jsteiner64/scholarlyarticles.org/outdoors/inc/rss.php on line 26
Home | Site Map | Resource Links