AKSUM UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF MINES

DEPARTMENT OF MINING
ENGINEERING

COURSE TITLE: ROCK EXCAVATION

ENGINEERING
COURSE CODE: MnEg4041

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Fig .1. Mechanical Excavation (Example : Rock
Breaker)
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Fig .2. Drill Blast Excavation (Conventional Drill- Blast)

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Minerals and Rocks
The earth's crust consists of a variety of rocks,
formed under different circumstances. Rocks consist
of one or more composite minerals or Rocks are an
aggregate of minerals but the reverse is not true. A
mineral is a substance formed by nature. A mineral
may be an element or may consist of chemical
compounds containing several elements. There are
more than 3,000 different minerals, of 103 known
elements, oxygen is by far the most common, making
up about 50 per cent of the earth's crust. Silicon,
about 25 per cent, aluminum, iron, calcium, sodium,
potassium, magnesium and titanium.
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Rocks: Rocks are classified into three main
groups on the basis of their origin and the way
in which they were formed:
1.Igneous or magmatic rocks (formed from
solidified lava or "magma").
2.Sedimentary rocks (formed by deposition of
broken material or by chemical precipitation).
3.Metamorphic rocks (formed by the
transformation of igneous or sedimentary rocks,
in most cases by an increase in pressure and
heat).
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 1. Igneous rock
Igneous rocks are formed when a magma
solidifies deep down in the earth's crust
(plutonic rock), or as it rises towards the
surface (dyke rock) or on the surface (volcanic
rock). The most important constituents
(minerals) are quartz and silicates of various
composition, chiefly feldspars. Plutonic rocks
solidify slowly and are therefore coarse-
grained, while volcanic rocks solidify quickly
and become fine grained.

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 2. Sedimentary rocks
Sedimentary rocks are formed by the
deposition of material by mechanical or
chemical action and a consolidation of this
material under the pressure of overlying
layers. It frequently occurs that the rock
formation is broken down by mechanical
action (weathering), carried away by running
water and deposited in still water. Thus the
original rock will determine the
characteristics of the sedimentary rock.
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The weathering or erosion may proceed
at different rates depending partly on
climate and partly on how easily the
rock breaks up. Since formation takes
place by deposition, several distinct
layers can often be observed in a
sedimentary formation. Sedimentary
rocks make up a very heterogeneous
family with widely varying
characteristics.
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 3. Metamorphic rocks
The effects of chemical action or increased
pressure and/or temperature on a rock
formation can sometimes be so great that it
produces a transformation, which the
geologist calls metamorphism. For example,
pressure and temperature might increase
under the influence of up-welling magma, or
because the formation has sunk down deeper
into the earth's crust. This results in the
recrystallization of the mineral grains or the
formation of new minerals.
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A characteristic of the metamorphic rocks is
that they are formed without any complete
melting. They are also frequently hard or
very hard, and also compact and fine-
grained, and are therefore often difficult to
drill. The result is deformation in one way
or another, and in nature we may therefore
observe, for example, pronounced folding,
crushed zones, faults and other phenomena
that can have a telling effect on drilling.
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Fig .3. Rock Cycle
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 Some of the characteristics of the minerals are hardness, density,
color, streak, luster, fracture, cleavage and crystalline form.
Hardness can be graded according to the Moh's 10-point scale.
(example followed by test)
1.Talc - Easily scratched with the fingernail
2.Gypsum - Just barely scratched with the fingernail
3.Calcite - Very easily scratched with a knife
4.Fluorite - Easily scratched with a knife
5.Apatite - Can be scratched with a knife
6.Orthoclase - Hard to scratch with a knife, can be scratched with
quartz
7.Quartz - Scratches glass, can be scratched with a hardened file
8.Topaz - Scratches glass, can be scratched with emery
9.Corundum - Scratches glass, can be scratched with a diamond
10.Diamond - Scratches glass
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 The Properties Of Rocks
In order to be able to forecast the result of
drilling in respect of penetration rate, hole
quality, drill-steel costs, etc., we must be
able to make a correct appraisal of the rock
concerned. In doing so we distinguish
between Microscopic and Macroscopic
properties. A rock is composed of grains
of various minerals, and among the
microscopic properties are mineral
composition, grain size, form and
distribution of the grains.
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Taken together, these factors decide
important properties of the rock,
such as hardness, abrasiveness,
compressive strength and density.
These properties, In their turn,
determine the penetration rate that
can be achieved and how heavy the
tool wear will be.
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The drillability of a rock depends on,
among other things, the hardness of its
constituent minerals and on the grain
size and crystal form. “Quartz” is one
of the commonest minerals in rocks.
Since quartz is a very hard material, a
high quartz content (SiO2) makes the
rock very hard to drill and causes heavy
wear, particularly on the drill bits. We
say that the rock is “Highly Abrasive”.
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Conversely, a rock with a high content
of calcite is easy to drill and causes
little wear on the drill bits. As regards
crystal form, minerals with high
symmetry, e.g. cubic (galena) are easier
to drill than minerals with low
symmetry, e.g. fibrous (amphiboles and
pyroxenes.

