Mining Geology

Ajit Kumar Behera

Assistant Professor
Department of Geology
BIT Sindri
Syllabus: MINING GEOLOGY
Module 1: Physical Geology: Geology in mining engineering, scope and application, earth structure
and composition, weathering processes and grade, physiographical division of India, geological work of
river, wind and glacier.
Module 2: Stratigraphy: Principle of stratigraphy, geological time scale, mineral resource distributions
and economic importance of Archean, Cuddapah, Vindhyan, Gondwana, Tertiary deposit of India.
Module 3: Minerology: Classification of minerals, physical properties of minerals, properties of silica,
feldspar, pyroxene, amphibole, mica, olivine, group of minerals and calcite.
Module 4: Petrology: Classification of rocks,
igneous rock: composition and diversification of magma, texture and structure of igneous rock, tabular
classification of igneous rocks, study of importance igneous rock,
sedimentary rock: lithification and diagenesis, texture and structure of sedimentary rock, study of
important sedimentary rock,
metamorphic rock: metamorphism, agents and types, study of important metamorphic rocks,
Module 5: Structural Geology: Introduction to geological structure, faults, folds, joints and
unconformities classification, criteria for recognition in the field and significance in mineral exploration,
determination of strata thickness, dip and strike calculation,
Module 6: Economic Geology Ore, Gauge, tenors of ore, grade, assay value cut – off grade, processes
of formation of mineral deposit, magmatic concentration, hydrothermal processes, placer deposit and
supergene sulphide enrichment deposit, iron, copper, Manganese, lead & zinc, mica etc.
Coal Geology: Introduction, Coal petrography, origin, classification, structural features of coal seam
Oil & Natural Gas: Introduction, origiin, classification, accumulation, migration, cap rocks, traps.
Module 7: Mineral Exploration Geological, Geophysical and Geochemical prospecting- principle and
methodology
Module 8: Hydrogeology Introduction, Hydrological cycle, vertical distribution of groundwater,
aquifers, Darcy’s law, hydrological properties of rocks and groundwater quality
Text Books:
• Engineering Geology – Parbin Singh, 3rd Edition.
• Principles of Engineering Geology – K.M.Bangar, 6rd Edition.
• A text book of Geology – G.B.Mahapathra, 2nd Edition.
• Physical Geology - G.B.Mahapathra
 Module 1: Physical Geology

• Geology in mining engineering, scope and

application
• Earth structure and composition
• Weathering processes
• Physiographical division of India
• Geological work of river, wind and glacier
Earth structure and composition
What is earth?
 The third planet from the sun
 Earth is the fifth largest planet in our solar system
 Earth's orbit is not a perfect circle, but rather an oval-shaped
ellipse (oblate spheroid)
 Earth has an equatorial diameter of 12,756 km, and a polar
diameter of 12713.6 km
 Earth's oceans cover about 70 percent of the planet's surface
 Average distance from the sun: 149,598,262 km
How Was Earth Formed?
• The solar system was a cloud of dust and gas known as a solar nebula

• Gravity collapsed the material in on itself as it began to spin, forming the sun in
the center of the nebula.

• With the rise of the sun, the remaining material began to clump up

• Small particles drew together, bound by the force of gravity, into larger particles

• The solar wind swept away lighter elements, such as hydrogen and helium, from
the closer regions

• leaving only heavy, rocky materials to create smaller terrestrial worlds like Earth.

