Pyroxenite

Kenyte

Pyroxenite and Kenyte

Pyroxenite

Kenyte

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Definition

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

Kenyte is a variety of porphyritic phonolite or trachyte rock with rhomb shaped phenocrysts of anorthoclase with variable olivine and augite in a glassy matrix

History

Origin

Mount Kenya

Discoverer

Unknown

J. W. Gregory

Etymology

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

From the mountain ranges- Mount Kenya and is named by J. W. Gregory in 1900

Class

Igneous 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, Opaque Rock

Texture

Clastic, Granular, Phaneritic, Porphyritic

Glassy, Granular

Color

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

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

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny

Banded and Foilated

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration, Kitchens

Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Homes, Interior Decoration, Kitchens

Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone

As Building Stone, Garden Decoration, Paving Stone

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

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

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

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, Creating Artwork

Types

Clinopyroxenites, Orthopyroxenites and Websterites

Foidolite

Features

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Biological Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

75.5-6

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Coarse Grained

Fine Grained

Fracture

Uneven

Conchoidal to Uneven

Streak

White, Greenish White or Grey

Porosity

Less Porous

Highly Porous

Luster

Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic

Greasy to Dull

Compressive Strength

150.00 N/mm²150.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Toughness

Specific Gravity

3.2-3.52.6

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Translucent to Opaque

Density

3.1-3.6 g/cm³2.6 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

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Wear Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

India, Russia

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

Africa

South Africa

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

Europe

Germany, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Turkey

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

Others

Greenland

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, USA

South America

Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela

Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Venezuela

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New Zealand, Queensland

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

All about Pyroxenite and Kenyte Properties

Know all about Pyroxenite and Kenyte properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Pyroxenite and Kenyte belong to Igneous Rocks.Texture of Pyroxenite is Clastic, Granular, Phaneritic, Porphyritic whereas that of Kenyte is Glassy, Granular. Pyroxenite appears Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny and Kenyte appears Banded and Foilated. The luster of Pyroxenite is dull to vitreous to submetallic while that of Kenyte is greasy to dull. Pyroxenite is available in black to grey, bluish - grey, dark greenish - grey, green, light greenish grey colors whereas Kenyte is available in brown, buff, cream, green, grey, pink, white colors. The commercial uses of Pyroxenite are cemetery markers, commemorative tablets, laboratory bench tops, jewelry, sea defence, tombstones and that of Kenyte are cemetery markers, creating artwork.