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    Chapter 4 Geology and Exploration Section 4.4 Introduction ... Section 4.2 The Occurrence of Natural Aggregate Resources ... Section 4.3 Variations in Aggregate Quality Section 4.4 Exploration and Evaluation James R. Dunn 4.4 Introduction This chapter is to be used as a guide to understanding the our renee, chemistry, and weathering of rock materials primarily as they relate to locating, testing, and evaluating mineral aggregate re- sources. ‘The chapter also is intended to serve as a guide for the exploration and evaluation of aggregate resourees as well as a refer ence for management to facilitate understanding maps and reports on aggregate resources. Aggregate quality, as related to weathering of aggregate and aggregate reserves, is discussed in some detail he- cause this knowledge is difficult to'loeate in the technieal literature. Because a single chapter cannot fully cover all topies, numerous references are given for the reader who wishes to pursue this topi in greater depth. 4.2 The Occurrence of Natural Aggregate Resources Sand and Gravel Introduction: Sand and gravel, which are unconsolidated sedimen- tary materials, are often important. sourees of mineral aggregate High quality natural sand and gravel occurring within economic marketing distance of urban areas often are eritical in the eonstrue- tion of facilities euch as roadways, plants, commercial buildings, and residencies. A map that shows the location of major sand and gravel deposits in the United States is given elsewhere.’ Because clean (Le, not having any significant clay and silt) sand and gravel usually are deposited from water, sand and gravel deposits generally are found in valleys or in coastal plains, ‘Sand and gravel are concentrated as a result of the action of water, ice, or wind. Such eoneentration usually results in relatively smooth, round particles. If the deposits formed are of suitable size, gradation, and quality, they ean be processed to conform to the requirements for various commercial aggregate. Generally, the coarser deposits (Le. rich in particles greater in size than 1/4 in.) are best because coarser sizes can be crushed to smaller sizes. A producer therefore has the flexibility by crushing of meeting different grain size distribution (ie., gradation) requirements and of improving the angularity of individual particles. For this reason clay, silt, or pure fine sand deposits usually have little value as aggregate but are mined for other purposes, Glacial Deposits: Continental and alpine glaciers. Up to about 10,000 years ago continental glaciers orice sheets covered much ofthe a — “Ragregate Handbook Figure 4.1 Distribution ofthe Pleistocene glaciers inthe United States (after a map ty a Committee of the Geological Society of America). norther portion of the Nozthern Hemisphere while simultaneoosiy pine glaiers occupied higher mountain areas to the south as ius iiutet fe Figure 41, Ice sheets extended ax far south as northern Pennsylvania in the Raster United States, as far south as southern Indus in the Missssipp Valley, and into northern Washington and Mantana in the Western states. Glacial deposits consist of tio broad Megoria: those doposted directly from moving ie, ad those depos. aity water running on, along, under, or out from ice. Sand and tthe! deposited from water associated with ice constitute most ofthe ‘economic sand and gravel deposits found in glaciated areas. Figure ‘Geology and Exploration 8) As ice melts, bodies of sediment are let down and deformed. Figure 4.2 Origin of bodies of ice-contact stratified dri? 4.2 depicts the origin of continental glacial deposits that are typical of the hilly to mountainous Northeastern United States. Figure 43 shows the origins of continental glacial deposits that are typical ofthe Midwestern United States, * Lodgement Till. Sediment plastered on the ground or on knobs directly from the iee without reworking by water is ealled lodgement fill. The latter forms, if rounded, are called drumlins. Lodgement ti is unstratified and is not an economic souree of sand and gravel because it contains too much clay-size ground-up rock that eanat economically be cleaned from the sand and gravel. Some lodgement Lill also contains excessively large blocks of rock that are eostly to handle. Lodgement tll, however, may provide a good souree of mate- tial for projects requiring large quantities of fill. © Eskers. skers are long, sinuous land forms that were deposited as poorly stratified eand and gravel in stream channels under or on ice sheets. Eskers typically vary in length from 300 ft to 300 miles and can be up to 600 ft high. These deposits ean be major sources of nd and gravel aggregate. © Kames. Kanes are irregular sand and gravel accumulations deposited by water running alongside, within, or on ice. Kames are found as shoulders often at a fairly constant elevation at the edges of valleys in which melting ice once lay. Kames also ean be irregular hills mint ine ten (Panwa pt a Welee Meee fate ote ‘A.W ce nt sabi and te ee 9 wang, stapnn! eanéto, varus Shales a ul melas {OP Gatwaen pas Figure 4.3 Marginal landforms of continental glaciers (copyright ©1969, 1975, by ‘thar N. Strahl)? ~Reoregate Handbook ‘Gesiogy and Exploration that were pockets of sand and gravel within iee masses, At times, ames occur with eskers and either type of deposit ean grade into deltas that form in ponded glacial lakes. All of these deposits may be economie sourees of sand and gravel. ‘ Outwash deposits. Major stream channels (or sluiceways) come from melting continental ice sheets. These channels often are filled with significant economic sand and gravel accumulations. Outwash plains are relatively flat areas thinly covered with sand and gravel that were deposited in front of melting ice. © Continental ice terminal moraines. Terminal moraines are lo- cated at the southernmost limit of continental ice sheets. These ‘moraines were formed as the ice front started to retreat because of melting. Major economic accumulations of sand and gravel are found in some terminal moraine areas. © Alpine lateral and terminal moraines. Sand and gravel deposited alongside or in front of alpine glaciers are lateral and terminal ‘moraines, respectively. These moraines are found in high mountain valleys of the Western United States and are very bouldery and poorly stratified Marine Deposits: Marine deposits are formed where streams empty into the sea forming deltas and also along the shores of continents and islands, Many of the major conglomerate, sandstone, and shale forma- tions originated from marine processes, ‘© Beach and bar deposits. Sand and gravel are deposited from wave and current action as beaches and. bars. Lagoon deposits, which are typically organic silt. and clay, are largely formed in bays behind offshore sand bars along coastal plains. ‘They also can be found beneath beach sand deposits. ‘The mineral and rock grains of beach deposits are much more uniform in size than glacial deposits. Rete tively homogeneous beach-formed strata may blanket thousands of square miles. Generally, beach sand is rich in quartz. In some marine areas, however, the sand contains abundant sea shells and coral parti cles. ‘This sand, in some tropical areas, consists almost entirely of calcium carbonate derived from the accumulation of shells from marine life. ‘¢ Barrier beaches, barrier islands. Long sand islands (located just off the mainland) that are parallel to shorelines are called barrier beaches or barrier islands. Barrier beaches and islands are visable above high tide and are found only where the ocean bottom dips gently avay from the land. For example, they are found off the Coastal plains of the southeastern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico enasts of the United States, © Calm water sediments. Silt and clay are very fine sediments that, often are deposited in the quiet marine waters behind offshore bers, in bays, or in the deep ocean, Coarser sediments may be deposited in deep ocean basins from submarine debris slides. Neither the fine sediments nor the debris slide sediments are of economic importance as aggregate. 