• Finally around 4.5 BY ago, it was formed

Internal Structure of Earth
The Crust:
• In geology, a crust is the outermost layer of
a planet
• Earth's crust occupies less than 1% of
Earth's volume
• More than 90% on the crust is composed of
silicate minerals
• 51% is only feldspar minerals (plagioclase
(39%) and alkali feldspar (12%))
• Thickness varies from 5 km to 80 km

Assignment 1: Compare between the chemical

composition of Earth and Earth’s Crust. Common chemical
elements in the Earth
Crust: oxygen (46.6%),
silicon (27.7),
aluminum (8.1), iron
(5.0), calcium (3.6),
potassium (2.8),
sodium (2.6), and
magnesium (2.1)
The Crust:
Continental crust:
• Thickness varies from 35-40 km
• made up of many different types of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks
• Consists of two layer: Upper continental crust (SIAL) and Lower continental crust (SIMA)
• Mainly Granitic type (Felsic)
• Less denser than oceanic crust) density of about 2.7 gm/cc
• Discontinuity present between Upper and Lower continental crust: Conrad discontinuity
(5.6 to 6.3 km s−1)
• Age: 4.0 ga

Oceanic crust:
• Oceanic crust is typically 6–7 km thick beneath an average water depth of 4.5 km.
• Oceanic crust is primarily composed of mafic rocks
• Mainly basaltic magma type (Mafic) composition like gabbro, basalt
• Denser than continental crust (3 gm/cc)
• Age: 180 ma
The Mantle:
• The mantle constitutes the largest internal
subdivision of the Earth by both mass and
volume.
• The mantle is 82% of earth’s volume
• It extends from the Moho, at a mean depth of
about 21 km, to the core–mantle boundary at a
depth of 2891 km.
• The mineralogy and structure of the silicates
change with depth and give rise to a transition
zone between 410 and 660 km depth
(Separation of Upper and Lower Mantle)
• The upper mantle is composed of ultramafic
rocks like peridotite
• The temperature of the mantle varies greatly,
from 1000° C near its boundary with the crust,
to 3700° near its boundary with the core
• Lithosphere: The lithosphere is the solid, outer
part of the Earth, extending to a depth of mantle helps determine the landscape of
about 100 kilometers. The lithosphere includes Earth. Activity in the mantle drives plate
both the crust and the brittle upper portion of tectonics, contributing to volcanoes,
the mantle. seafloor spreading, earthquakes, and
orogeny (mountain-building)
The core
• Earth’s core is the very hot, very dense center of our planet. The ball-shaped core lies
beneath the cool, brittle crust and the mostly-solid mantle. The core, a spheroid with a
mean radius of 3480 km.
• It constitutes 16.4% of Earth’s volume
• P-wave velocity decreases markedly at a depth of 2900 km

I. Outer core:
• Liquid
• Depth ranges from 2891–5150 km,
• S-wave can not pass through this zone , the core–mantle
boundary (Gutenberg discontinuity) generates strong
seismic reflections and thus probably represents a compositional
interface
• Composition: Iron-Nickel alloy in liquid form (NiFe)
• 4,500° and 5,500° Celsius
• Density: 9.9 to 12.2 g/cm3
• The churning metal of the outer core creates and sustains Earth’s magnetic
field.
The core
II. Inner core:
• Solid
• Depth ranges from 5150-6371 km
• It has a radius of about 1,220 kilometers
• Composition Solid Fe-Ni
• Density is high in inner core : 13.8 gm / cc
• Temperature : 60000 C
Weathering Process
Definition of weathering : Weathering is an important
natural process by which rocks, soils, minerals, etc., are
broken down by the various external forces of nature.
Or
Weathering is the decomposition and disintegration of
rocks and minerals at the Earth’s surface.
Disintegration
Accumulates
or
where it forms
Decomposition
Examples: An iron tool left outside will rust
stone is vulnerable to corrosion
Weathering Process
Definition of Erosion: Erosion is the removal of weathered rocks and minerals
by some external agents.
Agents are: Moving water, wind, glaciers, and gravity
After a rock fragment has been eroded from its place of origin, it may be
transported large distances by those same agents
Deposition: When there is loss of energy of agents, then transportation
process slows down and deposition takes place

weathering
erosion
transportation
deposition
 Weathering Process

Mechanical Weathering
1. Reduces solid rock size Chemical Weathering
2. Does not alter the 1. when air and water chemically
chemical composition of react with rock to alter its
rocks and minerals composition and mineral content

