What is difference between pegmatite and granite?

Pegmatite is chemically identical to granite, but has a much coarser crystal structure. Common colors are gray, white, and pink. Pegmatite is quarried for decorative stone and as a source of beryllium, columbium and tantalum when these are present.

Is pegmatite a granite?

Most pegmatites have a composition that is similar to granite with abundant quartz, feldspar, and mica. These are sometimes called “granite pegmatites” to indicate their mineralogical composition.

Are pegmatite and granite are made of the same minerals?

Most pegmatites have a simple composition, often being composed entirely of minerals common in granite, such as feldspar, mica, and quartz.

What type of rock is pegmatite?

Pegmatites. Pegmatites are intrusive igneous rocks. They produce a greater range of gemstones than any other rock type and have also been the source of some of the largest gemstones ever mined.

Where are pegmatites found?

Pegmatite is found in all over the world. They are most abundant old rocks. Some are found in large intrusive igneous rocks, while others are scattered over rocks surrounding intrusive magmatic rocks. Worldwide, notable pegmatite occurrences are within the major cratons, and within greenschist-facies metamorphic belts.

What defines a pegmatite?

pegmatite, almost any wholly crystalline igneous rock that is at least in part very coarse grained, the major constituents of which include minerals typically found in ordinary igneous rocks and in which extreme textural variations, especially in grain size, are characteristic.

What Colour is pegmatite?

Pegmatite in which the main ingredients are biotite mica (black), microcline (pink), oligoclase (white), and quartz (gray). The rock has a monzogranitic composition.

Is pegmatite a rock or mineral?

Pegmatites are intrusive igneous rocks. They produce a greater range of gemstones than any other rock type and have also been the source of some of the largest gemstones ever mined.

How are granite and pegmatite similar?

They are extreme because they contain exceptionally large crystals and they sometimes contain minerals that are rarely found in other types of rocks. Most pegmatites have a composition that is similar to granite (granite pegmatites) with abundant quartz, feldspar, and mica.

Is pegmatite basaltic or granitic?

It is the intrusive equivalent of basalt. An igneous rock with very large (usually > one inch), well-formed crystals. A granitic pegmatite has the mineralogy of a granite and abnormally large grains, whereas a gabbroic pegmatite has the mineralogy of a gabbro and very large grains.

What type of rock is a pegmatite?