Can Granite Contain The Mineral Olivine

Olivine is typically with pyroxenes in basalt for example and quartz k feldspar with micas biotite and muscovite is a typical composition of granite.

Can granite contain the mineral olivine. The dark colored silicates contain iron and magnesium and include minerals such as olivine and pyroxene. Peridotite is mainly olivine peridot and. Quartz can only form from magmas that are relative rich in silica while the olivine minerals only form from magmas that are relatively lean in silica so quartz and olivine are incompatible minerals. But there are no such rock types that are composed of olivine plus quartz.

Strictly speaking granite is an. Still more mafic a mineral is olivine. Granites can be predominantly white pink or gray in color depending on their mineralogy the word granite comes from the latin granum a grain in reference to the coarse grained structure of such a completely crystalline rock. Green olivine sand from papakolea beach hawaii.

A fine grained igneous rock contains 11 plagioclase 72 pyroxene 15 olivine and 2 amphibole. Granite is mostly quartz feldspar and mica. The white grains are coral fragments and the gray black grains are pieces of basalt. Diorite can be a mixture of all of these minerals.

A granite can never be too light but it can be too dark. Normally olivine and quartz never appear together but in exceptionally sodium rich granite the iron bearing variety of olivine fayalite is compatible. The granite of pikes peak in colorado is an example of such a fayalite granite. Basalt is mainly feldspar pyroxine and amphibole.

If you think the grains have a gemmy appearance olivine is the mineral name of a gemstone known as peridot the width of this view is about 10 millimeters. Olivine does not naturally occur with the mineral quartz.