Definition
Pyroxenite is a dark, greenish, granular intrusive igneous rock consisting mainly of pyroxenes and olivine
Conglomerate is a sedimentary rock which forms from rounded gravel and boulder sized clasts which are cemented together in a matrix
History
Origin
-
Italy
Discoverer
Unknown
Unknown
Etymology
From pyro- fire + Greek xenos stranger as the mineral group was new to igneous rocks
From Latin conglomeratus, to roll together, i.e. from com together + glomerare to gather into a ball, from glomus (genitive glomeris) a ball
Class
Igneous Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Hard Rock
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Family
Group
Plutonic
-
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Clastic, Granular, Phaneritic, Porphyritic
Clastic
Color
Black to Grey, Bluish - Grey, Dark Greenish - Grey, Green, Light Greenish Grey
Beige, Black, Brown, Buff, Light to Dark Grey, Orange, Rust, White, Yellow
Maintenance
Less
More
Durability
Durable
Durable
Water Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Scratch Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Stain Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Wind Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Acid Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Appearance
Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny
Shiny and Rounded
Architecture
Interior Uses
Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration, Kitchens
Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Homes
Exterior Uses
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings, Roof Tiles
Other Architectural Uses
Curbing
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, Roadstone
Medical Industry
-
-
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines
Other Uses
Commercial Uses
Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Laboratory bench tops, Jewelry, Sea Defence, Tombstones
Cemetery Markers, In aquifers, Tombstones
Types
Clinopyroxenites, Orthopyroxenites and Websterites
Orthoconglomerate and Paraconglomerate
Features
Generally rough to touch, Host rock for Diamond, Is one of the oldest rock
Clasts are smooth to touch, Is one of the oldest rock, Matrix variable
Archaeological Significance
Monuments
-
-
Famous Monuments
-
-
Sculpture
-
-
Famous Sculptures
-
-
Pictographs
-
-
Petroglyphs
-
-
Figurines
-
-
Fossils
Absent
Present
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.
Conglomerate forms where sediments consisting mainly of pebble and cobble-size clasts at least two millimeters in diameter starts accumulating.
Composition
Mineral Content
Amphibole, Augite, Bronzite, Chromite, Diopside, Enstatite, Garnet, Hornblende, Hypersthene, Magnetite, Pyroxene
Clay, Sand, Silica, Silt
Compound Content
Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Chromium(III) Oxide, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Sulfur Trioxide
NaCl, CaO
Transformation
Metamorphism
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Weathering
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
-
Erosion
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion
Physical Properties
Hardness
72-3
1
7
👆🏻
Grain Size
Coarse Grained
Coarse Grained
Fracture
Uneven
Uneven
Streak
White, Greenish White or Grey
White
Porosity
Less Porous
Highly Porous
Luster
Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic
Dull
Compressive Strength
150.00 N/mm270.00 N/mm2
0.15
450
👆🏻
Cleavage
-
-
Toughness
-
-
Specific Gravity
3.2-3.52.86-2.88
0
8.4
👆🏻
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
3.1-3.6 g/cm31.7-2.3 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
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
India, Russia
China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Uzbekistan
Africa
South Africa
Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa
Europe
Germany, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Turkey
Austria, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Others
Greenland
Greenland
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, USA
Canada, USA
South America
Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela
Brazil
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New Zealand, Queensland
New South Wales, New Zealand