What is Calcite?
| Chemistry |
CaCO3, Calcium Carbonate |
| Class |
Carbonates |
| Group |
Calcite |
| Uses |
In cements and mortars,
production of lime, limestone is
used in the steel industry;
glass industry, ornamental
stone, chemical and optical uses
and as mineral specimens. |
| |
Calcite's Physical
Properties
Specimens |
Calcite History & General Information
Calcite, which gets its name from "chalix"
the Greek word for lime, is a most
amazing and yet, most common mineral. It
is one of the most common minerals on
the face of the Earth, comprising about
4% by weight of the Earth's crust and is
formed in many different geological
environments. Calcite can form rocks of
considerable mass and constitutes a
significant part of all three major rock
classification types. It forms oolitic,
fossiliferous and massive lime stones in
sedimentary environments and even serves
as the cements for many sandstones and
shales. Limestone becomes marble from
the heat and pressure of metamorphic
events. Calcite is even a major
component in the igneous rock called
carbonatite and forms the major portion
of many hydrothermal veins. Some of
these rock types are composed of better
than 99% calcite. Why would a collector
be interested in such a common mineral?
Its extraordinary diversity and beauty!
With calcite so abundant and so widely
distributed it is no wonder that it can
be so varied. The crystals of calcite
can form literally a thousand different
shapes by combining the basic forms of
the positive rhombohedron, negative
rhombohedron, steeply, moderately and
slightly inclined rhombohedrons, various
scalahedrons, prism and pinacoid to name
a few of the more common forms. There
are more than 300 crystal forms
identified in calcite and these forms
can combine to produce the thousand
different crystal variations. Calcite
also produces many twin varieties that
are favorites among twin collectors.
There are also phantoms, included
crystals, color varieties, pseudomorphs
and unique associations. There simply is
no end to the varieties of calcite.
There are several varieties of calcite
and it would be impossible to describe
them all. However there are a few
standouts. Possibly the most well known
of calcite's varieties is its most
common form, the classic scalenohedron
or "Dogtooth Spar" as it is sometimes
called. This variety appears as a double
pyramid or dipyramid, but is actually a
distinctly different form. The point of
the scalenohedron is sharp and resembles
the canine tooth of a dog, hence the
name. Beautiful clear colorless or
amber-orange examples of this variety
are considered classics and outstanding
examples come from Pugh Quarry, Ohio;
Cornwall, England and Elmwoo`d,
Tennessee but the variety is found
worldwide.
Not necessarily a variety of calcite,
cave formations are certainly a unique
aspect of calcite's story. Calcite is
the primary mineral component in cave
formations. Stalactites and stalagmites,
cave veils, cave pearls, "soda straws"
and the many other different cave
formations that millions of visitors to
underground caverns enjoy are made of
calcite. It is the fact that calcite is
readily dissolved that these formations
occur. Overlying lime stones or marbles
are dissolved away by years and years of
slightly acidic ground water to
percolate into the caverns below. In
fact the caverns themselves may have
been the result of water dissolving away
the calcite rich rock. As the calcite
enriched water enters a relatively dry
cavern, the water starts to evaporate
and thus precipitate the calcite. The
resulting accumulations of calcite are
generally extremely pure and are colored
if at all, by very small amounts of iron
or other impurities.
Another variety is the so called
"Iceland Spar", which is basically clear
cleaved fragments of completely
colorless (ice-like) calcite. Originally
discovered and named after Eskifjord,
Iceland where the calcite is found in
basalt cavities. In rock shops around
the world, iceland spar is available in
large quantities and at affordable
prices and are popular among children.
The iceland spar displays the classic
cleavage form of calcite, the
rhombohedron. Iceland spar was and is
used for optical equipment and during
World War II it was a strategic mineral
as it was used for the sighting
equipment of bombardiers and gunners. It
is iceland spar that best demonstrates
the unique property of calcite called
double refraction.
Calcite Packing
All grades of Calcite are available in
various types of packaging:
1. 1 Ton Jumbo bags
2. 25kg package for powder
Calcite Consumption Usage
• In cements, mortars, and the
production of lime. Limestone is used in
the steel industry; glass industry and
as the ornamental stone marble.
• Calcite is also used in chemical and
optical uses and as mineral specimens.
• Flawless transparent calcite is used
in optical instruments especially in
geological (polarizing) microscopes.
• Filler in plastics and painting,
Drilling
• Calcite is the primary ore of calcium.
Calcite is indispensable in the
construction industry, forming the base
of cement. Many important chemicals are
created from Calcite, as well as useful
drugs. It is also crucial in the
manufacture of fertilizers, metals,
glass, rubber, and paint. The
transparent Iceland Spar variety, in
which the double refraction is very
apparent, was used as Nicol prisms for
polarizing microscopes and other optical
devices. Calcite forms rocks that are
used for ornamental purposes, such as
Marble and banded Travertine or Tufa.
Calcite is also the main component of
Chalk, which is processed as drawing
chalk. To collectors, Calcite is one of
the best-known and most extensively
collected minerals
Calcite Importance
Calcite is intricately tied to carbon
dioxide in another way. Since many sea
organisms such as corals, algae and
diatoms make their shells out of
calcite, they pull carbon dioxide from
the sea water to accomplish this in a
near reverse of the reaction above. This
is fortuitous for us, as carbon dioxide
has been found to be a green house gas
and contributes to the so called "green
house gas effect". Environmentally then,
calcite is very important and may have
been quite important to the successful
development of our planet in the past.
By pulling carbon dioxide out of the sea
water, this biological activity allows
more of the carbon dioxide in the air to
dissolve in the sea water and thus acts
as a carbon dioxide filter for his
planet. Environmentalists are now
actively engaged in determining if this
activity can be increase by human
intervention to the point of warding off
the "green house gas effect". A
significant amount of calcite
precipitation in sea water is
undoubtedly inorganic, but the exact
amount that this contributes is not well
known. Calcite and other carbonate
minerals are very important minerals in
the ocean ecosystems of the world.
Calcite is not the only calcium
carbonate mineral. There are no less
than three minerals or phases of CaCO3.
Aragonite and vaterite are polymorphs (latin
for "many shapes") with calcite, meaning
they all have the same chemistry, but
different crystal structures and
symmetries. Aragonite is orthorhombic,
vaterite is hexagonal and calcite is
trigonal. Aragonite is a common mineral,
but is vastly out distanced by calcite
which is the more stable mineral at most
temperatures and pressures and in most
environments. Vaterite on the other hand
is extremely scarce and rarely seen.
Aragonite will over time convert to
calcite and calcite pseudomorphs after
aragonite are not uncommon.
Calcite is truly one of the best
collection type minerals. There are lots
of interesting forms and varieties as
well as colorful and beautiful specimens
to collect. It is generally easy to
identify using its rhomohedral cleavage,
reaction to acid and double refraction
and makes for a great classroom example
of these properties. If it is not the
significant mineral on a specimen, it
might be an accessory to other wonderful
minerals and only enhancing their
attractiveness. With its many different
forms, environments, associations and
colors, a collector could never have all
possible combinations of calcite
covered.
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