EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF DURABILITY AND STRENGTH OF SANDSTONE AND SHALE OF UNITED MINERAL COAL COMPANY SOR-RANGE, BALOCHISTAN

Mining operations deal mainly with hard and soft rocks with different mechanical properties and varying strengths. The aim of the slake durability test is to present an index related to degradation resistance of rock when exposed to standard cycles of wetting and drying. Research in geology and rock mechanics is done to explain the influence of the rock index properties in determining the strength, durability and pulse velocity of the rock. This paper enlightens the prediction of the rock’s behavior and nature of the degradation of rocks The index values obtained for sandstone are varying from 97.36 to 99.04% and for shale it ranges from 10.21 to 14.06%. The slake durability index test for sandstone sample indicates that it is high durable and the shale indicates very low durability. The average value of uniaxial compressive strength was calculated to be 83.144 MPa.