The Nature of Infill Material on the Discontinuities of the Muntele Mare Granite (Beliş-Fantânele, Romania)

Abstract The stability of rock massifs is strongly influenced by natural degradation processes. In combination with hydrothermal activity or atmospheric exposure, rock alteration processes can lead to the formation of secondary phases that ultimately control the rock quality and slope stability, which are particularly important for engineering works (e.g., road cuts, open pits, quarries, tunnels). The Bozgai open quarry in the Muntele Mare granite massif in the northern Apuseni Mountains (Romania) offers an excellent opportunity to investigate the influence of alteration processes on rock properties, especially owing to the extensive exposure of granite and specific mineral assemblages of hydrothermal genesis to atmospheric conditions. The alteration processes generated secondary phases located on the primary minerals of the affected rocks or deposited as infill material along the granite discontinuities. Natural and oriented samples of the Bozgai quarry infill material were investigated using polarized light, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy to obtain images and identify their mineralogical composition. The hydrothermal vein material consists of kaolinite, illite, pyrite, marcasite, quartz, iron hydroxides, albite, and microcline. These samples were exposed to atmospheric oxygen and meteoric water and secondary sulphates (jarosite and gypsum) formed in an acidic environment generated by the oxidization of pyrite and marcasite. The sheeted structure of kaolinite and geochemical behavior of the sulphates in the presence of water play a particularly important role in the reduced rock slope stability in the Bozgai quarry.