Charnockite

Pyroxenite

Charnockite and Pyroxenite

Charnockite

Pyroxenite

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Definition

Charnockite is a variety of granite containing minerals like orthopyroxene, quartz, and feldspar

Pyroxenite is a dark, greenish, granular intrusive igneous rock consisting mainly of pyroxenes and olivine

History

Origin

Tamil Nadu, India

Discoverer

T. H. Holland

Unknown

Etymology

From Job Charnock, an administtrator of East India Company

From pyro- fire + Greek xenos stranger as the mineral group was new to igneous rocks

Class

Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Family

Group

Plutonic

Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Granular

Clastic, Granular, Phaneritic, Porphyritic

Color

Black, Grey, Orange, Pink, White

Black to Grey, Bluish - Grey, Dark Greenish - Grey, Green, Light Greenish Grey

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Veined or Pebbled

Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Bathrooms, Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Floor Tiles, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens, Stair Treads

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration, Kitchens

Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Bridges, Paving Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings, Resorts

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

As Dimension Stone

As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Artifacts

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Curling, Gemstone, Laboratory bench tops, Tombstones

Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Laboratory bench tops, Jewelry, Sea Defence, Tombstones

Types

Enderbite

Clinopyroxenites, Orthopyroxenites and Websterites

Features

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, It is One of the Oldest, Strongest and Hardest Rock

Generally rough to touch, Host rock for Diamond, Is one of the oldest rock

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

Sculpture

Famous Sculptures

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Figurines

Fossils

Absent

Formation

Charnockite is an intrusive igneous rock which is very hard and is formed due to weathering of existing rocks.

Pyroxenites are ultramafic igneous rocks which are made up of minerals of the pyroxene group, such as augite and diopside, hypersthene, bronzite or enstatite.

Composition

Mineral Content

Amphibole, Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz

Amphibole, Augite, Bronzite, Chromite, Diopside, Enstatite, Garnet, Hornblende, Hypersthene, Magnetite, Pyroxene

Compound Content

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

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Chromium(III) Oxide, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Sulfur Trioxide

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

6-77

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Coarse Grained

Fracture

Uneven

Streak

White

White, Greenish White or Grey

Porosity

Very Less Porous

Less Porous

Luster

Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic

Compressive Strength

190.00 N/mm²150.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Toughness

Specific Gravity

-99993.2-3.5

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Density

2.6 g/cm³3.1-3.6 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.84 kJ/Kg K0.84 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Wear Resistant

Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

India

India, Russia

Africa

East Africa, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique

South Africa

Europe

Albania, Romania, Scotland, United Kingdom

Germany, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Turkey

Others

Greenland

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

USA

Canada, USA

South America

Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

Central Australia, Western Australia

New Zealand, Queensland

All about Charnockite and Pyroxenite Properties

Know all about Charnockite and Pyroxenite properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Charnockite and Pyroxenite belong to Igneous Rocks.Texture of Charnockite is Granular whereas that of Pyroxenite is Clastic, Granular, Phaneritic, Porphyritic. Charnockite appears Veined or Pebbled and Pyroxenite appears Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny. The luster of Charnockite is while that of Pyroxenite is dull to vitreous to submetallic. Charnockite is available in black, grey, orange, pink, white colors whereas Pyroxenite is available in black to grey, bluish - grey, dark greenish - grey, green, light greenish grey colors. The commercial uses of Charnockite are curling, gemstone, laboratory bench tops, tombstones and that of Pyroxenite are cemetery markers, commemorative tablets, laboratory bench tops, jewelry, sea defence, tombstones.