Physical Properties of Talc Mineral

Talc is one of the most vital industrial minerals and is utilized by humans every day in the form of face and body powders. The word talc actually came from a Greek work, Talq, which means pureness and this is specifically what makes talc such a distinctive mineral. Talc can be found in some essential deposits in Australia, Canada, France, and the United States. Its main uses are for making paper, paints, facial and talcum powders, soap, foundry facings, fireproof roofing, linoleum, lubricants, electric insulation, as well as in pottery. This is a very important secondary mineral produced by the hydrothermal proceedings and local metamorphisms of rocks that are rich in magnesium such as dolomite, amphibolite, pyroxenite, dunite and chlorite. When talc is in its pulverized form it seems whiter when it is looked at. The compressed type of talc is known as soapstone or steatite. The word soapstone was most likely given to it since it does feel like one is grabbing soap. There is also an impure type that is mainly known as potstone, and which is used for carvings, vases, utensils, pots, models etc and this is precisely why it is given the correspondent name as well. There is also what is known as French talc and this the trade name of the form of pulverized talc made of pure white quality that then becomes the base for a lot of cosmetics and toiletry products. Talc is valued because it is very soft, smooth, lubricating and is able to absorb oil and grease so efficiently. It is in addition chemically inert to alkalines and acids. Talc is also a great filler and is able to withstand extreme temperatures up to 1300 degrees C. and it has low thermal and electrical conductivity. And best thing of all is that talc can be easily cut and powdered down and well as cut into any size or shape. This is what makes talc so valuable given that it is used for a great number of industrial applications. Talc can be found in three different forms which are fibrous, non-fibrous and massive. The fibrous type is made up of rich amounts of tremolite, anthophyllite, and serpentine. The non-fibrous type is made up mainly of carbonates and serpentine, and the fibrous type is a little bit complicated to grind.

Talc in most case occurs somewhat associated with minerals that are magnesium rich. Anthophyllite, dipside, tremolite, dolomite, and on occasions calcite and quartz are the minerals that are most commonly found along with talc. Talc is found like soft mass that has the appearance of strands, lenses and vein looking bodies that are enclosed in dolomite country rock. The veins differ in their dimensions and can be very small and on some occasions very large, in most cases twenty five to forty meters long and twelve to around eighteen meters in length, however it has been mined down to twenty meters in depth. Lenses of soapstone are divided by dolomite and dolomite can also be found trapped inside the soapstone mass.