80 - Graphite

Hello friends, Welcome to the Mineral Repository at the Department of Geology, Shivaji Science College, Nagpur. 

I am Graphite, a very familiar mineral to you. I am a form of carbon arranged in a crystalline structure. I am  grey to black in colour , metallic - looking and opaque mineral. I am one of the softest minerals and I am very greasy in texture. I am a good conductor of electricity and heat. I have a layered structure, with each layer consisting of hexagonally arranged carbon atoms. I commonly occur with metamorphic rocks such as schists and gneiss and I also occur in igneous rocks such as granite and in hydrothermal veins. My primary use is in pencils. I am used in  lubricants, crucibles, foundry facings, polishes, brushes for electric motors, and cores of nuclear reactors. My high thermal and electrical conductivity make me  a key part of steelmaking, where Used as electrodes in electric arc furnaces.

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