'e Deltas. Deltas are formed at the mouths of streams where they empty into lakes or oceans. In the ease of sluggish rivers, the sediments in deltas are mostly sand, silt, and clay and are not economical as sourees of sand and gravel. However, where rivers are vigorous (such as where they come out of mountains) gravel may be deposited in deltas. Lacustrine Beach: Lacustrine (lake) deposits consist of deltas at the mouths of streams, beaches along the shorelines, and very soft silt and clay (mud) deposits in the offshore parts of the lake. Sand and gravel in lacustrine delta deposits tend to be stratified and can fontain a fairly wide range of particle sizes. In glacial areas a lacustrine deposit tends to vield better sand and gravel because of the flaciation of unweathered material. Beaches, however, tend to have 2 harrow range of particle sizes usually consisting of sand andior gravel Offshore mud generally. is devoid of gravel-size particles except for cceasional particles earried in by ice. Fluvial (Stream) Deposits: Clay, silt, sand, and gravel are depos- ited in river channels or on valley flood plains adjacent to rivers. The particle size deposited depends upon the velocity of the river; a larger Stream velocity results in the deposition of larger particle sizes than for a smaller velocity ‘© Channel deposits, In meandering streams, chane? deposits tend to be relatively fine grained up to sand size. Where streams are more vigorous, the channels may contain economically important deposits of sand and gravel. Channel deposits are dredged for their sand and {gravel in many rivers in the United States including, for example, the Ohio, Upper Mississippi, and the Monongahela rivers. ‘@ Stream terraces. When existing fluvial deposits are uplifted as a part of a general elevating of a land mass, the velocity of a stream is Increased because of the steeper gradient. The resulting higher energy water cuts through the previously deposited sediments, leav ing terraces alongside the stream valleys. Such terraces may contain ceonomie deposits of sand and gravel or may consist of fine ood plain sediments. Alluvial fans. In arid areas, water moving intermittently with high energy down valleys suddenly undergoes a significant decrease in telocty as it spreads out on the valley floor where it loses energy and deposits its suspended sediments. These alluvial fan deposits are generally fan-shaped and spread outward from the stream canyons Where they enter wide valleys. The materials found in an alluvial fan vary from sand to boulder size, ‘Fall line sand and gravel. The fall line is the trace of the boundary where hilly piedmont topography changes to flat coastal phin topography. At this juneture, the resultant abrupt change in the Yelocty of a stream causes deposition of coarser sand and gravel Some of the largest sand and gravel deposits in southeastern states such as South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama oceur immediately below the fall line. Eolian (Windblown) Deposits: Loess is dust deposited by the wind, Loess consists of silt-size particles typically 0.02 to 0.05 mm in diameter. The major loess deposits of the world were formed immedi ately after the draining of large lakes that remained after continental elaciation. Loess tends to be less than 100 ft thick, although loess ean be twice as thick in some areas. While loess has no value as aggre- gate, it frequently covers aggregate resources and needs to be removed. Sand dunes. Sand dunes are shifting deposits of windblown sand particles. Such deposits are deficient in both silt. and gravelsize particles. They are of limited value as aggregate. Dune sands can, however, be important sourees of industrial sand. Stone Deposits Sedimentary Rocks: Sedimentary rocks are formed either at the earth's surface or under water as a result of consolidation of sedimen tary materials formed from elastie processes. Clastic processes are those processes that cause the physical reduction of rock particle size by a combination of weathering and abrasion by wind, water, ice, or gravity: Sedimentary rocks also form as a result of consolidation of chemical precipitates such as some marine carbonate mud, spring deposits, and organochemical accumulations such as coral reefs and mieroscopie siliceous sea shells (such as radiolaria and diatoms), © Clastie rocks. Clastic sedimentary materials harden o indurate over a long period of time by cementation, Cementation usually is caused by the deposition of siliea or carbonate minerals carried by ground water and by compression due to the weight: of thick overlying deposits. ‘The most common clastie sedimentary rocks are shale formed from clay), siltstones (formed from silt), sandstone (formed from sand), and conglomerate (formed from gravel). The most exten sive elastie sedimentary deposits were originally marine shoreline and offshore deposits, fluvial deposits (often deltaic), or eolian, Clastie sedimentary rocks are layered (or stratified) with the layers varying from shale through sandstone and conglomerate rock, Clastie set mentary rock ean cover millions of square miles of contiguous land. # Carbonate rocks. Limestones and dolomites usually form a8 2 result of consolidation and cementation of the shells of marine animals or plants. They also may result from the consolidation of fine earbon- ate mud that is largely preefpitated from marine waters. ‘The eonsali- ation of loose carbonate material to hard rock is @ complex process of compression, solution, and chemical precipitation. The chemical alteration of materials frequently involves the addition of magnesium to limestones resulting in the formation of dolomite. Siiceous (si rich) materials such as detrital pebbles, sand, silt, and clay often are found within carbonate rock. Clastic sedimentary rock ean be a “agregate Handbook r interlayered with carbonate rock. In addition, silica-rich marine wa ters can chemically precipitate silica as chert usually in nodules or, Jess eommonly, as layers. Tn such a siliea-rich condition some ealeium carbonate shells ean be replaced by silica. @ Miscellaneous sedimentary rock. Some sevlimentary rocks that formed under special chemical or other conditions include iron forma- tions, diatomite or diatomaceous chert (consisting of microscopic, siliceous shells of diatoms), and gypsum deposits. ‘These rocks are usually of little value for agzregate, Igneous Rocks: Igneous rocks form from a viscous liquid silicate melt called magma. In the formation of extrusive igneous rocks, the melt is erupted onto the earth’s surface as ash, lava flows, or very viscous solid chunks. Intrusive igneous rocks are those that never reach the earth's surface. Intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks have ‘similar range of chemical composition but intrusive rocks are more coarse grained than the rapidly chilled extrusive rocks. Classification, Igneous rocks are classified as to origin (primarily as extrusive and intrusive rock), texture, and mineralogy. Generally the extrusive igneous rocks are fine-grained (even glassy) because they cooled rapidly from a very hot silicate liquid when they hit the atmosphere. Because of the insulating character of rock, intrusive rocks enol much more slowly than extrusive igmeous rocks and as a result the crystals grow to larger siz Figure 4.4 gives a simplified classification of the common igneous rocks, As a general rule, high quality aggregate can be produced from ‘a wide range of igneous rocks containing numerous different minerals in varying proportions. Hence, details of mineralogy andl classification usually are not relevant to producers. In practice, a commercial rock called granite may include such rocks as syenite, diorite, or even their metamorphic equivalents called granite gneiss, kyenite gneiss, or dio- rite gneiss. Note that gneiss is pronounced as nice. Geologists often use the more precise descriptions in reports and on. geologic maps. Hence these terms are of practical importance to producers. @ Intrusive rock forms. Magmas may be forced into other rock (intruded) as crosscutting (diseordant) tabular masses called dikes, ot as tabular masses called sills, which are parallel (concordant) to the layers of sedimentary rock as illustrated in Figure 4.5. The tabular intrusives vary from a few inches to over 800 ft in thickness. ‘The largest intruded igneous masses are irregular, multiple cross-cutting intrusions called batholiths and can occur over thousands of square niles. Large intrusive igneous masses tend to be coarse-grained and silica-rich (typically 60 to 76% silica). The smaller cross-cutting intra- sives vary from white, silica-rich rock to black, siiea-poor rock. Some dark-colored sills are’ several hundred feet thick and underlie many square miles of surface. Generally these rocks have around 50% silica These dark-colored sills are called diabase (compositionally gabbro or basalt) by geologists and trap rock by stone producers, Geology and Exploration — ry INTRUSIVE ROCK 1 ' Figure 4.4 Tabulation of common intrusive and extrusive igneous rock a ‘mineralogic and chemical compositions (modified from reference 4). thelr Lines of Outerops Figure 45 Sills are concordant and dikes are discordant tabular intrsions.