Rock properties

There are three terms that have relevance to carving and lapidary working of rocks and minerals, these are
rock hardness, mineral hardness, and mineral fracture toughness. These three terms have different meanings
and are often confused and interchanged in modern alternative literature on the subject of the carving and
lapidary working of rocks and minerals
Rock Hardness
Rock hardness is a term used in geology to denote the cohesiveness of a rock and is usually expressed as its
compressive fracture strength. Terms such as hardrock and softrock are used by geologists to distinguishing
between igneous/metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, respectively. These terms originated from historical
mining terms, reflecting the methods needed to economically mine an ore deposit. For example, a hardrock
needs to be mined with explosives and a softrock can be mined with hand tools, such as pick and shovel.
Rocks can be tested for their unconfined fracture strength by using !T" standard tests. These involve
loading a small rock core at a rate of #.$ "%a/s until it fails brittlely. The fracture strength is given as the
maximum stress necessary to induce failure of the rock core. This value gives an indication of the
cohesiveness and density of a rock. s seen in Table & igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks can be
classified from very weak to very strong with regards to their unconfined fracture strengths 'ttewell (
Farmer &)$*+. ,enerally, sedimentary rocks can range from weak to medium '&#-.# "%a+, and igneous rocks
range from medium to very strong '/#-01# "%a+. The highest unconfined compressive strength observed in a
rock is on the order of /## "%a 'e.g. nephritic jade+.
!trength
classification
!trength range
'"%a+
Typical rock types
2ery weak &#-1# weathered and weakly-compacted sedimentary rocks
3eak 1#-/# weakly-cemented sedimentary rocks, schists
"edium /#-.#
competent sedimentary rocks4 some low-density coarse-grained igneous
rocks
!trong .#-&*#
competent igneous rocks4 some metamorphic rocks and fine-grained
sandstones
2ery strong &*#-01# 5uart6ites4 dense fine-grained igneous rocks
Table &. 7lassification of rock hardnesses 'from ttewell ( Farmer &)$*+.
Table 1 presents the typical unconfined compressive, tensile, and shear strengths for a variety of rock types
'ttewell ( Farmer &)$*+. 8t can be seen that each rock type can exhibit considerable variation. These
variations are the result of a number of factors, which include porosity, grain si6e, grain shape, grain and
crystallographic preferred orientation, mineralogy, and moisture content. 8n most rocks the main factors
controlling rock hardness are porosity, grain si6e, and grain shape. ll three of these factors affect the surface
area of the interlocking bond forces at mineral grain to grain contacts. 8n most rocks the higher the surface
area of mineral grain to grain contact the harder the rock becomes, for example9
&
i+ :ecreasing porosity in rocks increases the surface area of grain contacts.
ii+ :ecreasing the si6e of mineral grains in the rock increases surface area of grain contacts.
iii+ The surface area of e5uant or irregular grains is greater than that of angular grains.
!edimentary rocks generally have high porosity, a reflection of the processes of their formation and the
nature of the cementing agent. s a result they are generally low in rock hardness 'Table 1+, and their grains
are less tightly held together. Fine-grained and lower porosity igneous rocks, such as basalt and diabase
'dolerite+ are generally higher in rock hardness than that of coarser grained igneous rocks, such as granite,
diorite, and gabbro. s a result, the mineral grains of fine-grained igneous rocks are more tightly held
together than that of coarse-grained igneous rocks. 8n metamorphic rocks, where strong foliations have
developed, rock hardness is generally lower due to the preferred orientation of mineral grains and the
structural weaknesses these impose. ;owever, in low grade metamorphism where a foliation does not
develop, but the rock became more indurated 'i.e. more compacted and lower porosity+, rock hardness
increases. This is the case for the rock slate, which is the indurated metamorphic form of the sedimentary rock
shale 'Table 1+.
Typical
Rock
Types
7ompressive
!trength
'"%a+
Tensile
!trength
'"%a+
!hear
!trength
'"%a+
<ulk
:ensity
'"g/m
0+
%orosity
=
,ranite &##-1># $-1> &/-># 1.*-1.) #.>-&.>
:iorite &>#-0## &>-0# ? ? ?
