Soapstone

Siltstone

Soapstone vs Siltstone

Soapstone

Siltstone

Add ⊕

1 Definition

1.1 Definition

It is a metamorphic magnesium rich rock because it is composed of the mineral talc

Siltstone can be defined as a fine-grained sedimentary rock which mainly consists of consolidated silt

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

USA

Unknown

1.2.2 Discoverer

Unknown

1.3 Etymology

From 17th century, because of its greasy feel and use like a soap

From English word silt and stone and from Proto-Indo-European root sal and stainaz

1.4 Class

Metamorphic Rocks

Sedimentary Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Soft Rock

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Not Applicable

1.6 Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Polished

Clastic

2.2 Color

Black, Black to Grey, Green, Grey

Brown, Red, Reddish Brown

2.3 Maintenance

Less

2.4 Durability

Durable

2.4.1 Water Resistant

✔ ✘

81% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

59% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.2 Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

65% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

62% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.3 Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

42% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

43% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.4 Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

19% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

38% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.5 Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

15% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

22% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

2.5 Appearance

Dull, Banded and Foilated

Rough

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Bathrooms, Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration

Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories

Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Taken as a Supplement for Calcium or Magnesium

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Jewellery, Monuments, Sculpture

Artifacts, Sculpture, Small Figurines

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry, Manufacture of Soap, Solvents, Dyes, Plastics and Fibres, Production of Lime, Source of Magnesia (MgO)

Raw material for the manufacture of mortar, Soil Conditioner

4 Types

4.1 Types

Not Available

4.2 Features

Host Rock for Lead

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Easily splits into thin plates, Generally rough to touch, High silica content, Very fine grained rock

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Used

Not Yet Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

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

Not Applicable

4.3.3 Sculpture

Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Data Not Available

4.3.5 Pictographs

Used

Not Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Used

Not Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Used

4.4 Fossils

Absent

Present

5 Formation

5.1 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.

Siltstone is a type of sedimentary rock which is formed from fine rock particles. As the particles of eroded rock travel along with water, the edges of the rock are worn-out by water into a rounded shape.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

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

Calcite, Clay, Clay Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz, Sand, Silica, Silt

5.2.2 Compound Content

CaO, Mg, MgO

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

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

50% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

19% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

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

Not Applicable

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

65% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

78% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Not Applicable

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

77% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

86% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Not Applicable

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

6-7

6.1.2 Grain Size

Fine Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Conchoidal

6.1.4 Streak

Black

White

6.1.5 Porosity

Less Porous

Highly Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Greasy

Dull

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

Flint

⊕

▶

▼

225.00 N/mm²

Rank: 7 (Overall)▶

Not Available

Rank: N/A (Overall)▶

▲

Obsidian

⊕

▶

175 (Granite)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.1.8 Cleavage

Perfect

Not Available

6.1.9 Toughness

2.6

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.86

2.54-2.73

6.1.11 Transparency

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.8-2.9 g/cm³

2.6-2.7 g/cm³

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

Banded iron for..

⊕

▶

▼

0.88 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 13 (Overall)▶

Not Available

Rank: N/A (Overall)▶

▲

Granulite

⊕

▶

1.09 (Travertine)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Water Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

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

China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Uzbekistan

7.1.2 Africa

Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Western Africa

Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa

7.1.3 Europe

Austria, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Austria, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

7.1.4 Others

Not Yet Found

Greenland

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, USA

7.2.2 South America

Colombia

Brazil

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

Central Australia, New Zealand, Queensland

New South Wales, New Zealand

Soapstone vs Siltstone 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 Siltstone Reserves. It is a metamorphic magnesium rich rock because it is composed of the mineral talc. Siltstone can be defined as a fine-grained sedimentary rock which mainly consists of consolidated silt. 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 Siltstone information and Soapstone vs Siltstone characteristics in the upcoming sections.

Compare Metamorphic Rocks » More

Soapstone vs Serpentinite

Soapstone vs Pseudotachylite

Soapstone vs Blueschist

» More

More Compare Metamorphic Rocks

Soapstone vs Siltstone 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 Siltstone characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Soapstone and Properties of Siltstone. Learn more about Soapstone vs Siltstone in the next section. The interior uses of Soapstone include Bathrooms, Decorative aggregates, Homes and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Siltstone include Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Soapstone and Siltstone, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Soapstone in construction industry include Manufacture of magnesium and dolomite refractories and that of Siltstone include Building houses or walls, Cement manufacture, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate, Making natural cement, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar.

More about Soapstone and Siltstone

Here you can know more about Soapstone and Siltstone. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Soapstone and Siltstone 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 Siltstone includes Calcite, Clay, Clay Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz, Sand, Silica, Silt. You can also check out the list of all Metamorphic Rocks. When we have to compare Soapstone vs Siltstone, 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, Siltstone is available in brown, red, reddish brown colors. Appearance of Soapstone is Dull, Banded and Foilated and that of Siltstone is Rough. Properties of rock is another aspect for Soapstone vs Siltstone. The hardness of Soapstone is 1 and that of Siltstone is 6-7. The types of Soapstone are Not Available whereas types of Siltstone are Not Available. 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 Siltstone is white. The specific heat capacity of Soapstone is 0.88 kJ/Kg K and that of Siltstone is Not Available. 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 Siltstone is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, water resistant.