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GEOLOGY OF INDIA 1 Geology and Mineral Resources of India GEOLOGY OF INDIA
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Geology and Mineral Resources of India
GEOLOGY OF INDIA
1
GEOLOGY OF INDIA
INTRODUCTION major rivers that originate from the great Himalayan

Mountain Ranges are the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra
India extends for about 3200 km from north to south and 2900 km from west to east and is and their various tributaries.
located between latitudes 6°45' North at Indira Point, southernmost tip of the Great Nicobar
Island and also the southernmost point of land in the territory of India, to little above 37° The average elevation of the Indo-Gangetic-Brahmaputra
North and longitudes 68° East to 97° East. India has a diverse geology with different rock plain lying between Peninsular and Extra-Peninsular India is
types representing the complete spectrum ranging in age from some of the oldest 150 m with a low gradient from about 300 m in the Upper Ganga
Archaean metamorphites/granitoids to the youngest Quaternary alluvium. Indian sub- plain of Punjab to almost zero level at the Sunderbans delta of
continent is tectonically and physiographically divided into three broad domains i.e. the Bengal.
Peninsular India, the Extra-Peninsular India and the Indo-Gangetic Brahmaputra Plains.
Indo-Gangetic plain is sandwiched between the shield area of the Peninsular India and the PENINSULAR INDIA
highly deformed suites of the Himalaya of Extra-Peninsular India, comprising essentially
Peninsular India, the main repository of economic minerals, exposes
the younger metasediments.
rock units of almost the entire spectrum of geological era. Remnants of
Physiographically, Peninsular India is constituted of vast plateaus and mountains. The Archaean crust, preserved only in isolated small patches along with the
most important mountain ranges of the Peninsula are The Western Ghats (Sahyadri), the oldest supracrustals are recorded from south, east, central and western
Satpura Range, the Aravalli Range, the Vindhyan Range and the Eastern Ghats. The major parts of the country. These Achaean nuclei have later been accreted with the
plateaus of Peninsular India are the Deccan, Malwa, Bundelkhand and Chhotanagpur of fold belt sequence, which transgresses well within the Proterozoic, and display
which Deccan is the largest. The major rivers that originate from the Peninsular India are some tectono-magmatic episodes. The middle to upper part of the Proterozoic
Chambal and Son in the north, Damodar in the east, Tapti and Narmada in the west and era (Meso- to Neo-Proterozoic) is mainly characterised by the development of
Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery in the south. Except for Tapti and Narmada, which flow major intracratonic basins (namely Cuddapah, Godavari, Indravati, Chhattisgarh,
westerly into the Arabian Sea, all the major Indian rivers including the snowfed Himalayan Vindhyan etc.). The Gondwana rocks, spanning between late Paleozoic and
rivers debouch into the Bay of Bengal. The Plateau of Peninsular India is surrounded by Mesozoic period, are developed in faulted grabens. The evidences of marine
coastal plains of Arabian Sea on the west and Bay of Bengal to the east. The east and west transgression during Mezozoic era are well documented both in the East and West
coasts meet at the southern tip of the Peninsula bordered by the Indian Ocean. The Indian Coasts. However, the most spectacular event of this era is the Deccan volcanism which
Republic includes two groups of islands The Lakshadweep Islands in Arabian Sea and covers vast tracts of western, central and southern India. Temporally comparable
Andaman-Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. volcanic events, viz. Rajmahal and Sylhet Traps along with the oldest volcanic event
(Panjal Traps) are recorded from the eastern and northren part respectively. Compared
The Himalayan Mountain Ranges extend for about 2500 km (with an average width of
to the earlier geological periods, Tertiary era is not well represented and is preserved
about 240 km) all along the northern border of the Indian sub-continent, from Jammu and
only in small isolated basins in southern, eastern, western and north-eastern parts of
Kashmir in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east, constituting the Extra-Peninsular
the Peninsula. However, both temporal and spatial development of Quaternary
Region. The Himalaya is broadly divided into (i) Foothill or Outer Himalaya, (ii) Lesser
sequences is well documented throughout the country including its coastal
Himalaya, (iii) Higher Himalaya and (iv) Tethyan or Trans-Himalaya across its length. The
tracts.
