Mineral Descriptions
Mineral Descriptions and Sites Where
Located
C: colour
H: hardness of a mineral is set on a scale from 1 to
10.
Talc (1) is the softest, Diamond (10) is the hardest.
Common objects can be used as hardness indicators:
- fingernail H: 2.5
- copper coin H: 3.5
- knife blade H: 5.5
- metal file H: 6.5
If one of the common objects can scrape the mineral
to be identified, then the common object is harder than
the mineral. Known minerals can also be used in the
same manner to test the hardness of unidentified minerals.
| actinolite |
Monoclinic; amphibole group; brittle,
elongated, often in radiating blades; diamond shaped
cross section.
C: dark green to black.
H: 5 - 6
(Desmont Mine, Faraday Hill Roadcut, Grace Lake
Roadcut,North Baptiste Lake Occurence, Bear Lake
Occurence)
|
| albite |
Triclinic; feldspar group; sodic plagioclase.
Often as flattened brittle crystals with prominent
cleavages, vitreous lustre.
C: white to grey, occasionally translucent.
H: 6
(Davis Hill, Desmont Mine, Egan Chute, Goulding-Keene
Quarry, Quirk Lake)
|
| allanite |
Monoclinic; rare earth-bearing silicate;
thin, dull-surfaced plates with resinous lustre
on broken surfaces; crystals shatter easily.
C: black to dark brown.
H: 5.5 - 6
(Saranac Mine, Gutz Farm, MacDonald Mine)
|
| amphibole |
mineral group; see hornblende, tremolite,
actinolite and fluor-richterite; minerals show prominent
cleavages at about 120 degrees to each other.
(Baptiste Lake North Occurences, Bear Lake Occurrence,
Bessemer Mine,Desmont Mine, Faraday Hill, Fluor-richterite
Occurrence)
|
| amazonite |
see microcline; feldspar group; green
variety of microcline (potassium feldspar).
(Beryl Pit)
|
| anatase |
Tetragonal; titanium oxide; steeply
pyramidal, brittle translucent to transparent crystals,
adamantine lustre.
C: blue, light yellow to brown. H: 5.5-6
(Warwickite Occurrence)
|
| ancylite |
Monoclinic; rare earth-bearing hydrated
carbonate; prismatic crystals or rounded aggregates,
shows splintery fracture; rare.
C: yellow, yellowish brown, grey. H: 4 - 4.5
(Desmont Mine)
|
| apatite |
Hexagonal; calcium phosphate; short
to long prismatic brittle crystals; translucent
to transparent.
C: green, brown, red, white, blue, violet and yellow.
H: 5
(Bear Lake Occurrence, Davis Hill, Davis Quarry,
Desmont, Dwyer, Eagle's Nest, Goulding-Keene Quarry,
Quirk Lake, Rankin Mine, Warwickite Occurrence)
|
| augite |
Monoclinic; pyroxene group; commonly
short, prismatic crystals, prominent cleavages at
about 90 degrees to each other
C: dark green to black. H: 5 - 6
(Bower's Point Roadcut, Diamond Lake Roadcut, Dwyer
Mine, Musclow Occurrence, Quirk Lake, North Baptiste
Lake Occurence)
|
| beryl |
Hexagonal; beryllium aluminum silicate;
usually in prismatic crystals with conchoidal or
uneven fracture.
C: green, yellow, white, blue, pink. H: 8
(Beryl Pit)
|
| biotite |
Monoclinic; mica group; usually opaque
to transparent tabular crystals, sometimes barrel
shaped "books"; thin, flexible and elastic
sheets.
C: dark brown to black. H: 2.5 - 3
(Bear Lake Occurrences, Burgess Mine, Davis Hill,
Davis Quarry, Egan Chute, Goulding-Keene Quarry,
Grace Lake Roadcut, North Baptiste Lake Occurence)
|
| brucite |
Trigonal; magnesium hydroxide; most
often in ill defined flexible, non-elastic and sectile
transparent crystal plates; also occurs foliated,
massive, and fibrous.
