Definition
Lignite is a soft brownish coal which shows traces of plants and is intermediate between bituminous coal and peat
Minette is a variety of Lamprophyre and is porphyritic alkaline igneous rock which is mainly dominated by biotite and potassic feldspar
History
Origin
France
-
Discoverer
Unknown
Unknown
Etymology
From French, Latin lignum wood + -ite1
From French mine ore, mine + ette
Class
Sedimentary Rocks
Igneous Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Family
Group
-
Plutonic
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Amorphous, Glassy
Porphyritic
Color
Black, Brown, Dark Brown, Grey, Light to Dark Grey
Black, Bluish - Grey, Brown, Dark Greenish - Grey, Green, Grey
Maintenance
Less
Less
Durability
Durable
Durable
Water Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Scratch Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Stain Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Wind Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Acid Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Appearance
Veined or Pebbled
Dull, Banded and Foilated
Architecture
Interior Uses
-
Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
-
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration
Other Architectural Uses
-
Curbing
Industry
Construction Industry
for Road Aggregate, Steel Production
As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories
Medical Industry
-
Taken as a Supplement for Calcium or Magnesium
Antiquity Uses
-
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines
Other Uses
Commercial Uses
Electricity Generation
An Oil and Gas Reservoir, As a Feed Additive for Livestock, Gemstone, Metallurgical Flux, Production of Lime, Soil Conditioner, Source of Magnesia (MgO)
Types
Xyloid Lignite or Fossil Wood and Compact Lignite or Perfect Lignite
Minette, Alnoite, Camptonite, Monchiquite, Fourchite, Vogesite, Appinite and Spessartite
Features
Generally rough to touch, Helps in production of Heat and Electricity, Used as fossil fuel
Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust, Host rock for Diamond, 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
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.
Minette formation takes place deep beneath the Earth’s surface at around 150 to 450 kms, and are erupted rapidly and violently.
Composition
Mineral Content
-
Amphibole, Carbonate, Garnet, Micas, Olivine, Phlogopite, Pyroxene
Compound Content
Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur
Aluminium Oxide, NaCl, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, MnO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide
Transformation
Metamorphism
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Metamorphism
-
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Weathering
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering
Erosion
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Sea Erosion, Wind Erosion
Physical Properties
Hardness
15-6
1
7
👆🏻
Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Fine to Coarse Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Conchoidal
Streak
Black
White
Porosity
Highly Porous
Very Less Porous
Luster
Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic
Subvitreous to Dull
Compressive Strength
-150.00 N/mm2
0.15
450
👆🏻
Cleavage
-
Conchoidal
Toughness
-
-
Specific Gravity
1.1-1.42.86-2.87
0
8.4
👆🏻
Transparency
Opaque
Translucent to Opaque
Density
800-801 g/cm32.95-2.96 g/cm3
0
1400
👆🏻
Thermal Properties
Specific Heat Capacity
1.26 kJ/Kg K0.79 kJ/Kg K
0.14
3.2
👆🏻
Resistance
Heat Resistant
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam
Russia
Africa
Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania
Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, South Africa
Europe
Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom
England, Hungary, Iceland, United Kingdom
Others
-
Antarctica, Greenland
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Mexico, USA
Canada, Mexico, USA
South America
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela
Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia