Breccia is a rock composed of angular fragments of rocks or minerals in a matrix, that is a cementing material, that may be similar or different

in composition to the fragments. A breccia may have a variety of different origins, as indicated by the named types including sedimentary breccia, tectonic breccia, igneous breccia, impact breccia and hydrothermal breccia. Nomenclature Breccias can be classified by their constituents, mode of occurrence, constituent fragment size, the types of clasts and source of clasts. Several textural terms are used to describe the morphology and textural variations observed in breccias. Milling Breccias which are formed by injection of a slurry be it as a hydrofracture breccia or, more usually, a volcanic or intrusive breccia! often show evidence of rounding of the clasts. "ith a sedimentary rock this may be called a conglomerate, except when the breccia is discordant with former lithology clastic dike!. #or an intrusive breccia, erosion and transport in a watercourse cannot be invoked to explain rounding. Breccias of this type which are rounded are said to be milled, a process by which the breccia matrix grinds the larger clasts and rounds them off. $his has been observed to have occurred in some hydrothermal breccias. Autobrecciation Autobrecciation is the process by which a rock%s mechanism of formation causes it to become broken and to include its broken fragments within itself. $his is properly explained in the section on lava &olcanic breccias!. Types Sedimentary Sedimentary breccias are a type of clastic sedimentary rock which are composed of angular to subangular, randomly oriented clasts of other sedimentary rocks. $hey are formed by either submarine debris flows, avalanches, mud flow or mass flow in an a'ueous medium. $echnically, turbidites are a form of debris flow deposit and are a fine( grained peripheral deposit to a sedimentary breccia flow. $he other derivation of sedimentary breccia is as angular, poorly sorted, very immature fragments of rocks in a finer grained groundmass which are produced by mass wasting. $hese are, in essence, lithified colluvium. $hick se'uences of sedimentary colluvial! breccias are generally formed next to fault scarps in grabens. )n the field, it may at times be difficult to distinguish between a debris flow sedimentary breccia and a colluvial breccia, especially if one is working entirely from drilling information. Sedimentary breccias are an integral host rock for many S*+*, ore deposits. Sedimentary breccias can be described as %arenaceous%, from the -atin word harena meaning %sand%, which are sandy or pebbly in nature. A conglomerate by contrast is a sedimentary rock composed of rounded fragments or clasts of pre(existing rocks. Both breccias and conglomerates are composed of fragments averaging greater than . millimeters in size. $he angular shape of the fragments indicate that the material has not been transported far from its source. Breccias indicate accumulation in a juvenile stream channel or accumulations because of gravity erosion. $alus slopes might become buried and the talus cemented in a similar manner.

Collapse /ollapse breccias form where there has been a collapse of rock, typically in a karst landscape. /ollapse breccias form blankets in highly weathered regolith due to the removal of rock components by dissolution. Tectonic $ectonic breccias form similarly, where two tectonic plates create a crumbling of the interface, by their relative movements. Fault #ault breccias result from the grinding action of two fault blocks as they slide past each other. Subse'uent cementation of these broken fragments may occur by means of mineral matter introduced by groundwater. Igneous )gneous clastic rocks can be divided into two classes Broken, fragmental rocks produced by intrusive processes, usually associated with plutons or porphyry stocks Broken, fragmental rocks associated with volcanic eruptions, both of lava and pyroclastic type Volcanic &olcanic pyroclastic rocks are formed by explosive eruption of lava and any rocks which are entrained within the eruptive column. $his may include rocks plucked off the wall of the magma conduit, or physically picked up by the ensuing pyroclastic surge. -avas, especially rhyolite and dacite flows, tend to form clastic volcanic rocks by a process known as autobrecciation. $his occurs when the thick, nearly solid lava breaks up into blocks and these blocks are then reincorporated into the lava flow again and mixed in with the remaining li'uid magma. $he resulting breccia is uniform in rock type and chemical composition. -avas may also pick up foreign rock fragments, especially if flowing over unconsolidated rubble on the flanks of a volcano, and these form volcanic breccias, also called pillow breccias. $he volcanic breccia environment is transitional into the plutonic breccia environment in the volcanic conduits of explosive volcanoes, where lava tends to solidify and may be repeatedly shattered by ensuing eruptions. $his is typical of volcanic caldera settings. Intrusive /lastic rocks are also commonly found in shallow subvolcanic intrusions such as porphyry stocks, granites and kimberlite pipes, where they are transitional with volcanic breccias. )ntrusive rocks can become brecciated in appearance by multiple stages of intrusion, especially if fresh magma is intruded into partly consolidated or solidified magma. $his may be seen in many granite intrusions where later aplite veins form a late(stage stockwork through earlier phases of the granite mass. "hen particularly intense, the rock may appear as a chaotic breccia. /lastic rocks in mafic and ultramafic intrusions are known and form via several processes0 consumption and melt(mingling with wall rocks, where the felsic wall rocks are softened and gradually invaded by the hotter ultramafic intrusion termed taxitic texture by 1ussian authors

Accumulation of rocks which fall through the magma chamber from the roof, forming chaotic remnants Autobrecciation of partly consolidated cumulate by fresh magma injections or by violent disturbances within the magma chamber eg0 postulated earth'uakes! Accumulation of xenoliths within a feeder conduit or vent conduit

Impact )mpact breccias are thought to be diagnostic of an impact event such as an asteroid or comet striking the earth, and are usually found at impact craters. )mpact breccia, a type of impactite, forms during the process of impact cratering when large meteorites or comets impact with the *arth or other rocky planets or asteroids. Breccia of this type may be present on or beneath the floor of the crater, in the rim, or in the ejecta expelled beyond the crater. )mpact breccia may be identified by its occurrence in or around a known impact crater, and2or an association with other products of impact cratering such as shatter cones, impact glass, shocked minerals, and chemical and isotopic evidence of contamination with extraterrestrial material e.g. iridium and osmium anomalies!. Hydrothermal Breccia(hosted ore deposits are ubi'uitous. $he morphology of breccias associated with ore deposits varies from tabular sheeted veins and clastic dikes associated with overpressured sedimentary strata, to large(scale intrusive diatreme breccias, or even some synsedimentary diatremes formed solely by the overpressure of pore fluid within sedimentary basins. 3ydrothermal breccias are usually formed by hydrofracturing of rocks by highly pressured hydrothermal fluids. $hey are typical of the epithermal ore environment and are intimately associated with intrusive(related ore deposits such as skarns, greisens and porphyry(related mineralisation. 3ydrothermal breccias usually form at shallow crustal levels 45 km! between 567 to 867o/, when seismic activity an earth'uake! causes a void to open along a fault deep underground. $he void draws in hot water and as pressure in the cavity drops, the water violently boils ( akin to an underground geyser. )n addition, the sudden opening of a cavity causes rock at sides of the fault to destabilise and implode inwards, the broken rock gets caught up in a churning mixture of rock, steam and boiling water. 1ock fragments hit each other and sides of the fault, and attrition 'uickly rounds angular breccia fragments. &olatile gasses are lost to the steam phase as boiling continues, in particular /9 .. As a result, the chemistry of the fluids change and ore minerals rapidly precipitate. *pithermal deposits are mined for copper, silver and gold. )n the mesothermal regime, at much greater depths, over pressured fluids under lithostaic pressure can be released during seismic activity associated with mountain building. $he pressurised fluids ascend towards shallower crustal levels that are under lower hydrostatic pressure. 9n their journey, high(pressure fluids crack rock by hydrofracturing, forming an angular jigsaw breccia. 1ounding of rock fragments less common in the mesothermal regime, as the formational event is brief. )f boiling occurs, methane and hydrogen sulphide may be lost to the steam phase and ore may precipitate. :esothermal deposits are often mined for gold. A diatreme is a breccia filled volcanic pipe that was formed by a gaseous explosion. +iatremes often breach the surface and produce a tuff cone or a filled relatively shallow crater known as a maar or other volcanic pipes. $he term has been applied more generally to any concave body of broken rock or tuff(breccia, generally formed by explosive or

hydrostatic forces, whether or not it is related to volcanism. Some diatreme explosions may result from the interaction of hot magma and relatively shallow groundwater. ;imberlite and lamproite volcanic pipes associated with diamond occurrences are usually considered to be volatile charged piercement structures or diatreme volcanic features from the lower crust or upper mantle. :any copper and base metal ore deposits have associated intrusive breccia pipes which are rich in ore minerals have been referred to as diatreme in nature. An intrusion is the material causing the diatremic piercement. :any volcanic processes produce piercement structures through intrusions of igneous rock. 3owever, most igneous intrusions are not considered diatremic.