Most Common Minerals In Granite

The specimen above is a typical granite.

Most common minerals in granite. Its three main minerals are feldspar quartz and mica which occur as silvery muscovite or dark biotite or both. Granite is a light colored plutonic rock found throughout the continental crust most commonly in mountainous areas. Crushed granite is used in road construction and railroad beds. Crushed granite represents 16 of the total crushed stone produced in the u s and it is the second most utilized crushed stone in the u s.

The black grains can be biotite or hornblende. Crushed limestone is by far the most commonly used crushed rock in the u s representing 70 of total crushed rock consumption. Numerous other minerals can be present in granite. Other common minerals include mica muscovite and biotite and hornblende see amphibole.

The grain size is coarse enough to allow recognition of the major minerals. Granite typically contains 20 60 quartz 10 65 feldspar and 5. It is the most common plutonic rock of the earth s crust forming by the cooling of magma silicate melt at depth. These minerals make up more than 80 of the rock.

The pink grains are orthoclase feldspar and the clear to smoky grains are quartz or muscovite. Learn more about the properties and uses of granite in this article. Granite is a conglomerate of minerals and rocks primarily quartz potassium feldspar mica amphiboles and trace other minerals. Granite is the most common intrusive rock in earth s continental crust it is familiar as a mottled pink white gray and black ornamental stone it is coarse to medium grained.