In geology, a heavy mineral is a

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...

with a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...

that is greater than 2.9 g/cm³, most commonly referring to dense components of

siliciclastic Siliciclastic (or ''siliclastic'') rocks are clastic noncarbonate sedimentary rocks that are composed primarily of silicate minerals, such as quartz or clay minerals. Siliciclasic rock types include mudrock, sandstone Sandstone is a clastic ...

sediments. A heavy mineral suite is the relative percentages of heavy minerals in a stone. Heavy mineral suites are used to help determine the

provenance Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...

and history of

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

s. As heavy minerals are a minor constituent of most sedimentary rock, they must be separated out to be studied. Heavy mineral separation generally uses a dense liquid in either a separatory funnel or

centrifuge A centrifuge is a device that uses centrifugal force to separate various components of a fluid. This is achieved by spinning the fluid at high speed within a container, thereby separating fluids of different densities (e.g. cream from milk) or ...

. Liquids used include

bromoform Bromoform (CHBr3) is a brominated organic solvent, colorless liquid at room temperature, with a high refractive index, very high density, and sweet odor is similar to that of chloroform. It is one of the four haloforms, the others being fluoroform, ...

, tetrabromoethane, tribromoethane,

methylene iodide Diiodomethane or methylene iodide, commonly abbreviated "MI", is an organoiodine compound. Diiodomethane is a colorless liquid; however, it decomposes upon exposure to light liberating iodine, which colours samples brownish. It is slightly solubl ...

, and polytungstate liquids.

References

Petrology Sedimentology {{petrology-stub