* @ Extrusive rock forms, Magmas ean rise to the surface and form voleanoes. Voleanoes often violently erupt ash, blocks of rock, or cinders forming ash or cinder cones. Some ash is erupted as incandes- cent flows and can devastatingly cover vast areas. Much of the vleanie activity in the Western United States has been of this violent type. Examples of voleanie activity are the Mt. St. Helens’ eruption in the state of Washington, and the incandescent ash flow that destroyed the town of St. Pierre on the island of Martinique in the Caribbean in 1929. The violent volcanoes that erupt ash and cinders or blocks often slowly extrude very viscous, glassy rock called obsidian. The rock that, forms from violent voleanie aetivity tends to be rich in silica (over 60%) and has texture varying from fine grained to glassy. Aggregate manufactured from this rock tends to react deleteriously with the alkali in portland cement. Extrusive rock called flood basalt, at the other extreme, is erupted relatively quietly from major rifts in the earth's erust. Flood basalts can flow rapidly and form broad plateaus, ‘These basalts are usually dark colored and have a sitiea content of about 50%. The Columbia River plateau of eastern Washington and some of the trap rock of the Eastern United States are extrusive flood basalts. Such rock tends to be free of glass, although the erystals may be microscopic. ‘Metamorphic Rock: A sedimentary or igneous rock, when sub. jected to sulficiently high pressures and temperatures, is altered by reerystallization to a metamorphic rock. Often shear oceurs during metamorphism giving the metamorphie minerals a parallel orienta tion and platey appearance called schistosity. Table 4.1 summarizes some common metamorphic rocks derived from igneous and sedimen- tary rock equivalents. © Regionally metamorphosed rock. Any form of metamorphism that occurs over a large area is called regional metamorphism Table 4.1 Common Rock Equivalents (Moditied trom Reference 6) Sedimentary ‘Metamorphic Rock Sediments Rock Equivalents Equivalents Gant Congiomerale| “Gries and various sciss Sard Sandstone ‘Quarta and quart shist irom pure quartz sand, rica schist icertan impuries are present uy Shale Sato and schists, especialy mica schist Lime deposits, Limestone Marie uch as alk or shale Igneous Rock ‘Metamorphic Rock Equivalents ‘yenito, ang oor reise Tock wth much eldepar Fine-qrined feldspar rook, ‘uch aa elie and tte Dioite, Basal, and ather Homblende schist and ‘base rock schists Slate and schists Regional metamorphic rock can cover thousands of square miles.A good example of @ metamorphie belt is one that starts in Newfound land and extends all the way down the Appalachian Mountains ending in northern Alabama and Georgia. Generally regional metamorphism is the result of shear stress accompanied by heat. The silica-rich rocks that result from such metamorphism are slates (formed at low temperature), and schists or gneisses which are recrystallized at higher temperatures. The sedimentary earbonate rock (limestone and dolomite) reerystallizes under regional metamorphic conditions to form marble, which is usually coarser than its unmetamorphosed equiva- lents, Siliea and other impurities in the sedimentary carbonate rocks usually combine with some of the calcium and magnesium earbonate to form metamorphic calcium and magnesium silicates. Aggregate producers may refer to marble as limestone or dolomite, Table 4.1 summarizes the most common sourees of metamorphic rock, © ‘Thermally metamorphosed roek, Rocks encountered in the vi ‘of large intrusive magmas or other major sources of heat often are recrystallized primarily hy heat. These rocks are called baked rock and often are very hard and durable. A slate, for instance, may grade into a very hard dense rock (hornjels) where it is close to a granite Some marble forms by thermal metamorphism of earbonate rock, In most cases, the original mineralogy is reconstituted to various de- grees and new minerals are formed that are in equilibrium with the high temperatures. A sandy dolomite, thus, may alter to a diopsidie “Ragregate Handbook dolomitie marble or to a tremolitie dolomitie marble depending upon the temperatures to which the rock is subjected. 4.3 Variations in Aggregate Quality Few aggregate resources are homogeneous in their physical charac teristies. This section summarizes some of the ways in which aggre. gale resources can vary between different deposits and within a deposit. Variations Related to Stone Type Igneous Rock Variations: ‘Textural considerations. Ipmeous rocks vary in texture from porous, ashy rock to dense, fine grained rock. Exceedingly coarse-grained rocks called pegmatites occur and have single crystals that are as large as several fect in length. ‘The hardness and resistance of igneous rock to abrasion are usually the greatest, when they consist of erystals that are less than about 2mm insite, Many of the high quality trap rocks are of this type as well as some lava flow rocks of the Western United States and granites of the Appalachians. ‘© Compositional factors. ‘The high-silica volcanic rocks often are glassy even though the glass may not be visible without magnifica- tion. ‘The very viseous lavas and consolidated incandescent ash flows that are found in some parts of the Western United States are frequently glassy. Such glasses are often highly reactive chemically with alkali in portland cement and hence are unsatisfactory in ex posed portland cement concrete. © Texture. igneous rocks owe much of their strength to the ten- deney for the grains to interlock and thus resist abrasion. ‘The interlocking grains in trap rock are responsible for its usual high quality. However, olivine ((Mg,Fe).Si0,)], which frequently oeeurs in trap rock, tends to occur in somewhat rounded grains causing the nearly pure olivine rock (dunite) to be friable and some olivine-rich trap rock to be weak. Mieas do not usually interlock with other ninerals and when concentrated create zones of weakness. Quartz, on the other hand, usually tightly interlocks with other minerals and is a ‘major souree of strength for many rocks. © Differentiation. During the crystallization of low viscosity, silica- poor igneous melts, minerals may be segregated in layers by a proces called magmatic differentiation. Since trap rocks often are segre- sated in this way, they vary in quality largely because of the weaken- ing effect of the mineral olivine that often concentrates near the base of trap rock masses. Metamorphic Rock Variations: Slates. Metamorphic rocks that ‘Geology and Exploration a3 have recrystallized as a result of shear at relatively low temperatures include siates. Slates tend to be platey and are generally unsatisfae- tory for use as aggregate because they erush to flat particles or may be unsound. © Schists and Gneisses. Schists are formed at higher temperatures Under regional shearing and reerystallization conditions. Sehists usu- ally are more sound than slates but still may form flat particles upon crushing. Thus schists are often of marginal quality. However, if the chemistry of a rock is such that the platey micas or elongated amphiboies are not present, flat particles may not form upon erush- ing, For example, rocks such as quartzite (metamorphie sandstone) or marble (metamorphic carbonate rock) often make excellent aggregate even though they may occur in an area with schists which are not acceptable. Gneise is a sheared, recrystallized metamorphic rock that is usually defined by geologists'as having less than 60% mica but is otherwise similar to schist. However, a rock with more than 10 to 25% mica is likely to be of unsuitable quality for many uses because of un. soundness and because of the occurrence upon erushing of an exces- sive amount of flat particles, Thus, some gneisses eannot be readily processed to give a high quality ‘aggregate, When the surface of adjacent plates of miea in a gmeiss rock is more than about 20 mm apart or the mica content is less than about 10%, excellent aggregate usually can be produced. © Localized Schistosity (Shearing). Deep in the earth’s erust rocks may be at a temperature at which a new mineral assemblage can form and be stable, In the absence of regional shearing, however, the new mineral assemblage may not form. When such rocks are sheared locally, zones of new stable minerals in the form of a platey schist as harrow as about 3 fl may traverse otherwise high-quality rock. At lower temperatures, shearing along fault zones usually greatly weak fens a rock and reerystallization may not occur, Hydrothermal Metamorphism. Many rocks are altered by hot water (hydrothermal metamorphism) with the resulting altered rock usually being unsatisfactory as an aggregate. Lava flows, granite, and trap rock can have isolated zones of hydrothermal alteration causing these zones to be porous or clay-rich and hence unsatisfactory 9s aggregate ‘@ Amphiboles. Metamorphic processes may cause various am- phiboles such as actinolite, tremolite and anthophyllite to form. ‘These amphiboles usually occur as brittle erystals, but rarely occur locally as fibrous varieties called asbestos. The mining, processing, and use of asbestos are closely regulated by governmental agencies, Amphiboles ean be found in any marble or other rock in_ which carbonate minerals were original constituents. Such minerals also commonly form by metamorphism of the siliea-poor igneous rocks such as trap rock or serpentine. r rs ‘Aggregate Handbook } Geology and Exploration a Sedimentary Variations: Clay-rich rock. The major elay-rieh rock is shale, Shales are ustally unsatisfactory for aggregate because of their tendency to form flats on crushing and because they disinte- grate (slake) upon wetting and drying. Shales oceur as continuous layers over wide areas, as lenses a few feet wide and a foot or so thick, and as paper-thin layers (partings). Shale lenses often fill ancient channels in sandstone and hence frequently wander errati cally through a sandstone deposit. Any rock (such as limestone or sandstone) that contains shale in layers may be unsound as aggregate because of the slaking along the shaley layers. Shaley rocks also tend to deteriorate when subjected to sulfate soundness and freeze-thaw tests Tn some instances, carbonate rocks containing minor amounts of clay develop dolomite crystals upon the addition of MgO. The dolomite crystals usually are clear because impurities such as clay are forced to the edge of the erystals. A network of such nonearbonate impurities around dolomite erystals can cause a carbonate rock to be unsound because of a tendency to deteriorate upon wetting and drying similar to the way a shale slakes.” Dolomitic limestone of this type may falsely appear to be sound in fresh cores with shale partings being absent or rare. ‘© Cementation, Sedimentary rocks vary in abrasion resistance and ray be friable (.¢., poorly cemented) to compact and dense (i.e., well cemented). Gementation may be irregular. For example, sandstones often are cemented with silien where they outerop but are poorly cemented and friable behind the outerop. ‘Some limestones, such as reef rock and shell conglomerates known as coquinas, are poorly cemented when first formed but on eompac- tion become cemented and hard. The age of sedimentary rock fre quently influences their quality: Old sedimentary rocks, which are common in the Eastern United States, tend to be better cemented and of better quality for aggregate use than the younger but other- wise similar rock found on the West Coast. Quality Relative to the Origin of Sand and Gravel Influence of Bedrock in Glaciated Areas: The quality of sand and gravel is heavily influenced by the nature of the bedrock from whieh the sediments were derived. Sand and gravel derived from sound rocks, such as many igneous and metamorphic rocks, tend to be sound. Sand and gravel derived from rocks rich in shale, siltstone, or other unsound materials tend to be unsound. In areas where the bedrock is, of marginal quality, kame deposits occurring at the edges of valleys tend to be of poorer quality and lower soundness than kames or ‘outwash deposits in the middle of the valleys beeause the edges of the valleys receive the greatest contribution from the unsound local rocks. Sand and gravel deposited at high elevations from water associated with ice G.e., from kames, eskers, etc.) may be superior to similar a8 deposits in lowland where the bedrock is of poor quality. The reason is that rock high in an ice sheet has been earried from higher, more ‘mountainous areas which tend to consist of hard, sound rocks. Influence of Types of Deposition: Sand and gravel that have been subjected to prolonged agitation by water usually are of better quality than less abraded sand and gravel. Thus beach sands, because of wave action over extended periods of time, tend to have low soundness losses although the gradation tends to be uniform, Glacial outwash channel deposits often are of better quality than kame and esker gravel in the same area because the outwash chaninel sediments have undergone more wear. The coarse debris in drumlins is fre- quently of poor quality; however, the quality is rarely tested beeause drumbins are usually ot economic aggregate sourees due to gradation problems. Weathering Effects Chemical Weathering of Rocks: Prolonged weathering under warm, humid conditions profoundly alters most igneous, metamor. phic, and sedimentary rocks. In the Southeastern United States, such weathering causes saprolites to form in which there is often a grada- tion from a clay-rich or hydrous ivon-aluminum oxide-rich soil, through the friable material called saprolite (which often mimies the Structure of the original rock) to the original bedrock. In some parts of the world the weathered zone is over 200 f thick, the depth of weathering being a function of climate, local elevation, slope, water table depth, nature of the bedrock, and time. The quality of the materials for aggregate is generally gradational with an upper zone that. usually must be stripped, an intermediate zone of sandy silt and silty sand that generally is suitable 2s fill, to a fresh rock that may be suitable for high-quality aggregate. Influence of Salt and Colloids: Chemical weathering always re- leases salts and colloids that are carried away by percolating water, ‘The salt may be dissipated or concentrated and has a profound influence on the quality of some rock. Case hardening can occur in arid areas where pebbles tend to develop a hard shell. Case hardening occurs because of the deposition of salts or colloids (usually calcium carbonate or silica) that were dissolved from the inside and carried outward and reprecipitated at the outer erlee of the pebble. Thus, pebbles in desert areas may seem quite hard, but inside they may actually be weak or friable. Case hardening also occurs in non-arid areas, such as the Eastern United States. Evaporation of water from an outerop surface eauses cementation of grains on the surface. Thus, dense, sedimentary quartzites may be found at an onterop, Such outerops may not be representative of a sandstone or conglomerate a few feet behind the outcrop where the rock might be poorly cemented and friable. Sand and gravel deposits are commonly cemented by ealeite at the ae “Agaregate Handbook ner a water table, Cementation occurs because calcium carbonate leaches from the sand and gravel above the water table and is carried down- ward to precipitate as a cement. ‘The zone of cemented sand and gravel becomes a type of conglomerate rock (which is often called caliche in the Western United States). The leached sand and gravel shove the water table is usually of poorer quality than the unleached sand and gravel below the ealiche zone. Soluble salts such as sulfate and chloride also are released by weathering. The crystallization of salt in rock pores often causes rock to deteriorate at their outerops. This natural process is similar to that cecurring in a sulfate soundness test and is also responsible for much deterioration at the base of masonry walls and monuments, Although the process is most obvious in arid areas, it also is observed in humid regions. For example, sulfate salt in aggregate from an area in Vinginia (where alum springs occur) caused deterioration of aggre- fale in the base course under an asphalt pavement." A’ similar situation was observed in South Africa” where the sulfate was re- leased because of weathering of sulfides which was interpreted as occurring in pavement bases after being constructed. Physical Weathering: Changes in temperature, humidity, freezing and thawing, and wetting and drying are several eyclie physical changes that cause stress within rocks. Outeropping rocks may’ be greatly influenced by these environmemntal effects and often lose strength as a result. ¢ Wetting and Drying, Humidity Changes. When subjected to alternate cycles of wetting and drying or humidity changes, some rocks deteriorate by a process called slaking. The most common ‘example is shale, which rarely outerops because it deteriorates so fast ‘on exposure to the environment. Other rocks that contain layers or partings of shale also tend to deteriorate along these layers, Some dolomitic carbonate rocks, as discussed in Section 4.3, and some weathered or hydrothermally altered rocks may contain clay in a disseminated form, Often