GEOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION OF LIMESTONE ROCK OF KHOR KHWAIR QUARRY

Fine grained, strong, dense, grey micro-crystalline limestone, which is slightly metamorphosed and belongs to Musandam group. The quarry area is flanked to the west by the Elphinstone  group. The rock appears in beds with a true thickness generally varying between 1.5m and 5.5m.The dip and strike of the bedding have been determined as 10°-15° and  30°-33°(magnetic) respectively. These values have been calculated using Wulf  net  stereograms, and  although fairly consistent, occassional  variations do occur due to localised faulting. The beds are separated by well defined planes (joint sets) sometimes filled  with   ferruginous, argillaceous layers. The limestone is classified under BS812:1975 as a Group 8 limestone.

GEOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION OF LIMESTONE ROCK OF AL GHAIL QUARRY

Basically two types of rock are encountered in the limestone deposit.

The white to light grey re-crystallised limestone. It is dense and robust and predominantly of very low porosity. It would be expected to fall within the moderately strong strength classification given in BS 5930.  The rock sample consists almost entirely of calcite. Much of the calcite occurs as fine granualr crystals.  However, there are also abundant patches of micrite and of sparry calcite. The sample contains occassional irregular patches of dolomite.

The light to medium grey dolomitic limestone. The rock is fine to medium grained, massive, no evidence of lamination or bedding. The rock shows chaotic patchwork microfracturing with occassional layer of calcite up to 8 mm wide. Chemical analysis show variable calcium carbonate content. The rock is carbonate limestone which has undergone diagenesis and dolomitisation, thus resulting in a partially dolomitised diagenetic limestone.