Definition
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers called coal beds
Hornfels is a metamorphic rock formed by the contact between mudstone or other clay rich rock, and a hot igneous body, and represents a heat altered equivalent of the original rock
Discoverer
John Peter Salley
Unknown
Etymology
From the Old English term col, which has meant mineral of fossilized carbon since the 13th century
From German which means hornstone
Class
Sedimentary Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Amorphous, Glassy
Granular, Platy
Color
Black, Brown, Dark Brown, Grey, Light to Dark Grey
Brown, Dark Greenish - Grey, Green, Reddish Brown
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Veined or Pebbled
Dull
Interior Uses
-
Decorative Aggregates, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
-
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings, Paving Stone
Other Architectural Uses
-
Curbing
Construction Industry
Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Steel Production
for Road Aggregate, Roadstone
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts
Artifacts, Monuments
Commercial Uses
Alumina Refineries, Electricity Generation, Liquid Fuel, Manufacture of Soap, Solvents, Dyes, Plastics and Fibres, Paper Industry
Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork
Types
Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite
Biotite hornfels
Features
Helps in production of Heat and Electricity, Used as fossil fuel
Smooth to touch
Archaeological Significance
Formation
Coal forms from the accumulation of plant debris in a swamp environment which is buried by sediments such as mud or sand and then compacted to form coal.
Due to change in environmental conditions, rocks are heated and pressurized deep inside the Earth's surface. Hornfels is formed from the extreme heat caused by magma or by the intense collisions and friction of tectonic plates.
Mineral Content
Analcime, Apatite, Barite, Calcite, Chalcopyrite, Chlorite, Chromite, Clausthalite, Clay Minerals, Crandallite Group, Dolomite, Feldspar, Galena, Gypsum, Marcasite, Muscovite or Illite, Pyrite, Quartz, Siderite, Sphalerite, Zircon
Andalusite
Compound Content
Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur
Fe, Mg
Types of Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
-
Types of Weathering
-
Biological Weathering
Types of Erosion
-
Chemical Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion
Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Fine Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Conchoidal
Porosity
Less Porous
Highly Porous
Luster
Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic
Shiny
Specific Gravity
1.1-1.4
3.4-3.9
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
1100-1400 g/cm3
0.25-0.30 g/cm3
Resistance
Heat Resistant
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam
Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, North Korea, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Thailand
Africa
Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania
Cameroon, East Africa, Tanzania, Western Africa
Europe
Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Mexico, USA
Canada, USA
South America
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela
Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Western Australia
All about Coal and Hornfels Properties
Know all about Coal and Hornfels properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Coal belongs to Sedimentary Rocks while Hornfels belongs to Metamorphic Rocks.Texture of Coal is Amorphous, Glassy whereas that of Hornfels is Granular, Platy. Coal appears Veined or Pebbled and Hornfels appears Dull. The luster of Coal is dull to vitreous to submetallic while that of Hornfels is shiny. Coal is available in black, brown, dark brown, grey, light to dark grey colors whereas Hornfels is available in brown, dark greenish - grey, green, reddish brown colors. The commercial uses of Coal are alumina refineries, electricity generation, liquid fuel, manufacture of soap, solvents, dyes, plastics and fibres, paper industry and that of Hornfels are cemetery markers, commemorative tablets, creating artwork.