Practical Natural Stone

Quartz is a hard white or colorless mineral consisting of silicon dioxide, found widely in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. It is often colored by impurities (as in amethyst, citrine, and cairngorm). Quartz is one of the most prevalent minerals involved in the formation of rocks. It is also an essential component in the crust of the earth. Quartz ranges from transparent to translucent to opaque. It may be with or without color.

Slate is a fine-grained metamorphic rock easily split into smooth, flat pieces. Slate occurs in such colors as black, blue, green, purple, red, and grey. It is mainly composed of clay minerals, quartz, muscovite or illite, pyrite, and feldspar. Because of its cleavage and grain, slate readily breaks into sheets. is generally used in construction for roofs, tiles, and flooring.

Limestone is a hard sedimentary rock, composed mainly of calcium carbonate or dolomite, used as building material and in the making of cement. Limestone is generally white, but may exhibit a number of hues including blue, brown, black, grey, red, or yellow. These colors can be caused by impurities such as iron oxide and carbon. Though many limestones are alike in chemical make-up, the intricate basis of carbonate sediments results in an extreme diversity of substances composing these types of sedimentary rock.