Mineral Groups

Mineral Groups Out of 3000 minerals that can be found on Earth, only about 30 of these are common Elements are also found in Earth’s crust (about 90) The vast majority of minerals are made of the 8 most common elements

Silicates Oxygen and silicon are the 2 most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust Minerals that contain these 2 elements are known as silicates These minerals make up approximately 96% of the minerals found in the Earth’s crust Ex.) quartz and feldspar

Carbonates Carbonates are minerals composed of one or more metallic elements with the carbonate compound CO3 ex.) calcite & dolomite There are some carbonates that have distinctive colorations such as azurite and malachite

Oxides Oxides are compounds of oxygen and metal Hematite and magnetite are examples

Other Mineral Groups Other major mineral groups are sulfides, sulfates, halides, and native elements Examples: Sulfide – pyrite Sulfates – anhydrite Halides – halite and sodium chloride Native elements – silver and copper