stich rocks are unsound on wetting and drying or disaggregate rapidly when subjected to abrasion, sulfate soundness, or freeze-thaw tests. © Freezing and Thawing, Water expands 9% when it changes to ice and if there is no space available to accommodate the expansion, enormous forces are ereated. Thus, cycles of freezing and thawing of water-saturated rock may cause deterioration. It is not always clear whether a rock deteriorates by slaking or freezing and thawing, Some water-saturated rocks are perfectly stable when subjected to freez and thawing in outerops. Stability occurs because the water, which is driven ahead of expanding ice, migrates into the rock and henee does not build_up enough hydrostatic pressure and expansive force to cause sufficient stress to break the rock. However, the same rock removed from a quarry face and allowed to freeze evenly on all sides before it has lost its normal rock water (sometimes ealled quarry sap) ‘Geclogy and Exploration i ec may break, This type of failure has been observed in graywache | 4.4 Exploration and Evaluation building stone and in some dolomites in New York that were quarried and immediately frozen before suifieient drying had occurred. Under these conditions, the rock may break during freezing with a sudden, sharp snap, ‘¢ ‘Temperature Cycling. Some rocks suffer considerable internal strain from temperature eyeling, stich as coarse-grained dolomitie or calcitic marble, which have a strong preferred erystal orientation The reason is that the carbonate minerals have great differences in thermal expansion in the two major erystallographie direetions. In addition, some rocks that contain hydrated minerals dehydrate in the sun and then rehydrate on cooling. This phenomenon is part of the slaking process described previously. Influence of Climate on Sand and Gravel Quality: Granular sediments derived from areas of prolonged, deep weathering under humid conditions tend to be of high quality. This, for example, is true in the Southeastern United States, where the rocks have been wea ered for tens to hundreds of millions of years. Only the hard, durable minerals such as quartz survive and coneentrate in the sand and gravel accumulations. ‘The opposite situation is found in major glad ated areas where continental ice sheets have stripped soil and weath tered rock cover. The sand and gravel in these areas tend to be of lower quality than in areas of deep chemical weathering. Tn arid regions weathering effects also may be locally deep but fr the common silicate minerals the effects are usually not deleterious. However, sulfides may be completely deteriorated to depths of a thou- sand or more feet, appreciably weakening sulfide-rich rock. Influence of Sedimentary Recycling: Many recent sands and seravels have been derived from older sand and gravel deposits. As 4 result, some sand and gravel particles have been reeyeled one or mote times over millions of years. These old particles are the hardest and have the best quality because only durable particles can survive prolonged attrition and associated chemical weathering. Much of the ‘well rounded beach sand of the Southeastern United States has been through several eyeles of erosion and deposition. et oer lanka Introduction Problem Definition: In most eases the job of the exploration geologist is to locate a viable aggregate deposit to supply a given Market. at a competitive price. ‘The price charged for aggregate indudes the cost of development of the aggregate mining facihty, which is usually amortized over a long period of time, The price Gharged for aggregate also includes hauling, processing, regulatory expenses, sales, and administration costs along with a reasonable profit. These costs must be estimated and considered very early in evaluating the economies of a new aggregate source. Exploration is tas much more than simply finding a source of suitable material and includes the overall evaluation of the economies associated with quarry development. ‘This section considers briefly regulations and haul costs, whieh are discussed in more detail in Chapters 5, 6, and 10. Techniques are considered to optimally locate and define the quality, quantity, and configuration of aggregate deposits. Finally, the nature of aggregate reserves (.e., the minimum available aggregate resource expressed in folume or tons) is diseussed in some detail. An excellent overview of the overall economies of the aggregate industry is given in Chapter 2 "The Geologist’s Task: Usually only a single, new deposit is most suitable for @ given market. The task of the geologist is to locate this deposit. Principle of the Weakest Point: During all phases of exploration a weakest point exists that must be analyzed, at least to some extent, before other aspects of exploration ean proceed. The weakest point taually shifts because as one point, is understood and compensated fir, another weakest point replaces it. Examples of the weakest point concept are: 1. To explore an area extensively when a zoning restriction makes it impossible to open a new operation is obviously a waste of money. ‘Therefore, exploration should proceed only after the zoning situation, which is the weakest point, is better defined and understood. 2. Conversely, to go to the expense of obtaining total assurance that all zoning or political obstacles are removed before the quality of the aggregate materials has been determined at least prelimi narily also may be money badly spent. 3. To extensively explore a piece of property without at least obtaining an option to purchase the land is another case of not addressing a weak point in proper sequence. ‘Thus, exploration always requires enough judgment and experience to enable the geologist to conduct his work in a logical sequence. Excessive funds should not be spent to solve one problem to a 100% % Geclogy and Exploration level of certainty, when another major problem has yet to be ad dressed. In other words, each weak point should be addressed and solved to an acceptable probability, and then the next weak point addressed, and so on, Frequently, at a later stage of exploration, carly weak points should be readdressed and then rescved to anew lower level of risk."® Political, Regulatory, and Social Factors Localized Regulations: The development of a souree for potential aggregate production is usually significantly influenced by zoning regulations at the town or county levels and even at the state level Regulations usually encourage community participation in hearings. Hearings are held before political or bureaueratie bodies, such as town boards or hearing officers. The views toward aggregate produc. ers of the local public and their politieal representatives usually must be carefully analyzed." These aspects are covered in detail in Chapter Federal Regulations: Federal regulations regarding various miner- als that are believed to threaten human health are also a factor in exploration. In addition, regulations pertaining to work safety are of importance in exploration and are discussed in Chapters 6 and 6, ‘When to Consider Regulations: The implications of relevant ord nances and regulations must be considered very early in exploration because they may effectively eliminate some tracts of land as being viable, potential sites Transportation Factors Importance of Transportation Routes: In virtually all cases, the economie viability of an aggregate deposit is a funetion of the cost of moving the finished products to the market compared to the cost of moving competitive aggregate to the same market. Exploration starts with an analysis, or at the least an understanding, of haul routes and the costs of moving products to the markets by various truck, water, or rail routes. During this early phase knowing details of haul eostsis not usually necessary, but an awareness of their approximate magn tude is important. ‘Thus, the search for a new deposit is usualy coneentrated near suitable transportation routes that ean eeonomi cally access the marketplace. Variations in Haul and Handling Costs: Hauling and handling costs of aggregate are highly variable. Trucking costs may be quite Jow in areas of minimal delays, but the costs are much higher when there are impediments caused by traffic, traffic lights, or low speed limits. The costs may vary from $0.10 or less per-ton-mile in rural ‘areas to several times this in metropolitan areas. Somewhat similarly, rail costs vary greatly with the rail lines and with the number of ral lines that are used. Rail costs tend to be about 20 to 30% of the tor-mile trucking costs. Water transportation eosts vary with the sie a apes ined ofthe vossels and with the number of locks if the aggregate is