• A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic

substance which has a definite chemical

composition, normally uniform throughout its
volume.
• Rocks are collections of one or more minerals.
• 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.
• Oxygen often occurs in combination with
metallic elements and forms our oxidic ores
(the iron ores magnetite and hematite).
• Sulphur readily combines with metallic
elements and forms sulphide ores (galena,
sphalerite, molybdenite, arsenopyrite.
• A rock is composed of grains of various
minerals, and among the microscopic
properties are mineral composition, grain size,
and the form and distribution of the grains.
• Taken together, these factors decide important
properties of the rock, such as hardness,
abrasiveness, compressive strength and
density.
• 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 abrasive. Conversely, a rock with a high
content of calcite is easy to drill and causes
little wear on the drill bits.
• A coarse-grained structure is easier to drill in
and causes less wear than a fine-grain
structure
• 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 abrasive.
Conversely, a rock with a high content of calcite is
easy to drill and causes
• little wear on the drill bits.
• The main considerations in breaking rock are
the
• forces required to induce fractures in the rock
• the energy consumed in breaking rock.

• Energy is important because it determines the

rate at which rock breaking can be carried out.