Black mica is getting popular at present. This is known as biotite and it’s a common silicate mineral. This has shiny surfaces and like all the mica, this splits into think flakes having a great cleavage. Black mica is a type of mineral, which can be found in igneous rocks like granites and metamorphic rocks.
Black mica is also known as a sheet silicate. Silicon, iron, magnesium, oxygen, and hydrogen form into sheets that are bond together in weak way through the help of potassium ions. This is sometimes called as the iron mica because this contain more iron when compared to the phlogopite. This was also known asg black mica. It is because to make a difference from white mica.
When it comes to the properties of the black mica, like several mica, this has basal cleavage. It also consists of flexible sheets or lamellae, which flake off quickly. This has a system of monoclinic crystal with prismatic and tabular crystal, which comes with pinacoid termination. This has 4 prism face and 2 pinacoid faces to create a pseudohexagonal crystal.
Although this is not easily seen because of sheets and cleavage, the fracture may not be even. This also appears greenish to black or brown. Sometimes, it is yellow when it is weathered. This can be also transparent to opaque and has a pearly and vitreous luster. There are cases that black mica is found in large chunks. This is called books because of its form that has numerous pages of sheets.
As what was mentioned earlier, black mica is sometimes found in several metamorphic as well as igneous rocks. As an example, this occurs in the lava. This is a vital phenocryst in various forms of lamprophyre. This is also found in big cleavable crystals especially in the pegmatite veins like in the state of Virginia, North Carolina, and much more. Some renowned black mica occurrences were also seen in Sudbury and Bancroft. This is also an essential constituent of the metamorphic schists. This makes a good composition under varied pressure and temperature.
Majority of experts continue their studies and research about black mica as they know that this can be a beneficial mineral in the coming years. Currently, there are some companies who turned this into an extract, which can be used in various purposes. So, if you want to try what black mica, never hesitate to consider the black mica extract as this can be useful to anyone.