barged. Usually the costs are 10 to 20% or less of trucking costs. The cost of Joading and unloading facilities and of handling and storage for rail or water transportation is usually more than for truck transportation, However, under some long haul conditions, the cost advantage of moving large quantities of aggregate by rail or. water far outweighs any disadvantages. ‘Final haul costs are generally not determined in early phases of exploration, The exploration geologist, however, must always be sen: sitive to the influence of hauling costs (which are discussed in Chapter 10) on the viability of a prospective aggregate source, Site Selection — Sand and Gravel Land Form Analysis: A sand and gravel deposit usually has a characteristic land form. Working with a standard topographic quad- rangle map at a scale of about 2,000 ft to the inch, an experienced pologist can select most locations where sand and gravel may occur, ‘Aerial photos, which are available for most areas, also can be used to ‘advantage in’ performing this type of initial investigation, Aerial photos are often available through the local geological survey or it will know where aerial photos ean be obtained. Aerial photos provide the most detail for land form analysis including stereographic view- ing. However, because sand and gravel deposits usually must have significant size to be viable, and the topography of their features is relatively large, the standard 2,000 ft-to-the-inch topographic maps fre usually adequate and are less expensive to use than aerial photographs. When the only maps available have a scale of a mile or Imore to the inch, the maps are of less value to the geologist because some deposits could be missed. © Gradation. Gradation is a critical characteristic of any sand and ravel deposit because aggregate is sold in specific graded sizes. a general rule, sand and gravel deposits with coarser particles are superior to deposits of finer-size particles because finer sizes ean be made from larger ones, but the reverse is not true. ‘Table 4.2 gives a summary of the typical materials found in each land form. Before field exploration work, the geologist may have a reasonably good idea of the size, gradation, and quality of the various sand and gravel deposits based on his knowledge of their geologic origin. Site Selection — Stone Zeroing In: The first requisite for locating sites underlain by stone suitable for the manufacture of crushed stone products is to under: stand the distribution of various rock types in the area of interest Usually maps of the bedrock geology are available from the state geologieal survey or from the United States Geologieal Survey. When ‘Geology and Expiration eH Table 4.2 Landforms and Gradations Longton Gradation" Beach lerace Sand (grave) Flood plain terace Sit and clay channel Sand and grat (clay) Giacal cutwash channel Datta, meandering river Delia, vigorous streams Sand and gravel (cla) Sit and clay (sand) Sand and gravel Close ta mouth, finer away trom mouth Eskor Sand and gravel (cay) Kame Sand and gravel (ay) Alva fan Bouldory gravel and sand Drums, lodgement tl CCompacted sit ane cay wth ‘rave and boulders 1. Minor components are in parentheses. 2. Detintions of sand and of gravel vary. Sol engineers and geologists define grave at ny paricle greater than the US. Standard No, 4 sieve size (about Yagi.) and less fan 3'in For aggregate producers fine aggregate Is colloquialy called sand ard the ‘agregate and usualy Includes particles below 3% in. in size, Thus fine aggregae includes sand and some grave! ae delined by engineers and geologist, geology maps are not available, learning the nature of the bedrock requires geologic mapping, air photo interpretation, geophysics, ot other methods of geologic reconnaissance. Quarries that are already in the area can provide valuable information about rock types that have proven to be satisfactory in the past although suitable roek may not be restricted to those types. Understanding Outcrops: Once a potential site is located, any rock exposure available at the site should be investigated. The exploration ‘geologist must be acutely aware of why some rocks outerop and why other rocks do not, Several case histories illustrate how outerops can be deceptive: 1. Granite Outeropping. A glaciated area of low, rounded hills had outeropping granite on every hill suggesting that the whole area was underlain by granite, In actuality, the swales between the hills were all underlain by unsatisfactory marble that had been eroded down by glacial action, Thus, the conclusion that all of the rock was sound granite would have been incorrect. Often the softer, least resistant rock is more easily eroded or dissolved and therefore forms the valleys and other lower areas as was the case in this example. 2. Limestone Cliffs. A 45- to 60-f cliff of horizontally layered, high-quality limestone appeared to be an excellent potential quarry site, But between the limestone outerops, areas of non- outeropping, unsound dolomite layers were present. The un- sound dolomites were sensitive to alternate wetting and drying, mT ‘Aggregate Handbook ¥ 3. Sandstone Cliffs. Graywacke sandstones outerop prominently in the area of the Catskill Mountains of New York extending south and westward into Pennsylvania, Non-outeropping shales virtw: ally always occur between the sandstone layers. Again, the visible outeropping of sandstone is not typical of the entire deposit. 4, Case Hardening. The ease hardening effects commonly found in certain porous rocks (such as sandstone) produce outerops of deceptively good quality. The layers behind the outcrops may be poorly cemented. Case hardening is encountered in the gray- ‘wacke sandstones of New York and Pennsylvania and many quartz conglomerate rocks of the Appalachian chain and some Western states. 5. Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks. Most. igneous and metamorphic rocks tend to be of poorer quality at the outcrop than at depth because of weathering of feldspars and other complex silicates. Hence, any tests made on outeropping rock may indicate a lower ‘quality rock that is not representative of the deposit at depth 6. Sand and Gravel. In the North Central and Northeastem United States, the sand and gravel immediately below the topsoil in exploration pits may fail soundness tests because of the leaching out of caleium carbonate cement, The same deposit at depth may be acceptable. Consider earefully the nature of visible evidence of rock quality and continuity and be aware that the appearance of an outeropping can be deceiving. In all of the above cases, samples taken from or near the surface were not representative of the underlying deposit, Geologic Mapping Rationale for Geologie Mapping: The geology of a property: must always be sufficiently known so that all critical variations in rock (quality are understood. Mapping the geology is a way of systematiz ing field observations, and it is valuable for planning drilling and ther sampling operations. In cases of complex geology such as the New York City area illustrated in Figure 4.6, mapping is usually ceaeential to comprehend the variations in rock quality. Formal geo- logic mapping may not be required if the geology is simple. For example, where rocks are horizontally Iayered or folding is not com plex, the only field observations may be determinations of bedding ingles and identification of rock types. In any event detailed geologic ‘mapping should rarely be performed early in exploration. As a practical matter, detailed geologic maps may never be required for same operations. ‘Base Maps: Base maps of properties ean be as simple as property boundary maps. They may be as complex as topographic maps made at a scale of 100 or even 50 ft to the inch from specially flown Geciogy and Exploration cer NEW JERSEY NEW YORK Figure 4.6 Complex geology of the New York City area."