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Granite
Granite

Kimberlite
Kimberlite



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Granite vs Kimberlite

Definition

Definition

Granite is a very hard, granular, crystalline igneous rock which consists mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar and is often used as building stone
Kimberlite is a rare, blue-tinged, coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock, which sometimes contains diamonds and is mostly found in South Africa and Siberia.

History

Origin

-
Kimberley, South Africa

Discoverer

Alexander von Humboldt
John W. Judd

Etymology

From Italian granito, which means grained rock, from grano grain, and from Latin granum
From Kimberley +‎ -ite, from the name of the South African town of Kimberley where the rock was first found.

Class

Igneous Rocks
Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock
Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Family

Group

Plutonic
Volcanic

Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Texture

Granular, Phaneritic
Porphyritic

Color

Black, Grey, Orange, Pink, White
Black, Bluish - Grey, Brown, Dark Greenish - Grey, Green, Grey

Maintenance

More
Less

Durability

Durable
Durable

Water Resistant

Scratch Resistant

Stain Resistant

Wind Resistant

Acid Resistant

Appearance

Veined or Pebbled
Dull and Banded

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Floor Tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior Decoration, Kitchens, Stair Treads
Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Bridges, Paving Stone, Garden Decoration, Near Swimming Pools, Office Buildings, Resorts
As Building Stone, Paving Stone, Garden Decoration

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing
Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

As Dimension Stone
As a Flux in the Production of Steel and Pig Iron, As a Sintering Agent in Steel Industry to process Iron Ore, As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories

Medical Industry

-
Taken as a Supplement for Calcium or Magnesium

Antiquity Uses

Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Curling, Gemstone, Laboratory bench tops, Tombstones, Used in aquariums
An Oil and Gas Reservoir, As a Feed Additive for Livestock, Gemstone, Metallurgical Flux, Production of Lime, Soil Conditioner, Source of Magnesia (MgO)

Types

Types

Igneous Protolith Granite, Sedimentary Protolith Granite, Mantle Granite, Anorogenic Granite, Hybrid Granite, Granodiorite and Alkali Feldspar Granite
Basaltic Kimberlites and Micaceous Kimberlites

Features

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, It is One of the Oldest, Strongest and Hardest Rock
Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust, Host rock for Diamond, Is one of the oldest rock, Surfaces are often shiny

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

-
-

Famous Monuments

Agia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, Blue Domed Church in Santorini, Greece, Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Charminar in Hyderabad, India, Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London, UK, Ephesus in Turkey, Georgia Guidestones in Georgia, US, Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, Khajuraho Temples, India, Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, India, Mysore Palace in Karnataka, India, Signers Monument in Augusta, Georgia, Statue of Liberty in New York, USA, Taj Mahal in Agra, India, Tower Bridge in London, Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, US, Washington Monument, US
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Sculpture

-
-

Famous Sculptures

Avukana Buddha Statue in Sri Lanka, Lincoln Memorial in America, Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, US, The Colossal Red Granite Statue of Amenhotep III in Karnak, Egypt
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Pictographs

-
-

Petroglyphs

-
-

Figurines

-
-

Fossils

Absent
Absent

Formation

Formation

Granite is an intrusive igneous rock which is very hard, crystalline and is visibly homogeneous in texture and forms by melting of continental rocks
Kimberlite is an igneous rock and is the main source of diamonds. Its formation takes place deep beneath the Earth’s surface between 150 to 450 kilometres, and are erupted rapidly and violently.

Composition

Mineral Content

Amphibole, Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz
Garnet, Olivine, Phlogopite, Pyroxene

Compound Content

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, MnO, Sodium Oxide, Phosphorus Pentoxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide
Aluminium Oxide, NaCl, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, MnO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide

Transformation

Metamorphism

Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Weathering

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

6-76-7
1 7
👆🏻

Grain Size

Large and Coarse Grained
Fine to Coarse Grained

Fracture

-
Conchoidal

Streak

White
White

Porosity

Less Porous
Very Less Porous

Luster

Dull to Grainy with Sporadic parts Pearly and Vitreous
Subvitreous to Dull

Compressive Strength

175.00 N/mm2260.00 N/mm2
0.15 450
👆🏻

Cleavage

-
Conchoidal

Toughness

-
-

Specific Gravity

2.6-2.72.86-2.87
0 8.4
👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque
Translucent to Opaque

Density

2.65-2.75 g/cm32.95-2.96 g/cm3
0 1400
👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.79 kJ/Kg K0.92 kJ/Kg K
0.14 3.2
👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Wear Resistant
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

China, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam
Russia

Africa

Angola, Egypt, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa
Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, South Africa

Europe

Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sardinia, Spain, Switzerland, The Czech Republic
England, Hungary, Iceland, United Kingdom

Others

-
Antarctica

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, USA
Canada, USA

South America

-
Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

-
New South Wales, New Zealand, South Australia, Western Australia

Granite vs Kimberlite Information

Earth’s outer layer is covered by rocks and these rocks have different physical and chemical properties. As two rocks are not same, it’s fun to compare them. You can also know more about Granite and Kimberlite Reserves. Granite is a very hard, granular, crystalline igneous rock which consists mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar and is often used as building stone. Kimberlite is a rare, blue-tinged, coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock, which sometimes contains diamonds and is mostly found in South Africa and Siberia.. These rocks are composed of many distinct minerals. The process of formation of rocks is different for various rocks. Rocks are quarried from many years for various purposes. You can check out Granite vs Kimberlite information and Granite vs Kimberlite characteristics in the upcoming sections.

Granite vs Kimberlite 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. Granite vs Kimberlite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Granite and Properties of Kimberlite. Learn more about Granite vs Kimberlite in the next section. The interior uses of Granite include Countertops, Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Floor tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior decoration, Kitchens and Stair treads whereas the interior uses of Kimberlite include Countertops, Decorative aggregates, Homes and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Granite and Kimberlite, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Granite in construction industry include As dimension stone and that of Kimberlite include As a flux in the production of steel and pig iron, As a sintering agent in steel industry to process iron ore, As dimension stone, Cement manufacture, For road aggregate, Making natural cement, Manufacture of magnesium and dolomite refractories.

More about Granite and Kimberlite

Here you can know more about Granite and Kimberlite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Granite and Kimberlite consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Granite includes Amphibole, Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz and mineral content of Kimberlite includes Garnet, Olivine, Phlogopite, Pyroxene. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Granite vs Kimberlite, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Granite is available in black, grey, orange, pink, white colors whereas, Kimberlite is available in black, bluish - grey, brown, dark greenish - grey, green, grey colors. Appearance of Granite is Veined or Pebbled and that of Kimberlite is Dull and Banded. Properties of rock is another aspect for Granite vs Kimberlite. Hardness of Granite and Kimberlite is 6-7. The types of Granite are Igneous Protolith Granite, Sedimentary Protolith Granite, Mantle Granite, Anorogenic Granite, Hybrid Granite, Granodiorite and Alkali Feldspar Granite whereas types of Kimberlite are Basaltic Kimberlites and Micaceous Kimberlites. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Granite and Kimberlite is white. The specific heat capacity of Granite is 0.79 kJ/Kg K and that of Kimberlite is 0.92 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Granite is heat resistant, wear resistant whereas Kimberlite is heat resistant, impact resistant.