Mineralogy, Chemistry, and Reaction Kinetics of the Major Carbonate Phases

Abstract

Among the carbon-containing minerals, the carbonates are by far the most abundant in the outer shell of the Earth. Elemental carbon, in the mineral forms of diamond and graphite, forms at higher temperatures and pressures. Occurrences of mineral carbides, such as silicon carbide moissanite (SiC), in terrestrial rocks are rare, but several metal carbides have been found in meteorites (Bernatowicz et al., 1996; Di Pierro et al., 2003). There are salts of organic acids classified as minerals, either containing metal cations or without them, that occur as alteration products in organic-matter-rich sediments or on other minerals that were probably subject to bacterial alteration.