Understanding Commercial Granite

Stone dealers lump a wide variety of rock types under the broad category called granite. Commercial granite is any crystalline rock that is harder than marble with large mineral grains. Lets unpack that statement: Crystalline Rock Crystalline rock is a rock that consists of mineral grains that are tightly intergrown and locked together, making a tough, impervious surface. Crystalline rocks are made of grains that have grown together at high temperature and pressure, rather than being made of existing sediment grains that have been cemented together under gentler conditions. That is, they are igneous or metamorphic rocks rather than sedimentary rocks. This differentiates commercial granite from commercial sandstone and limestone. Comparison to Marble Marble is crystalline and metamorphic, but it consists largely of the soft mineral calcite (hardness 3 on the Mohs scale). Granite instead consists of much harder minerals, mostly feldspar and quartz (Mohs hardness 6 and 7 respectively). This differentiates commercial granite from commercial marble and travertine. Commercial Granite Versus True Granite Commercial granite has its minerals in large, visible grains (hence the name granite). This differentiates it from commercial slate, greenstone, and basalt in which the mineral grains are microscopic. To geologists, true granite is a far more specific rock type. Yes, it is crystalline, hard, and has visible grains. But beyond that, it is a plutonic igneous rock, formed at great depths from an original fluid and not from the metamorphism of another rock. Its light-colored minerals consist of 20% to 60% quartz, and its feldspar content is no less than 35% alkali feldspar and no more than 65% plagioclase feldspar. Other than that it can contain any amount (up to 90%) of dark minerals such as biotite, hornblende, and pyroxene. This differentiates granite from diorite, gabbro, granodiorite, anorthosite, andesite, pyroxenite, syenite, gneiss, and schist, but all of these excluded rock types can be sold as commercial granite. The important thing about commercial granite is that whatever its mineral composition, it is rugged (suitable for hard use, takes a good polish and resists scratches and acids) and attractive with its granular texture. You really do know it when you see it.