Definition
Lamprophyre is uncommon igneous rocks primarily occurring as dikes, lopoliths, laccoliths, stocks and small intrusions
Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation
Discoverer
Unknown
Unknown
Etymology
From Greek lampros bright and shining + porphureos purple
From French schiste, Greek skhistos i.e. split
Class
Igneous Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Porphyritic
Foliated, Platy
Color
Black, Bluish - Grey, Brown, Dark Greenish - Grey, Green, Grey
Black, Blue, Brown, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Silver
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Dull, Banded and Foilated
Layered and Shiny
Interior Uses
Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration
Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
As Building Stone, Office Buildings
Garden Decoration, Paving Stone
Other Architectural Uses
Curbing
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Construction Industry
As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories
As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Roadstone
Medical Industry
Taken as a Supplement for Calcium or Magnesium
-
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture
Artifacts
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)
Used in aquariums, Writing Slates
Types
Minette, Alnoite, Camptonite, Monchiquite, Fourchite, Vogesite, Appinite and Spessartite
Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist.
Features
Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust, Host rock for Diamond, Is one of the oldest rock, Surfaces are often shiny
Easily splits into thin plates, Smooth to touch
Archaeological Significance
Formation
Lamprophyre formation takes place deep beneath the Earth’s surface at around 150 to 450 kilometres, and are erupted rapidly and violently.
Schist formed by dynamic metamorphism at high temperatures and pressures that aligns the grains of mica, hornblende and other elongated minerals into thin layers.
Mineral Content
Amphibole, Carbonate, Garnet, Micas, Olivine, Phlogopite, Pyroxene
Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc
Compound Content
Aluminium Oxide, NaCl, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, MnO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide
CaO, Carbon Dioxide, MgO
Types of Metamorphism
Cataclastic Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism
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Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion
Grain Size
Fine to Coarse Grained
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Conchoidal
Porosity
Very Less Porous
Highly Porous
Luster
Subvitreous to Dull
Shiny
Cleavage
Conchoidal
Slaty
Specific Gravity
2.86-2.87
2.5-2.9
Transparency
Translucent to Opaque
Opaque
Density
2.95-2.96 g/cm3
2.8-2.9 g/cm3
Resistance
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant
Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Water Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
Russia
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam
Africa
Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, South Africa
Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa
Europe
England, Hungary, Iceland, United Kingdom
Austria, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
Others
Antarctica, Greenland
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Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Mexico, USA
Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA
South America
Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador
Brazil, Colombia, Guyana
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland