Pyrophyllite

Product Description

Pyrophyllite:
Two different minerals with similar physical properties are talc and pyrophyllite. Their physical properties are nearly identical. Both are very soft: talc is the softest mineral on the Mohs' hardness scale at 1, and pyrophyllite is 1 to 2. Because they are so soft, they can be easily cut and crushed. Archaeological discoveries have shown that talc was carved in ancient Babylonia to make signature seals. Chinese “soapstone” carvings are carved from fine-grained pyrophyllite.

Both talc and pyrophyllite have perfect cleavage in one direction. This means that these minerals break into thin sheets. As a result, both feel greasy to the touch (which is why talc is used as a lubricant). They are both formed in metamorphic environments as the result of changes in silica-rich dolomite.

Steatite and soapstone are impure, massive forms of talc that lack the distinctive cleavage mentioned above.