File:Blue halite (Prairie Evaporite Formation, Middle Devonian; Potash Saskatchewan-Lanigan Mine, Saskatchewan, Canada) 2.jpg

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English: Blue halite from the Devonian of Canada. (~2.9 centimeters across at its widest)

A mineral is a naturally-occurring, solid, inorganic, crystalline substance having a fairly definite chemical composition and having fairly definite physical properties. At its simplest, a mineral is a naturally-occurring solid chemical. Currently, there are over 5600 named and described minerals - about 200 of them are common and about 20 of them are very common. Mineral classification is based on anion chemistry. Major categories of minerals are: elements, sulfides, oxides, halides, carbonates, sulfates, phosphates, and silicates.

The halides are the "salt minerals", and have one or more of the following anions: Cl-, F-, I-, Br-.

Halite is true salt, which consists of sodium chloride (NaCl). This is the same chemical long used as flavoring on food & as a preservative. It has a nonmetallic luster, typically clearish/coloress, and is relatively soft (H = 2.5). Halite forms cubic crystals and has cubic cleavage (= 3 cleavage planes meeting at 90º angles). Halite is most readily identified by its strongly salty taste.

Halite has economic value. In addition to its use in food, salt is traditionally used in large quantities in wintertime to prevent roadways from icing up. Halite is principally mined from ancient rock salt successions. Rock salt is a chemical sedimentary rock composed of halite and formed by evaporation of seawater.

The blue coloration in the halite seen here is the result of radiation from potassium-40 in nearby "potash" salts (= sylvite). Irradiation ultimately results in excess free sodium metal in the halite, turning it blue.

Stratigraphy: Prairie Evaporite Formation, upper Elk Point Group, Middle Devonian

Locality: Potash Saskatchewan-Lanigan Mine (PCS-Lanigan Mine), near the town of Lanigan, south-central Saskatchewan, Canada


Photo gallery of halite:

www.mindat.org/gallery.php?min=1804
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Source https://www.flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/50703984678/
Author James St. John

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This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
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This image was originally posted to Flickr by James St. John at https://flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/50703984678. It was reviewed on 11 December 2020 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

11 December 2020

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current16:20, 11 December 2020Thumbnail for version as of 16:20, 11 December 20201,546 × 1,238 (1.25 MB)Ser Amantio di Nicolao (talk | contribs)Uploaded a work by James St. John from https://www.flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/50703984678/ with UploadWizard

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