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MINERAL ORES

IGNEOUS ROCKS

Andesite

Basalt

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Diorite

Gabbro

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Granite

Obsidian

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Pegmatite

Peridotite

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Pumice

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Rhyolite

Scoria

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Tuff

METAMORPHIC ROCKS

Amphibolite

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Gneiss

Hornfels

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Marble

Novaculite

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Phyllite

Quartzite

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Schist

Muscovite Schist

Chlorite Schist

Garnet Schist

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Slate

Soapstone

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SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

Breccia

Chert

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Coal

Conglomerate

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Dolomite

Dolomite aggregate, used for asphalt

paving from Penfield, New York. These specimens are approximately 1/2 inch to 1 inch (1.3 centimeters

to 2.5 centimeters) across.

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Photograph of a specimen of the Little

Falls Dolostone from Herkimer County, New York. This dolostone is the host rock for the doubly-

terminated quartz crystals known as "Herkimer Diamonds." It is vuggy, has a high silica content, and is

much harder and tougher than the typical dolomite. The Herkimer Diamonds are found in petroleum-lined

vugs in the rock unit. Part of a Herkimer Diamond is visible in the large vug on the left side of this

specimen.

A specimen of coarsely crystalline

dolomitic marble from Thornwood, New York. This specimen is approximately 3 inches (6.7

centimeters) across.

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Flint

One of the most common uses of flint by

prehistoric people was in the making of arrowheads. They were hard, tough and very sharp. Image by

mcleandesign.com.

A lithic knife made from flint. Photo ©

Martin Vallière, iStockphoto.

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The Alibates Flint has been used by

people of southwestern North America for about 13,000 years. The quarries used by these people have

been preserved as part of the Alibates Flint Quarry National Monument. [7] National Park Service image.

The Vanport Flint has been quarried by

people for at least 12,000 years. It outcrops in a layer between one and twelve feet thick along Flint Ridge

in eastern Ohio. Native Americans produced the flint from hundreds of quarries along the ridge. Some of

these people travelled hundreds of miles to collect the flint, used it to make a variety of tools and

weapons, and traded it widely throughout what is now the eastern United States.

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Flint is a variety of microcrystalline or

cryptocrystalline quartz. It occurs as nodules and concretionary masses and less frequently as a layered

deposit. It breaks consistently with a conchoidal fracture and was one of the first materials used to make

tools by early people. They used it to make cutting tools. After thousands of years, people continue to use

it. It is presently used as the cutting edge in some of the finest surgical tools. This specimen is about four

inches (ten centimeters) across and is from Dover Cliffs, England.

Flint is often cut into dome-shaped

stones known as cabochons. These can be set into pins, belt buckles, pendants, bolos and other jewelry

items.

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A portion of a wall of a medieval

building in Suffolk, UK built with split flints. Photo © John Woodcock, iStockphoto.

Iron Ore

Iron Ore: A specimen of oolitic

hematite iron ore. The specimen shown is about two inches (five centimeters) across.

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Limestone

Limestone: The specimen shown is

about two inches (five centimeters) across.

Coquina: This photo shows the shell

hash known as coquina. The rock shown here is about two inches (five centimeters) across.

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Chalk: A fine-grained, light-colored

limestone formed from the calcium carbonate skeletal remains of tiny marine organisms.

Tufa: A porous limestone that forms

from the precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at a hot spring or along the shoreline of a lake where

waters are saturated with calcium carbonate.

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Crinoidal Limestone: Is a limestone

that contains a significant amount of crinoid fossils. Crinoids are organisms that have the morphology of a

stemmed plant but are actually animals. Rarely, crinoidal and other types of limestone, have the ability to

accept a bright polish and have interesting colors. These specimens can be made into interesting organic

gems. This cabochon is about 39 millimeters square and was cut from material found in China.

Oil Sands

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Oil-Shale

Rock Salt

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Sandstone

Shale

Shale: Shale breaks into thin pieces with

sharp edges. It occurs in a wide range of colors that include: red, brown, green, gray, and black. It is the

most common sedimentary rock and is found in sedimentary basins worldwide.

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Organic-rich black shale. Natural gas and

oil are sometimes trapped in the tiny pore spaces of this type of shale.

Oil shale is a rock that contains a

significant amount of organic material in the form of solid kerogen. Up to 1/3 of the rock can be solid

organic material.

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Siltstone