Carbonatite
A species of Igneous Scientific name : Carbonatite RockType : Igneous
Carbonatite, A species of Igneous
Scientific name: Carbonatite
RockType: Igneous
Content
Description People often ask General Info
Photo By James St. John , used under CC-BY-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original 
Description
Carbonatite has a marble-like appearance and is often associated with continental rifts. Though most people don’t interact with or see carbonatite on a daily basis, it has significant commercial importance. The rock may contain large quantities of various rare earth elements including titanium, copper, iron, uranium, niobium, and phosphorus. It is therefore mined in many places around the world.
Physical Properties
Colors
Black, Brown, Colourless, Green, Grey, Pink, White
Texture
Phaneritic
Chemical Properties
People often ask
General Info
Usage
Carbonatite is considered a major source of valuable rare earth elements, including lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, and neodymium. However, this rock is only rarely found on the earth's surface, and as such has no uses in and of itself, though the elements harvested from carbonatite, including metals such as copper and titanium, are important for industrial uses.
Composition
Carbonatite is composed predominantly of carbonate minerals and extremely unusual in its major element composition as compared to silicate igneous rocks, obviously because it is composed primarily of Na2O and CaO plus CO2. Most carbonatites tend to include some silicate mineral fraction; by definition an igneous rock containing >50% carbonate minerals is classified as a carbonatite. Silicate minerals associated with such compositions are pyroxene, olivine, and silica-undersaturated minerals such as nepheline and other feldspathoids.
Types
Dozens of carbonatites are known including:
- the Bearpaw Mountains, Montana
- the Oka and Saint-Honoré, Quebec;
- Gem Park and Iron Hill, Colorado;
- Magnet Cove igneous complex, Arkansas;
- Mountain Pass, California;
- the Palabora Complex near Phalaborwa, South Africa;
- Jacupiranga, Brazil;
- Ayopaya, Bolivia;
- Cerro Impacto, Venezuela
- Kovdor and Vischnevogorsk, Russia,
- Amba Dongar and Newania from India;
- Maz, Argentina
- the Mud Tank and Mount Weld, Australia;
- the Fen Complex, Norway;
- part of the basal complex of Fuerteventura, Spain;
- the Avon Volcanic District, Missouri.
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