Pyroxenite

Latite

Pyroxenite and Latite

Pyroxenite

Latite

Add ⊕

Definition

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

Latite is an igneous, volcanic rock, with aphanitic-aphyric to aphyric-porphyritic texture

History

Origin

Italy

Discoverer

Unknown

Etymology

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

From the Latin word latium

Class

Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

Plutonic

Volcanic

Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Clastic, Granular, Phaneritic, Porphyritic

Aphanitic to Porphyritic

Color

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

Black, Brown, Green, Grey, Pink, White

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny

Rough

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration, Kitchens

Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone

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 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

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

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

An Oil and Gas Reservoir, As a Feed Additive for Livestock, Metallurgical Flux, Soil Conditioner, Source of Magnesia (MgO)

Types

Clinopyroxenites, Orthopyroxenites and Websterites

Rhomb porphyries

Features

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

Host Rock for Lead

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.

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

Alkali feldspar, Biotite, Plagioclase, Pyroxene

Compound Content

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

CaO, Cl, MgO

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

75-5.5

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Coarse Grained

Fine Grained

Fracture

Uneven

Conchoidal

Streak

White, Greenish White or Grey

White

Porosity

Less Porous

Very Less Porous

Luster

Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic

Subvitreous to Dull

Compressive Strength

150.00 N/mm²310.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Perfect

Toughness

2.7

Specific Gravity

3.2-3.52.86

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Translucent

Density

3.1-3.6 g/cm³2.8-2.9 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.84 kJ/Kg K0.92 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

India, Russia

Africa

South Africa

Europe

Germany, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Turkey

Bulgaria

Others

Greenland

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, USA

USA

South America

Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New Zealand, Queensland

All about Pyroxenite and Latite Properties

Know all about Pyroxenite and Latite properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Pyroxenite and Latite belong to Igneous Rocks.Texture of Pyroxenite is Clastic, Granular, Phaneritic, Porphyritic whereas that of Latite is Aphanitic to Porphyritic. Pyroxenite appears Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny and Latite appears Rough. The luster of Pyroxenite is dull to vitreous to submetallic while that of Latite is subvitreous to dull. Pyroxenite is available in black to grey, bluish - grey, dark greenish - grey, green, light greenish grey colors whereas Latite is available in black, brown, 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 Latite are an oil and gas reservoir, as a feed additive for livestock, metallurgical flux, soil conditioner, source of magnesia (mgo).