Mechanical Weathering
I. Pressure-release fracturing
II. Frost wedging
III. Abrasion
IV. Organic activity
V. Thermal expansion and contraction

Chemical Weathering
I. Dissolution
II. hydrolysis
III. oxidation
Mechanical Weathering
I. Pressure-release fracturing
• Some rocks form at depth and are stable
under tremendous pressure
• Example, that a granitic pluton solidifies
from magma at a depth of 15 kilometers
having pressure 5000 times that at the
surface
• What will happen, if tectonic activity
occurs?
• The overlying material is eroded, its
contained energy is released by outward
expansion. Sheet joints are developed in
granite rocks called exfoliation
• Rock bursts with explosive violence occurs
in deep mine: When Detachment of rock
from excavation sites
Mechanical Weathering
II. Frost wedging
 When water freezes, it expands by about 9% and exerts
great force on the walls of cracks thereby widening and
extending them
 Repeated freeze–thaw cycle occurs, pieces of rock
eventually detach from the parent material
 The debris produced by frost wedging and other
weathering processes in mountains commonly
accumulates as large cones of talus lying at the bases of
slopes
 a fan-shaped deposit of fragments removed by frost
wedging from the steep rocky slopes above
Mechanical Weathering
III. Abrasion
 The mechanical wearing and grinding of rock surfaces by friction and impact is called
abrasion
 Many rocks along a stream or beach are rounded and smooth due to collisions with other
rock particles like silt and sand carried by moving water
 Wind also hurls sand and other small particles against rocks, often sandblasting unusual
and beautiful landforms

Rounded By River Action By Wind Action

rocks
Mechanical Weathering
IV. Organic activity
 If soil collects in a crack in solid rock, a seed may fall there and sprout. The roots work their
way down into the crack, expand, and may eventually push the rock apart
 Burrowing animals, such as worms, termites, reptiles, rodents, and many others,
constantly mix soil and sediment particles and bring material from depth to the surface
where further weathering occurs
Mechanical Weathering
V. Thermal expansion and contraction
 Rocks at the Earth’s surface are exposed to daily and yearly cycles of heating and cooling.
They expand when they are heated and contract when they cool. When temperature
changes rapidly, the surface of a rock heats or cools faster than its interior and, as a result,
the surface expands or contracts faster than the interior. The resulting forces may fracture
the rock.
 In mountains or deserts at mid-latitudes, temperature may fluctuate from 5ºC to 25ºC
during a spring day.
 If in one laboratory experiment, scientists heated and cooled granite repeatedly by more
than 1000C?
Chemical Weathering
I. Dissolution
 If you put a crystal of halite (rock salt) in water, it dissolves and the ions disperse to form a
solution. Halite dissolves so rapidly and completely that this mineral is rare in moist
environments
 A small proportion of water molecules spontaneously dissociate (break apart) to form an
equal number of hydrogen ions (H+) and hydroxyl ions (OH-)
 Example: Dissolution of Calcite
Calcite the mineral that comprises limestone and marble, weathers in natural
environments in a three-step process. In the first two steps, water reacts with carbon
dioxide in the air to produce carbonic acid, which dissociates to release hydrogen ions

CO2 + H2O → H2CO3 → H + HCO3

Carbon Water Carbonic Hydrogen Bicarbonate dioxide acid ion

CaCO3 + H2CO3 -> Ca+2 + 2 HCO3

Chemical Weathering
II. Hydrolysis
 During hydrolysis, water reacts with a mineral to
form a new mineral with the water incorporated into
its crystal structure
 Hydrogen ions (H) or the hydrogen in (OH) of water
reacts with and replaces positive ions in minerals,
thereby changing their composition and liberating
soluble compounds and iron that may then be
oxidized.
 Potassium feldspars such as orthoclase (KAlSi3O8)
and plagioclase feldspars (which vary from
CaAl2Si2O8 to NaAlSi3O8) are framework silicates, but
when altered by hydrolysis they yield materials in
solution and clay minerals, which are sheet silicates

 2 KAlSi3O8 + 2 H+ + H2O Al2Si2O5(OH)4 + 2

K+ +4 SiO2

 When granite weathers, the feldspar and other

minerals react to form clay but the unaltered quartz
grains fall free from the rock. Some granites have
been so deeply weathered by hydrolysis that mineral
grains can be pried out with a fingernail to depths of
several meters
Chemical Weathering
III. Oxidation
 oxidation is any chemical reaction in which a
compound or ion loses electrons, whether
oxygen is present or not
 Iron rusts when it combines with oxygen and
forms the iron oxide hematite

 Assignment 2: What is acid mine drainage?

