Chlorite Minerals: An Overview
What are Chlorite Minerals?
Chlorites are a group of complex silicate minerals characterised by their green colour and sheet-like structure.
They're composed of various chemical elements, including silicon, oxygen, magnesium, aluminium, iron, and hydrogen.
Chlorite minerals are commonly found in metamorphic rocks, where they form under low to medium-grade metamorphic conditions. They can also occur as alteration products of other minerals.
Chlorite minerals typically have a platy or flaky appearance, which can help with their identification.
Although it's not difficult to identify a mineral in the chlorite group, identifying exactly what type of mineral it is can be more challenging because of the group's chemical variability and similar physical properties.
The word 'chlorite' comes from the Greek word 'khloris', meaning green, greenish-yellow or pale green, reflecting the characteristic colour of these minerals.
