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The mineralogy of Calcium

General Properties
Symbol:Ca
Atomic Number:20
Standard atomic weight (Ar):40.078(4)
Electron configuration:[Ar] 4s2
Photos
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Calcium pieces
>
Atomic Properties
Electronegativity (Pauling scale):1
Atomic Radius:194 pm
Ionic Radius:100 pm (+2)
1st Ionization energy:590 kJ/mol
1st Electron affinity:-2 kJ/mol
Oxidation States:2
Physical Properties
Standard State:solid
Bonding Type:metallic
Melting Point:1115 K
Boiling Point:1757 K
Density:1.55 g/cm3
Metal/Non-Metal:alkaline earth metal
Main isotopes of Calcium
Isotope% in NatureHalf LifeDecay typeDecay product
40Ca96.941%>5.9×1021yβ+β+ ?40Ar
41Catrace1.03×105yε41K
42Ca0.647%stable
43Ca0.135%stable
44Ca2.086%stable
45Casynthetic162.7d45Sc
46Ca0.004%>8.8×1022yβ-β- ?46Ti
47Casynthetic4.536dβ−47Sc
48Ca0.187%4.3×1019yβ-β-48Ti
β− ?48Sc
Main ions of Calcium
NameIonExample minerals
calciumCa2+Calcite, Anorthite, Gypsum
Videos
Other Information
Year Discovered:Ancient
Year Isolated:1808
Isolated By:
08556590017362062496397.jpg
Humphry Davy
Named For:from Latin: calx - "lime"
CPK color coding:#3DFF00
External Links:WikipediaWebElementsLos Alamos National LaboratoryTheodore Gray's PeriodicTable.com
Simple Compounds and Mineral Names
Nitridestricalcium dinitride Ca3N2+2
Sulfidescalcium sulphideCaS+2Oldhamite
Selenidescalcium selenideCaSe+2
Telluridescalcium tellurideCaTe+2
Hydridescalcium dihydrideCaH2+2
Hydroxidescalcium hydroxideCa(OH)2+2Portlandite
Fluoridescalcium difluorideCaF2+2Fluorite
Chloridescalcium dichlorideCaCl2+2Aquasidite
calcium dichloride dihydrateCaCl2 · 2H2O+2Sinjarite
calcium dichloride tetrahydrateCaCl2 · 4H2O+2Ghiaraite
calcium dichloride hexahydrateCaCl2 · 6H2O+2Antarcticite
Iodidescalcium diiodideCaI2+2
Oxidescalcium oxideCaO+2Lime
calcium peroxideCaO2+2
Carbonatescalcium carbonateCaCO3+2Calcite, Aragonite, Vaterite
calcium carbonate monohydrateCaCO3 · H2O+2Monohydrocalcite
calcium carbonate hexahydrateCaCO3 · 6H2O+2Ikaite
Nitratescalcium nitrateCa(NO3)2+2
calcium nitrate tetrahydrateCa(NO3)2 · 4H2O+2Nitrocalcite
Sulfatescalcium sulfateCaSO4+2Anhydrite
calcium sulfate hemihydrateCaSO4 · 0.5H2O+2Bassanite
calcium sulfate dihydrateCaSO4 · 2H2O+2Gypsum
Silicatescalcium silicateCaSIO3+2Wollastonite
Mineral Diversity of Calcium
2. Sulfides And Sulfosalts 7 valid mineral species
3. Halides38 valid mineral species
4. Oxides 136 valid mineral species
5. Carbonates 90 valid mineral species
6. Borates68 valid mineral species
7. Sulfates 75 valid mineral species
8. Phosphates, Arsenates, Vanadates325 valid mineral species
9. Silicates 662 valid mineral species
10. Organic Compounds10 valid mineral species
Total:1411 valid species containing essential Calcium
Minerals with the greatest weight % of Calcium
LimeCaO71.47 %
OldhamiteCaS55.55 %
PortlanditeCa(OH)254.09 %
HatruriteCa3(SiO4)O52.66 %
FluoriteCaF251.33 %
TakedaiteCa3[BO3]250.55 %
JasmunditeCa11(SiO4)4O2S50.48 %
ReinhardbraunsiteCa5(SiO4)2(OH,F)247.87 %
ChegemiteCa7(SiO4)3(OH)247.49 %
KumtyubeiteCa5(SiO4)2F247.42 %
Geochemistry of Calcium
Goldschmidt classification:Lithophile
Ca2+ was one of the ions least depleted from the mantle in the formation of the crust.
Ca2+ is enriched in Ca-Al-rich inclusions in meteorites relative to the composition of the solar system.
Ca2+ enters early-forming phases in igneous rocks.
Ca2+ is one of the eight most abundant solutes in average river water.
Ca2+ solute can be a limiting nutrient in the growth of bacteria.
Ca2+ solute is a macronutrient on land.
Ca2+ is essential to nutrition of at least some vertebrates ('essential minerals').
Elemental Abundance for Calcium
Crust (CRC Handbook)4.15 x 10-2mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Kaye & Laby)5.1 x 10-2mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Greenwood)4.6600 x 10-2mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Ahrens/Taylor)5.2900 x 10-2mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Ahrens/Wänke)4.9200 x 10-2mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Ahrens/Weaver)3.4000 x 10-2mass fraction, kg/kg
Upper Crust (Ahrens/Taylor)3.0000 x 10-2mass fraction, kg/kg
Upper Crust (Ahrens/Shaw)2.9500 x 10-2mass fraction, kg/kg
Sea Water (CRC Handbook)4.12 x 10-4mass per volume fraction, kg/L
Sea Water (Kaye & Laby)4.1 x 10-4mass per volume fraction, kg/L
The Sun (Kaye & Laby)6.4 x 10-2atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Kaye & Laby)6.1 x 10-2atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Ahrens)6.11 x 10-2 (7.1%)atom mole fraction relative to Si=1 (% uncertainty)
Element association of Calcium in the Mineral World
This table compares the known valid mineral species listed listed with Calcium and the other elements listed based on the official IMA formula. Note that unlike other sections on this page this includes non-essential elements.

