How To Identify Minerals In Thin Section
How to identify minerals in 10 steps photos step 2.
How to identify minerals in thin section. Chromite is dark brown to opaque at full thin section thickness. Minerals that are not easily scratched are. This unique approach covers 150 of the most commonly encountered rock forming minerals plus a few rarer but noteworthy ones.
Identify the type of allochem and the amount of micrite vs sparry calcite in a carbonate sedimentary rock in thin section. Its interference colors commonly seem anomalously bright compared to pyroxenes possibly a result of the high dispersion of the 2v. Cr mg al rich chromites are realtively transparent and can be dark brown at full thin section thickness.
Identify the composition of framework grains matrix and cement in siliciclastic detrital sedimentary rocks in thin section and determine the overall compositional maturity. Shape isotropy and relief distinctive. Describe the texture of a carbonate detrital sedimentary rock in thin section.
Luster describes the way light reflects off of the surface of the mineral. Chromite is a spinel type mineral like magnetite and has an extensive solid solution in the magnetite composition direction. High 17 40 ve extreme pinky buff colours occasional.
Crystals rounded or equant if well formed may have 6 or 8 sides in thin section. May have zones or trails rich in inlcusions of quartz biotite etc which may show s or z shapes. You might describe diamonds.
Although commonly light yellow green in thin section it may be colorless. Grain size sorting and degree of grain supporting. A catalogue of minerals textures in thin section ruth siddall university college london minerals are listed in the order in which they appear in deer howie zussman 1992.