QUESTION: DISCUSS IN TOTAL, 5 GEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES IN METARMOPHIC AND

IGNEOUS ROCKS. WHAT IMPACT THESE WILL HAVE ON DRILLING OUTCOMES. ADD
DIAGRAMS TO MOTIVATE YOUR ANSWERS.

*GEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES= density, porosity, and permeability

rock physical properties include density, porosity, and permeability, etc. Rock mechanical
properties mainly include elastic modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and rock strength. These
parameters can be obtained by lab experiments of core samples or by in-situ tests.

*WHAT IMPACT THESE WILL HAVE ON DRILLING OUTCOMES

Drillability is an important parameter in order to assess the influence that intact rock properties
have on performance prediction and cost evaluations in connection with drill-and-blast tunnelling

Illustration of the main factors influencing hard rock drilling

*5 GEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF METARMOPHIC ROCKS

 Formed from heat and pressure

 Hard, durable rocks and contain crystals
 Interlocking texture of large grains
 Foliation (layering)
 Banded light and dark colours
 Rarely has pores or openings (little or no porosity)

WHAT IMPACT THESE WILL HAVE ON DRILLING OUTCOMES

-Metamorphic rocks are some of the hardest and most durable rocks (difficult to penetrate hard
rock), need require a strong diamond-tipped drill bit that is designed to penetrate hard rock, plenty
of water, and cooling bit agent. Require slow drilling and may require lubricant to make drilling
easier.

Drilling through metamorphic rock can be difficult because it is very hard and often brittle. The rock is
also often twisted and folded, making it difficult to drill a straight line. The rock can also be heavily
fractured, making uniform drilling difficult. Metamorphic rock is also often more compact making it
harder to pass a drill into it. Finally, most metamorphic rocks contain shear zones, where the grains
have been aligned in the direction of the stress that caused the rock to change from its source rock.
These shear zones are the hardest part of the rock to drill through.

So it is costly, lot of deviation and can be very slow (long process).

*5 GEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF igneous ROCKS

 Formed by melted rocks that has cooled and solidified (cooling and crystallizayion)
 Often shiny/glossy
 Interlocking texture of the grains
 May have pores= extrusive igneous rocks
 May be dark and heavy
 May display two grain sizes, one much larger than the other one

WHAT IMPACT THESE WILL HAVE ON DRILLING OUTCOMES

Igneous rock formations are very prone to borehole instability and collapse, and this increases
the cost and difficulty in drilling.

The drilling fluid filtrate invades the rock along the microcracks, which leads to the hydration
expansion of clay minerals and a change in the igneous rock microstructure. Primary and
secondary microcracks can expand and merge into single cracks, which will reduce the cohesion
of the rock along the bedding plane and ultimately lead to borehole wall instability.

hydration and weak plane effect are the main factors causing the instability of the borehole wall
in igneous strata and considering their coupling effect is the key to establish the borehole wall
stability technology.
Schematic diagram of igneous formation with microfracture development.

Drilling through an igneous rock