Mineral classification

A system of minerals classification is presented in Table 1.13. The various classes of minerals are derived and named according to the large anions (simple or complex) that make up the main framework of their structures. There is one exception to this scheme. The class... 

Broadly speaking the classification of meteorites follows the geological mineral classification and with 275 mineral species reported so far this quickly becomes complex some classes of meteorite have only one member. The mineral structure does convey essential information about the temperature at which the meteorite formed as well as the reduction-oxidation (redox) environment was the environment in which it formed rich in oxygen Meteorites have been classified into three broad classes ... 

Silicates. This mineral classification encompasses the largest group of mineral species and includes most of the important rock-forming minerals, such as the feldspars, feldspathoids, pyroxenes, amphiboles. 

Table 2.1 ExampUs of species in the Dana system of mineral classification. 

Primary Mineral Classification Based on Structural Arrangement... 

Buol, S. W. 1985. Mineralogy classes in soil families with low activity clays. In Mineral Classification of Soils, ed. J. A. Kittrick (Spec Publ 16. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. and Amer. Soc. Agr. Madison, Wisconsin), pp. 169-178. 

Strunz Mineralogical Tables. Chemical-Structural Mineral Classification System. / by Hugo Strunz and Ernest H. Nickel. 9th ed - Stuttgart, Schweizerbart, 2001 ISBN 3-510-65188-X... 

The chemical-structural mineral classification system developed since the first edition of Mineralogische Tabellen (1941) evolved from the chemical miiieral system of Hatiy (1801), which was based on cations, and of Berzelius (1814,1824), based on anions, followed by the chemical-morphological system of Gustav Rose (1838,1852), the periodic system of the chemical elements (c Introduction), and finally by the developing knowledge of atomic crystal structures (since Laue, 1912, Bragg, 1913). 

Strunz, H. and Nickel, E.H. (2001) Mineralog-ical Tables. Chemical-Structural Mineral Classification System, E. Schweizerbart, Stuttgart, pp. 465-468. 

Within industry and commerce, terms other than the mineral classifications are common. Ball clay is a type of kaolin particularly suited to the manufacture of ceramics in 2001, 35% of the ball clay produced in the US was used for tile manufactoe, 22% for sanitary ware, 14% for pottery and various ceramics, 6% for refractory materials, 7% for other uses, and the remainder was exported. Kaolinite (which is white and soft) is of great importance in the paper industry for coatings and as a filler of the 8.1 Mt produced in the US in 2001, 36% was consumed in... 

In 1753, Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) published the Species Plantarum, providing the first systematic taxonomy of flowering plants and ferns. It was based largely on the external structures (morphologies) of flower parts. External appearance also played a major role in mineral classification. For example, gem-... 

Bergmann, Torbern Olof (1735-1784) Swedish chemist and mineralogist in Uppsala he greatly contributed to the advancement of quantitative analysis, and he developed a mineral classification scheme based on chemical characteristics and appearance finally he is noted for his sponsorship of Carl Wilhelm Scheele. 

A number of mineral species having similar chemical composition or internal structure constitute a mineral group. A number of groups, based on structural or chemical resemblances, constitute one mineral subclass. A number of mineral subclasses form a mineral class, which is the highest hierarchical unit in mineral classification. All the minerals belonging to a particular mineral class have the same dominant anion or aniortic group. The complete hierarchical order in the classification scheme of minerals is given below ... 

Strunz, H. Nickel, E. (2001) Strunz Mineralogical Tables Chemical-Structural Mineral Classification System, 9th ed. - E. Schweizerbart sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart. 

During the late nineteenth century, scientists had theorized that the external crystal forms of minerals reflected the ordered internal arrangement of their atoms. In the early twentieth century, this theory was confirmed through the use of X rays. Also, it became possible to chemically analyze minerals and rocks so that chemical mineral classifications could be further developed. Finally, in the 1960 s, the use of many instruments such as the electron microprobe allowed geologists to determine variations in chemical composition of minerals across small portions of the minerals so that models for the formation of minerals could be further developed. 

Iranian alchemists like Jabir Ibn Hayyan (c. 721 - c. 815 AD), Al-Razi (865 - 925 AD), and Jamal Din al-Watwat (d. 1318, wrote the hook Mabdhij al-fikar wa-mandhij al- ibar included vitriol in their mineral classification lists. Ibn Sina focused on its medical uses and different varieties of vitriol. 

Natural fibers are subdivided into three categories based on their origin i. e., whether they are derived from Plants, Animals and Minerals. Classification... 

MohsAn early (1822) hardness comparison test involved assigning a relative number to aH known materials (usuaHy minerals and pure metals) by virtue of their relative abHity to scratch one another. The results of this classification are not relatable to other properties of materials or to other measures of hardness. As a result of this limited useflilness, the Mohs hardness test is primarily used for mineral identification. Some examples of the Mohs hardness scale, which ranks materials from 1 to 10, are Hsted in Table 6. 

Each basic operation can be divided into one or more unit operations. Size reduction involves cnishing and grinding depending on the size of material handled, and these may be carried out in stages. Separations can be either soHds from soHds, based on size or mineral composition, or soHds from Hquids, ie, dewatering (qv). Size separation or classification is an integral part of any flow sheet, not only to meet product size specifications, but also to ensure a narrow size distribution for subsequent minerals separation circuits and to decrease the load and improve the efficiency of size reduction units which are energy intensive. 

Processing costs include those for size reduction, size classification, minerals concentration and separations, soHd—Hquid separation (dewatering), materials handling and transportation, and tailings disposal. Size reduction, one of the most expensive unit operations in minerals processing, could account for as much as 50% of the total energy consumed. This cost varies considerably from deposit to deposit and quite often from one area of a deposit to another. Ore bodies are extremely heterogeneous and the associated minerals Hberation, complex. 

Sizing of the cmshed and ground product is a necessary step prior to any mineral processing operation, and in the production of a product having a specific size. Controlling the size of material fed to other equipment is important. AH equipment has an optimum size range of material that it can handle most efficiently. Size separation can be achieved either by screening (for coarser particles) or by classification (for fines) (see also Separation, size). 

Although the size separation/classification methods are adequate in some cases to produce a final saleable mineral product, in a vast majority of cases these produce Httle separation of valuable minerals from gangue. Minerals can be separated from one another based on both physical and chemical properties (Fig. 8). Physical properties utilized in concentration include specific gravity, magnetic susceptibility, electrical conductivity, color, surface reflectance, and radioactivity level. Among the chemical properties, those of particle surfaces have been exploited in physico-chemical concentration methods such as flotation and flocculation. The main objective of concentration is to separate the valuable minerals into a small, concentrated mass which can be treated further to produce final mineral products. In some cases, these methods also produce a saleable product, especially in the case of industrial minerals. 

Table 1. Classification of Global Marine Mineral Resources ...

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