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Soapstone
Soapstone

Novaculite
Novaculite



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Soapstone
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Soapstone vs Novaculite

Definition

Definition

It is a metamorphic magnesium rich rock because it is composed of the mineral talc
Novaculite is a dense, hard, fine-grained, siliceous metamorpic rock which is a type of chert that breaks with conchoidal fracture

History

Origin

USA
-

Discoverer

Unknown
Unknown

Etymology

From 17th century, because of its greasy feel and use like a soap
From Latin word novacula, for razor stone

Class

Metamorphic Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Family

Group

-
-

Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Texture

Polished
Banded, Glassy, Rough, Vitreous

Color

Black, Black to Grey, Green, Grey
Black, Brown, Green, Grey, Red, White

Maintenance

Less
Less

Durability

Durable
Durable

Water Resistant

Scratch Resistant

Stain Resistant

Wind Resistant

Acid Resistant

Appearance

Dull, Banded and Foilated
Glassy or Pearly

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Bathrooms, Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration
Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Flooring, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration
As Building Stone, Garden Decoration

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing
Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories
Arrowheads, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, Cutting Tool, for Road Aggregate, Knives, Landscaping, Making natural cement, Production of Glass and Ceramics, Rail Track Ballast, Roadstone, Spear Points, Used to sharpen metal tools and weapons

Medical Industry

Taken as a Supplement for Calcium or Magnesium
-

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Jewellery, Monuments, Sculpture
Artifacts, Monuments

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry, Manufacture of Soap, Solvents, Dyes, Plastics and Fibres, Production of Lime, Source of Magnesia (MgO)
Cemetery Markers, Gemstone, In aquifers, In fire-starting tools, Jewelry, Manufacture of tools, Pebbles are used in ball mills to grind in ceramics industry, To determine the gold content of jewelry

Types

Types

Metamorphic rock
Sedimentary rock

Features

Host Rock for Lead
Clasts are smooth to touch, Easily splits into thin plates, Has High structural resistance against erosion and climate

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

-
-

Famous Monuments

Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Stonehenge in English county of Wiltshire
-

Sculpture

-
-

Famous Sculptures

-
-

Pictographs

-
-

Petroglyphs

-
-

Figurines

-
-

Fossils

Absent
Present

Formation

Formation

Soapstone is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock and it is largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich inmagnesium.
Novaculite forms when microcrystals of silicon dioxide grow within soft sediments that become limestone or chalk. The formation of Novaculite can be either of chemical or biological origin.

Composition

Mineral Content

Albite, Apatite, Biotite, Calcite, Carbonate, Clay Minerals, Hornblende, Ilmenite, Micas, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz
Quartz, Silicon

Compound Content

CaO, Mg, MgO
Ca, Silicon Dioxide

Transformation

Metamorphism

Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
-

Weathering

Types of Weathering

-
-

Erosion

Types of Erosion

-
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

17
1 7
👆🏻

Grain Size

Fine Grained
Fine Grained

Fracture

Conchoidal
Conchoidal

Streak

Black
-

Porosity

Less Porous
Less Porous

Luster

Greasy
Waxy and Dull

Compressive Strength

225.00 N/mm2450.00 N/mm2
0.15 450
👆🏻

Cleavage

Perfect
-

Toughness

1
1.5

Specific Gravity

2.862.5-2.7
0 8.4
👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque
Translucent to Opaque

Density

2.8-2.9 g/cm32.7 g/cm3
0 1400
👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.88 kJ/Kg K0.74 kJ/Kg K
0.14 3.2
👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

China, India, Indonesia, Japan, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand
China, India, Iran, Japan, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam

Africa

Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Western Africa
Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania

Europe

Austria, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Austria, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

Others

-
Greenland, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, USA
Canada, Mexico, USA

South America

Colombia
Bolivia, Brazil

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

Central Australia, New Zealand, Queensland
New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia

Soapstone vs Novaculite Information

Earth’s outer layer is covered by rocks and these rocks have different physical and chemical properties. As two rocks are not same, it’s fun to compare them. You can also know more about Soapstone and Novaculite Reserves. It is a metamorphic magnesium rich rock because it is composed of the mineral talc. Novaculite is a dense, hard, fine-grained, siliceous metamorpic rock which is a type of chert that breaks with conchoidal fracture. These rocks are composed of many distinct minerals. The process of formation of rocks is different for various rocks. Rocks are quarried from many years for various purposes. You can check out Soapstone vs Novaculite information and Soapstone vs Novaculite characteristics in the upcoming sections.

Soapstone vs Novaculite Characteristics

Though some rocks look identical, they have certain characteristics which distinguish them from others. Characteristics of rocks include texture, appearance, color, fracture, streak, hardness etc. Soapstone vs Novaculite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Soapstone and Properties of Novaculite. Learn more about Soapstone vs Novaculite in the next section. The interior uses of Soapstone include Bathrooms, Decorative aggregates, Homes and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Novaculite include Countertops, Decorative aggregates, Flooring and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Soapstone and Novaculite, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Soapstone in construction industry include Manufacture of magnesium and dolomite refractories and that of Novaculite include Arrowheads, Building houses or walls, Cement manufacture, Construction aggregate, Cutting tool, For road aggregate, Knives, Landscaping, Making natural cement, Production of glass and ceramics, Rail track ballast, Roadstone, Spear points, Used to sharpen metal tools and weapons.

More about Soapstone and Novaculite

Here you can know more about Soapstone and Novaculite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Soapstone and Novaculite consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Soapstone includes Albite, Apatite, Biotite, Calcite, Carbonate, Clay Minerals, Hornblende, Ilmenite, Micas, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz and mineral content of Novaculite includes Quartz, Silicon. You can also check out the list of all Metamorphic Rocks. When we have to compare Soapstone vs Novaculite, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Soapstone is available in black, black to grey, green, grey colors whereas, Novaculite is available in black, brown, green, grey, red, white colors. Appearance of Soapstone is Dull, Banded and Foilated and that of Novaculite is Glassy or Pearly. Properties of rock is another aspect for Soapstone vs Novaculite. The hardness of Soapstone is 1 and that of Novaculite is 7. The types of Soapstone are Metamorphic rock whereas types of Novaculite are Sedimentary rock. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Soapstone is black while that of Novaculite is . The specific heat capacity of Soapstone is 0.88 kJ/Kg K and that of Novaculite is 0.74 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Soapstone is heat resistant, pressure resistant whereas Novaculite is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.