Definition
Lignite is a soft brownish coal which shows traces of plants and is intermediate between bituminous coal and peat
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism
Discoverer
Unknown
Unknown
Etymology
From French, Latin lignum wood + -ite1
From Old French esclate, from esclat (French éclat)
Class
Sedimentary Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness 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
Foliated
Color
Black, Brown, Dark Brown, Grey, Light to Dark Grey
Black, Brown, Buff, Green, Light to Dark Grey, Purple, Red, Shades of Blue
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Veined or Pebbled
Dull
Interior Uses
Not Yet Used
Bathrooms, Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Floor Tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior Decoration, Kitchens, Stair Treads
Exterior Uses
Not Yet Used
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Paving Stone
Other Architectural Uses
Not Yet Used
Curbing
Construction Industry
for Road Aggregate, Steel Production
As Dimension Stone
Medical Industry
Not Yet Used
Not Yet Used
Antiquity Uses
Not Yet Used
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines
Commercial Uses
Electricity Generation
Blackboards, Commemorative Tablets, Laboratory bench tops, Standard material for the bed of Billiard table, Standard material for the beds of Pool and Snooker table, Tombstones, Used in aquariums, Writing Slates
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
Easily splits into thin plates, Surfaces are often shiny, Very fine grained rock
Archaeological Significance
Monuments
Not Yet Used
Used
Famous Monuments
Not Applicable
Data Not Available
Sculpture
Not Yet Used
Used
Famous Sculptures
Not Applicable
Data Not Available
Figurines
Not Yet Used
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.
Slate is a low grade metamorphic rock that is generally formed by metamorphosis of mudstone or shale, under relatively low pressure and temperature conditions.
Mineral Content
Not Available
Apatite, Biotite, Chlorite, Feldspar, Graphite, Hematite, Kaolinite, Magnetite, Pyrite, Tourmaline, Zircon
Compound Content
Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur
Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide
Types of Metamorphism
Not Applicable
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion
Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion
Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Very fine-grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Splintery
Streak
Black
Light to dark brown
Porosity
Highly Porous
Less Porous
Luster
Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic
Dull
Compressive Strength
Not Available
Cleavage
Non-Existent
Slaty
Toughness
Not Available
1.2
Specific Gravity
1.1-1.4
2.65-2.8
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
800-801 g/cm3
2.6-2.8 g/cm3
Resistance
Heat Resistant
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam
China, India, Turkey
Africa
Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania
Not Yet Found
Europe
Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom
Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom
Others
Not Yet Found
Arctic
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Mexico, USA
USA
South America
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela
Brazil
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
Not Yet Found
Lignite vs Slate 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. Lignite vs Slate characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Lignite and Properties of Slate. Learn more about Lignite vs Slate in the next section. The interior uses of Lignite include Not yet used whereas the interior uses of Slate include Bathrooms, Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Floor tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior decoration, Kitchens and Stair treads. Due to some exceptional properties of Lignite and Slate, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Lignite in construction industry include For road aggregate, Steel production and that of Slate include As dimension stone.
More about Lignite and Slate
Here you can know more about Lignite and Slate. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Lignite and Slate consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Lignite is not available and mineral content of Slate includes Apatite, Biotite, Chlorite, Feldspar, Graphite, Hematite, Kaolinite, Magnetite, Pyrite, Tourmaline, Zircon. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Lignite vs Slate, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Lignite is available in black, brown, dark brown, grey, light to dark grey colors whereas, Slate is available in black, brown, buff, green, light to dark grey, purple, red, shades of blue colors. Appearance of Lignite is Veined or Pebbled and that of Slate is Dull. Properties of rock is another aspect for Lignite vs Slate. The hardness of Lignite is 1 and that of Slate is 3-4. The types of Lignite are Xyloid Lignite or Fossil Wood and Compact Lignite or Perfect Lignite whereas types of Slate are Not Available. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Lignite is black while that of Slate is light to dark brown. The specific heat capacity of Lignite is 1.26 kJ/Kg K and that of Slate is 0.76 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Lignite is heat resistant whereas Slate is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.