More than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt. Rapid-cooling, fine-grained basalt is chemically equivalent to slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro. The eruption of basalt lava is observed by geologists at about 20 volcanoes per year. Basalt is also an important rock type on other planetary bodies in the Solar System.

Despite being an extrusive igneous rock, basalt has a lower mining time than granite and diorite, which are intrusive. Basalt is the only rock-like block to have both a polished variant and a smooth variant.

Basalt is typically mined through quarrying methods, either by open-pit or underground mining. The extraction process involves blasting or cutting the rock, followed by crushing and sorting it into different sizes for commercial use.

ⓘ Basalt Mining District (2005) Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS), US Geological Survey. ⓘ Dicalite quarry (Great Lakes Carbon Corporation quarry) (2005) Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS), US Geological Survey. Dyer Mining District ⓘ Bluff mine (2005) Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS), US Geological Survey. ⓘ Goldfield Mining ...

Basalt is a dark-colored, fine-grained, igneous rock composed mainly of plagioclase and pyroxene minerals. It most commonly forms as an extrusive rock, such as a lava flow, but can also form in small intrusive bodies, such as an igneous dike or a thin sill. It …

Aug 9, 2018 · Basalt, as well as widespread in Ukraine, and used in construction granite, belongs to volcanic rocks. The only difference is that basalt was formed as a result of the rapid cooling of lava on the surface, or at the bottom of the world ocean, …

Apr 10, 2023 · Basalt is a dark volcanic rock that usually consists of plagioclase, pyroxene, and iron ore. Basalt mineral compositions may also contain olivine, quartz, amphibole, nepheline, etc. Basalt is the volcanic equivalent of gabbro, and its chemical composition is …

A mafite or basaltoid containing mostly calcic plagioclase, clinopyroxene +/- olivine, orthopyroxene, foid s, oxides and rarely quartz.

Apr 23, 2023 · Basalt is a type of volcanic rock that is formed from the solidification of molten lava. It is an igneous rock, meaning it is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. Basalt is one of the most common rock types on Earth, and it can be found in various locations around the world, both on land and under the ocean floor.

Jun 9, 2024 · Basalt is frequently mined in a surface mine, or quarry. The majority of basalt is used a aggregate (gravel) in making concrete and asphalt paving. Typically, boreholes are drilled in the rock...