C: pearly white to pale yellow or green. H: 2.5
(York River [Tactile] Skarn)
|
| calcite |
Trigonal; calcium carbonate; scalenohedrons
and rhombohedrons are the most common crystal fomms;
brittle, transparent to translucent crystals are
common;reacts strongly with hydrochloric acid.
C: white, pink, orange, yellow, blue, grey. H: 3
(Baptiste Lake North Occurrences, Bear Lake Occurence,
Bessemer Mine, Bower's Point Roadcut, Davis Hill,
Davis Quarry, Dwyer Mine, Egan Chute, Faraday Hill
Roadcut, Goulding-Keene Quarry, Grace Lake Roadcut,
Morrison Quarrv. Musclow Occurrence. Saranac Mine
York River (Tactile) Skarn
|
| cancrinite |
Hexagonal; complex aluminosilicate;
normally in massive form; greasy or glassy in lustre,
associated with nepheline and sodalite.
C: yellow, pink, white or grey. H: 5 - 6
(Cancrinite Hill, Davis Quarry, Davis Hill, Goulding-Keene
Quarry, Gutz Farm, Morrison Quarry, York River (Tactile)
Skarn,
|
| chalcopyrite |
Tetragonal; copper iron sulphide;
brittle crystals common, but often massive with
a tarnish of brilliant irridescent hues; metallic
lustre.
C: golden. H: 3.5 - 4
(Bessemer Mine
|
| chlorite |
Monoclinic; magnesium aluminosilicate
hydroxide; fine grained in masses, micaceous, flexible,
but not elastic; commonly found as an alteration
of biotite.
C: green, black, brown and white. H: 2 - 2.5
(York River (Tactile) Skarn, Saranac Mine)
|
| chondrodite |
Monoclinic; complex aluminosilicate;
glassy, shapeless or nearly shapeless grains in
crystalline limestones.
C: yellow to red-brown. H: 6 - 6.5
(Desmont Mine, Warwickite Occurrence, York River
(Tactile) Skarn)
|
| cleavelandite |
Triclinic; feldspar group; a platey
variety of albite.
C:colourless, white, grey. H: 6
(Beryl Pit, Cancrinite Hill)
|
| clino-amphibole |
Monoclinic; amphibole group; see:
tremolite and actinolite.
(Warwickite Occurrence)
|
| corundum |
Trigonal (although it has a hexagonal
appearance); aluminum oxide; brittle, elongated
crystals or tapering bipyramids; faces show horizontal
ridges and striations; well developed partings on
rhombohedral planes; adamantine lustre; asterism
often produced by minute needles of rutile, or other
inclusions, radiating in six horizontal directions
perpendicular to the long axis of the crystal; gem
quality material known as ruby (red), or sapphire
(blue).
C: bronze, grey, blue, red. H: 9
(Burgess Mine, Egan Chute, Gutz Farm, Lily Robertson)
|
| diopside |
Monoclinic; pyroxene group; calcium
magnesium silicate; short prismatic crystals;often
with rounded edges, but faces are often brilliantly
smooth.
C: light to dark green. H: 6
(Baptiste Lake North Occurrence, Bower's Point roadcut,
Desmont Mine, Diamond Lake roadcut, Grace Lake Roadcut,
York River Skarn Zone)
|
| epidote |
Monoclinic; complex hydrous silicate;
slender prismatic crystals; usually occurs as granular
masses and fine grained films.
C: green, blackish green, brown, light yellow brown.
H: 6 - 7
(Bessemer Mine)
|
| fluorite |
Cubic; calcium fluoride; commonly
in transparent cubes; also massive and fine grained
vitreous lustre.
C: purple, green, colourless, blue, yellow. H: 4
(Beryl Pit, Dwyer Mine)
|
| fluor-richterite |
Monoclinic; amphibole group; elongated
flattened prismatic crystals, often showing brown
to irridescent film of goethite.