Write down the chemical reactions.
Physiographic Divisions of India
The Indian sub –continent may be divided
physiographically into following three divisions.
1. Peninsular (Triangular portion of south)
2. Indo- Gangetic plain (It separates peninsula
from extra peninsula)
3. Extra- Peninsular (mountain region
bordering India on NE, N and NW Himalaya
ranges. The peninsula and extra- peninsula
are quite unlike each other in geological
structure
The extremes in elevation from the northern
parts of India to its coasts, the rocks that
compose the terrain range in age from the
Archean eon (roughly 2500 million years ago),
to the Cenozoic era which ranges from 66
million years ago to modern times
Continental drift
Tectonic framework of the Indian Plate with major
regional physiographic features
Physiographic Divisions of India
1. Peninsular Region
• Triangular in shape,
the Peninsular India is
1600 km long in the
N–S direction and
1400 km wide in the
E–W direction
• It comprises three
principal
physiographic units—
the mountain ranges
along its border on
three sides, the
uplands and plateaus
constituting the larger
part within the
confines of the
bordering ranges and
the coastal plains
along the eastern and
western seaboards
(See Figure)
Physiographic Divisions of India
1. Peninsular Region
• The NE–SW-trending Aravali Range extends more than 800 km from Palanpur in Gujarat to Delhi
and beyond undersurface up to Haridwar. Made up of the Proterozoic metasedimentary rocks
that are extensively intruded by granites, the Aravali forms the water divide between the rivers
of the Ganga and Sindhu systems (See Figure).
• The 900–1000-m-high Satpura Ranges, as the name implies, consist of a series of seven (sat) hill
ranges (pura). Extending ENE from southern Gujarat to central India. The Satpura extends
eastwards embracing the Chhotanagpur terrane made up of Proterozoic gneisses and
metamorphic rocks. The terrane is characterized by a series of planation surfaces with laterite
covers at different elevation levels,including the 1100 m Ranchi and the 600 m Hazaribagh
surfaces.
• The central part of the Peninsular India is a composite of plateaus and uplands rising on the
average 600–900 m above the mean sea level. The Satpura Range divide the Peninsular India into
two parts—the northern part embodying the Malwa, Bundelkhand and Vindhyachal plateaus,
respectively, in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and the southern part comprising
the Deccan, Mysore and Telangana plateaus (See Figure).
• Composed of Proterozoic sedimentary rocks, the Vindhyachal Plateau is drained northwards by
the Chambal, Sind, Betwa and Ken rivers.
• South of the Satpura Ranges and east of the Sahyadri, the Deccan Plateau encompasses
practically the whole of Maharashtra and adjoining parts of Telangana and Karnataka. The
landscape is characterized by flat terraces made up of Late Cretaceous lavas, some with lateritic
mantle.
• The narrow coastal plains along the seaboards of the Peninsular India are more than 6000 km
long, extending from the deltas of the Sindhu and the Saraswati (Ghaggar–Nara) rivers in the
west, through the southern tip of the Peninsula, to the delta of the Ganga–Brahmaputra and
then along the Arakan Coast to the deltas of the Irrawaddy and the Salween rivers in the east
Physiographic Divisions of India
2. The Indo-Gangetic Plains
• In front of the Himalaya mountain arc lies a vast expanse of the world’s largest alluvial
plains built in the Holocene times by rivers of the Brahmaputra, Ganga and Sindhu systems.
• The plains extend 3200 km from the southern limit of the Ganga–Brahmaputra delta in the
east to the terminal of the Sindhu delta and the Rann of Kachchh in the west (Figure). The
