Definition
Gossan is intensely oxidized, weathered or decomposed rock, usually the upper and exposed part of an ore deposit or mineral vein.
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers called coal beds
Discoverer
Cornish Gossen
John Peter Salley
Etymology
From Cornish gossen from gos, blood from Old Cornish guit
From the Old English term col, which has meant mineral of fossilized carbon since the 13th century
Class
Metamorphic Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Group
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Other Categories
Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Rough, Sandy
Amorphous, Glassy
Color
Brown, Brown- Black, Gold, Green, Rust
Black, Brown, Dark Brown, Grey, Light to Dark Grey
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Dull and Banded
Veined or Pebbled
Interior Uses
Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration
Not Yet Used
Exterior Uses
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Paving Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings
Not Yet Used
Other Architectural Uses
Curbing
Not Yet Used
Construction Industry
As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate
Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Steel Production
Medical Industry
Not Yet Used
Not Yet Used
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts
Artifacts
Commercial Uses
Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Gemstone
Alumina Refineries, Electricity Generation, Liquid Fuel, Manufacture of Soap, Solvents, Dyes, Plastics and Fibres, Paper Industry
Types
Translocated gossan and Leakage gossan
Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite
Features
Clasts are smooth to touch, Easily splits into thin plates
Helps in production of Heat and Electricity, Used as fossil fuel
Archaeological Significance
Monuments
Not Yet Used
Not Yet Used
Famous Monuments
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Sculpture
Not Yet Used
Not Yet Used
Famous Sculptures
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Pictographs
Used
Not Used
Petroglyphs
Used
Not Used
Figurines
Not Yet Used
Not Yet Used
Formation
Earth movements can cause rocks to be either deeply buried or squeezed and hence the rocks are heated and put under great pressure.
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.
Mineral Content
Apatite, Augite, Biotite, Bronzite, Calcite, Chert, Epidote, Feldspar, Hornblende, Micas, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz, Sulfides, Zircon
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
Compound Content
Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Fe, FeO, Silicon Dioxide, Sulphur
Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur
Types of Metamorphism
Not Applicable
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Types of Weathering
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Sea Erosion, Wind Erosion
Not Applicable
Grain Size
Fine to Medium Grained
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Conchoidal
Streak
White to Grey
Black
Porosity
Highly Porous
Less Porous
Luster
Metallic
Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic
Cleavage
Not Available
Non-Existent
Toughness
Not Available
Not Available
Specific Gravity
2.0
1.1-1.4
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
Not Available
1100-1400 g/cm3
Resistance
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant
Heat Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Singapore, South Korea
Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam
Africa
Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Western Africa
Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania
Europe
Albania, France, Germany, Great Britain, United Kingdom
Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom
Others
Not Yet Found
Not Yet Found
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, USA
Canada, Mexico, USA
South America
Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
Gossan vs Coal 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. Gossan vs Coal characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Gossan and Properties of Coal. Learn more about Gossan vs Coal in the next section. The interior uses of Gossan include Countertops, Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Coal include Not yet used. Due to some exceptional properties of Gossan and Coal, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Gossan in construction industry include As dimension stone, Cement manufacture, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate and that of Coal include Cement manufacture, For road aggregate, Making natural cement, Steel production.
More about Gossan and Coal
Here you can know more about Gossan and Coal. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Gossan and Coal consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Gossan includes Apatite, Augite, Biotite, Bronzite, Calcite, Chert, Epidote, Feldspar, Hornblende, Micas, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz, Sulfides, Zircon and 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. You can also check out the list of all Metamorphic Rocks. When we have to compare Gossan vs Coal, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Gossan is available in brown, brown- black, gold, green, rust colors whereas, Coal is available in black, brown, dark brown, grey, light to dark grey colors. Appearance of Gossan is Dull and Banded and that of Coal is Veined or Pebbled. Properties of rock is another aspect for Gossan vs Coal. The hardness of Gossan is 4-5 and that of Coal is 1-1.5. The types of Gossan are Translocated gossan and Leakage gossan whereas types of Coal are Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Gossan is white to grey while that of Coal is black. The specific heat capacity of Gossan is 0.24 kJ/Kg K and that of Coal is 1.32 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Gossan is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant whereas Coal is heat resistant.