1 - General Geology

General Geology
By Evgueni Porokhovoi. 2019
Global Operations & Technology 1

Geology as the science
Geology is the science that

studies the origin, history,
and structure of the Earth by
recognizing the rocks that
forms it.

GENERAL GEOLOGY

Geological age

Earth’s Structure
Earth is approximately a) The Crust, It’s the outermost and

thinnest of the layers. Thickness
5 000 Millions years old between 10 km (ocean crust) and up to
40 km (continental crust). Density of 2.8
g/cm3. Composed of 95% igneous rocks,
4% shale, 0.75% sandstones, and
0.25% limestone
b) The Mantle, Represents the 40% of the
Earth’s mass, has a thickness of 2,840
Km, density of 4.6 g/cm3. Divided into
Upper mantle and Lower mantle. Most of
this layer is composed of basaltic rocks
(ferromagnesian).
c) The Core, Approximate thickness of
3,480 Km and a density of 10.6 g/cm3.
Formed by a solid Inner core and a
liquid Outer core. Composed by a
combination of Iron (Fe) and Nickel (Ni).

Wegener theory
Continental drift was a theory that

explained how continents shift position on
Earth's surface. Set forth in 1912 by Alfred
Wegener, a geophysicist and
meteorologist, continental drift also
explained why look-alike animal and plant
fossils, and similar rock formations, are
found on different continents.

Derive of continents

Tectonic of plates

Subduction

Theory of plates

Earth’s Components
The most aboundant

elements, composing the
Earth are Iron (Fe),
Oxigen (O), Silicon (Si)
and Magnesium (Mg)

Earth’s Crust Components
Earth’s Crust is the main subject of our interest. It forms the Earth surface.
It’s average composition is different from global Earth composition.

Type of Rocks in the Earth’s Crust
Rocks are classified depending on its origin, formation place,

and mineralogy composition

Igneous Rocks
• The most abundant rock type, constituting 95% of the Earth’s

crust.
• Formed when magma cools down and consolidates.
• If the cooling of magma occurs in the Earth’s surface they are
called extrusive igneous rocks
• When cooling occurs in the interior of the Earth they are
called intrusive igneous rocks (plutonic rocks)
• The extrusive rocks have the characteristic of forming very
small crystals that cannot be seen at simple sight. If cooling is
too quick, natural glass is formed
• The intrusive rocks are characterized by forming crystals that
can be seen at simple sight because slow cooling gives the
molecules a chance to grow with certain order.

Igneous Rocks

Igneous Rocks
Acid > 63% of SiO2
Intermediate Between 52% and 63% of SiO2
Basic Between 45% and 52% of SiO2
Ultrabasic < 45% of SiO2

Igneous Rocks

Mineralogy

Igneous rocks
Granite Basalt

Sedimentary Rocks
• Sedimentary rocks constitute the 5 % of the Earth’s crust.

• They are formed by the chemical and/or mechanical
destruction of preexisting rocks.
• The process implies weathering, erosion, sediment
transport, and deposit in stratification form, accumulating
itself layer by layer until it gets as thick as dozens of
thousands of meters.
• The sediment can be continental (terrestrial) or marine.

Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary Environment Sediments

Continental Lacustrine (Lakes) Limestone, marls, sands and
clays
Fluvial (Rivers) Alluvium (sands and gravels)
Glacial Moraine (sands and gravels)
Aeolian (Wind) Loess, sands (dunes)
Residual soil Bauxite, laterite
Marine Littoral (0-10 m) Sand, gypsum, anhydrite and

By depth and distance to the coast line deltas of sand
(by size, in suspension, and in Neritic (10-200 m) Limestone, reefs, sandstones
dissolution) and marls
Bathyal (200-4000 m) Limestone, marls and clays
Abyssal +4000 m Clays

Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary Rocks
The first subdivision of sedimentary rocks depends on its

origin, and is the following:
a)Sedimentary clastic rocks

b)Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
c) Biochemical sedimentary rocks

Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary clastic rocks :

Most of the sediment that originated these rocks were mechanically deposited (air, water, and glaciers). They
consist of detritus that were weathered, eroded, and transported from high lands. Its composition is related
to the original rock.

Sedimentary Rocks
Biochemical Sedimentary Rocks : formed by the

deposit and accumulation of abundant skeletal
secretions or fossils, (siliceous, calcareous) or by
accumulations of remaining of plants, for
example, coquina (marine fossil), sapropelitic
shale, diatomite (remains of algae), phosphorites
(phosphorus sediments), rabble (remains of
vegetal), mineral coal, etc.

Sedimentary Rocks
Chemical Sedimentary Rocks : primary consist of

substances like carbonates, silica, halides, and
sulfates, where the individual crystals are
chemically interlaced. Almost all chemical rocks
were originated by precipitation in water
extensions, being able to be formed by
evaporation, inorganic reactions between
dissolved salt, or by organisms like bacteria,
corals, mollusks (example, limestone, dolomite,
gypsum, salt gem, etc.)

Sedimentary Rocks
Chemical and Biochemical Sedimentary Rocks :

Sedimentary Rocks
Limestone Gypsum
Coal Iroinstone
Metamorphic Rocks
• Metamorphic rocks are those originated from the

transformation of different existing rock types (protolith)
• It can be sedimentary, igneous or other older metamorphic
rocks
• Modified in their original structure, by pressure (greater
than 1500 Bar) and/or temperature (greater than 150 to
200°C) effects
• Produced a re-crystallization and the formation of new
minerals.
• There are 2 basic types of metamorphism: contact
metamorphism and regional metamorphism.

Metamorphic Rocks
Contact metamorphism :
It’s the one with a thickness limited to a few meters around the contact
between an intrusive rock and the one that was intruded, affecting the last
one, or a fault zone were milonites (pulverized rock in fault zone) are
formed by metamorphism produced by friction (Cataclastic Metamorphism).
Regional metamorphism :
Affects a large surface area that can be of hundreds of kilometers, and great
masses of rock, playing an important part the lithostatic pressure (weight of
the rock column) and horizontal tectonic movements.

Metamorphic Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks
Marble Quartzite

Rock Cycle

Different rock-types in cement industry
Igneous rock the most frequently used in cement

industry is the pozzolana, extrusive and acids rock (acid
tuffs, pumicites). Because of its shortage, basic pozzolana
like zeolite (which are the best) can be rarely used.
Sometimes igneous rocks are used as a silica-alumina
component for raw meal (tuffs) instead of clay, especially in
acid or intermedium rock composition.

Sedimentary rocks are of primary importance in the cement

industry. Limestone is the basic component of cement.
Limestones is one of the most abundant of sedimentary rocks
and are formed principally by calcium carbonate (CaCO3),
sometimes reaching 95%. The impurities can be : magnesium
(dolomite MgCO3); silica oxide (SiO2) as flint (free silica) or
many detritus. If silica/alumina content is high, the rock is
called marl (intermediate between limestone and clay).
Silica-alumina materials used in cement industry mostly have a
sedimentary origin, like marl, shale, sandstone or residual soil
(laterite). When a powerful silica corrector is needed sandstone
or silica sand are used.

Metamorphic rocks are rarely used in cement

industries. If the original rock is sedimentary then we can
expect that the resultant chemical composition will be
similar, but they are much harder, specially sandstones,
that are transformed into quartzites, the marble as a
metamorphosed limestone. They can be used to produce
cement but it could perturb the process.

STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY

Structural Geology
Structural geology is the branch of geology that studies

the form of deformations and fractures in Earth’s crust.
Tectonic geology is the branch that studies the process
that gave origin to those deformations.
At a deposit scale, it’s important to know its structure to

accurately calculate the reserves and correctly design the
pit characteristics for the exploitation, avoiding that
inclination of layers or fractures can cause landslides,
creating bench instability, and see in the time if a fault or
tectonic phenomenon exists that may impact directly in a
decrease of reserves.

Layers
Horizontal Vertical Inclined

Layers
Strike and dip refer to the

orientation of the layers.
The strike line of a bed, fault, or
other planar feature, is a line
representing the angle of
intersection of that feature with a
horizontal plane (0° to 360°).
The dip gives the steepest angle
of inclination (0° to 90°) of a bed,
relative to a horizontal plane.

