Definition
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers called coal beds
Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation
Discoverer
John Peter Salley
Unknown
Etymology
From the Old English term col, which has meant mineral of fossilized carbon since the 13th century
From French schiste, Greek skhistos i.e. split
Class
Sedimentary Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Amorphous, Glassy
Foliated, Platy
Color
Black, Brown, Dark Brown, Grey, Light to Dark Grey
Black, Blue, Brown, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Silver
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Veined or Pebbled
Layered and Shiny
Interior Uses
-
Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
-
Garden Decoration, Paving Stone
Other Architectural Uses
-
-
Construction Industry
Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Steel Production
As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Roadstone
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts
Artifacts
Commercial Uses
Alumina Refineries, Electricity Generation, Liquid Fuel, Manufacture of Soap, Solvents, Dyes, Plastics and Fibres, Paper Industry
Used in aquariums, Writing Slates
Types
Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite
Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist.
Features
Helps in production of Heat and Electricity, Used as fossil fuel
Easily splits into thin plates, 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.
Schist formed by dynamic metamorphism at high temperatures and pressures that aligns the grains of mica, hornblende and other elongated minerals into thin layers.
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
Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc
Compound Content
Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur
CaO, Carbon Dioxide, MgO
Types of Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
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Types of Weathering
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Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Types of Erosion
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Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion
Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Conchoidal
Porosity
Less Porous
Highly Porous
Luster
Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic
Shiny
Specific Gravity
1.1-1.4
2.5-2.9
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
1100-1400 g/cm3
2.8-2.9 g/cm3
Resistance
Heat Resistant
Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Water Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam
Africa
Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania
Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa
Europe
Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom
Austria, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Mexico, USA
Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA
South America
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela
Brazil, Colombia, Guyana
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland