Many open-pit mines are gradually converted to underground mining, the problem of roadway surrounding rock damage caused by expansive soft rock is becoming increasingly problematic. To study the seasonal evolution of expansive rock mass containing clay minerals, an underground mine transferred from an open-pit was selected as the experimental mine. The experimental results of SEM electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction confirmed that the surrounding rock of the main haulage roadway contains a large number of expansive clay minerals. The expansive grade of the main transport roadway’s surrounding rock could then be identified as the medium expansive rock mass, which has a large amount of exchangeable cation and strong water absorption capacity, based on the combined test results of dry saturated water absorption and free expansion deformation. The water swelling can cause the roadway to considerably deform, and then the surrounding rock will have strong rheological characteristics. From the research results in the text, the seasonal evolution law of the main haulage roadway in the experimental mine was obtained, and the deformation law of the expansive rock mass under different dry and wet conditions was revealed. The research results provide a reference for studying the stability evolution law of expansive soft rocks in underground mines.

The mineralogy and chemistry of Upper Cretaceous-Lower Paleocene claystone sediments from Mardin and Batman, southeastern Turkey, were analyzed. The main mineral paragenesis in the Upper Cretaceous member formed chlorite-smectite (C-S) and illite, while the Lower Paleocene member occurred of chlorite-vermiculite (C-V) and vermiculite minerals. The clays were silica-poor but indicated high values of Al, Fe, Mg, Cr, Ni, V, and Zr. Lower contents of the alkali elements (Na, Ca, Mg, K) of the clayey sediments suggests a relatively denser weathering of the source area. The mineralogical compositions, major element ratios, trace, and rare earth element (REE ) contents of the sediments show that the Upper Cretaceous member consists of materials with a mainly felsic source lithology, while relatively contributions from basic sources are found in the Lower Paleocene unit. A comparison of the major and trace element contents of the phyllosilicate/clay minerals with the members revealed that the patterns of the clays were different from each other, although the enrichments/ decreases varied depending on the origin (basement rocks or detrital) of the derived rocks, minerals, and elements. REE content of clays increased from detrital to phyllosilicate/clay minerals of chemical/diagenetic/neoformation origin during the Lower Paleocene. During the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods, local or regional geodynamic and diagenetic events largely governed the rock sedimentation processes and provenance variations amongst Germav Formation members.