The first data column contains the total number of minerals listed with Calcium and the element listed for that row.

The second data column lists this number as a percentage of all minerals listed with Calcium.

The final data column compares this percentage against the percentage of all minerals that contain the element listed in each row.

Click on a heading to sort.
ElementValid Minerals listed with element and Calcium% of Ca mineralsRelative to % in all minerals
Oxygen1532 minerals with Ca and O98.97%22.00% higher
Hydrogen1057 minerals with Ca and H68.28%22.78% higher
Silicon761 minerals with Ca and Si49.16%78.45% higher
Aluminium468 minerals with Ca and Al30.23%51.97% higher
Sodium442 minerals with Ca and Na28.55%53.05% higher
Iron346 minerals with Ca and Fe22.35%0.37% lower
Magnesium261 minerals with Ca and Mg16.86%26.46% higher
Phosphorus229 minerals with Ca and P14.79%20.40% higher
Manganese223 minerals with Ca and Mn14.41%24.06% higher
Fluorine222 minerals with Ca and F14.34%81.99% higher
Potassium193 minerals with Ca and K12.47%25.24% higher
Carbon172 minerals with Ca and C11.11%36.00% higher
Arsenic148 minerals with Ca and As9.56%26.43% lower
Sulfur132 minerals with Ca and S8.53%61.35% lower
Boron124 minerals with Ca and B8.01%60.16% higher
Chlorine120 minerals with Ca and Cl7.75%5.01% higher
Titanium120 minerals with Ca and Ti7.75%10.30% higher
Cerium83 minerals with Ca and Ce5.36%73.64% higher
Zirconium77 minerals with Ca and Zr4.97%106.20% higher
Barium76 minerals with Ca and Ba4.91%5.63% higher
Vanadium75 minerals with Ca and V4.84%0.76% higher
Uranium72 minerals with Ca and U4.65%9.62% lower
Copper69 minerals with Ca and Cu4.46%67.08% lower
Strontium68 minerals with Ca and Sr4.39%57.89% higher
Niobium63 minerals with Ca and Nb4.07%31.80% higher
Beryllium61 minerals with Ca and Be3.94%82.85% higher
Yttrium56 minerals with Ca and Y3.62%53.02% higher
Zinc47 minerals with Ca and Zn3.04%46.06% lower
Lead41 minerals with Ca and Pb2.65%75.57% lower
Lanthanum36 minerals with Ca and La2.33%70.12% higher
Lithium22 minerals with Ca and Li1.42%29.30% lower
Chromium20 minerals with Ca and Cr1.29%31.34% lower
Thorium20 minerals with Ca and Th1.29%95.94% higher
Tin19 minerals with Ca and Sn1.23%33.05% lower
Antimony18 minerals with Ca and Sb1.16%79.69% lower
Neodymium18 minerals with Ca and Nd1.16%36.42% higher
Scandium13 minerals with Ca and Sc0.84%93.40% higher
Tellurium13 minerals with Ca and Te0.84%76.37% lower
Tantalum12 minerals with Ca and Ta0.78%32.11% lower
Molybdenum11 minerals with Ca and Mo0.71%54.91% lower
Nitrogen9 minerals with Ca and N0.58%77.12% lower
Tungsten9 minerals with Ca and W0.58%35.44% lower
Nickel8 minerals with Ca and Ni0.52%84.62% lower
Caesium6 minerals with Ca and Cs0.39%26.97% lower
Cobalt5 minerals with Ca and Co0.32%73.92% lower
Bismuth4 minerals with Ca and Bi0.26%93.84% lower
Selenium4 minerals with Ca and Se0.26%90.32% lower
Iodine4 minerals with Ca and I0.26%51.31% lower
Germanium2 minerals with Ca and Ge0.13%81.32% lower
Samarium2 minerals with Ca and Sm0.13%33.89% higher
Gadolinium2 minerals with Ca and Gd0.13%33.89% higher
Dysprosium2 minerals with Ca and Dy0.13%167.79% higher
Cadmium1 mineral with Ca and Cd0.06%88.19% lower
Praseodymium1 mineral with Ca and Pr0.06%301.68% higher
Erbium1 mineral with Ca and Er0.06%301.68% higher
Ytterbium1 mineral with Ca and Yb0.06%33.05% lower
Periodic Table
1H 2He
3Li 4Be 5B 6C 7N 8O 9F 10Ne
11Na 12Mg 13Al 14Si 15P 16S 17Cl 18Ar
19K 20Ca 21Sc 22Ti 23V 24Cr 25Mn 26Fe 27Co 28Ni 29Cu 30Zn 31Ga 32Ge 33As 34Se 35Br 36Kr
37Rb 38Sr 39Y 40Zr 41Nb 42Mo 43Tc 44Ru 45Rh 46Pd 47Ag 48Cd 49In 50Sn 51Sb 52Te 53I 54Xe
55Cs 56Ba 57La 72Hf 73Ta 74W 75Re 76Os 77Ir 78Pt 79Au 80Hg 81Tl 82Pb 83Bi 84Po 85At 86Rn
87Fr 88Ra 89Ac 104Rd 105Db 106Sg 107Bh 108Hs 109Mt 110Ds 111Rg 112Cn 113Nh 114Fl 115Mc 116Lv 117Ts 118Og
 
