Definition
Minette is a variety of Lamprophyre and is porphyritic alkaline igneous rock which is mainly dominated by biotite and potassic feldspar
Latite is an igneous, volcanic rock, with aphanitic-aphyric to aphyric-porphyritic texture
History
Origin
-
Italy
Discoverer
Unknown
Unknown
Etymology
From French mine ore, mine + ette
From the Latin word latium
Class
Igneous Rocks
Igneous Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Family
Group
Plutonic
Volcanic
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Porphyritic
Aphanitic to Porphyritic
Color
Black, Bluish - Grey, Brown, Dark Greenish - Grey, Green, Grey
Black, Brown, Green, Grey, Pink, White
Maintenance
Less
Less
Durability
Durable
Durable
Water Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Scratch Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Stain Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Wind Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Acid Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Appearance
Dull, Banded and Foilated
Rough
Architecture
Interior Uses
Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration
Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings
Other Architectural Uses
Curbing
Curbing
Industry
Construction Industry
As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories
As a Flux in the Production of Steel and Pig Iron, As a Sintering Agent in Steel Industry to process Iron Ore, 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
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture
Other Uses
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)
An Oil and Gas Reservoir, As a Feed Additive for Livestock, Metallurgical Flux, Soil Conditioner, Source of Magnesia (MgO)
Types
Minette, Alnoite, Camptonite, Monchiquite, Fourchite, Vogesite, Appinite and Spessartite
Rhomb porphyries
Features
Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust, Host rock for Diamond, Is one of the oldest rock, Surfaces are often shiny
Host Rock for Lead
Archaeological Significance
Monuments
-
-
Famous Monuments
-
-
Sculpture
-
-
Famous Sculptures
-
-
Pictographs
-
-
Petroglyphs
-
-
Figurines
-
-
Fossils
Absent
Absent
Formation
Minette formation takes place deep beneath the Earth’s surface at around 150 to 450 kms, and are erupted rapidly and violently.
Latite is a fine-grained, hard rock which is a type of metasomatite, essentially altered basalt. It forms with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks.
Composition
Mineral Content
Amphibole, Carbonate, Garnet, Micas, Olivine, Phlogopite, Pyroxene
Alkali feldspar, Biotite, Plagioclase, Pyroxene
Compound Content
Aluminium Oxide, NaCl, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, MnO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide
CaO, Cl, MgO
Transformation
Metamorphism
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism
Weathering
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Erosion
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Sea Erosion, Wind Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion
Physical Properties
Hardness
5-65-5.5
1
7
👆🏻
Grain Size
Fine to Coarse Grained
Fine Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Conchoidal
Streak
White
White
Porosity
Very Less Porous
Very Less Porous
Luster
Subvitreous to Dull
Subvitreous to Dull
Compressive Strength
150.00 N/mm2310.00 N/mm2
0.15
450
👆🏻
Cleavage
Conchoidal
Perfect
Toughness
-
2.7
Specific Gravity
2.86-2.872.86
0
8.4
👆🏻
Transparency
Translucent to Opaque
Translucent
Density
2.95-2.96 g/cm32.8-2.9 g/cm3
0
1400
👆🏻
Thermal Properties
Specific Heat Capacity
0.79 kJ/Kg K0.92 kJ/Kg K
0.14
3.2
👆🏻
Resistance
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant
Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
Russia
-
Africa
Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, South Africa
-
Europe
England, Hungary, Iceland, United Kingdom
Bulgaria
Others
Antarctica, Greenland
-
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Mexico, USA
USA
South America
Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador
-
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia
-