3
INDO – GANGETIC BRAHMAPUTRA PLAIN and mesograde metasediments. The epi-metamorphic and meso-metamorphic nappes
throughout their extent are characterised by Early Proterozoic (» 1900 Ma) and Early
The tectonic trough (foreland basin) sandwiched between peninsular shield in the Palaeozoic granitic bodies of large dimension.
south and Himalayan Mountains in the north formed due to upliftment of the latter, has
been filled up by sediments derived from both sides, especially from the Himalaya, by The MCT separates the Lesser Himalaya from the Higher Himalaya to its north. The Higher
rivers like Ganga, Brahmaputra and Indus and has been termed as Indo-Gangetic- Himalaya marks the region of the highest peaks of the Himalaya (Nunkun, Leopargial,
Brahmaputra alluvial plain and stretches across northern India from Assam and Bengal Kedarnath, Badrinath, Nanda Devi, Api, Dhaulagiri, Mt. Everest, Kanchanjunga), made up
in the east through Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to Punjab on the west. of 10-15-km-thick Precambrian crystallines exhumed up and intruded by granites, some
of which are Tertiary in age.
EXTRA PENINSULAR REGION
The Indus Shyok belt / the Tethys Himalaya extends to the south of the Trans-Himalayan
The Himalayan mountain chain occurring all along northern part of India can be Karakoram belt and comprises ophiolite mélange (Indus ophiolite and associated
divided into four contrasting longitudinal litho-cum-morphotectonic belts from formation) and plutonic rocks (Ladakh Granitoid Complex) of the Indus Shyok belt. These
south to north, viz. i) Foothill belt ii) Main Himalayan belt iii) Indus-Shyok belt and predominantly fossiliferous sediments range in age from Late Proterozoic to Eocene.
iv) Karakoram belt. Sporadic occurrences of chromite have been reported from the ultrabasic rocks
associated with Dras volcanics from Ophiolite-Melange zone.
The foothill Himalaya is a 10- to 50-km-wide Miocene to Recent Molasse
sequence represented by Siwalik, Murree and Subathu Group of rocks. The Karakoram belt, the northernmost zone, comprises Palaeozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary
belt is a domain of active tectonics having participated in the terminal sequences on a metamorphic basement of unknown age. This Trans-Himalayan belt lies to
phase of the Himalayan Orogeny. This is followed to the north by the the north of the Indus Suture Zone in Ladakh region and extends eastward into Tibet. No
Lesser and Higher Himalaya, represented by geological sequences of important mineral occurrence is known from this belt.
Proterozoic age with Phanerozoic cover of varying thickness in
different parts. The foothill Himalaya is overlain by alluvium and The different tectonic domains as depicted above are enumerated in detail in the following
separated from the Lesser Himalaya by the north-dipping fault pages with emphasis mainly on the potential mineral occurrences in India. Keeping
commonly known as the Main Boundary Fault (MBF) or the Main mineralization aspect in view, the geology of Tertiary and Quaternary Periods are not
Boundary Thrust (MBT) in Garhwal, Kumaon, Nepal, described in detail.
Darjeeling, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh Himalaya. This belt
is involved in western syntaxial bend of the Himalaya. The PENINSULAR INDIA
Main Frontal Thrust (MFT) limits the margins of the Siwalik
Zone against the Ganga Plains. The geology of Peninsular India constituting different Archaean cratons like Dharwar,
Bastar, Singhbhum, Aravalli and Bundelkhand, several mobile belts like Southern Granulite
The Lesser Himalaya is 60 to 80 km wide and is a Terrain, Eastern Ghats, Satpura, Delhi, etc. as well as Proterozoic sedimentary basins,
discontinuous belt stretching between the MBT in the south Gondwana troughs, Deccan Trap and the younger sedimentary basins are discussed
and the Main Central Thrust (MCT) in the north. It consists below with a brief note on the stratigraphic locales, treated regionwise with major
of autochthonous late Proterozoic sediments, thrust over tectonics. Prognosticated mineralised sectors are described in detail for future
by three vast nappes that are built up successively of investigation and associated mining.
