Facts about Talc
Soapstone, a high-talc rock, is an ornamental stone and is also used for countertops, stoves, sinks, and electrical switchboards.
Talc carbonated ultramafics are typical of many areas of the Archaean cratons, notably the komatiite belts of the Yilgarn Craton in Western Australia.
The chemical formula of talc may be written as Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 or H2Mg3(SiO3)4.
Talc finds use as a cosmetic (talcum powder), a lubricant, and a filler in paper manufacture.
A notable talc mine of economic importance is at Mount Seabrook in Western Australia.
Talc (derived from the Persian via Arabic talq) is a mineral composed of magnesium silicate hydroxide.
Tailor's chalk and the chalk used for welding and metalworking often consist of talc.
Several studies have established preliminary links between talc and pulmonary problems, lung cancer, skin cancer, and ovarian cancer.
Talc is a common mineral in metamorphic belts that contain ultramafic rocks, such as soapstone (a high-talc rock), and within whiteschist and blueschist metamorphic terranes.
Most tailor's chalk is talc, as is the chalk often used for welding or metalworking.
Soapstone or steatite—a coarse, grayish-green, high-talc rock—is heat-resistant and acid-resistant, and is an electrical insulator.