Syllabus

Physical and optical properties of minerals: General introduction. [3 Hours]

Megascopic identification of rock forming minerals and ore minerals in hand specimen. [12 Hours]

Microscopic identification of rock forming minerals in thin sections. [15 Hours]

Mineral chemistry and structural formula calculations using the mineral analysis data; Conversion of formula units into oxide wt% and normalization procedures. [6 Hours]

To train students in the megascopic and microscopic identification of rock-forming and ore minerals, and to develop skills in interpreting mineral properties.

To impart hands-on experience in mineral chemical data handling, including structural formula calculation and oxide normalization for mineralogical interpretation.

To describe and identify common rock-forming and ore minerals using physical properties in hand samples.

Recognize and distinguish minerals under the petrographic microscope based on optical characteristics.

Mineral formula calculation and identification of minerals from analytical data.

Apply megascopic and microscopic mineral identification skills in geological sample interpretation.

Demonstrate competency in integrating mineralogical observations with mineral chemistry for geoscientific problem-solving.

Williams, H., Turner, F.J. and Gilbert, C.M. , Petrography- An Introduction to the Study of Rocks in Thin Sections, W.H.Freeman and Company , 1954

Kerr, P.F. , Optical Mineralogy, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. , 1959

Mason, B., & Berry, L. G., Elements of Mineralogy., W.H. Freeman. , 1968

Deer, W.A., Howie, R.A., & Zussman, J., An Introduction to the Rock-Forming Minerals., Longman. , 1992

Cornelius Klein, Minerals and Rocks-Exercises in Crystallography, Mineralogy and Hand Specimen Petrology, 1994

Nesse, W. D., Introduction to Mineralogy., Oxford University Press , 2011