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Kimberlite
Kimberlite

Granite
Granite



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Kimberlite
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Kimberlite vs Granite

Definition

Definition

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

History

Origin

Kimberley, South Africa
-

Discoverer

John W. Judd
Alexander von Humboldt

Etymology

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

Class

Igneous Rocks
Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock
Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Family

Group

Volcanic
Plutonic

Other Categories

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

Texture

Texture

Porphyritic
Granular, Phaneritic

Color

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

Maintenance

Less
More

Durability

Durable
Durable

Water Resistant

Scratch Resistant

Stain Resistant

Wind Resistant

Acid Resistant

Appearance

Dull and Banded
Veined or Pebbled

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

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

Exterior Uses

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

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing
Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

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
As Dimension Stone

Medical Industry

Taken as a Supplement for Calcium or Magnesium
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Antiquity Uses

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

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)
Curling, Gemstone, Laboratory bench tops, Tombstones, Used in aquariums

Types

Types

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

Features

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

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

-
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Famous Monuments

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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

Sculpture

-
-

Famous Sculptures

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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

Pictographs

-
-

Petroglyphs

-
-

Figurines

-
-

Fossils

Absent
Absent

Formation

Formation

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.
Granite is an intrusive igneous rock which is very hard, crystalline and is visibly homogeneous in texture and forms by melting of continental rocks

Composition

Mineral Content

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

Compound Content

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

Transformation

Metamorphism

Types of Metamorphism

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

Weathering

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Biological Weathering

Erosion

Types of Erosion

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

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

6-76-7
1 7
👆🏻

Grain Size

Fine to Coarse Grained
Large and Coarse Grained

Fracture

Conchoidal
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Streak

White
White

Porosity

Very Less Porous
Less Porous

Luster

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

Compressive Strength

260.00 N/mm2175.00 N/mm2
0.15 450
👆🏻

Cleavage

Conchoidal
-

Toughness

-
-

Specific Gravity

2.86-2.872.6-2.7
0 8.4
👆🏻

Transparency

Translucent to Opaque
Opaque

Density

2.95-2.96 g/cm32.65-2.75 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
Heat Resistant, Wear Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

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

Africa

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

Europe

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

Others

Antarctica
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Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, USA
Canada, USA

South America

Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador
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Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New South Wales, New Zealand, South Australia, Western Australia
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Kimberlite vs Granite 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 Kimberlite and Granite Reserves. Kimberlite is a rare, blue-tinged, coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock, which sometimes contains diamonds and is mostly found in South Africa and Siberia.. Granite is a very hard, granular, crystalline igneous rock which consists mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar and is often used as building stone. 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 Kimberlite vs Granite information and Kimberlite vs Granite characteristics in the upcoming sections.

Kimberlite vs Granite 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. Kimberlite vs Granite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Kimberlite and Properties of Granite. Learn more about Kimberlite vs Granite in the next section. The interior uses of Kimberlite include Countertops, Decorative aggregates, Homes and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Granite include Countertops, Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Floor tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior decoration, Kitchens and Stair treads. Due to some exceptional properties of Kimberlite and Granite, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Kimberlite in construction industry 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 and that of Granite include As dimension stone.

More about Kimberlite and Granite

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