Most Common Green Minerals And their Physical Qualities
Green Minerals
It would be really strange to define green minerals as just green sedimentary rocks or sometimes gems. As the name suggests, it seems to be a part of some eatables likewise green vegetables. However, it is extremely different from what one may think about it.
Green rocks get their greenish color from minerals that contain iron or chromium and sometimes manganese. The presence of minerals in rocks can be easily identified by observing materials grain, color, and texture. Actual signs that indicate the presence of minerals are hidden under the material ‘s luster and hardness.
Thus the main indicators through which green minerals can be separated from ordinary rocks are their sparkles, color, and hardness.
Most Common Green Minerals And their Physical Qualities.
Chloride
The most widespread green mineral, chlorite is rarely present by itself. Its structure is flaky like mica, it does not split into flexible sheets. It gleams rather than sparkles and it has pearly shine.
The strange fact about chlorite is that it is found naturally in certain parts of Wales in mineral schisms plus it is mostly found in large boulders scattered on the ground surface. Furthermore, it is used for the coating of other important minerals. It also forms inclusions with other minerals, especially Quartz
Actionlite
Actinolite as names indicates is a shiny medium – green silicate with long, thin crystals. It will be found easily in metamorphic rocks such as marbles or green stone. Its greenish color is due to the presence of iron. However, its white variety does not contain iron. One of its types is commonly known as Jade
a. JADE
Two minerals, jadeite, and nephritis are recognized as true jade. These are typically formed at higher pressures and temperatures and are used as gemstones
Quartz magnesite actinolite schist is found in Tamil Nadu, India
Epidote
Because Episode is common in medium-grade metamorphic rocks as well as late-stage igneous rocks such as pegmatites. So it ranges in color from yellow-green to green-black to black, depending on its iron content. Like jade, it is also use as a gemstone
Precambrian shield. Most of the Keweenaw volcanic rocks in the northwest part of the state in Polk, Ashland, Bay field, Douglas and Iron counties contain abundant epidote.
Glauconite
It is a mica mineral, but it never forms crystals. Due to the presence of relatively high potassium content, it is used in fertilizer as well as artist paints.
Adding more, they are form under reducing conditions in sediments and such deposits are commonly find in nearshore sands, open oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea.
Olivine
It’s a type of dark igneous rocks, for example, basalt, gabbro and so on. Its crystal shape is stubby and is usually small in size. Dunite is the name of rock entirely make up of olivine. They are abundant below the earth’s surface. It also gives the rock peridotite its name, peridot being the gem variety of olivine.
These rocks are find in the U.S and are also mine to this day on Zabargad Island, it also find in places across the US.
Prehnite
Prehnite is a silicate derive mainly from calcium and aluminum. It frequently be find in botryoidal clusters along with pockets of zeolite minerals. The mineral has a light bottle- green color and translucent, with a glassy luster; it is frequently use as a gemstone.
It is originate in the Karoo dolerites of Cradock, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
Serpentine
Although it’s a form of metamorphic mineral that occurs in some marbles but is most often find by itself in serpentine. It typically occurs in shiny streamline forms, asbestos fibers being the most notable exception.
The mineral color ranges from white to black but is usually dark olive -green. The presence of serpentine is often evidence of prehistoric deep-sea lavas that have been altere by hydro thermal activity.
Serpentine deposits found in Canada, South Africa and Vermont and Arizona in the United States.
Other Green Minerals
Several other minerals are also typically green, but they are not widespread and quite distinctive. They are more likely to found on rock shops than in the field.
Steps to preserve green minerals.
There are many hurdles in the way of preserving green minerals in their natural form. Firstly they are mostly marine, secondly, they find in open spaces in the form of crystals and easily dissolve with flood and rainfall. Finally, great expenditure is require to preserve them in a huge amount.
Other main hurdles are their exposure to radioactivity, oxidation, and vulcanization
Finally In the end, these are pearls of nature and they should save at any cost for the beauty of our earth.