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Reserve: quartzite apparent dips 1:9 and 1:12, 2.7 x 3.1 km

Short answer

From apparent dips 1:9 along N20°E and 1:12 along N65°E, true dip is 6.35° (1:9.0) towards N23.5°E. True thickness = 105 cos6.35° = 104.4 m. Surface area 2.7×3.1 km = 8.37 km² gives reserve 8.73×10⁸ m³ (0.873 km³).

Apparent dip amounts of quartzite bed rock along N20°E and N65°E are 1:9 and 1:12 respectively. The vertical thickness of bedrock is 105 m. Calculate the reserve of construction materials for an engineering project at 2.7 km and 3.1 km terrain.

Step 1: true dip from the two apparent dips

For a direction of bearing β\beta the gradient of the bed satisfies gEsin⁡β+gNcos⁡β=tan⁡δag_E\sin\beta + g_N\cos\beta = \tan\delta_a (gEg_E, gNg_N = east and north components of the true gradient).

gEsin⁡20∘+gNcos⁡20∘=19=0.11111gEsin⁡65∘+gNcos⁡65∘=112=0.08333\begin{aligned} g_E\sin 20^\circ + g_N\cos 20^\circ &= \tfrac{1}{9} = 0.11111 \\ g_E\sin 65^\circ + g_N\cos 65^\circ &= \tfrac{1}{12} = 0.08333 \end{aligned}

Solving: gE=0.04434g_E = 0.04434, gN=0.10211g_N = 0.10211.

tan⁡δ=0.044342+0.102112=0.1113⇒δ=6.35∘ (1:8.98)\tan\delta = \sqrt{0.04434^2 + 0.10211^2} = 0.1113 \Rightarrow \delta = 6.35^\circ\ (1:8.98)

Dip direction =arctan⁡(0.04434/0.10211)=23.5∘= \arctan(0.04434/0.10211) = 23.5^\circ (N23.5°E).

Step 2: true thickness

t=tvcos⁡δ=105cos⁡6.35∘=104.36 mt = t_v\cos\delta = 105\cos 6.35^\circ = 104.36\ \text{m}

Step 3: volume (reserve)

Area of the terrain =2.7 km×3.1 km=8.37 km2=8.37×106 m2= 2.7\ \text{km} \times 3.1\ \text{km} = 8.37\ \text{km}^2 = 8.37\times 10^6\ \text{m}^2

V=A×t=8.37×106×104.36=8.73×108 m3V = A \times t = 8.37\times 10^6 \times 104.36 = 8.73 \times 10^8\ \text{m}^3

Answer: true dip = 6.35° (1:9.0) towards N23.5°E; true thickness = 104.4 m; reserve of quartzite = 8.73 × 10⁸ m³ (0.873 km³).

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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