58Ce 59Pr 60Nd 61Pm 62Sm 63Eu 64Gd 65Tb 66Dy 67Ho 68Er 69Tm 70Yb 71Lu
90Th 91Pa 92U 93Np 94Pu 95Am 96Cm 97Bk 98Cf 99Es 100Fm 101Md 102No 103Lr
Default Categories CPK Electronegativity Atomic Radius Lowest Oxidation Highest Oxidation Crustal Abundance Goldschmidt Mineral Species Minerals with Ca Relative Frequency
Potassium << Calcium >> Scandium


Most widespread minerals containing Calcium
This list of minerals containing Calcium is built from the mindat.org locality database. This is based on the number of localities entered for mineral species and is therefore slanted towards minerals interesting to collectors with less coverage of common rock-forming-minerals so it does not give an undistorted distribution of Calcium mineral species. It is more useful when comparing rare species rather than common species.
NameFormulaCrystal SystemMindat Localities
CalciteCaCO3Trigonal36726
DolomiteCaMg(CO3)2Trigonal12735
FluoriteCaF2Isometric12304
Epidote(CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)Monoclinic11085
GypsumCaSO4 · 2H2OMonoclinic8959
TitaniteCaTi(SiO4)OMonoclinic7313
ScheeliteCa(WO4)Tetragonal6006
DiopsideCaMgSi2O6Monoclinic5853
Actinolite◻Ca2(Mg4.5-2.5Fe0.5-2.5)Si8O22(OH)2Monoclinic4731
AnkeriteCa(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2Trigonal4131
Photos
03926390017271929245518.jpg
Calcite, etc.

Onganja Mine, Helen Farm 235, Seeis, Windhoek Rural, Khomas Region, Namibia
09698470017487980589927.jpg
Dolomite

Friedrichssegen Mine, Friedrichssegen, Lahnstein, Rhein-Lahn-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
03138970017271951096177.jpg
Fluorite, etc.

La Fluorita Dulcita prospect, Cochise County, Arizona, USA
00533050017271922651699.jpg
Epidote

Green Monster Mountain, Prince of Wales Island, Ketchikan Mining District, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska, USA
07076670017362088634739.jpg
Calcite, etc.