* stereographie aerial photographs. When the geology is complex and quality control difficult (Figure 4.6), or when engineering problems are severe, preparation of a geologic map is prudent. ‘The selected scale and contour interval are primarily a function of the eomplexty of the topography and the amount of details that need to be included on the map, "The techniques for geologic mapping and interpretation are not discussed here because of their complexity. Any mapping should be performed by geologists familiar with the requirements of the aggre: gate industry. Detailed diseussions of mapping are given elsewhere.” Methods of Obtaining Samples ystematie sampling of the aggregate souree is basic to determining reserves. The nature and trend of the layers must be known well enough so that the position of each sample relative to the layers that ultimately will be mined is understood. All pits, dil sites, ‘or other sampling locations should be plotted on maps. Sampling should be sufficient to allow the evaluation of the quality, quantity, ‘and configuration of all layers or zones to be mined. When a layer is sampled for testing, the entire layer intersected by drilling, trenech- ing, or other methods should be sampled. Enough samples should be taken of each zone so that its critical characteristics are known, In addition, multiple sampling of zones allows for checking on the quality of the test results, ie., test results for a particular zone should be similar. Duplicate Samples routinely should be sent to testing labors a ‘Aggregate Handbook tories as a further check on laboratory results, Finally, assurance should be obtained at an early stage that the test results received will be essentially the same results that the specifying governmental ageney in whose jurisdiction the producer markets his products will tbiain on the same samples. Sampling techniques also are described in Chapter 16. ‘Types of Samples: The types of samples commonly taken are as follows: L. Grab Samples. Grab samples are preliminary only and rarely can be considered typical of a deposit. Grab samples can be taken from pits, off outerops, out of cores, from quarry or pit walls, stone product piles, or muck piles. In each case, the person performing {he sampling should attempt to obtain typical, representative mate: rial. To obtain the best sample from a product pile, the sampler should follow procedures outlined in ASTM D75-87"" because piles tend to segregate. The sampler should realize, however, that even under the best of circumstances, grab samples rarely are represen tative of the deposit. If properly taken, grab samples may be representative of a muck or product pile 2, Shot Samples. In some cases rock is shot from an outerop or from a quarry face for testing purposes. If only some of the rock is sampled, it must be considered to be a grab sample. It is preferential to take all of the shot material for testing purposes. Guill, a sample of shot material, large though it may be, is probably representative of only a limited part of a deposit. The degree to ‘which it is likely to be representative of the whole or of a segment of the deposit should be determined by an experienced geologist. 3. Pit Samples. Samples of sand and gravel can be taken from excavated pits. Pit samples are relatively inexpensive to take and several samples can be obtained in a day. Care should be taken to sample around and well into each pile of exeavated material. The person performing the sampling should observe and, preferably, log the pit layers to be certain that whatever material is taken reason. ably represents the gradations of material to be mined. Any sample obtained from a pit is likely to be leached of cementing carbonate minerals and therefore may not fairly represent the quality of the resource at depth. 4. Core Drilling. A typical core drilling set-up is shown in Figure 4.7. If possible, cores should be taken approximately perpendicular to the direction of rock layering. The size of core that is taken is a compromise between cost, recoverability, quantity, and ease of handling. Although cores may be as small as ¥6 in, or as lange as 36 in. in diameter, the most frequently used sizes are NX (2% in. core diameter) or NQ @ in. core diameter) ‘The spacing and number of core drill holes are dependent on the complexity of a deposit and on the purpose of the drilling. A fairly typieal spacing for core holes is 400-ft centers or one hole per four ‘Gesiogy and Exploration ~ noua sveave WE UNE wine omum vowst, f/f AI ‘aTieaD HoT > wen se evens noo conraats,/ raawsmission rowen ur. Iss _=SMIVEL ORL EAD _> WORAULC FEED CYLNDERS | ora noo ORE BARREL IANO air iyo w Figure 4.7 Schematic of typical diamond core dil rig."* CUTTER HEAD (REPLACEABLE TEETH) Figure 4.8 Continuous flight augers used for sampling sand and gravel deposits,"* eres. But when rock is homogeneous over Jange areas a wider spacing can sometimes be justified. Great geologie complexity may, inother eases, require mich closer spacing. 5. Drilling Sand and Gravel Deposits. Several methods are used to drill into sand and gravel deposits. A geologist or supervising engineer should be at the drill rig during all drilling no matter what method is selected ‘Auger drilling (Figure 4.8) employing a G-in. diameter or greater auger ean be used to obtain samples of sand and gravel deposits. In areas where the quality and gradation of deposits are not particular concerns, but till or clay and silt layers are a problem, the auger method works very well. An experienced driller usually ean deter nnine by how the drill acts what type of material is being drilled. Samples obtained from auger drilling are mixed and hence the actual layer from which a sample originated is not necessarily. known. Logging of auger holes should be performed by a geologist or engi oer atthe drill rig ‘Bucket augering consists of pushing a easing into a hole typically 12 in, to 24 in, in diameter with bucket samples being taken from below the casing. Bucket angering can be used when lange representative samples are essential. This method is probably the best technique for dhiaining truly representative samples of sand and gravel deposits, Geology and Exploration ca but itis usually not employed because of its high eos. Some drilling systems force air or water down the stem of a hollow auger, driving the sand and gravel that is penetrated back to the surface where it is collected. This type of drilling is relatively inex pensive, but the samples are mixed and the precise gradation of each layer encountered is uncertain. In the ease of a water return, the gradation of a sample may be more related to the velocity of the return water than to the in situ gradation because the water tends to ‘wash out the fines and may not be able to carry the larger particles up the hole. ‘A hollow tube that is split down its length, called a split spoon sampler,"® can be hammered into a deposit and then pulled out as shown in Figure 4.9. The tube is opened and the loose material within it removed as a sample. Split spoon sampling should be continuous, to obtain the best indication of the nature of a deposit. This type of sampling. is usually preferred over other types because it is relatively inexpensive and sampling is eontimuous. However, the size of particles returned is restricted by the size of the tube. A generally acceptable split spoon sampler size is a 3-in, outside diameter tube. Partieles over about 2 in, in size, however, will not enter the barrel and henee the sample is biased toward the smaller-sized particles. ‘Sand and gravel deposits can be explored to depths up to about 20 RL using backhoe-type excavation equipment. Excavation permits sam- pling from known depths and includes all material sizes. ‘The shallow depth of backhoe samples limits their value, Logging Sand and Gravel Samples and Rock Cores: A geological or engineering description of cores or sand and gravel samples taken is required before selection of samples for engineering or other analyses, Deseriptions should employ standard terminology, standard symbols, and standard colors to minimize the possibility of subjectr ity and misunderstanding,” Unsplit rock cores are frequently logged for certain engineering purposes such as for analysis for the design of tunnels, dams, and building foundations. Table 4.3 summarizes the parameters that can be used to deseribe the rock along with its standard symbols. Gener- ally, rock cores with strong decomposition, weak strengths, eonsider- able fracturing, low hardness, or low rock quality designation (RQD) tend to make poor aggregate. Determining such parameters is not a substitute for systematic testing, but these observations allow a greater clement of predictability for test results, Core logging of rock types should in most eases be performed on a core that has been split. Core splitting is performed using equipment in which a hammer or hydraulic press drives steel wedges, which splits the eylindrical core longitudinally. Working with a split core has two advantages: (1) a fresh surface is available for observation; and @) half of the core ean be sent for testing while the other half is retained for reference. DRIVE WEIGHT 14015 30 in. FREE FALL DRILL ROD DRIVE HEAD DRIVE DRIVE COUPLING DRIVE SHOE {a) Driving sample HARDENED SHOE ‘THIN WALL LINER! (b) Split spoon sampler with tiner OUTER SPLIT TUBE BALL CHECK Figure 4.9 Split spoon drive sampling used for detalled exploration of sand and swavel deposits." 