Definition
Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone
Phyllite is a fine-grained metamorphic rock with a well-developed laminar structure, and is intermediate between slate and schist rocks
History
Origin
Pennines, England
-
Discoverer
J.J. Ferber
Unknown
Etymology
From Grit + Stone
From Greek phullon leaf + -ite1
Class
Sedimentary Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Hard Rock
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Family
Group
-
-
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Earthy
Phyllitic Sheen, Slaty
Color
Beige, Black, Brown, Cream, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Light Green, Light to Dark Grey, Pink, Red, White, Yellow
Black to Grey, Light Greenish Grey
Maintenance
Less
More
Durability
Durable
Durable
Water Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Scratch Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Stain Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Wind Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Acid Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Appearance
Layered and Foliated
Crinkled or Wavy
Architecture
Interior Uses
Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration
Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Homes, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
As Building Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings, Paving Stone
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration
Other Architectural Uses
Curbing
Curbing
Industry
Construction Industry
Construction Aggregate, Roadstone
As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar, Roadstone
Medical Industry
-
-
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture
Artifacts, Sculpture
Other Uses
Commercial Uses
An Oil and Gas Reservoir, As a Feed Additive for Livestock, Gemstone, Metallurgical Flux, Production of Lime, Soil Conditioner, Source of Magnesia (MgO), Tombstones
Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork, Writing Slates
Types
Sedimentary rock
Phyllite
Features
Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Generally rough to touch, Very fine grained rock
Easily splits into thin plates, Is one of the oldest rock, Surfaces are often shiny
Archaeological Significance
Monuments
-
-
Famous Monuments
-
-
Sculpture
-
-
Famous Sculptures
-
-
Pictographs
-
-
Petroglyphs
-
-
Figurines
-
-
Fossils
Present
Absent
Formation
Gritstone is a type of sedimentary rock which was formed on the floors of wide river deltas where the grit deposits were laid down, with every tide or flood dumping another layer of sediment.
Phyllite is a metamorphic rock which is formed by regional metamorphism of argillaceous sediments since their cleavage arose due to deviatoric stress.
Composition
Mineral Content
Calcite, Clay Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz
Albite, Alusite, Amphibole, Apatite, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc, Zircon
Compound Content
Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide
CaO, Carbon Dioxide, MgO
Transformation
Metamorphism
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Metamorphism
-
-
Weathering
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Erosion
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion
Physical Properties
Hardness
6-71-2
1
7
👆🏻
Grain Size
Coarse Grained
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Conchoidal
Streak
White
White
Porosity
Highly Porous
Highly Porous
Luster
Dull
Phyllitic
Compressive Strength
70.00 N/mm250.00 N/mm2
0.15
450
👆🏻
Cleavage
Perfect
Crenulation and Pervasive
Toughness
-
1.2
Specific Gravity
2.2502.72-2.73
0
8.4
👆🏻
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
2.2 g/cm32.18-3.3 g/cm3
0
1400
👆🏻
Thermal Properties
Specific Heat Capacity
0.92 kJ/Kg K0.79 kJ/Kg K
0.14
3.2
👆🏻
Resistance
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant
Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Water Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Uzbekistan
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam
Africa
Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa
Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa
Europe
Austria, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Austria, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
Others
Greenland
-
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, USA
Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA
South America
Brazil
Brazil, Colombia, Guyana
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Western Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland