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Mudrocks are the most abundant type of sedimentary rock, making up about 80 percent of Earth's sedimentary rock column. They are composed of silt- and clay-sized particles, including siltstone, claystone, and mudstone. Shale is a type of mudrock that exhibits lamination or fissility.123

Mudrocks form in environments with weak currents and quiet depositional basins, such as deep oceans, continental slopes, bays, swamps, lakes, and river floodplains. While primarily made of weathered rock fragments, they can also contain chemically precipitated cement and organic material. Some mudrocks, known as bentonites, form from the alteration of volcanic materials. Black shales can be economically important as sources of petroleum products and metals like uranium, copper, lead, and zinc.12

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