8 ‘Ragrogate Handbook ‘Geology and Exploration a Table 4.3 Rock Log Legena"* Rock Quolly Parameters Grades of Decomposition D1 Fresh Roce 1.2 Shghty Allred Rock (Joints Stained D3 Moderately Altored Fock (Matrix somewhat weakaned) (Dot Highly Altered Roce (Matnx weak) 10-5 Residual Sol (Soil saprolite} Grades of Strength 1 Strong (Metalic sound, breaks with cificuty wis hammer) ‘5:2 Moderately Siang (Oull soune: breaks with moderate hammer Blow) $3 Weak (Cuts easily with kite) 'S-4 Very Woak (Broaks with finger pressure) Grades of Fracturing F-1 Massivo (Fracture spacing great than 3) F-2 Moderately Jointed (Fracture spacing Bin. to 3) 3 Vory Joined (Fracture spacing 4 into 8 In) F-4 Exttemely Jointed (Fracture spacing 2 in. 10 4 in) F-5 Crushed (Fracture spacing less than 2 in) Rolative Harcness Scale Very Hard—Cannot be scratched with see! blade Hare-Seratches with cffeuty with sto! blade. Moderately Haré—Easly scratched wit ste! blade, bul not with fingerall Soft-Seratches wit ingemall. Fock Quality Designation (R.0.0,) is based on a madiled core logging procesue which, in-tum, is based indirectly on the number of fractures and the amount ct Softening or alteration in the rock mass as observed in the rock cores. Instead of {ounting the fractures, an inlrect measure is obtained by summing up the total lenght fare ecvereo—Ou! counting only those pices of core which are in. (10.6) nlogh ‘or longer, ard which are hard ard sours, ‘This procedure obviously penaizes the cack where recovery is poor. This is approp ate, botause poor core recovery usually indicales poor quality rock ‘A good relalorship exists between the numerical values of the FLA. and tte {general quality ofthe tock for enginesring purposes. This relationship s a follows RQ. Description of Rock Quality 025% Very Poor 250% Poor 50-75% Fair 75.90% Good 90-100% Excellent Figure 4.10 summarizes the standard rock names and their graphic symbols. Colors used in descriptions should be in agreement with the standard reference colors guide."® Figure 4.11 is a typical form that cean be used for core logging. In addition, logs kept by drillers should be retained because of their potentially important information, Sand and gravel samples usually are logged using standard engineering a ee S Ck ede il: Me Bees “ieee as Figure 4.10 Standard graphic symbols used to describe rock." Note: For tmeonsolidated materials the breccia symbol can also be used for overburden; tonglomerate for sand and gravel; sandstone for sand; siltstone for silt; shale for lay. Geology and bploraiion SSS ca) abbreviations and symbols (as shown in Table 4.4 and Figure 4.12, An example of a sand and gravel log form appropriately filed in i presented in Figure 4.13. Correlating Units: After rock cores or sand and gravel materials have been logged, a geologist should be able to correlate the various rock types or sand and gravel zones between drill locations. When sedimentary rock is present, the layers or zones are defined as formations and/or members of formations or various subunits selected for the particular project. Metamorphic rocks usually have layers of distinetive rock types disclosed by the logging of cores. Igneous rock ‘may have several rock types present that may be in irregular zones or in layers. Layering in sand and gravel deposits is usually very inregular and often there are no distinet units. ‘As a general rule, the best way to determine how layers or zones are distributed through a deposit is to draw cross-sections and plot the positions, angle, and depth of core holes along with the rock types encountered in each hole. Generally, described units can be correlated between drill sites and the subsurface distribution of various rock types can thus be determined. Sampling Units: Sampling usually should be on a unit-by-unit bass and all of the material (or a longitudinal split core of the material) of Unit intersected by drilling should be sampled. Grab samples of cores, or any selectivity of materials from a sand and gravel deposit, can cause bias of samples and should be avoided, The size of an individual sample is a function of the nature and number of tests, the condition of a core, including the angle of the beds or lines of weakness, and the gradation when sampling sand and gravel deposits. For a longitudinal split of a 2-in. diameter rock core, x suitable sample length is from 25 to 40 ft. When a homogenous rock layer is significantly thieker than 25 to 40 ft, the layer should be subdivided; when critical layers or units are less than this thickness, cores taken within the layer from two or more borings may have to be combined. When there are no distinct units as in some igneous roeks or some sand and gravel deposits, samples should be arbitrarily taken at a selected uniform interval such as 0 to 30 ft, 30 to 60 ft, ete. In each ease, the full interval should be taken for testing. Where a quarry exists, test intervals should represent the rock being quarried in each face. ‘The appropriate size of sample to be taken from an aggregate souree can be determined from Table 16.1 in Chapter 16. When the aggregate consists of sand and gravel, with gravel as the minor component, samples in the range of at Teast 150 to 200 Ib should be taken if the quality of gravel is to be evaluated. ‘The person responsible for sampling should also be knowledgeable concerning the laboratory tests to be performed. Usually the first step of processing involves erushing and screening of material to provide appropriate gradation ranges for testing. Sieve analyses may « an © a g = g e 3 S 5 58 | E— B43 z\22 g@ ‘ABBREVIATED VERSION: oa ‘Ragregate Handbook Geology and Exploration Gray brown medium (-) to fine SAND, little (-) medium Gravel; 10W: & UNABBREVIATED occasional lens coarse Sand (SP). layered; in of sail components, fractions, and proportions. der Figure 4.12 Modified Burmeister System for deta | _ Test Boring Log Poa [Seat Table 4.5 Minimum Permissible Sample Welght at Different Purpose: Prlininary Ste Evalnaion eaten 35 wa [Sa dak Tees are [3] su Gamarecaceiomeium ie |p! el ee eae ane ise Setaaoe te 7 | Ba wrcustane he oon imc es EY cron. .2mic oF 4] om conse nina sa, se mee curcoracustrne — [0h SS owas 125 |meo Figure 4.13 Sand and gravel log form using data obtained from a test boring involve a Gilson vibrating sereen deck, if coarse aggregate sizes are involved, or a Rotap column of sieves if sand size particles are involved.” Following the screening operation, the sample may be reduced to appropriate size for individual test requirements using a ‘Aggregate Handbook Particle Size (Modified from Miningngineers Handbook) DiomelerofLaigest_ Very Low Grade Medium ——_—Rich or Spotty Poses ervey Unitom "Ores. tes i Tesh Ore. [1 5 6 i 4800 3564 2 1200 e009 51.200 i 300 Boze 12.800 05, 75 a4 3.200 025 19 430 ‘300 cist 6 318 38.4 22 cs 0 128 35 35 29 2 O32 237 1376 ‘lovee 35 Coat 050 344 dhoee es 0.020 018 O54 diss 150 0005 0038 02%5 such as those shown in Figure 4.14.%" Table 4.5, which is used by many mining, geologists, contains suggested sample weights when the quantity of a very minor com pound of a deposit must be determined as in the case of fibers or silica. Rock core samples (usually a half of split eores) should be retained ina safe storage area in the testing laboratory. Although sometimes difficult, storage of samples is worthwhile because reference samples can be very useful for later checking or for testing for purposes not intially visualized. Overburden Analysis ‘Types of Overburden: Overburden is rock, soil, or loose debris that is above the mineable aggregate resource and is of insufficient quality to process into construction grade aggregate. Overburden should be stockpiled for future reclamation but is sometimes wasted. ‘The change from overburden to usable rock may be gradual as in many saprolites, found in the Southeastern United States. In these saprolites the change from topsoil to high quality rock often goes through a 2one where the materials have no value or where they can be employed only as fll or used in applications where low quality is acceptable. Overburden also may be rock of unsuitable quality for use as agere- gate, Sometimes the overburden has irregular thickness and is diffi calt to evaluate or to remove. ‘Measuring Overburden Thickness: The total amount of overbur den should be determined because it usually must be disposed of somewhere on the property. ‘The size and nature of the disposal area should be planned. In addition, the thickness of the overburden is important because excessive overburden ean hinder exeavation in some areas, Generally, the quantity and depth of overburden is measured as a ‘Seeley and Exploration re

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