Palaeozoic sediments, Precambrian epi-metamorphics
4
DHARWAR CRATON regional metamorphism (andalusite-sillimanite type) in the

EDC in contrast to the intermediate-pressure regional
The Southern Indian Peninsular Shield comprises the Dharwar craton in the north and the
metamorphism (kyanite-sillimanite type) in the WDC.
Southern Granulite Terrain in the south with a boundary called the Fermor Line. The
Palghat-Cauvery shear zone divides the northern Archean craton (the Karnataka / Dharwar The southern part of the craton exhibits a transition zone
Craton) and the southern Proterozoic terrain, namely Soputhern Granulite (SGT) formed by from low- to high-grade rocks. The abundance of younger
the amalgamation of different granulite blocks with distinct evolutionary histories. granites in the north and granulites in the south
distinguishes the Eastern Block as a reactivated zone of
The Dharwar Craton is essentially covered by the southern States of Karnataka and Andhra
mobilised gneisses and granites around the centrally located
Pradesh. The Dharwar craton is a typical Archaean granite-greenstone terrane with a
Archaean nucleus (Western Block). The Chitradurga schist
gneissic basement of tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) composition known as
belt of western Karnataka is one of the longest greenstone belts
Peninsular Gneiss. The granite-greenstone terrane exposes rocks older than 2500 Ma. It is
showing several phases of deformation (Radhakrishna and
bounded by Southern Granulite Terrain (SGT) to the south and Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt
Vaidyanathan, 1997).
(EGMB) to the east, Arabian Sea to the west, northwest-southeast-trending Godavari
Graben to the northeast and the Deccan Trap cover to the north. The Dharwar Craton is The major part of Dharwar craton is covered by an extensive group of
divided into two sub-provinces – Eastern Dharwar Craton (EDC) and Western Dharwar grey gneisses designated as “Peninsular Gneiss” which was further
Craton (WDC) with Chitradurga Boundary Fault located along the eastern margin of the divided into older (Peninsular Gneiss-I) and younger (Peninsular Gneiss-
Chitradurga schist belt as the boundary between them (Swami Nath et al., 1976; Drury et II) based on isotopic age data (Beckinsale et al.,1980; Meen et al.,1992;
al., 1984; Chadwick et al., 2000). Some workers believe that the Closepet Granite, which is Nutman et al.,1992). These gneisses contain enclaves of deformed and
located ~50 km east of the Chitradurga Boundary Fault represents the boundary between metamorphosed amphibolitic- and granulitic-grade rocks indicating the
the EDC and WDC (Naqvi and Rogers, 1987; Gupta et al., 2003; Moyen et al., 2003). existence of an older group of sediments and associated igneous intrusives,
Although the actual boundary between the two cratonic blocks remains debatable there are and are referred to as Sargur Group. The lithological types include fuchsite
notable differences in lithology and metamorphism of the two blocks. The WDC is quartzite with layers of chromite and baryte, biotite schist with garnet, kyanite,
dominantly occupied by TTG gneisses (3.0 – 3.4 Ga) with minor schist belts of Sargur age sillimanite, cordierite, corundum, staurolite marble and calc-silicate rocks, besides
(3.0 – 3.3 Ga), major schist belts of Dharwar age (2.9 – 2.6 Ga) containing predominant serpentinised komatiites, banded iron formation and chromite-bearing ultramafic
platformal sediments, and a few late Archaean granitoid plutons dated in the range of 2.60 complexes.
