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Calcite

Calcite is a form of calcium carbonate, and is generally found in sedimentary rock. Calcite occurs as a fossil remnant of ancient shellfish and other creatures that used calcium in their makeup to form a hard shell or framework, like corals. It is one of the most common minerals on Earth.

Calcium carbonate is the primary component of marble, and is the mineral that usually makes hard water hard. Dissolved calcium carbonate is one of the main mineral components in hot springs water. Ground water soaking through limestone, which is also composed primarily of calcium carbonate, dissolves the carbonate in the stone to create carbonic acid. The acid dissolves calcium and other minerals, and if it drips down into a cavern forms stalactites and stalagmites when the water evaporates. This is the action that has formed most of the limestone caves on Earth.

Calcite is the primary component of marine shells and is the stable form of calcium carbonate. Calcite crystals form as fibres, grains, or compact crystals, and the crystals break in a classic hexagonal/rhombohedral shape. It is either white or colourless unless impurities are introduced.

Web Resources On Calcite

The Mineral Calcite
Calcite Mineral Data

Book Resources On Calcite

The quantitative determination of calcite associated with carbonate-bearing apatites by Sol R. Silverman
A critical discussion of the crystal form of calcite by Herbert P Whitlock

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