Pyroxenite

Blueschist

Pyroxenite and Blueschist

Pyroxenite

Blueschist

Add ⊕

Definition

Pyroxenite is a dark, greenish, granular intrusive igneous rock consisting mainly of pyroxenes and olivine

Blueschist is a metamorphic rock which is generally blue in color and is formed under conditions of high pressure and low temperature

History

Origin

USA

Discoverer

Unknown

Edgar Bailey

Etymology

From pyro- fire + Greek xenos stranger as the mineral group was new to igneous rocks

From French schiste, Greek skhistos i.e. split

Class

Igneous Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

Plutonic

Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Clastic, Granular, Phaneritic, Porphyritic

Foliated

Color

Black to Grey, Bluish - Grey, Dark Greenish - Grey, Green, Light Greenish Grey

Blue, Bluish - Grey, Purple, Shades of Blue

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny

Dull and Banded

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration, Kitchens

Floor Tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens

Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone

Garden Decoration, Office Buildings

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate

As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones, Rail Track Ballast, Roadstone

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Laboratory bench tops, Jewelry, Sea Defence, Tombstones

Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork, Curling, Tombstones

Types

Clinopyroxenites, Orthopyroxenites and Websterites

Metamorphic rock

Features

Generally rough to touch, Host rock for Diamond, Is one of the oldest rock

Has High structural resistance against erosion and climate, Very fine grained rock

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

Sculpture

Famous Sculptures

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Figurines

Fossils

Absent

Formation

Pyroxenites are ultramafic igneous rocks which are made up of minerals of the pyroxene group, such as augite and diopside, hypersthene, bronzite or enstatite.

Blueschist forms due to the metamorphism of basalt and other rocks with similar composition at high pressures and low temperatures and approximately corresponding to a depth of 15 to 30 kilometers and 200 to 500 °C.

Composition

Mineral Content

Amphibole, Augite, Bronzite, Chromite, Diopside, Enstatite, Garnet, Hornblende, Hypersthene, Magnetite, Pyroxene

Albite, Chlorite, Epidote, Garnet, Glaucophane, Lawsonite, Muscovite or Illite, Quartz

Compound Content

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Chromium(III) Oxide, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Sulfur Trioxide

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

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

73.5-4

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Coarse Grained

Fine to Medium Grained

Fracture

Uneven

Conchoidal

Streak

White, Greenish White or Grey

White to Grey

Porosity

Less Porous

Highly Porous

Luster

Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic

Dull

Compressive Strength

150.00 N/mm²220.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Slaty

Toughness

1.5

Specific Gravity

3.2-3.53-3.2

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Density

3.1-3.6 g/cm³2.8-2.9 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.84 kJ/Kg K0.84 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

India, Russia

Japan, Turkey

Africa

South Africa

Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa

Europe

Germany, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Turkey

France, Greece, Iceland

Others

Greenland

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, USA

USA

South America

Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New Zealand, Queensland

New Zealand

All about Pyroxenite and Blueschist Properties

Know all about Pyroxenite and Blueschist properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Pyroxenite belongs to Igneous Rocks while Blueschist belongs to Metamorphic Rocks.Texture of Pyroxenite is Clastic, Granular, Phaneritic, Porphyritic whereas that of Blueschist is Foliated. Pyroxenite appears Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny and Blueschist appears Dull and Banded. The luster of Pyroxenite is dull to vitreous to submetallic while that of Blueschist is dull. Pyroxenite is available in black to grey, bluish - grey, dark greenish - grey, green, light greenish grey colors whereas Blueschist is available in blue, bluish - grey, purple, shades of blue colors. The commercial uses of Pyroxenite are cemetery markers, commemorative tablets, laboratory bench tops, jewelry, sea defence, tombstones and that of Blueschist are cemetery markers, commemorative tablets, creating artwork, curling, tombstones.