C: translucent grey to black crystals. H: 6
(Fluor-richterite Occurrence
|
| galena |
Cubic; lead sulphide; cubic crystals
quite common; also fine grained granular masses;
metallic lustre, heavy.
C: lead grey. H: 2.5
(Davis Quarry
|
| garnet |
Cubic; group name for a family of
hard silicate minerals; predominantly in unmodified
dodecahedrons; also granular to cryptocrystalline
massive; transparent to translucent; vitreous lustre.
C: brown, red, pink, green, yellow, colourless.
H: 7 - 7.5
(Bessemer Mine, Desmont Mine, Upper Turriff Garnet,
York River (Tactile)Skarn)
|
| goethite |
Orthorhombic; hydrated iron oxide;
commonly in slender flattened brittle plates, also
fibrous-massive with reniform (kidney-like) surfaces;
earthy lustre.
C: rusty brown, yellow, coppery, black. H: 5 - 5.5
(Fluor-richterite Occurrence, Saranac Mine)
|
| graphic-granite |
Rock type. Worm hole shaped intergrowth
of quartz and feldspar, which looks roughly like
cuneiform writing.
(MacDonald Mine)
|
| graphite |
Hexagonal; usually occurs as thin
flexible, non-elastic plates disseminated through
rock, or as veinlike masses of solid material; sub-metallic
lustre; greasy feel; stains fingers.
C: Pencil lead grey. H: I - 2.
(Goulding-Keene Quarry, Saranac Mine)
|
| gypsum |
Monoclinic; lath-like or blocky crystals,
diamond shaped in profile with beveled edges and
as chaulky crusts and films; pearly and vitreous
lustre; splintery fracture
C: colourless, white. H: 2
(Dwyer Mine)
|
| hackmanite |
see sodalite. |
| hematite |
Trigonal; widely varied appearance;
thick tabular crystals, or thin flat metallic plates,
or reniform radiating growths or soft red earthy
masses.
C: red, grey. H: 6.5.
(Quirk Lake, Musclow Occurrence)
|
| hornblende |
Monoclinic; stubby to blocky crystals
with six sided cross section; characteristic amphibole
cleavage; vitreous lustre.
C: black, dark brown. H: 5 - 6;
(Bear Lake Occurence, Diamond Lake Roadcut, Dwyer
Mine, Grace Lake Roadcut)
|
| hydroxyl-bastnaesite |
Occurs as finely granular masses in
calcite; opaque, with waxy to resinous lustre; intergrown
with stillwellite;
C: brown, pinkish brown to dark green.
(Desmont Mine)
|
| k-feldspar |
potassium feldspar; see microcline.
(Diamond Lake Roadcut)
|
| lyndochite |
(Th - Ca Euxenite). Occurs as stout,
prismatic crystals; conchoidal fracture, dull on
external faces, but brilliant black on fresh surfaces;
associated with magnetite; often radioactive.
C: black. H: 5.5 - 6.5.
(Beryl Pit)
|
| magnetite |
Cubic; often as octahedrons, commonly
massive or granular; metallic lustre;brittle; magnetic.
C: dark grey. H: 6.
(Bessemer Mine, Burgess Corundum, Cancrinite Hill,
Davis Hill, Lily Robertson)
|
| mica |
see phlogopite, muscovite, biotite.
(Bear Lake Occurrence, Davis Hill, Davis Quarry,
Diamond Lake Roadcut, Morrison Quarry, Quirk Lake)
|
| microcline |
Hexagonal; stubby prisms; abundant
as irregular masses; greasy to vitreous lustre;
C: colourless, white, grey.H: 5.5 - 6.
(Davis Hill, Davis Quarry, Egan Chute, Goulding-Keene
Quarry, Gutz Farm, Morrison Quarry,)
|
| peristerite |
Triclinic; variety of albite (feldspar
group); also called moonstone; flattened crystals
contain intense reflections of various hues, usually
greens and blues.
C: white, colourless, pink. H: 6.
