Definition
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers called coal beds
Diabase is a fine-grained igneous rock which is composed mostly of pyroxene and feldspar
History
Origin
USA
Germany
Discoverer
John Peter Salley
Christian Leopold von Buch
Etymology
From the Old English term col, which has meant mineral of fossilized carbon since the 13th century
From Greek di + base
Class
Sedimentary Rocks
Igneous Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Durable Rock, Hard Rock
Family
Group
-
Volcanic
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Amorphous, Glassy
Aphanitic, Granular
Color
Black, Brown, Dark Brown, Grey, Light to Dark Grey
Dark Grey to Black
Maintenance
Less
Less
Durability
Durable
Durable
Water Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Scratch Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Stain Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Wind Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Acid Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Appearance
Veined or Pebbled
Vesicular
Architecture
Interior Uses
-
Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration, Kitchens
Exterior Uses
-
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Paving Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings
Other Architectural Uses
-
Curbing
Industry
Construction Industry
Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Steel Production
As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate
Medical Industry
-
-
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines
Other Uses
Commercial Uses
Alumina Refineries, Electricity Generation, Liquid Fuel, Manufacture of Soap, Solvents, Dyes, Plastics and Fibres, Paper Industry
An Oil and Gas Reservoir, Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Laboratory bench tops, Jewelry, Sea Defence, Tombstones
Types
Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite
Dolerite
Features
Helps in production of Heat and Electricity, Used as fossil fuel
Smooth to touch
Archaeological Significance
Monuments
-
-
Famous Monuments
-
Stonehenge in English county of Wiltshire
Sculpture
-
-
Famous Sculptures
-
-
Pictographs
-
-
Petroglyphs
-
-
Figurines
-
-
Fossils
Present
Absent
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.
Diabase forms when molten igneous rock is squeezed up into a vertical crack in other rocks, the crack is usually forced apart and the molten rock cools in the space to form a tabular igneous intrusion cutting across the surrounding rocks and is known as a dike.
Composition
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
Augite, Chlorite, Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Pyrrhotite, Serpentine
Compound Content
Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur
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, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Weathering
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Weathering
-
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering
Erosion
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Erosion
-
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion
Physical Properties
Hardness
1-1.57
1
7
👆🏻
Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Fine to Medium Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Conchoidal
Streak
Black
Black
Porosity
Less Porous
Highly Porous
Luster
Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic
-
Compressive Strength
-225.00 N/mm2
0.15
450
👆🏻
Cleavage
-
-
Toughness
-
1.6
Specific Gravity
1.1-1.42.86-2.87
0
8.4
👆🏻
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
1100-1400 g/cm32.7-3.3 g/cm3
0
1400
👆🏻
Thermal Properties
Specific Heat Capacity
1.32 kJ/Kg K0.84 kJ/Kg K
0.14
3.2
👆🏻
Resistance
Heat Resistant
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam
India
Africa
Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania
South Africa, Tanzania
Europe
Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom
Germany, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Turkey
Others
-
Antarctica, Greenland
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Mexico, USA
Canada, USA
South America
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela
Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
Central Australia, New Zealand, Queensland, Western Australia