Basalt

Taconite

Basalt vs Taconite

Basalt

Taconite

Add ⊕

1 Definition

1.1 Definition

Basalt is a common extrusive igneous rock formed by the rapid cooling of basaltic lava exposed at or very near the surface of Earth

Taconite is a low-grade iron ore which belongs to sedimentary rock and containing about 27% iron and 51% silica

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

Egypt

Western Australia, Minnesota

1.2.2 Discoverer

Georgius Agricola

Newton Horace Winchell

1.3 Etymology

From Late Latin Basaltes (variant of basanites ), very hard stone, which was imported from Ancient Greek Basanites

From the name of Taconic Mountains in New England

1.4 Class

Igneous Rocks

Sedimentary Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Volcanic

Not Applicable

1.6 Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Glassy, Massive, Porphyritic, Scoriaceous, Vesicular

Banded, Trellis

2.2 Color

Black, Brown, Light to Dark Grey

Red, Reddish Brown

2.3 Maintenance

Less

2.4 Durability

Durable

2.4.1 Water Resistant

✔ ✘

81% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

59% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.2 Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

86% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

62% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.3 Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

66% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

43% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.4 Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

49% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

38% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.5 Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

48% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

22% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

2.5 Appearance

Dull and Soft

Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Floor Tiles, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens

Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, Paving Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings

As Building Stone, Garden Decoration, Paving Stone

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Curbing, Whetstones

Curbing

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

Arrowheads, As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones, Cutting Tool, Rail Track Ballast, Roadstone

As Dimension Stone, Used for flooring, stair treads, borders and window sills.

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments

Artifacts

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

An Oil and Gas Reservoir, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork, Used in aquariums

As a touchstone, Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork

4 Types

4.1 Types

Alkaline Basalt, Boninite, High Alumina Basalt, Mid Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB), Tholeiitic Basalt, Basaltic trachyandesite, Mugearite and Shoshonite

Not Available

4.2 Features

Has High structural resistance against erosion and climate, Very fine grained rock

Is one of the oldest rock

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Easter Island in the Polynesian Triangle, Pacific Ocean, Gateway of India in Mumbai, India, Gol Gumbaz in Karnataka, India

Data Not Available

4.3.3 Sculpture

Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Data Not Available

4.3.5 Pictographs

Used

Not Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Used

Not Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Used

4.4 Fossils

Absent

Present

5 Formation

5.1 Formation

Basalt forms when lava reaches the Earth's surface near an active volcano. The temperature of lava is between 1100 to 1250° C when it gets to the surface.

Taconite is a type of sedimentary rock formed when a river carries or transports pieces of broken rock as it flows. When the river reaches a lake or sea, its load of transported rocks settles or deposits at the bottom of sea or lake.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene

Hematite, Magnetite, Quartz

5.2.2 Compound Content

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, MnO, Sodium Oxide, Phosphorus Pentoxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide

Fe, Iron(III) Oxide, Silicon Dioxide

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

97% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

19% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Contact Metamorphism

Not Applicable

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

99% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

78% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering

Biological Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

92% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

86% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Not Available

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

5.5-6

6.1.2 Grain Size

Fine Grained

Large and Coarse Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Conchoidal

Uneven, Splintery or Conchoidal

6.1.4 Streak

White to Grey

White

6.1.5 Porosity

Less Porous

Highly Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Not Available

Earthy

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

Flint

⊕

▶

▼

37.40 N/mm²

Rank: 28 (Overall)▶

Not Available

Rank: N/A (Overall)▶

▲

Obsidian

⊕

▶

175 (Granite)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.1.8 Cleavage

Not Available

Imperfect

6.1.9 Toughness

2.3

1.5

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.8-3

5-5.3

6.1.11 Transparency

Opaque

Translucent to Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.9-3.1 g/cm³

Not Available

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

Banded iron for..

⊕

▶

▼

0.84 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 15 (Overall)▶

3.20 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 1 (Overall)▶

▲

Granulite

⊕

▶

1.09 (Travertine)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

India, Russia

China, India, Iran, Iraq, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam

7.1.2 Africa

South Africa

Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania

7.1.3 Europe

Iceland

Austria, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

7.1.4 Others

Not Yet Found

Greenland, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, USA

Canada, Mexico, USA

7.2.2 South America

Brazil

Bolivia, Brazil

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

Not Yet Found

New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia

Basalt vs Taconite Information

Earth’s outer layer is covered by rocks and these rocks have different physical and chemical properties. As two rocks are not same, it’s fun to compare them. You can also know more about Basalt and Taconite Reserves. Basalt is a common extrusive igneous rock formed by the rapid cooling of basaltic lava exposed at or very near the surface of Earth. Taconite is a low-grade iron ore which belongs to sedimentary rock and containing about 27% iron and 51% silica. These rocks are composed of many distinct minerals. The process of formation of rocks is different for various rocks. Rocks are quarried from many years for various purposes. You can check out Basalt vs Taconite information and Basalt vs Taconite characteristics in the upcoming sections.

Compare Igneous Rocks » More

Basalt vs Peridotite

Basalt vs Porphyry

Basalt vs Scoria

» More

More Compare Igneous Rocks

Basalt vs Taconite Characteristics

Though some rocks look identical, they have certain characteristics which distinguish them from others. Characteristics of rocks include texture, appearance, color, fracture, streak, hardness etc. Basalt vs Taconite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Basalt and Properties of Taconite. Learn more about Basalt vs Taconite in the next section. The interior uses of Basalt include Floor tiles, Homes, Hotels and Kitchens whereas the interior uses of Taconite include Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Basalt and Taconite, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Basalt in construction industry include Arrowheads, As dimension stone, Cobblestones, Cutting tool, Rail track ballast, Roadstone and that of Taconite include As dimension stone, Used for flooring, stair treads, borders and window sills..

More about Basalt and Taconite

Here you can know more about Basalt and Taconite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Basalt and Taconite consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Basalt includes Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene and mineral content of Taconite includes Hematite, Magnetite, Quartz. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Basalt vs Taconite, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Basalt is available in black, brown, light to dark grey colors whereas, Taconite is available in red, reddish brown colors. Appearance of Basalt is Dull and Soft and that of Taconite is Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny. Properties of rock is another aspect for Basalt vs Taconite. The hardness of Basalt is 6 and that of Taconite is 5.5-6. The types of Basalt are Alkaline Basalt, Boninite, High Alumina Basalt, Mid Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB), Tholeiitic Basalt, Basaltic trachyandesite, Mugearite and Shoshonite whereas types of Taconite are Not Available. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Basalt is white to grey while that of Taconite is white. The specific heat capacity of Basalt is 0.84 kJ/Kg K and that of Taconite is 3.20 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Basalt is heat resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant whereas Taconite is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.