What is a common carbonate rock-forming mineral?

The most common carbonate minerals that form rocks are calcite, aragonite and dolomite. In most cases, carbonate minerals, especially aragonite and calcite, lead to the formation of limestone.

Dolomite, a carbonate mineral that forms due to the presence of magnesium, usually leads to the formation of dolostone. All carbonate minerals are formed from the carbon contained in dead plants and animals, which reacts with other minerals over time to form these special minerals.

Most carbonate minerals lead to the formation of sedimentary rocks. However, there are rare cases of carbonate metamorphic and igneous rocks such as marble, which is the only metamorphic rock that contains carbonate minerals.