Pegmatite Facts
Pegmatite Facts
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Interesting Pegmatite Facts: |
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Crystals of pegmatite grow large because of the extreme conditions of crystallization. Basically, the presence of residual water has allowed the magma to cool slowly to permit coarse crystal growth. |
Complex pegmatites result because of the presence exotic volatiles such as chlorine, fluorine, and carbon dioxide. |
The extreme conditions may produce crystals many feet in length and may weigh more than a ton. |
An example of a very large crystal of spodumene is at the Etta Mine in South Dakota. It was 42 feet long, 5 feet in diameter, and yielded about 90 tons of spodumene. |
Pegmatite also forms in small pockets along the margins of a batholith leading to pegmatite dikes. It will form from waters that separate from a magma in the late stages of crystallization. |
The dikes and pockets are small in size, taking place underground following a dike or a small pocket. Pegmatites usually do not support large mining operations. |
Rare elements concentrated in large crystals may make pegmatite a potential source of valuable ore. Pegmatite deposits may also contain gemstones, industrial minerals, and rare minerals. |
Overall pegmatite rock has very few uses. |
It has limited use as an architectural stone and is sometimes encountered in a dimension stone quarry that is producing granite. |
Pegmatite, if sound and appealing, might be cut into slabs, polished, and used for building facades, countertops, tile, or other decorative stone products. |
Pegmatite is most often sold commercially as a granite product. |
The gemstones found in pegmatite include apatite, aquamarine, beryl, emerald, garnet, topaz, zircon, kunzite, and many others. Many are excellent-quality and are large crystals. |
Pegmatite is the host rock for numerous mineral deposits and can be the commercial sources of beryllium, bismuth, tin, titanium, tungsten, niobium, and many other elements. |
Large sheets of mica are often mined from pegmatite and used to make components electronic devices, circuit boards, optical filters, detector windows, and many other products. |
Pegmatite is also used as a primary ingredient for making glass and ceramics, and as a filler for many other products. |
Pegmatites occur in all parts of the world and are the most abundant in rocks of relatively great geologic age. |
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