2: Identify the common rock forming minerals in those rock samples and comment on their susceptibility to weathering Calcite

Hornblende

Composition: CaCO3 Crystals: rhomb shaped Hardness: 3 Density: 2.7 Colour: usually colourless or white Lustre: vitreous Streak: white Cleavage: 3 perfect Fracture: conchoidal (rare) Other: reacts with dilute HCl

Crystals: Monoclinic Hardness: 5-6 Density: 3.28-3.41 Colour: Black, green or greenish brown Lustre: Vitreous, translucent to opaque Streak: White or gray Cleavage: 3 perfect Chemical formula: Ca2(Mg,Fe)4Al(Si7Al)O22(OH,F)2 Streak : White or gray. Cleavage : Perfect in two directions along the crystal with an angle of 60 or 120 degrees between cleavages. Fracture uneven Other : Fuses with difficulty. Insoluble in acids Occurance : In igneous rocks. Also in metamorphic rocks as amphibolite and schist

Quatrtz

Composition: SiO2 Crystals: hexagonal in cross section Hardness: 7 Density: 2.7 Colour: usually white or colourless Lustre: vitreous Streak: white Cleavage: none Fracture: conchoidal

Feldsfer

Composition: KAlSi3O8 Crystals: roughly rectangular Hardness: 6 6.5 Density: 2.6 Colour: pink, white or grey Lustre: vitreous to pearly Streak: white Cleavage: 2 good Fracture: conchoidal

Mico

Chemically formula : X2Y46Z8O20(OH,F)4 - In which X is K, Na, or Ca or less commonly Ba, Rb, or Cs, Y is Al, Mg, or Fe or less commonly Mn, Cr, Ti, Li, etc. Z is chiefly Si or Al but also may include Fe3+ or Ti. Cleavage : highly perfect Colour: brown & shiny Uses : mica is used in electronic insulators, paints, as joint cement, as a dusting agent, in well drilling mud and lubricants, and in plastics, roofing, rubber, and welding rods.

4. Identify the discontinuous nature of rock mass (you are required to calculate core recovery and rock quantity designation)

The discontinuous nature of rock masses The characterization of the structure of rock masses is an important consideration in engineering projects in rock. Often it is the nature of the discontinuities (joints, fractures, bedding planes, faults, and other breaks in the continuity of the rock) and not of the intact rock that governs the mechanical and hydrological behavior of the rock mass shown in figure . With a few exceptions, most of the rock masses that engineers deal with are influenced to some extent or another by discontinuities. In rock engineering analysis it is necessary to understand the mechanical and hydrological behavior of rock masses in order to predict such aspects of design as: 1. The stability of a rock mass (how likely is it thatthe rock will fail, and how catastrophic will the failure be?) 2. The degree of remediation and/or ground support required (how do we make it safe?) 3. The expected amount of deformation as a result of applied structural loads (how much movement do we have to design for?) 4.The amount of effort needed to excavate the rock (do we need to use explosives, and if so how much?) 5. The degree and effect of water infiltration (how do we keep it dry?).While we understand much about the mechanical properties of intact, solid rock, our understanding of discontinuous rock is significantly less developed.

Scribed oriented core

Rock Mass Strength Strength depends on the density, nature and extent of the fractures within it Rock Quality Designation (RQD) Quantitative estimate of rock mass quality from drill core logs % intact core pieces >10cm in total length of core

Total core recovery Total core recovery (TCR) is the borehole core recovery percentage. TCR is defined as the quotient:

% = Sum of length of core pieces = Total length of core run

Solid core recovery Solid core recovery (SCR) is the borehole core recovery percentage of solid, cylindrical, pieces of rock core. SCR is defined as the quotient:

% = Sum of length of solid, cylindrical, core pieces = Total length of core run