Heavy Minerals
Definition
Minerals with density greater than 2.85 g/cm3, separated from a soil or sediment by a heavy liquid. They typically form 0.1-5% of a sand-grade sample by mass but carry distinctive provenance information inherited from the parent rock.
Related terms
- ATi Index
- Apatite to Tourmaline index: [apatite/(apatite + tourmaline)] x 100. Low values indicate advanced weathering or sediment recycling because apatite is dissolved by...
- Bromoform (CHBr3)
- Tribromomethane, density 2.89 g/cm3, historically the standard heavy-separation liquid. Now largely displaced by sodium polytungstate because of its toxicity and regulatory requirements,...
- Provenance
- The documented origin of a media file: the device that captured it, the time and location of capture, the chain of custody...
- Sodium Polytungstate (SPT)
- An aqueous inorganic salt solution used as a non-toxic alternative to bromoform for density separation. Density is tunable by concentration; the 2.85-2.90...
- ZTR Index
- Zircon-Tourmaline-Rutile index: [(zircon + tourmaline + rutile)/total transparent non-opaques] x 100. High values mark texturally and chemically mature sediments that have lost...
Explained in
- Density-Gradient Separation and Heavy-Mineral AnalysisMinerals with density greater than 2.85 g/cm3, separated from a soil or sediment by a heavy liquid. They typically form 0.1-5% of a sand-grade sample by mass b...