Definition
Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation
Minette is a variety of Lamprophyre and is porphyritic alkaline igneous rock which is mainly dominated by biotite and potassic feldspar
Discoverer
Unknown
Unknown
Etymology
From French schiste, Greek skhistos i.e. split
From French mine ore, mine + ette
Class
Metamorphic Rocks
Igneous Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Group
Not Applicable
Plutonic
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Foliated, Platy
Porphyritic
Color
Black, Blue, Brown, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Silver
Black, Bluish - Grey, Brown, Dark Greenish - Grey, Green, Grey
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Layered and Shiny
Dull, Banded and Foilated
Interior Uses
Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Interior Decoration
Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
Garden Decoration, Paving Stone
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration
Other Architectural Uses
Not Yet Used
Curbing
Construction Industry
As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Roadstone
As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories
Medical Industry
Not Yet Used
Taken as a Supplement for Calcium or Magnesium
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines
Commercial Uses
Used in aquariums, Writing Slates
An Oil and Gas Reservoir, As a Feed Additive for Livestock, Gemstone, Metallurgical Flux, Production of Lime, Soil Conditioner, Source of Magnesia (MgO)
Types
Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist.
Minette, Alnoite, Camptonite, Monchiquite, Fourchite, Vogesite, Appinite and Spessartite
Features
Easily splits into thin plates, Smooth to touch
Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust, Host rock for Diamond, Is one of the oldest rock, Surfaces are often shiny
Archaeological Significance
Monuments
Not Yet Used
Used
Famous Monuments
Not Applicable
Data Not Available
Sculpture
Not Yet Used
Used
Famous Sculptures
Not Applicable
Data Not Available
Figurines
Not Yet Used
Used
Formation
Schist formed by dynamic metamorphism at high temperatures and pressures that aligns the grains of mica, hornblende and other elongated minerals into thin layers.
Minette formation takes place deep beneath the Earth’s surface at around 150 to 450 kms, and are erupted rapidly and violently.
Mineral Content
Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc
Amphibole, Carbonate, Garnet, Micas, Olivine, Phlogopite, Pyroxene
Compound Content
CaO, Carbon Dioxide, MgO
Aluminium Oxide, NaCl, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, MnO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide
Types of Metamorphism
Not Applicable
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Sea Erosion, Wind Erosion
Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Fine to Coarse Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Conchoidal
Porosity
Highly Porous
Very Less Porous
Luster
Shiny
Subvitreous to Dull
Cleavage
Slaty
Conchoidal
Toughness
1.5
Not Available
Specific Gravity
2.5-2.9
2.86-2.87
Transparency
Opaque
Translucent to Opaque
Density
2.8-2.9 g/cm3
2.95-2.96 g/cm3
Resistance
Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Water Resistant
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam
Russia
Africa
Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa
Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, South Africa
Europe
Austria, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
England, Hungary, Iceland, United Kingdom
Others
Not Yet Found
Antarctica, Greenland
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA
Canada, Mexico, USA
South America
Brazil, Colombia, Guyana
Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia