ARCANITE[K2SO4]

Listing description

Arcanite is a potassium sulfate mineral with formula: K₂SO₄.

Arcanite was first described in 1845 for an occurrence in old pine railroad ties in the Santa Ana tin mine, Trabuco Canyon, Santa Ana Mountains, Orange County, California, USA.

Detailed description

 It has also been reported from hydrothermal deposits in the Cesano geothermal field, Latium, Italy; in bat guano on the Chincha Islands of Peru; and in caves in Western Australia, South Africa and Namibia.

PRICE

$25/KG OR $11.36/IB

For more information:

mobile: +2348039721941

contact person: emeaba uche

e-mail: emeabau@yahoo.com

website: www.franchiseminerals.com

ASPHALT CONCRETE

Listing description

Asphalt concrete (commonly called asphalt, blacktop, or pavement in North America, and tarmac or bitumen macadam in Great Britain and Ireland) is a composite material commonly used to surface roads, parking lots, airports, as well as the core of embankment dams.

Detailed description

 It consists of mineral aggregate bound together with asphalt, laid in layers, and compacted. The process was refined and enhanced by Belgian inventor and U.S. immigrant Edward de Smedt.^[3]

The terms "asphalt (or asphaltic) concrete", "bituminous asphalt concrete", and "bituminous mixture" are typically used only in engineering and construction documents, which define concrete as any composite material composed of mineral aggregate adhered with a binder. The abbreviation "AC" is sometimes used for "asphalt concrete" but can also denote "asphalt content" or "asphalt cement", referring to the liquid asphalt portion of the composite material.

PRICE

$350/MT OR $159.09/IB

For more information:

mobile: +2348039721941

contact person: emeaba uche

e-mail: emeabau@yahoo.com

website: www.franchiseminerals.com

BALL CLAYS

Listing description

Ball clays are kaolinitic sedimentary clays that commonly consist of 20-80% kaolinite, 10-25% mica, 6-65% quartz. Localized seams in the same deposit have variations in composition, including the quantity of the major minerals, accessory minerals and carbonaceous materials such as lignite.

Detailed description

They are fine-grained and plastic in nature, and, unlike most earthenware clays, produce a fine quality white-coloured pottery body when fired, which is the key to their popularity with potters.

Ball clays are relatively scarce deposits due to the combination of geological factors needed for their formation and preservation. They are mined in parts of the Eastern United States and from three sites^[2] in Devon and Dorset in South West England.^[3] They are commonly used in the construction of many ceramic articles, where their primary role, apart from their white colour, is to either to impart plasticity or to aid rheological stability during the shaping processes.

History

The name "ball clay" is believed to derive from the time when the clay was mined by hand. It was cut into 15 to 17-kilogram cubes and during transport the corners of the cubes became rounded off leaving "balls".

The ceramic use of ball clays in Britain dates back to at least the Roman era. More recent trade began when a clay was needed to construct tobacco pipes in the 16th and 17th century. In 1771 Josiah Wedgwood signed a contract for 1400 tons a year of ball clay with Thomas Hyde of Purbeck, enabling him to fire thinner walled ceramics.

PRICE

$2.86/KG OR $1.30/IB

For more information:

mobile: +2348039721941

contact person: emeaba uche

e-mail: emeabau@yahoo.com

website: www.franchiseminerals.com

BELITE MINERAL

Listing Description:

Belite is an industrial mineral important in Portland cement manufacture. Its main constituent is dicalcium silicate, Ca₂SiO₄, sometimes formulated as 2 CaO · SiO₂ (C₂S in cement chemist notation).

Detailed Description:

Composition and structure

The belite found in Portland cement differs in composition from pure dicalcium silicate. It is a solid solution and contains minor amounts of other oxides besides CaO and SiO₂. A typical composition:^[3]

Oxide	Mass %
CaO	63.5
SiO2	31.5
Al2O3	2.1
Fe2O3	0.9
MgO	0.5
SO3	0.1
Na2O	0.1
K2O	0.9
TiO2	0.2
P2O5	0.2

Based on this, the formula can be expressed as Ca_1.94Mg_0.02Na_0.01K_0.03Fe_0.02Al_0.07Si_0.90P_0.01O_3.93. In practice, the composition varies with the bulk composition of the clinker, subject to certain limits. Substitution of calcium ions or orthosilicate ions requires that electric charges be kept in balance. For instance, a limited number of orthosilicate (SiO₄⁴⁻) ions can be replaced with sulfate (SO₄²⁻) ions, provided that for each sulfate ion, two aluminate (AlO₄⁵⁻) ions are also substituted.

PRICE

$19.8/KG OR $9/IB

For more information:

mobile: +2348039721941

contact person: emeaba uche

e-mail: emeabau@yahoo.com

website: www.franchiseminerals.com

BIOTITE MICA

Listing description

Biotite is a name used for a large group of black mica minerals that are commonly found in igneous and metamorphic rocks. These include: annite, phlogopite, siderophyllite, fluorophlogopite, fluorannite, eastonite and many others. These micas vary in chemical composition but are all sheet silicate minerals with very similar physical properties.

Detailed description

A generalized chemical composition for the biotite group is: 

K(Mg,Fe)_2-3Al_1-2Si_2-3O₁₀(OH,F)₂

The name "biotite" is used in the field and in entry-level geology courses because these minerals generally can not be distinguished without optical, chemical or x-ray analysis. 

Biotite is a primary mineral found in a wide range of crystalline igneous rocks such as granite, diorite, gabbro, peridotite and pegmatite. It also forms under metamorphic conditions when argillaceous rocks are exposed to heat and pressure to form schist and gneiss. Although biotite is not very resistant to weathering and transforms into clay minerals, it is sometimes found in sediments and sandstones. 

Properties of Biotite

 

Biotite is very easy to identify and with a little experience a person will be able to recognize it on sight. It is a black mica with perfect cleavage and a vitreous luster on the cleavage faces. When biotite is separated into thin sheets, the sheets are flexible but will break upon severe bending. When held up to the light the sheets are transparent to translucent with a brown, gray or greenish color. Experienced observers can sometimes recognize phlogopite by its brown color.

Physical Properties of Biotite
Chemical Classification	dark mica
Color	black, dark green, dark brown
Streak	white to gray, flakes often produced
Luster	vitreous
Diaphaneity	thin sheets are transparent to translucent, books are opaque
Cleavage	basal, perfect
Mohs Hardness	2.5 to 3
Specific Gravity	2.7 to 3.4
Diagnostic Properties	dark color, perfect cleavage
Chemical Composition	K(Mg,Fe)2-3Al1-2Si2-3O10(OH,F)2
Crystal System	monoclinic
Uses	very little industrial use

Biotite Minerals

 

As noted above, biotite is a name used for a number of black mica minerals that have different chemical compositions but very similar physical properties. These minerals generally can not be distinguished from one another without laboratory analysis. A small list of the biotite minerals is given below with their chemical compositions. 

Mineral	Chemical Composition
Annite	KFe3(AlSi3)O10(OH)2
Phlogopite	KMg3(AlSi3)O10(OH)2
Siderophyllite	KFe2Al(Al2Si2)O10(F,OH)2
Eastonite	KMg2Al(Al2Si3)O10(OH)2
Fluorannite	KFe3(AlSi3)O10F2
Fluorophlogopite	KMg3(AlSi3)O10F2

Uses of Biotite

 

Biotite has a small number of commercial uses. Ground mica is used as a filler and extender in paints, as an additive to drilling muds, as an inert filler and mold-release agent in rubber products, and as a non-stick surface coating on asphalt shingles and rolled roofing. It is also used in the potassium-argon and argon-argon methods of dating igneous rocks. 

PRICE

$10/KG OR $4.54/IB

For more information:

mobile: +2348039721941

contact person: emeaba uche

e-mail: emeabau@yahoo.com

website: www.franchiseminerals.com