Feldspar

Feldspar



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Feldspar is often light colored and a level 6 hardness on Moh's scale. Feldspar breaks in a neat manor, and when broken down completely, turns into a clay like material. It has a perfect cleavage (splits along definite crystals) yet is brittle. Feldspar is a combination of things and thus comes in many different forms.=====

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70% of Feldspar in the world is used in the making of various glass products. The other 30% of Feldspar harvested is used to make ceramics. Feldspar makes glass more profitable as it expands the amount produced. For ceramics it is very useful because it makes the ceramic more durable.=====

The United States uses 45 million dollars worth of feldspar annual. A little over half of this Feldspar is produced in North Carolina!
Feldspar is the most common mineral and is found in all three types of rocks: sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic, but are most common in igneous. 60% of earth’s crust is made of feldspar. To extract it, rocks containing feldspar are crushed and grinded; there is not really a standard method to extract it, especially since feldspar is found in so many rocks. Nepheline (syentites), volcanic rocks, mica, garnet, magnetite, pumice, and others can be used as substitutes.

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http://www.geology.enr.state.nc.us/Mineral%20resources/feldmod.html Carpenter, R.H., Schalanz, J.W. and Carpentar, P.A., III, 1995, Potential Feldspar resources in north-central North Carolina: North Carolina Dept, of Environment Accessed February, 24, 2012=====

"feldspar." // Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online //. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <[] >.

Industrial Mineral Association of North America: []