Onganja Mine, Helen Farm 235, Seeis, Windhoek Rural, Khomas Region, Namibia
05796840017487978506763.jpg
Dolomite

Friedrichssegen Mine, Friedrichssegen, Lahnstein, Rhein-Lahn-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
09710720017358505305681.jpg
Fluorite, etc.

La Fluorita Dulcita prospect, Cochise County, Arizona, USA
00533050017271922651699.jpg
Epidote

Green Monster Mountain, Prince of Wales Island, Ketchikan Mining District, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska, USA
03926390017271929245518.jpg
Calcite, etc.

Onganja Mine, Helen Farm 235, Seeis, Windhoek Rural, Khomas Region, Namibia
09698470017487980589927.jpg
Dolomite

Friedrichssegen Mine, Friedrichssegen, Lahnstein, Rhein-Lahn-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
03138970017271951096177.jpg
Fluorite, etc.

La Fluorita Dulcita prospect, Cochise County, Arizona, USA
00533050017271922651699.jpg
Epidote

Green Monster Mountain, Prince of Wales Island, Ketchikan Mining District, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska, USA

Localities with greatest number of different Calcium mineral species
1Poudrette quarry (De-Mix quarry; Demix quarry; Uni-Mix quarry; Carrière Mont Saint-Hilaire; MSH), Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada109 Ca minerals
2Caspar quarry, Ettringen, Vordereifel, Mayen-Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany103 Ca minerals
Hatrurim Formation, Middle East98 Ca minerals
4Långban Mine, Långban Ore District, Filipstad, Värmland County, Sweden87 Ca minerals
5Fuka mine, Fuka, Bitchū, Takahashi City, Okayama Prefecture, Japan70 Ca minerals
6Franklin Mine, Franklin, Sussex County, New Jersey, USA69 Ca minerals
7Wessels Mine, Joe Morolong Local Municipality, John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality, Northern Cape, South Africa63 Ca minerals
8Clara Mine, Oberwolfach, Ortenaukreis, Freiburg Region, Baden-Württemberg, Germany63 Ca minerals


Important industrial minerals containing Calcium
The most important industrial minerals containing calcium are the carbonate family - rocks such as limestone, dolomite and marble are quarried for their calcium carbonate content, heated to produce quick lime (CaO) which is used for cement and many other industrial purposes.

Calcium sulfides - gypsum and anhydrite, are used for creating plasterboard for construction along with many other uses.

Fluorite is used primarily as a flux, it's also used as a source of fluorine to create hydrofluoric acid. See the fluorine page for more details.
NameFormulaCrystal System
CalciteCaCO3Trigonal
AragoniteCaCO3Orthorhombic
GypsumCaSO4 · 2H2OMonoclinic
AnhydriteCaSO4Orthorhombic
FluoriteCaF2Isometric
Photos
09401180017371358225897.jpg
Calcite, etc.

La Florida mining area, Sierra de Arnero, Cantabria, Spain
02734380017271921054834.jpg
Aragonite

Gergovie, La Roche-Blanche, Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
05206590017271923623313.jpg
Gypsum

Boldut Mine, Cavnic, Maramureș County, Romania
08626740017271921055308.jpg
Anhydrite

Naica, Saucillo Municipality, Chihuahua, Mexico
02248060017371358097780.jpg
Calcite, etc.

La Florida mining area, Sierra de Arnero, Cantabria, Spain
02734380017271921054834.jpg
Aragonite

Gergovie, La Roche-Blanche, Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
05206590017271923623313.jpg
Gypsum

Boldut Mine, Cavnic, Maramureș County, Romania
08626740017271921055308.jpg
Anhydrite

Naica, Saucillo Municipality, Chihuahua, Mexico
09401180017371358225897.jpg
Calcite, etc.

La Florida mining area, Sierra de Arnero, Cantabria, Spain
02734380017271921054834.jpg
Aragonite

Gergovie, La Roche-Blanche, Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
05206590017271923623313.jpg
Gypsum

Boldut Mine, Cavnic, Maramureș County, Romania
08626740017271921055308.jpg
Anhydrite

Naica, Saucillo Municipality, Chihuahua, Mexico
 
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Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2026, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph and Ida Chau.
To cite: Ralph, J., Von Bargen, D., Martynov, P., Zhang, J., Que, X., Prabhu, A., Morrison, S. M., Li, W., Chen, W., & Ma, X. (2025). Mindat.org: The open access mineralogy database to accelerate data-intensive geoscience research. American Mineralogist, 110(6), 833–844. doi:10.2138/am-2024-9486.
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