The process of mineral formation is known as crystallization. In order for a mineral to crystallize, ions from the nearby environment must be brought together. The most common methods are for minerals to form from the cooling of a liquid like molten lava from a volcano, hot liquids in caves or cracks, or from evaporation of a lake or sea.
There might be a rare exception or two but two general processes create most minerals: freezing from a melt or precipitating from solution. As molten magma cools, either at depth or at the surface, specific minerals freeze out at a given/pressure. As the magma cools further, other minerals freeze. This changes the composition of the remaining molten material and some high-temperature minerals may re-dissolve in the cooler melt. Most common minerals result from cooling melts. Geothermal and surface waters (and to some extent carbon dioxide) always contain dissolved substances and these can precipitate out as the temperature, pressure, pH, dissolved concentrations etc. change. Sometimes this precipitation is biologically mediated, for instance, limestone is precipitated from seawater by various organisms. Many of the more rare and unusual minerals, especially metal ore minerals, are formed by hydrothermal precipitation. Many minerals, quartz, for instance, can form either way.
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The process of mineral formation is known as crystallization. In order for a mineral to crystallize, ions from the nearby environment must be brought together. The most common methods are for minerals to form from the cooling of a liquid like molten lava from a volcano, hot liquids in caves or cracks, or from evaporation of a lake or sea.
How Are Minerals Formed
There might be a rare exception or two but two general processes create most minerals: freezing from a melt or precipitating from solution. As molten magma cools, either at depth or at the surface, specific minerals freeze out at a given/pressure. As the magma cools further, other minerals freeze. This changes the composition of the remaining molten material and some high-temperature minerals may re-dissolve in the cooler melt. Most common minerals result from cooling melts. Geothermal and surface waters (and to some extent carbon dioxide) always contain dissolved substances and these can precipitate out as the temperature, pressure, pH, dissolved concentrations etc. change. Sometimes this precipitation is biologically mediated, for instance, limestone is precipitated from seawater by various organisms. Many of the more rare and unusual minerals, especially metal ore minerals, are formed by hydrothermal precipitation. Many minerals, quartz, for instance, can form either way.
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