Serpentinite

Classification：Metamorphic Rock

Metamorphism of ultrabasic rocks resulted in serpentinization of olivine and pyroxene in the original rocks, and common minerals such as chlorite, talc and magnesite.

 

Brief introduction:
Serpentinite is a general term for hydrous magnesium rich silicate minerals, such as ye Serpentinite, Li Serpentinite, and Serpentinite etc. The color of their general often green, but there are also green, gray, white or yellow. Serpentinite because they are often green and white like snakeskin, hence the name.
Serpentine in large ultrabasic rocks is often distributed on the top of a rock mass, with a cap like or distributed on the edge of the rock mass, and sometimes it is also vein or irregular. The smaller rock mass often turns into serpentine. The minerals related to serpentine are chromium, nickel, cobalt, platinum, asbestos, talc, magnesite and so on. The serpentine is also a good fertilizer ingredient.
Formation:
The serpentine rocks are mainly derived from ultrabasic rocks by metasomatism of low mesothermal hydrothermal fluids, forming [1] of Serpentinite in olivine and pyroxene in the original rocks.

Components:
The chemical formula is Mg6[Si4O10] (OH) 8, of which w (MgO) =43.6%, w (SiO2) =43.3%, w (H2O) =13.1%, sometimes mixed with a small amount of FeO, MgO, and other components. In mineralogy, Serpentinite is used as the general name of Serpentinite minerals, which include [2], leaf Serpentinite, fiber Serpentinite (i.e. Serpentinite asbestos) and so on.
MgO can reach up to 40% and has strong heat resistance.
Features：
Serpentinite is dark green, dark green or yellow green, uneven color, soft, slippery feeling. The most common is cryptic crystal structure, microscopic scale, microcrystalline or fibrous crystal structure, dense block or banded, metasomatic breccia structure. Mineral composition is relatively simple, mainly composed of various Serpentinite.
Serpentinite with dark green, dark green, yellow green, and the snake like green, green stripes, bright color. Serpentine is dense, hard and delicate, and has the characteristics of engraving, fire resistance, corrosion resistance, sound insulation and heat insulation. The hardness of massive serpentine is 2.5 to 3.5, and its density is 2.5 to 2.62g/cm3, with shell or stagger fracture. Serpentine can decompose in acidic medium, releasing Mg, Si and various trace elements.

Distribution in our country:
The mineral resources of the serpentine rock are very abundant in China. Most of them are serpentine deposits of ultrabasic rocks. They have many features, such as large deposits, large scale, wide distribution and good texture conditions. As of 1995, more than 50 serpent rock mining areas have been found and explored in China, mainly in Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Fujian and other provinces and regions. Large and medium-sized deposits are distributed in these provinces. The proven serpentine ore reserves are nearly 12 billion T, mainly concentrated in the western part of China, and only 80% of the total ore reserves in Northwest China.
There is no uniform classification standard for SERPENTINIC deposits in China. According to Chinese experts, most of the serpentine deposits are in ultrabasic rocks. They are classified into two causes: self metamorphism and metamorphism. According to petrochemistry characteristics, it can be divided into three types: Magnesia ultrabasic rocks, iron rich ultrabasic rocks and calcium mafic ultrabasic rocks.
According to the large number of ultrabasic rocks in China, the serpentine ore mineralization is mainly related to the distribution of ultrabasic rocks, controlled by the structure and rock types. At the same time, China is divided into two major metallogenic regions according to the structural characteristics, rock types and the distribution of ore deposits, and the Eastern Jing is 105 degrees as the boundary, and the Western ore-forming area is rich in magnesia rich ultrabasic and magnesia iron. The ultrabasic rocks are metallogenic characteristics, while the eastern part is a metallogenic region dominated by iron, calcium, magnesium and iron ultrabasic rocks. The distribution characteristics of ultrabasic rocks basically indicate the distribution characteristics of serpentine deposits, which are characterized by the distribution of belts.

Application:
The serpentine is a good fertilizer ingredient. Serpentine is an important raw material for metallurgical industry and chemical industry. Because of many changes in texture, the beautiful snake rock is often selected as an ornamental stone. The famous Laoshan serpentine is one of the ornamental stones in China.
Serpentine mine in China is mainly used in three aspects.
(1) using the optical effect of serpentine, it is used for building decoration materials and jade materials.
(2) the application of serpentine to high temperature resistance is applied to refractory materials.
(3) using the chemical and physical properties of the crystal of serpentine, the chemical and physical properties are developed and used to produce chemical fertilizer, magnesia porcelain, metallurgical flux material, light Magnesium Oxide and porous silicon oxide, medicine and so on.
The calcination of serpentine and apatite or phosphorite can be made of calcium magnesium phosphate. In addition to the main components Mg and Si, serpentine also contains Ni, Cr, Co, Mn, Ti, Cu and many other trace elements, such as the use of serpent rock alone in farmland, and can play a long-term effect of micro fertilizer. Using serpentine as a burden for producing calcium magnesium phosphate and calcium magnesium phosphorus potassium fertilizer, it has good effect of long acting fertilizer, and it is a good fertilizer for stabilizing production.
Serpentine is an important resource of magnesium and silicon, and light Magnesium Oxide and porous silicon can be produced from it. The purity of light Magnesium Oxide can reach 97%, which is an important raw material of neoprene: porous oxide silicon has SiO2 content of 93%, which is widely used for adsorption materials. Besides, magnesium containing higher serpentine can extract magnesium.
Serpentine, as an important raw material for Mg and Si and its easy to acid corrosion, as well as a number of metal elements, color, texture and processing advantages in the serpentine rock, has become an important non-metallic mineral. It has extensive role in the fields of chemical, agricultural, building materials, metallurgy and environmental protection, and its resources and application prospects. Considerable.