:iabase &##-0># &>-0> 1>-*# 1.$-0.#> #.&-#.>
,abbro &>#-0## &>-0# ? 1..-0.& #.&-#.1
<asalt &##-0## &#-0# 1#-*# 1..-1.) #.&-&.#
,neiss >#-1## >-1# ? 1..-0.# #.>-&.>
"arble &##-1># $-1# ? 1.*-1.$ #.>-1
!late &##-1## $-1# &>-0# 1.*-1.$ #.&-#.>
@uart6ite &>#-0## &#-0# 1#-*# 1.*-1.$ #.&-#.>
!andstone 1#-&$# /-1> .-/# 1.#-1.* >-1>
!hale >-&## 1-&# 0-0# 1.#-1./ &#-0#
Aimestone 0#-1># >-1> &#-># 1.1-1.* >-1#
:olomite 0#-1># &>-1> ? 1.>-1.* &->
!teel )##-&>## ?. ? ? ?
1
Table 1. Typical rock parameters 'from ttewell ( Farmer &)$*+.
8n carving and lapidary working of rock, rock hardness plays an important role in determining the rocks
susceptibility to brittle failure during the working process. Rocks that have high hardnesses are less
susceptible to fracturing, and their mineral grains are more tightly held and less likely to be plucked out of the
rockBs surface while being worked. This means that hardrocks are more durable, can take on high polishes,
and can be finely detailed when carved, three properties that make them ideal for high 5uality, finely detailed
statuary 'e.g. nephritic jade+. ;owever, this also makes them harder to carve, in the sense of more labor
intensive and time consuming activity. "ost hardrocks can be carved by percussion, which involves striking
the rock surface with a hammer 'Rich &)$#+. This causes fracturing or cleavage of the mineral grains on the
surface of the rock 'see fracture toughness below+, and allows the rock to be shaped. The high fracture
strengths of hardrocks minimi6es the risk of significant fractures forming within the rock when sufficient
impact stresses are applied to crush the mineral grains on the rockBs surface. Today, percussion carving is
generally done with cast iron or soft tool steel <oucharde or bush hammers 'Fig. &+. 8n modern percussion
carving, hardrocks can be shaped to a fine scale by this method 'Rich &)$#+.
!ofter sedimentary rocks can be carved with hardened copper and bron6e chisels as well as with stone
hammers '!tocks &)))+. :uring lapidary working, less indurated softrocks are more susceptible to grain
plucking because of their high porosity, which leads to their grains being less tightly held together. 8n many
cases this prevents fine detail and high polish from being obtained in these rock types. "ore indurated
sedimentary rock, such as metasedimentary rocks, are more ideal for fine carving because their grains are
more tightly held together. s a result they can be worked with fine detail, highly polished, and thin sectioned
with less risk of fracturing during the working process.
References and <ibliography
**Attewell, P.B. and Farmer, I..W. (197! Principles o" en#ineerin# #eolo#$. %&apman and Hall,
'ondon, 1()* p.
<loss, F.:. '&)$&+ 7rystallography and crystal chemistry9 n introduction. ;olt, Rinehart and 3inston, ?ew
Cork, >>/ p.
"crthur, D.R., Dennings, E.D., Fissin, !.., and !herlock, R.A. '&))0+ !table-isotope, fluid-inclusions, and
mineralogical studies relating to the genesis of amethyst, Thunder <ay methyst "ine, Gntario. 7anadian
Dournal of Earth !cience, 0#, &)>>-&)*).
!helley, :. '&))0+ 8gneous and metamorphic rocks under the microscope9 classification, textures,
microstructures and mineral preferred-orientations.
7hapman ( ;all, ?ew Cork, //> p.
Thornton, %.. and 7olcngelo, 2.D. '&).>+ Fundamentals of engineering materials. %rentice-;all, Englewood
7liffs, *$) p.
Holtai, T. and !tout, D.;. '&)./+ "ineralogy9 7oncepts and principles. <urgess %ublishing, "inneapolis, >#>
p.
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