Environmental Mineralogy

(3-4 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This module explains how minerals and rocks can be identified using the transmitted polarising light microscope. The optical classification of crystals is used to explore the optical properties that aid in the identification of the rock forming minerals in thin section e.g. refractive index, relief, pleochroism, interference colours and extinction. This is followed by introductory petrographic studies of typical mineral assemblages and textures in igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. The petrographic studies utilise both in-house sessions with microscopes and rock thin sections, and the Virtual Microscope online learning environment. Students carry out the work on the Virtual Microscope outside of a timetabled class. SU - Stellenbosch University 224 (16) Introduction to Mineralogy (3L, 3P) Introduction to mineralogy and crystallography; mineral chemistry; chemical families of minerals; mineral identification, properties and classification.