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Contents of 2.7 What are the most important minerals?

2.7 What are the most important minerals?

• Silicates - contain SiO44- (silicate group)
• Feldspars, the most common crustal mineral
• Al/Si substitution (aluminosilicates)
• Na+, K+, Ca2+ are all found in feldspars

Large size difference - little substitution, K-spar contains little Na

Na+ and Ca2+ close in size. With some Al/Si juggling we find a range of Na/Ca content in plagioclase feldspars.

Fig 2.25