Marble Mineral Composition

Description and images of stone and mineral marbles.

Marble mineral composition.

In 1791 it was described as a rock by the french naturalist and geologist déodat gratet de dolomieu 1750 1801 first in buildings of the old city of rome and later as samples collected in the mountains now known as the dolomite alps of northern italy. Marble is a granular metamorphic rock it is derived from limestone or dolomite and it consists of a mass of interlocking grains of calcite or the mineral dolomite. This made it easier to knock an opponent s marble out of the ring hand cut agates are generally found in carnelian or banded varieties. 38 42 lime cao 20 25 silica sio2 2 4 alumina al2o3 1 5 2 5 various oxides nao and mgo and 30 32.

Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals most commonly calcite or dolomite marble is typically not foliated although there are exceptions in geology the term marble refers to metamorphosed limestone but its use in stonemasonry more broadly encompasses unmetamorphosed limestone. The banded varieties have distinct concentric rings on the sphere. Some marble is quartz based while others are composed of serpentine a greenish mineral. Commercial marble is typically available in variations of black and white.

Typically marble is composed of the following major constituents. An excellent test to distinguish the two is to apply a bit of vinegar or lemon juice to the rock. Despite having a similar appearance marble is a metamorphic rock made from recrystallized carbonate minerals not silicates. Dolomite is a common rock forming mineral it is a calcium magnesium carbonate with a chemical composition of camg co 3 2 it is the primary component of the sedimentary rock known as dolostone and the metamorphic rock known as dolomitic marble limestone that contains some dolomite is known as dolomitic limestone.

Marble is a metamorphic rock formed when limestone is subjected to high pressure or heat. Quartzite is impervious to weak acid etching but marble will bubble and retain a mark. Granite is metamorphic or igneous made up of silica mica feldspar and quartz generally with a packed granular surface. Marble is commonly used for sculpture and as a building material.

Most probably the mineral dolomite was first described by carl linnaeus in 1768. Nicolas théodore de saussure first named the mineral. Form of it when limestone buried deep in the older layers of earth s crust is subjected to heat and pressure from thick layers of overlying sediments. Marble is softer than quartzite.

It is composed primarily of the mineral calcite caco 3 and usually contains other minerals such as clay minerals micas quartz pyrite iron oxides and graphite under the conditions of metamorphism the calcite in the limestone recrystallizes to form a rock that is. In its pure form marble is a white stone with a crystalline and sugary appearance consisting of calcium carbonate caco 3 usually marble contains other minerals including quartz graphite pyrite and iron oxides these minerals can give marble a pink brown gray green or variegated coloration.