earth science

Halide mineral

Halide mineral is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Halide mineral rather than just read about it. In short: Halide minerals are those minerals with a dominant halide anion (F−, Cl−, Br− and I−). Complex halide minerals may also have polyatomic anions.

Key takeaways

Halide mineral belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Halide mineral to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Halide mineral from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Halide minerals are those minerals with a dominant halide anion (F−, Cl−, Br− and I−). Complex halide minerals may also have polyatomic anions.

Examples include the following:

Atacamite Cu2Cl(OH)3 Avogadrite (K,Cs)BF Bararite (β)(NH4)2SiF6 Bischofite MgCl2·6H2O Brüggenite Ca(IO3)2(H2O) Calomel HgCl Carnallite KMgCl3·6H2O Carnallite KMgCl·6H2O Cerargyrite/Horn silver AgCl Chlorargyrite AgCl, bromargyrite AgBr, and iodargyrite AgI Cryolite Na3AlF6 Cryptohalite (a)(NH4)2SiF6 Dietzeite Ca2(IO3)2CrO4 Eglestonite Hg4OCl2 Embolite AgCl+AgBr Eriochalcite CuCl2·2H2O Fluorite CaF2 Halite NaCl Lautarite Ca(IO3)2 Marshite CuI Miersite AgI Nantokite CuCl Sal Ammoniac NH4Cl Sylvite KCl Terlinguaite Hg2OCl Tolbachite CuCl2 Villiaumite NaF Yttrocerite (Ca,Y,Ce)F2 Yttrofluorite (Ca,Y)F2 Zavaritskite (BiO)F Many of these minerals are water-soluble and are often found in arid areas in crusts and other deposits as are various borates, nitrates, iodates, bromates and the like. Others, such as the fluorite group, are not water-soluble. As a collective whole, simple halide minerals (containing fluorine through iodine, alkali metals, alkaline Earth metals, in addition to other metals/cations) occur abundantly at the surface of the Earth in a variety of geologic settings. More complex minerals as shown below are also found.

Commercially significant halide minerals Two commercially important halide minerals are halite and fluorite. The former is a major source of sodium chloride, in parallel with sodium chloride extracted from sea water or brine wells. Fluorite is a major source of hydrogen fluoride, complementing the supply obtained as a byproduct of the production of fertilizer. Carnallite and bischofite are important sources of magnesium. Natural cryolite was historically required for the production of aluminium, however, currently most cryolite used is produced synthetically. Many of the halide minerals occur in marine evaporite deposits. Other geologic occurrences include arid environments such as deserts. The Atacama Desert has large quantities of halide minerals as well as chlorates, iodates, oxyhalides, nitrates, borates and other water-soluble minerals. Not only do those minerals occur in subsurface geologic deposits, they also form crusts on the Earth's surface due to the low rainfall (the Atacama is the world's driest desert as well as one of the oldest at 25 million years of age).

Nickel–Strunz Classification -03- Halides IMA-CNMNC proposes a new hierarchical scheme (Mills et al., 2009). This list uses the Classification of Nickel–Strunz (mindat.org, 10 ed, pending publication).

Abbreviations

REE: rare-earth element (Sc, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu) PGE: platinum-group element (Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, Pt) * : discredited (IMA/CNMNC status) ? : questionable/doubtful (IMA/CNMNC status) Regarding 03.C Aluminofluorides, 06 Borates, 08 Vanadates (04.H V[5,6] Vanadates), 09 Silicates:

neso-: insular (from Greek νῆσος nêsos, "island") soro-: grouped (from Greek σωρός sōrós, "heap, pile, mound") cyclo-: ringed (from Greek κύκλος kúklos, "circle") ino-: chained (from Greek ίνα ína, "fibre", [from Ancient Greek ἴς]) phyllo-: sheeted (from Greek φῠ́λλον phúllon, "leaf") tecto-: of three-dimensional framework (from Greek τεκτονικός tektōnikós, "of building") Nickel–Strunz code scheme: NN.XY.##x

NN: Nickel–Strunz mineral class number X: Nickel–Strunz mineral division letter Y: Nickel–Strunz mineral family letter ##x: Nickel–Strunz mineral/group number; x an add-on letter

Class: halides

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Halide mineral

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Halide mineral claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Halide mineral before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Halide mineral ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Halide mineral

In research: Halide mineral appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Halide mineral in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Halide mineral is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Halide minerals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Halide mineral outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Halide mineral in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Halide mineral means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Halide mineral out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Halide mineral in simple terms?

Halide minerals are those minerals with a dominant halide anion (F−, Cl−, Br− and I−). Complex halide minerals may also have polyatomic anions.

Why does Halide mineral matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Halide mineral?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Halide mineral.