(Beryl Pit)
|
| phlogopite |
Monoclinic; mica group; often translucent,
prismatic crystals yielding thin, flexible and elastic
plates.
C: amber or light to dark brown. H: 2.5 - 3.
(Baptiste Lake North Occurrences, Fluor-richterite
Occurrence)
|
| pyrite |
Cubic; massive pyrite is common; crystals
often form striated cubes, octahedrons or pyritohedrons;
brittle; metallic lustre; often shows rusty iron
staining.
C: brassy. H: 6 - 6.5.
(Baptiste Lake North Occurrences, Bessemer Mine,
Burgess Corundum, Desmont Mine, Egan Chute, Faraday
Hill Roadcut, Goulding-Keene Quarry, Grace Lake
Roadcut, Warwickite Occurrence)
|
| pyroxene |
see augite and diopside.
(Bessemer Mine, Desmont Mine, Diamond Lake Roadcut,
Eagle's Nest, Saranac Mine)
|
| pyrrhotite |
Hexagonal; crystals usually tabular;
usually occurs massive and granular; metallic lustre;
brittle; magnetic.
C: bronze, weathering to brown. H: 4.
(Bessemer Mine, Desmont Mine, Warwickite Occurrence)
|
| quartz |
Trigonal; often found as well formed
colourless crystals or druzy crystal crusts; glassy
lustre; transparent to translucent; conchoidal fracture.
C: can be tinted any hue by impurities. H: 7.
(Desmont Mine, MacDonald Mine, Musclow Occurrence,
Quirk Lake Occurrence)
amethyst - purple variety of quartz. - (Musclow
Occurrence)
smoky - brown to black variety of quartz; - (Musclow
Occurrence, Beryl Pit)
|
| rutile |
Tetragonal; crystals common, like
long striated prisms; hairlike; metallic-adamantine
lustre.
C: black in large crystals, golden to brown in thin
crystals. H: 6 - 6.5.
(Burgess Corundum)
|
| scapolite |
Tetragonal; common as rude stubby
prisms of square cross section, terminated by low
pyramidal faces, commonly fluorescent under ultra-violet
light.; milky with dull surfaces; brittle with conchoidal
to uneven surfaces; vitreous lustre on fresh surfaces.
C: yellow, grey, white, pale green, pale violet,
colourless. H: 5.5 - 6.
(Bower's Point Roadcut, Burgess Corundum, Diamond
Lake Roadcut, Goulding Keene Quarry, Saranac Mine,
Warwickite Occurrence,York River (Tactile) Skarn)
|
| serpentine |
Tetragonal; common as rude stubby
prisms of square cross section, terminated by low
pyramidal faces, commonly fluorescent under ultra-violet
light.; milky with dull surfaces; brittle with conchoidal
to uneven surfaces; vitreous lustre on fresh surfaces.
C: yellow, grey, white, pale green, pale violet,
colourless. H: 5.5 - 6.
(Bower's Point Roadcut, Burgess Corundum, Diamond
Lake Roadcut, Goulding Keene Quarry, Saranac Mine,
Warwickite Occurrence,York River (Tactile) Skarn)
|
| serpentine |
Monoclinic; always massive; silky,
waxy to greasy lustre; translucent to opaque;frequently
with mottled colour.
C: blackish green, bluish green, green, yellow and
yellowish green. H: 2.5 - 5.
(Desmont Mine, Saranac Mine, Warwickite Occurrence)
|
| sinhalite |
Orthorhombic; occurs as transparent
vitreous grains in irregular masses, and as a microcrystalline
crust enclosing dark green spinel; conchoidal fracture.
C: colourless to light yellow. H: 6.5.
(Warwickite Occurrence)
|
| sodalite |
Cubic; usually massive and in considerable
concentrations; vitreous lustre; asssociated with
nepheline.
C: commonly pale or deep blue, also white, grey,
and pink. H: 6.
(Cancrinite Hill, Davis Hill, Davis Quarry, EganChute,
Goulding-Keene Quarry, Morrison Quarry, Gutz Farm)
hackmanite - pink variety of sodalite; fluoresces
brilliantly under U.V.
