Lignite

Shale

Lignite and Shale

Lignite

Shale

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Definition

Lignite is a soft brownish coal which shows traces of plants and is intermediate between bituminous coal and peat

Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock which is formed by the compaction of silt and clay-size mineral particles

History

Origin

France

Discoverer

Unknown

Johann Gottlob Lehmann

Etymology

From French, Latin lignum wood + -ite1

From German Schalstein laminated limestone, and Schalgebirge layer of stone in stratified rock. From Old English scealu in its base sense of- thing that divides or separate,

Class

Sedimentary Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Soft Rock

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

Other Categories

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

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Amorphous, Glassy

Clastic, Splintery

Color

Black, Brown, Dark Brown, Grey, Light to Dark Grey

Black, Brown, Buff, Green, Grey, Red, Yellow

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Veined or Pebbled

Muddy

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Office Buildings

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

for Road Aggregate, Steel Production

Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Sculpture

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Electricity Generation

Creating Artwork, Pottery

Types

Xyloid Lignite or Fossil Wood and Compact Lignite or Perfect Lignite

Red Shale, Black Shale, Green Shale, Grey Shale and Yellow Shale

Features

Generally rough to touch, Helps in production of Heat and Electricity, Used as fossil fuel

Easily splits into thin plates, Generally rough to touch, Very fine grained rock

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

Jantar Mantar in India

Sculpture

Famous Sculptures

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Figurines

Fossils

Present

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.

Shale forms when very fine-grained clay particles are deposited in water which settle at the bottom of water bodies. They are later compacted hence forming shale.

Composition

Mineral Content

Albite, Biotite, Calcite, Chert, Chlorite, Dolomite, Hematite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Pyrite, Quartz, Silica, Sulfides

Compound Content

Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur

Ca, Fe, Mg, Silicon Dioxide, Sodium

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

1 7

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Grain Size

Medium to Fine Coarse Grained

Very fine-grained

Fracture

Conchoidal

Streak

Black

White

Porosity

Highly Porous

Luster

Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic

Dull

Compressive Strength

-95.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

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Cleavage

Slaty

Toughness

2.6

Specific Gravity

1.1-1.42.2-2.8

0 8.4

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Transparency

Opaque

Density

800-801 g/cm³2.4-2.8 g/cm³

0 1400

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Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

1.26 kJ/Kg K0.39 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam

Bangladesh, China, India, Russia

Africa

Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania

Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania

Europe

Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom

Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland

Others

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, Mexico, USA

USA

South America

Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela

Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria

New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia

All about Lignite and Shale Properties

Know all about Lignite and Shale properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Lignite and Shale belong to Sedimentary Rocks.Texture of Lignite is Amorphous, Glassy whereas that of Shale is Clastic, Splintery. Lignite appears Veined or Pebbled and Shale appears Muddy. The luster of Lignite is dull to vitreous to submetallic while that of Shale is dull. Lignite is available in black, brown, dark brown, grey, light to dark grey colors whereas Shale is available in black, brown, buff, green, grey, red, yellow colors. The commercial uses of Lignite are electricity generation and that of Shale are creating artwork, pottery.