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A coarse-grained structure is easier to drill in and
causes less wear than a fine-grain structures.
Among the macroscopic properties are
slatiness, fissuring, contact zones, layering,
veining and inclination. These factors are
often of great significance in drilling. For
example, cracks or inclined and layered
formations can cause hole deviation and can
occasionally cause drilling tools to get
stuck.

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 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF ROCK
Mechanical rock properties may be grouped as follows:
1. Strength
- Resistance to (bulk) failure under elementary stresses such as
compression, tension or shear.
2. Deformability
- Change of shape or volume.
3. Hardness
- Resistance to a local (surface) failure by indentation or scratching.
4. Fracture toughness
- Resistance to fracture propagation.
5. Coefficients of friction
- Resistance to sliding of two bodies with planar surfaces in contact.

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6. Crushability and Millability
- Reduction of a substance to a powder.
7. Extractability
- Fragmentation and disruption by different
extraction processes such as rock cut ability, drill
ability, blast ability, load ability of blast- rock and
pump ability of cuttings under certain “idealized” or
standard operating conditions.
8. Abrasivity
- Ability of rock to induce wear on mechanical tools
and apparatus.

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 Rock Strength
The compressive strength of many rock materials
is a factor of 5 or more greater than their tensile
strength. The scatter of the strength values from a
series of test specimens of the same rock material
is considerable. This is a result of the randomly
distributed weak planes, micro-cracks, or flaws in
the rock which greatly influence the rock strength.
The flaws are often so small and the micro-cracks
so fine that they are difficult to detect by the naked
eye.
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 Rock Strength
Some of the points that influence rock strength
are;
Micro-cracks
Fracture
Elasticity
Plasticity
Abrasive
Texture
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1.Micro-cracks in Rock

The reasons for the strength behavior of rock and

other brittle materials can be sought in the presence of
microscopic cracks and flaws in the base material that
is in itself strong. Most rock materials are aggregates
in which separate crystal grains of different strength,
different elastic and thermal moduli, and different
size are cemented or grown together. Any
deformation of sufficient magnitude will lead to local
cracking or the development of microscopic flaws,
pores, or weakened regions. Such flaws are also
nearly always present in most natural rock materials
because of the deformation the rock has undergone
under the influence of tectonic forces and temperature
changes.
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2.Fracture Mechanics

The most important aspect of the strength of

brittle materials is their ability to break by
crack propagation. Because the tensile
strength of these materials is so much lower
than the compressive strength, and possibly
also because they already contain micro-
cracks, cracks form easily and, once formed,
expand because of the concentration of
tensile stresses at the crack tip.

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3.Elasticity of rocks
Elasticity: is the ability of an object or substance to return quickly to
its original shape and size after being bent, stretched, or squashed.

Some of the deformation of a rock under stress will be

recovered when the load is removed. The recoverable
deformation is called elastic and the non-recoverable
part is called plastic deformation. Plastic behavior
involves continuous deformation after some critical
value of stress has been reached.

Commonly, the elastic deformation of rock is directly

proportional to the applied load. The ratio of the stress
and the strain is called modulus of elasticity.

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4.Plasticity
As indicated before, in some rocks the plastic deformation
precedes destruction.
This begins when the stresses exceed the limit of elasticity.
In the case of an ideally plastic body, that deformation is
developed with an invariable stress. Real rocks are
deformed and consolidated at the same time: in order to
increase the plastic deformation it is necessary to increase
the effort. The plasticity depends upon the mineral
composition of the rocks and diminishes with an increase in
quartz content, feldspar and other hard minerals. The humid
clays and some homogeneous rocks have plastic properties.
The plasticity of the stony rocks (granites, schistoses,
crystallines and sandstones) becomes noticeable.

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5.Abrasiveness
Abrasiveness is the capacity of the rocks to wear away the
contact surface of another body that is harder, in the
rubbing or abrasive process during movement. This
property has great influence upon the life of drill steel and
bits. The factors that enhance abrasive capacities of rocks
are the following: The hardness of the grains of the rock.
The rocks that contain quartz grains are highly abrasive.
The shape of the grains. Those that are angular are more
abrasive than the round ones. The size of the grains. The
porosity of the rock. It gives rough contact surfaces with
local stress concentrations.
The heterogeneity poly-mineral rocks, although these are
equally hard, are more abrasive because they leave rough
surfaces with hard grains as, for example, quartz grains in
a granite.

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6.Texture
The texture of a rock refers to the structure of
the grains or minerals that constitute it. The
size of the grains are an indication, as well as
their shape, porosity etc. All these aspects have
significant influence on drilling performance.
When the grains have a lenticular shape, as in
a schist, drilling is more difficult than when
they are round, as in a sandstone. The type of
material that makes up the rock matrix and
unites the mineral grains also has an important
influence. As to porosity, those rocks that have
low density and consequently, are more
porous, have low crushing strength and are
easier to drill.
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Thank You
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