C: pink to purple. H: 6
(Morrison Quarry, Davis Quarry).
|
| spinel |
Cubic; simple octahedrons predominate;
range from sharp and glassy crystals to those that
are rounded; transparent to opaque;
C: black, dark green, brown, deep blue, red. H:
8.
(Warwickite Occurrence, York River Skarn)
|
| stillwellite |
Trigonal; occurs as small, translucent
to opaque tabular crystals, and irregular masses
with smooth to porcelain-like texture; waxy to resinous
lustre; forms partial crusts around smokey quartz
and clinopyroxene; occurs with other rare earths
in marble.
C: grey, pink, brown.
(Desmont Mine)
|
| titanite (sphere) |
Monoclinic; usually sharp edged, wedge
shaped crystals; adamantine lustre; brittle; conchoidal
fracture.
C: brown, yellow, green, gray, colourless. H: 5
- 5.5.
(Bear Lake Occurence, Bower's Point Roadcut, Burgess
Corundum, Desmont Mine, Diamond Lake Roadcut, Musclow
Occurrence, North Baptiste Lake Occurence, Saranac
Mine)
|
| thorite |
Tetragonal; usually as prisms with
pyramidal terminations or grainy aggregates. Exhibits
resinous to sub-metallic lustre but often coated
by earthy textured alteration minerals; conchoidal
fracture; radioactive.
C: Black to reddish brown, often with an earthy
crust; H: 5.
(Saranac Mine)
|
| tremolite |
Monoclinic; amphibole group; usually
exhibits elongated prismatic habit but may be stubby
or in masses of needles or f~bres; vitreous lustre.
C: white to light green, dark green. H: 5 - 6
(Desmont Mine,Faraday Hill Roadcut, Grace Lake Roadcut)
|
| tourmaline |
Trigonal; commonly in long, prismatic
crystals with triangular cross-section; also as
veins of fine needles, or as black granular masses;
vitreous lustre;
C: black, green, blue, pink, yellow, brown. H: 7
- 7.5.
(Cancrinite Hill, Davis Quarry, Desmont Mine, Egan
Chute, Lily Robertson, Morrison Quarry, Saranac
Mine, Warwickite Occurrence)
|
| uraninite |
Cubic; often cubic or octahedral,
can occur massiveand botryoidal; sub-metallic to
dull lustre; uneven to conchoidal fracture; radioactive.
C: dark grey to black.. H: 5 - 6.
(Faraday Hill Roadcut, Davis Quarry)
|
| uranothorite |
Radiating prismatic crystals, glassy
or grainy masses; conchoidal fracture; radioactive.
C: black, grey, yellow, orange. H: 5
(Desmont Mine)
|
| vesuvianite |
Tetragonal; almost always in prismatic
or stubby crystals; vitreous lustre;
C: brown, green, yellow, blue. H: 6.5.
(York River Skarn Zone)
|
| warwickite |
Orthorhombic; occurs as fine grained
sub-translucent to opaque prisms without terminations,
rounded grains, and small microcrystalline masses;
adamantine, sub-metallic to pearly lustre; surface
may have copper red or grey cast.
C:black. H:3-4.
(Warwickite Occurrence)
|
| wollastonite |
Triclinic; usually in fibrous masses
of elongated crystals; like slender prismatic needles;
vitreous to silky lustre.
C: white to colourless, pink to grey. H: 4.5 - 5.
(York River Skarn Zone)
|
| zircon |
Tetragonal; always as crystals; usually
short prismatic, sometimes bipyramidal; adamantine
lustre.
C: brown, colourless, grey, green, reddish, bluish,
violet. H: 6.5 - 7.5.
(Bower's Point Roadcut, Burgess Corundum, Cancrinite
Hill, Davis Quarry, Dwyer Mine, Goulding-Keene Quarry,
Morrison Quarry, Saranac Mine, York River (Tactile)
Skarn)
|
|
