Definition
Lignite is a soft brownish coal which shows traces of plants and is intermediate between bituminous coal and peat
Very fine grained fault rock which is composed of glassy matrix that often contains inclusions of wall-rock fragments.
Discoverer
Unknown
Unknown
Etymology
From French, Latin lignum wood + -ite1
From pseudo- + tachylite, a glassy rock generated by frictional heat within faults.
Class
Sedimentary Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Durable Rock, Hard Rock
Group
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Amorphous, Glassy
Quench
Color
Black, Brown, Dark Brown, Grey, Light to Dark Grey
Black, Brown, Colourless, Green, Grey, Pink, White
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Veined or Pebbled
Dull and Soft
Interior Uses
Not Yet Used
Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
Not Yet Used
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration
Other Architectural Uses
Not Yet Used
Curbing
Construction Industry
for Road Aggregate, Steel Production
As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement
Medical Industry
Not Yet Used
Not Yet Used
Antiquity Uses
Not Yet Used
Artifacts, Monuments
Commercial Uses
Electricity Generation
Creating Artwork, Gemstone
Types
Xyloid Lignite or Fossil Wood and Compact Lignite or Perfect Lignite
Not Available
Features
Generally rough to touch, Helps in production of Heat and Electricity, Used as fossil fuel
Host Rock for Lead
Archaeological Significance
Monuments
Not Yet Used
Used
Famous Monuments
Not Applicable
Data Not Available
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
Coal formation takes place due to accumulation of plant debris in a swamp environment. The Coal formation process continues, as peat turns into lignite brown or black coal at increasing heat and pressure.
Due to change in environmental conditions, rocks are heated and pressurized deep inside the Earth's surface. Pseudotachylite is formed from the extreme heat caused by magma or by the intense collisions and friction of tectonic plates.
Mineral Content
Not Available
Iron Oxides, Pyroxene, Quartz, Stishovite, Sulfides
Compound Content
Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur
Carbon Dioxide, Silicon Dioxide, Sulfur Dioxide, Sulphur
Types of Metamorphism
Not Applicable
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Not Applicable
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion
Not Applicable
Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Very fine-grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Uneven
Streak
Black
Light to dark brown
Porosity
Highly Porous
Less Porous
Luster
Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic
Vitreous
Compressive Strength
Not Available
Cleavage
Non-Existent
Irregular
Toughness
Not Available
Not Available
Specific Gravity
1.1-1.4
2.46-2.86
Transparency
Opaque
Transparent to Translucent
Density
800-801 g/cm3
2.7-2.9 g/cm3
Resistance
Heat Resistant
Heat Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam
South Korea
Africa
Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania
Western Africa
Europe
Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom
Great Britain, Switzerland
Others
Not Yet Found
Not Yet Found
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Mexico, USA
Not Yet Found
South America
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela
Not Yet Found
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
Central Australia, Western Australia
All about Lignite and Pseudotachylite Properties
Know all about Lignite and Pseudotachylite properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Lignite belongs to Sedimentary Rocks while Pseudotachylite belongs to Metamorphic Rocks.Texture of Lignite is Amorphous, Glassy whereas that of Pseudotachylite is Quench. Lignite appears Veined or Pebbled and Pseudotachylite appears Dull and Soft. The luster of Lignite is dull to vitreous to submetallic while that of Pseudotachylite is vitreous. Lignite is available in black, brown, dark brown, grey, light to dark grey colors whereas Pseudotachylite is available in black, brown, colourless, green, grey, pink, white colors. The commercial uses of Lignite are electricity generation and that of Pseudotachylite are creating artwork, gemstone.