I have a 70 year old house. I believe the original plaster was replaced at some point with drywall throughout the house.
There are rock or mineral particles in the drywall that are somewhat bigger than coarse sand. These particles make the drywall very difficult to cut. Drywall router bits don't work and sawzall blades only last a short time.
I've been rewiring my house for the past couple of weeks and have breathed quite a bit of this dust. Anyway, tonight I just had a horrible thought. Is it possible that the mineral particles are asbestos?