Nepheline Syenite

Soapstone

Nepheline Syenite vs Soapstone

Nepheline Syenite

Soapstone

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1 Definition

1.1 Definition

Nepheline Syenite is a holocrystalline plutonic rock resembling syenite but containing nepheline and lacking quartz

It is a metamorphic magnesium rich rock because it is composed of the mineral talc

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

Unknown

USA

1.2.2 Discoverer

Unknown

1.3 Etymology

From origin of a Palaeozoic nepheline syenite from northern Shanxi Province, China

From 17th century, because of its greasy feel and use like a soap

1.4 Class

Igneous Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Durable Rock, Soft Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Plutonic

Not Applicable

1.6 Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Granular

Polished

2.2 Color

Brown, Buff, Cream, Green, Grey, Pink, White

Black, Black to Grey, Green, Grey

2.3 Maintenance

Less

2.4 Durability

Durable

2.4.1 Water Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.2 Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.3 Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.4 Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.5 Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

2.5 Appearance

Banded and Foilated

Dull, Banded and Foilated

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration

Bathrooms, Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Paving Stone

As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Landscaping, Making natural cement, Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories, Production of Glass and Ceramics

Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

Taken as a Supplement for Calcium or Magnesium

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture

Artifacts, Jewellery, Monuments, Sculpture

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork

Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry, Manufacture of Soap, Solvents, Dyes, Plastics and Fibres, Production of Lime, Source of Magnesia (MgO)

4 Types

4.1 Types

Borolanite and Litchfieldite

Not Available

4.2 Features

Application of acids on the surface causes cloudy frosting, Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Dissolves in hydrochloric acid, Is one of the oldest rock

Host Rock for Lead

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Data Not Available

Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Stonehenge in English county of Wiltshire

4.3.3 Sculpture

Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Data Not Available

4.3.5 Pictographs

Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Used

4.4 Fossils

Absent

5 Formation

5.1 Formation

Nepheline Syenites are formed due to alkaline igneous activities and are generally formed in thick continental crustal areas or in Cordilleran subduction zones.

Soapstone is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock and it is largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich inmagnesium.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Albite, Amphibole, Biotite, Cancrinite, Feldspar, Hornblende, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Sodalite

Albite, Apatite, Biotite, Calcite, Carbonate, Clay Minerals, Hornblende, Ilmenite, Micas, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz

5.2.2 Compound Content

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, MnO, Sodium Oxide, Phosphorus Pentoxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide

CaO, Mg, MgO

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering

Not Applicable

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion

Not Applicable

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

5.5-61

1 7

6.1.2 Grain Size

Fine Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Conchoidal to Uneven

Conchoidal

6.1.4 Streak

White

Black

6.1.5 Porosity

Less Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Greasy to Dull

Greasy

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

150.00 N/mm²225.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

6.1.8 Cleavage

Poor

Perfect

6.1.9 Toughness

Not Available

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.62.86

0 8.4

6.1.11 Transparency

Translucent to Opaque

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.6 g/cm³2.8-2.9 g/cm³

0 1400

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

NA0.88 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Wear Resistant

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Vietnam

China, India, Indonesia, Japan, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand

7.1.2 Africa

Angola, Egypt, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa

Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Western Africa

7.1.3 Europe

Andorra, Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden

Austria, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

7.1.4 Others

Greenland

Not Yet Found

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, USA

7.2.2 South America

Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Venezuela

Colombia

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia

Central Australia, New Zealand, Queensland

Nepheline Syenite vs Soapstone Information

Earth’s outer layer is covered by rocks and these rocks have different physical and chemical properties. As two rocks are not same, it’s fun to compare them. You can also know more about Nepheline Syenite and Soapstone Reserves. Nepheline Syenite is a holocrystalline plutonic rock resembling syenite but containing nepheline and lacking quartz. It is a metamorphic magnesium rich rock because it is composed of the mineral talc. These rocks are composed of many distinct minerals. The process of formation of rocks is different for various rocks. Rocks are quarried from many years for various purposes. You can check out Nepheline Syenite vs Soapstone information and Nepheline Syenite vs Soapstone characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Nepheline Syenite vs Soapstone 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. Nepheline Syenite vs Soapstone characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Nepheline Syenite and Properties of Soapstone. Learn more about Nepheline Syenite vs Soapstone in the next section. The interior uses of Nepheline Syenite include Countertops, Decorative aggregates, Flooring, Homes and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Soapstone include Bathrooms, Decorative aggregates, Homes and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Nepheline Syenite and Soapstone, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Nepheline Syenite in construction industry include As dimension stone, Cement manufacture, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate, Landscaping, Making natural cement, Manufacture of magnesium and dolomite refractories, Production of glass and ceramics and that of Soapstone include Manufacture of magnesium and dolomite refractories.

More about Nepheline Syenite and Soapstone

Here you can know more about Nepheline Syenite and Soapstone. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Nepheline Syenite and Soapstone consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Nepheline Syenite includes Albite, Amphibole, Biotite, Cancrinite, Feldspar, Hornblende, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Sodalite and mineral content of Soapstone includes Albite, Apatite, Biotite, Calcite, Carbonate, Clay Minerals, Hornblende, Ilmenite, Micas, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Nepheline Syenite vs Soapstone, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Nepheline Syenite is available in brown, buff, cream, green, grey, pink, white colors whereas, Soapstone is available in black, black to grey, green, grey colors. Appearance of Nepheline Syenite is Banded and Foilated and that of Soapstone is Dull, Banded and Foilated. Properties of rock is another aspect for Nepheline Syenite vs Soapstone. The hardness of Nepheline Syenite is 5.5-6 and that of Soapstone is 1. The types of Nepheline Syenite are Borolanite and Litchfieldite whereas types of Soapstone are Not Available. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Nepheline Syenite is white while that of Soapstone is black. The specific heat capacity of Nepheline Syenite is Not Available and that of Soapstone is 0.88 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Nepheline Syenite is heat resistant, impact resistant, wear resistant whereas Soapstone is heat resistant, pressure resistant.