Because it is so hard and dense, quartzite has not been quarried as extensively as other softer dimension stone such as limestone, sandstone and granite. Since quartzite breaks into flat surfaces, it is used as a dimension stone in the construction industry, for decorative stone in building construction and for some aggregates.
Skip to content Return to Minerals Database. Quartzite also tends to have a sugary appearance and glassy lustre. The variety of colours displayed by quartzite are a consequence of minor amounts of impurities being incorporated with the quartz during metamorphism.
Another rock commonly confused with quartzite is marble. Both quartzite and marble tend to be pale-colored, non-foliated rock. Despite having a similar appearance, marble is a metamorphic rock made from recrystallized carbonate minerals, not silicates.
Marble is softer than quartzite. An excellent test to distinguish the two is to apply a bit of vinegar or lemon juice to the rock. Quartzite is impervious to weak acid etching, but marble will bubble and retain a mark.
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Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph. Chemistry Expert. They can be attractive and durable with a cost comparable to natural materials. Read the marketing materials prepared by the manufacturer. Quartzite can be an extremely durable crushed stone that is suitable for use in the most demanding applications. Its soundness and abrasion resistance are superior to most other materials.
Unfortunately, the same durability that makes quartzite a superior construction material also limits its use. Its hardness and toughness cause heavy wear on crushers, screens, truck beds, cutting tools, loaders, tires, tracks, drill bits, and other equipment. As a result, the use of quartzite is mainly limited to geographic areas where other aggregates are not available.
Quartzite is valued as a raw material because of its high silica content. These are mined and used to manufacture glass, ferrosilicon, manganese ferrosilicon, silicon metal, silicon carbide, and other materials.
Quartzite can be a very attractive stone when it is colored by inclusions. Inclusions of fuchsite a green chromium-rich variety of muscovite mica can give quartzite a pleasing green color. If the quartzite is semitransparent to translucent, the flat flakes of mica can reflect light to produce a glittering luster known as aventurescence.
Material that displays this property is known as " aventurine ," a popular material used to produce beads, cabochons, tumbled stones , and small ornaments. Aventurine can be pink or red when stained with iron. Included dumortierite produces a blue color. Other inclusions produce white, gray, orange, or yellow aventurine. Quartzite has been used by humans to make stone tools for over one million years. It was mainly used for impact tools, but its conchoidal fracture allowed it to be broken to form sharp edges.
Broken pieces of quartzite were used for crude cutting and chopping tools. Quartzite was not the preferred material for producing cutting tools such as knife blades and projectile points - but it has been used. Flint , chert , jasper, agate , and obsidian all can be knapped to produce fine cutting edges, which are difficult to produce when working quartzite. Quartzite was most frequently used when it was locally abundant and superior materials were rare or not available.
Article by: Hobart M. Find Other Topics on Geology. Maps Volcanoes World Maps. What Is Quartzite? Hardness Picks. Rock, Mineral and Fossil Collections. Flint, Chert, and Jasper. Tumbled Stones. Fluorescent Minerals. Lapis Lazuli. Rocks: Galleries of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rock photos with descriptions.
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