Definition
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers called coal beds
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism
Discoverer
John Peter Salley
Unknown
Etymology
From the Old English term col, which has meant mineral of fossilized carbon since the 13th century
From Old French esclate, from esclat (French éclat)
Class
Sedimentary Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Group
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Amorphous, Glassy
Foliated
Color
Black, Brown, Dark Brown, Grey, Light to Dark Grey
Black, Brown, Buff, Green, Light to Dark Grey, Purple, Red, Shades of Blue
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Veined or Pebbled
Dull
Interior Uses
Not Yet Used
Bathrooms, Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Floor Tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior Decoration, Kitchens, Stair Treads
Exterior Uses
Not Yet Used
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Paving Stone
Other Architectural Uses
Not Yet Used
Curbing
Construction Industry
Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Steel Production
As Dimension Stone
Medical Industry
Not Yet Used
Not Yet Used
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines
Commercial Uses
Alumina Refineries, Electricity Generation, Liquid Fuel, Manufacture of Soap, Solvents, Dyes, Plastics and Fibres, Paper Industry
Blackboards, Commemorative Tablets, Laboratory bench tops, Standard material for the bed of Billiard table, Standard material for the beds of Pool and Snooker table, Tombstones, Used in aquariums, Writing Slates
Types
Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite
Not Available
Features
Helps in production of Heat and Electricity, Used as fossil fuel
Easily splits into thin plates, Surfaces are often shiny, Very fine grained rock
Archaeological Significance
Monuments
Not Yet Used
Used
Famous Monuments
Not Applicable
Data Not Available
Sculpture
Not Yet Used
Used
Famous Sculptures
Not Applicable
Data Not Available
Pictographs
Not Used
Used
Petroglyphs
Not Used
Used
Figurines
Not Yet Used
Used
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.
Slate is a low grade metamorphic rock that is generally formed by metamorphosis of mudstone or shale, under relatively low pressure and temperature conditions.
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
Apatite, Biotite, Chlorite, Feldspar, Graphite, Hematite, Kaolinite, Magnetite, Pyrite, Tourmaline, Zircon
Compound Content
Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur
Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide
Types of Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Types of Weathering
Not Applicable
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Types of Erosion
Not Applicable
Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion
Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Very fine-grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Splintery
Streak
Black
Light to dark brown
Porosity
Less Porous
Less Porous
Luster
Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic
Dull
Compressive Strength
Not Available
Cleavage
Non-Existent
Slaty
Toughness
Not Available
1.2
Specific Gravity
1.1-1.4
2.65-2.8
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
1100-1400 g/cm3
2.6-2.8 g/cm3
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
China, India, Turkey
Africa
Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania
Not Yet Found
Europe
Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom
Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom
Others
Not Yet Found
Arctic
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Mexico, USA
USA
South America
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela
Brazil
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
Not Yet Found
Coal vs Slate 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. Coal vs Slate characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Coal and Properties of Slate. Learn more about Coal vs Slate in the next section. The interior uses of Coal include Not yet used whereas the interior uses of Slate include Bathrooms, Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Floor tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior decoration, Kitchens and Stair treads. Due to some exceptional properties of Coal and Slate, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Coal in construction industry include Cement manufacture, For road aggregate, Making natural cement, Steel production and that of Slate include As dimension stone.
More about Coal and Slate
Here you can know more about Coal and Slate. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Coal and Slate consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Coal includes 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 and mineral content of Slate includes Apatite, Biotite, Chlorite, Feldspar, Graphite, Hematite, Kaolinite, Magnetite, Pyrite, Tourmaline, Zircon. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Coal vs Slate, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Coal is available in black, brown, dark brown, grey, light to dark grey colors whereas, Slate is available in black, brown, buff, green, light to dark grey, purple, red, shades of blue colors. Appearance of Coal is Veined or Pebbled and that of Slate is Dull. Properties of rock is another aspect for Coal vs Slate. The hardness of Coal is 1-1.5 and that of Slate is 3-4. The types of Coal are Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite whereas types of Slate are Not Available. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Coal is black while that of Slate is light to dark brown. The specific heat capacity of Coal is 1.32 kJ/Kg K and that of Slate is 0.76 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Coal is heat resistant whereas Slate is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.