In geology, a heavy mineral is a

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

with a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

that is greater than 2.9 g/cm³, most commonly referring to dense components of siliciclastic sediments. A heavy mineral suite is the relative percentages of heavy minerals in a stone. Heavy mineral suites are used to help determine the

provenance Provenance () is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including archaeology, p ...

and history of

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...

s. As heavy minerals are a minor constituent of most sedimentary rock, they must be separated out to be studied. Heavy mineral separation generally uses a dense liquid in either a separatory funnel or centrifuge. Liquids used include bromoform, tetrabromoethane, tribromoethane, methylene iodide, and polytungstate liquids.

References

Petrology Sedimentology {{petrology-stub