width varies from 150 to 500 km, being widest (550 km) in Panjab and very narrow (90–100
km) in Assam.
• The primacy of three distinct types of fluvial systems in the evolution of the Ganga plains
has been recognized, each characterized by different source area characteristics, viz.
mountain-fed, foothills-fed and plains-fed
Physiographic Divisions of India
2. The Indo-Gangetic Plains
• Mountain-fed rivers such as the Ganga, Gandak and Kosi are generally multi-channel, braided
systems, characterised by discharge and sediment loads that are many times higher than those
of the single-channel, sinuous foothills-fed and plains-fed river systems. They also transfer a large
quantity of sediments from their high relief catchments to the plains and consequently form
large depositional areas (megafans).
• The Ganga basin is characterized by three subsurface ridges, i.e. Delhi-Hardwar ridge in the west,
Faizabad ridge in the middle, and Monghyr-Saharsa ridge in the east.
• There are two important depressions in this area, namely the Gandak and the Sarda deep. The
foreland sediments rest on these basement ridges. In the area between the Delhi-Hardwar ridge
and the Faizabad ridge, the sediments rest on Late Proterozoic unmetamorphosed sediments,
which are part of the Vindhyan basin in the south and the Krol basin in the north (See figure)
Physiographic Divisions of India
3. Extra-Peninsular Region
• The arcuate NW–SE-trending 2400-km-long and 300–400-km-wide expanse of the main
Himalaya embodies four physiographically contrasted and lithostructurally distinctive
terranes, particularly in the stretch between the Ravi in the west and the Arun in the east—
the Siwalik, the Himachal (Lesser Himalaya), the Himadri (Great Himalaya) and the Tethys
Himalaya
• The Siwalik: The 250–800-m-high Siwalik Ranges form the southern front of the Himalaya.
These are made up of sediments deposited by ancient Himalayan rivers in their channels
and floodplains in the last 16–1.5 million year.
Physiographic Divisions of India
3. Extra-Peninsular Region
• Himachal or Lesser Himalaya: North of the Siwalik rise the formidable ranges of the Outer
Lesser Himalaya— the PirPanjal–Dhauladhar–Mussoorie–Nainital–Mahabharat Ranges
which are in general higher than 2500 m. In the north-west, the PirPanjal rises to heights
>3500 m. The land of Lesser Himalaya was once thickly forested, but present over greater
part it is bereft of the sylvan cover. It happens to be the comparatively densely populated
terrane of the Himalaya province. This terrane is, by and large, made up of Precambrian
rocks—older than 540 m year in age. Sedimentary and volcanic rocks are covered by thick
and vast sheets of still older metamorphic and granitic rocks.
Physiographic Divisions of India
3. Extra-Peninsular Region
• Himadri or Great Himalaya: Overlooking the Lesser Himalaya terrane, the perennially snow-
capped and extremely rugged Himadri or Great Himalaya rises to elevations of 3000 m to
more than 8000 m. It includes the celebrated peaks of Nanga Parbat (8126 m), Nun-Kun
(7135 m), Kedarnath (6900 m), Badrinath (7138 m), Nanda Devi (7817 m), Dhaulagiri (8172
m), Sagarmatha or Everest (8848 m), Kanchanjangha (8598 m) and Namcha Barwa (7756 m).
• Characterized by extremely youthful and forbiddingly rugged topography, the Himadri
terrane is made up of thick pile of high-grade metamorphic rocks and gneissic granites
which are intruded by 40–20-m-year-old light-coloured granites.

Karakorum Batholith
Trans-Himalayan Batholith Trans-Himalaya
Tethyan sedimentary rocks
Miocene granite Higher Himalaya
Central Crystallines
Lower Himalaya
Outer crystalline klippen Lower Himalaya
Siwalik - SubHimalaya