Rock
INTRODUCTION
Rock is a natural substance, a solid aggregate of one or more minerals. For example, granite, a common rock, is a combination of the minerals quartz, feldspar and biotite. The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. Botin, J.A. (2009).
Rocks
are composed of grains of minerals, which are homogeneous
solids formed from a chemical compound arranged in an orderly manner. The aggregate minerals forming the rock are held together
by chemical
bonds. The types and
abundance of minerals in a rock are determined by the manner in which it was
formed.
Many
rocks contain silica (SiO2); a compound of silicon and oxygen that forms 74.3% of the Earth's crust. This material forms crystals with other compounds in the rock. The proportion of
silica in rocks and minerals is a major factor in determining their names and
properties.
Rocks
are classified according to characteristics such as mineral and chemical composition,
permeability, texture of the constituent particles, and particle
size. These physical properties are the result of
the processes that formed the rocks.
Therefore
there are various types of rocks these includes igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks.
Petroleum is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid found in geological
formations beneath the Earth's
surface. It is commonly refined into various types of fuels.
Components of petroleum are separated using a technique called fractional
distillation, i.e.
separation of a liquid mixture into fractions differing in boiling point by
means of distillation, typically using a fractionating
column. It consists of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other organic compounds. Ollivier,( 2005).
A fossil fuel, petroleum is formed when large quantities of dead
organisms, mostly zooplankton and algae,
are buried underneath sedimentary rock and subjected to both intense heat and pressure.
The types of rocks that rich in
petroleum are all sedimentary rocks, rocks formed when grains and mineral
particles deposited by running water fuse together. Because these rocks are
cemented together from such small components, they are porous, full of spaces
in which energy-rich carbon compounds can settle, later to be liberated in the
form of either oil or gas
The following are the characteristics
of Tanzanians rock rich in petroleum
Contain
fossils
of various organisms. Fossil remains of the organisms are mainly of the 'hard'
body parts such as bones, teeth, etc. Fossils found in sedimentary rocks have
many a time led to interesting discoveries and have helped in establishing many
links in the evolution of life. Sedimentary rocks are formed of sediments
derived from the older rocks, plant and animal remains and thus these rocks
contain fossils of plants and animals. The age of the formation of a given
sedimentary rock may be determined on the basis of the analysis of the fossils
to be found in that rock.
Most of the rocks are permeable and
porous but a few of them are also non-porous and impermeable. The porosity of
the rocks depends upon the ratio between the voids and the volume of a given
rocks mass. Like other rocks this rocks are not found in massive forms such as
batholiths, laccoliths, dykes etc.
Layers of rocks are seldom found in original
and horizontal manner. Sedimentary layers are generally
deformed due to lateral compressive and tensile forces. The beds are folded and
found in anticlinal and synclinal forms. Tensile and compressive forces also
create faults due to dislocation of beds. When sedimentation continues, an older rock layer becomes buried deeper
as a result. The lithostatic pressure in the rock increases due to the weight
of the overlying sediment. This causes compaction, a process in which grains
mechanically reorganize. Compaction is, for example, an important diagenetic
process in clay, which can initially consist of 60% water.
The
deposition of sediments of rocks takes place in certain sequence and system.
The size of sediments decreases from the littoral margins to the centre of the
water bodies or sedimentation basins. Different sediments are consolidated and
compacted by different types of cementing elements e.g., silica, iron compounds,
calcite, clay etc.
The rocks are saturated with seawater or groundwater, in which minerals can dissolve, or from
which minerals can precipitate. Precipitating minerals reduce the pore space in a rock, a process called cementation. Due to the decrease in pore space, the
original connate
fluids are expelled. The
precipitated minerals form cement and make the rock more compact and competent. In this way, loose clasts in a sedimentary
rock can become "glued" together.
During compaction, this interstitial water is
pressed out of pore spaces. Compaction can also be the result of dissolution of
grains by pressure
solution. The dissolved
material precipitates again in open pore spaces, which means there is a net
flow of material into the pores. However, in some cases, a certain mineral
dissolves and does not precipitate again. This process, called leaching, increases pore space in the rock.
The
color of a rock is often mostly determined by iron, an element with two major oxides: iron (II) oxide and iron (III) oxide. Iron (II) oxide (FeO) only forms under low
oxygen (anoxic) circumstances and gives the rock a grey or
greenish color. Iron (III) oxide (Fe2O3) in a richer
oxygen environment is often found in the form of the mineral hematite and gives the rock reddish to brownish color. In arid
continental climates rocks are in direct contact with the atmosphere, and
oxidation is an important process, giving the rock a red or orange color. Thick
sequences of red sedimentary rocks formed in arid climates are called red beds. However, a red color does not necessarily mean the rock
formed in a continental environment or arid climate.[8]
The rock consists of carbonate
minerals such as
calcite, aragonite or dolomite. Both the cement and the clasts (including fossils and ooids)
of a carbonate sedimentary rock can consist of carbonate minerals. The
mineralogy of a clastic rock is determined by the material supplied by the
source area, the manner of its transport to the place of deposition and the
stability of that particular mineral. The resistance of rock-forming minerals
to weathering is expressed by Bowen's
reaction series. In
this series, quartz is the most stable, followed by feldspar, micas, and finally other less stable minerals that are only present when
little weathering has occurred.[18] The amount of weathering depends mainly on the distance
to the source area, the local climate and the time it took for the sediment to
be transported to the point where it is deposited. In most sedimentary rocks,
mica, feldspar and less stable minerals have been reduced to clay minerals like kaolinite, illite or smectite
REFERENCES
Botin,
J.A., ed. (2009). Sustainable Management of Mining Operations. Denver, CO:
Society for Mining,
Gajul,
Shekhar (2018). "Underground
Mining Equipment Market 2017 Global Key Players, Share, Challenges, Industry
Size, Growth Opportunities & Forecast To 2021". Journalist Book.
Ollivier,
Bernard & Magot, Michel (2005). Petroleum Microbiology. Washington, DC:
American Society of Microbiology.
Terrascope
(2014). "Environmental
Risks of Mining". The Future of strategic Natural Resources. Cambridge,
Massachusetts, USA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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