Geological Kompass
Geological kompass BRUNTON

Structural Measurement
Measurement of strike Measurement of dip

Folds
• Earth’s crust is formed by numerous plates, which are in constant

movement.
• Eventually, after a long period of sedimentation, a compressive force
in the horizontal axis can affect the deposit’s basin, by a push caused
by the crash of two plates.
• This causes that the rocks that were originally formed in a essentially
horizontal position, starts being compressed, deformed, and raises
above sea level (Orogenes – mountain chain formations), forming
anticline folds if it has a convex form, and syncline folds if it has a
concave form.

Elastic deformation (folds)
No deformation
Fold (anticline)
Compressional stress Compressional stress
Fold (syncline)

Folds

Folds

Folds

Folds

Folds (chevron)

Faults
• If the compressional stress continues to push, rocks start to break, forming

what we call overthrust faults (nappe or invers faults), which has the
principal characteristic of mounting old rocks over the younger ones.
• After a compressive period, comes a distensive readjustment (taphrogeny),
which motivates the formation of fractures and normal faults.
• The first ones are rock blocks separations, while in the second ones a vertical
displacement with up and down movement with respect to the next block
exists, The amplitude of movement could be from a few meters up to
hundreds of meters.
• The same distinctive effect can be caused by the separation between two
plates and in both cases an intense volcanism is originated.
• Another type called transcurrent (strike-slip) fault exists, caused by lateral or
tangential movement between tectonic plates.

Faults
No deformation
Normal fault
Extencional stress Extencional stress
Inverse fault

Faults

Faults

Faults

Faults (graben)

Other geological knowledges
Sedimentology - is the branch of geology that

is responsible for studying and identifying the
processes of formation, transport and deposition
of material that accumulates as sediment in
continental and marine environments and
eventually form sedimentary rocks.


Stratigraphy - is the branch of geology that deals with the

study and interpretation of stratified sedimentary,
metamorphic and volcanic rocks, and the identification,
description, sequence, both vertical and horizontal, mapping
and correlation of stratified rock units.
Geological contact - it is the line or boundary formed by the

union of two different types of rocks and this can be
concordant, discordant or by fault.

Stratigraphic column

1 - General Geology

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General Geology

By Evgueni Porokhovoi. 2019

Global Operations & Technology 1

Geology is the science that

Global Operations & Technology 2

Global Operations & Technology 3

Global Operations & Technology 4

Earth is approximately a) The Crust, It’s the outermost and

Global Operations & Technology 5

Continental drift was a theory that

Global Operations & Technology 6

Global Operations & Technology 7

Global Operations & Technology 8

Global Operations & Technology 9

Global Operations & Technology 10

The most aboundant

Global Operations & Technology 11

Global Operations & Technology 12

Rocks are classified depending on its origin, formation place,

Global Operations & Technology 13

• The most abundant rock type, constituting 95% of the Earth’s

Global Operations & Technology 14

Global Operations & Technology 15

Acid > 63% of SiO2

Intermediate Between 52% and 63% of SiO2

Basic Between 45% and 52% of SiO2

Ultrabasic < 45% of SiO2

Global Operations & Technology 16

Global Operations & Technology 17

Global Operations & Technology 18

Global Operations & Technology 19

• Sedimentary rocks constitute the 5 % of the Earth’s crust.

Global Operations & Technology 20

Sedimentary Environment Sediments

Marine Littoral (0-10 m) Sand, gypsum, anhydrite and

Global Operations & Technology 21

Global Operations & Technology 22

The first subdivision of sedimentary rocks depends on its

a)Sedimentary clastic rocks

Global Operations & Technology 23

Sedimentary clastic rocks :

Global Operations & Technology 24

Biochemical Sedimentary Rocks : formed by the

Global Operations & Technology 25

Chemical Sedimentary Rocks : primary consist of

Global Operations & Technology 26

Chemical and Biochemical Sedimentary Rocks :

Global Operations & Technology 27

• Metamorphic rocks are those originated from the

Global Operations & Technology 29

Global Operations & Technology 30

Global Operations & Technology 31

Global Operations & Technology 32

Global Operations & Technology 33

Global Operations & Technology 34

Igneous rock the most frequently used in cement

Global Operations & Technology 35

Sedimentary rocks are of primary importance in the cement

Global Operations & Technology 36

Metamorphic rocks are rarely used in cement

Global Operations & Technology 37

Global Operations & Technology 38

Structural geology is the branch of geology that studies