to 2.65 Ga (Jayananda et al., 2006 and references therein). On the other hand, the EDC is
characterised by voluminous late Archaean granitoids (2. 51 – 2.75 Ga) (the “Dharwar Peninsular Gneiss-I consists mainly of amphibolite-facies gneisses of tonalite-
batholith” of Chadwick et al., 1996, 2000) with minor TTG gneisses and thin volcanics- trondhjemite – granodiorite composition (TTG) with four major components, namely, (i)
dominated schist belts of Dharwar age. a layered and banded complex consisting of quartzofeldspathic biotite gneiss
alternating with amphibolites and ultramafic material, (ii) banded hornblende-biotite
The Western Block of the craton comprises large schist belts (Dharwar type) accumulated migmatitic gneiss, (iii) banded migmatitic garnet-bearing paragneiss and (iv)
in distinct sedimentary basins and the Eastern Block is characterised by voluminous homogeneous trondhjemitic-granitic plutons. These gneisses act as the basement for
juvenile granites and remobilised gneiss with remnants of schist belts (Kolar type). The a widespread belt of schists.
schist belts in the craton are metamorphosed under greenschist - to amphibolite - facies
conditions. The profusion of granitoids is responsible for low-pressure (high-temperature) Peninsular Gneiss-II mainly comprises gneissic rocks with granodioritic and
granitic composition, representing remobilised parts of an older crust with
5
abundant younger granites and is found in the eastern parts of the Karnataka hornblende-bearing granitoids and (iii) younger granites. In the northern part, different
State. units of the Peninsular Gneiss and the younger K-rich granites are described as the
‘Granitoid-Migmatite Complex’ (Naqvi and Rogers, 1987).
The prominent schist belts of craton in Karnataka are clubbed and described under the
Dharwar Supergroup which is divided into two groups - the older Bababudan Group The supracrustal rocks from Andhra Pradesh occur in the cratonic part and in the marginal
(2.8 Ga) comprising orthoquartzite, metabasalt and magnetite-rich banded iron zone with marked similarities to the Kolar-type schist belts of the Karnataka State and are
formation, overlain by a more extensive Chitradurga Group (2.6 Ga) composed of composed of metabasalt, meta-acid volcanics, volcanic conglomerate and minor BIF. The
schistose rocks, largely metasedimentary in character, comprising conglomerates, Nellore Schist Belt shows subordinate representation of metasedminents. Three
quartzite, limestone, greywacke and associated manganiferous and ferruginous chert. prominent greenstone belts occur in the southern part of the State with discontinuous trace
The youngest series of sediments, mostly greywacke in composition and intercalated into the adjoining parts of Karnataka State viz. (i) the Veligallu – Gadwal belt, (ii) the South
with cherty iron formation, is represented by “Ranibennur Formation” which Kolar or Bisanattam – Kadiri belt and (iii) the Ramagiri –Penakacherla belt.
occupies the topmost position within the Chitradurga Group (Radhakrishna and
Vaidyanadhan, 1997). The Dharwar granite-greenstone terrane shows effects of three phases of deformation
(Naha et al., 1986). While the earlier two deformations gave rise to the NNW-SSE to NW-
The end of the Dharwar Cycle is marked by “Closepet Granite” represented by SE-trending penetrative fabric marked by the general schistosity, and major faults and
granitic intrusion in a 50-km-wide belt. This belt of younger potassic granites shears parallel to it, the third produced broad warps along E-W- to ENE-WSW-trending
mark a major geo-suture or joint between two distinct crustal blocks, axes. The terrane is affected by NNW-SSE to NW-SE-trending transcrustal faults/shears
western block with a number of well-developed low-grade granite- which are intersected by major ENE-WSW to E-W- and NE-SW-trending faults/lineaments.
greenstone belts with iron and manganese ores and eastern block According to a structural model of the Dharwar craton, the WDC represents a major
marked mainly by younger gneiss of granitic and granodioritic synclinorium, while the EDC represents a major anticlinorium, the limb portion of which is
composition enclosing a number of narrow linear bands of auriferous occupied by the Closepet Granite. After granite emplacement the craton attained rigidity.
schist belts. Collision of the two blocks has resulted in the Later magmatic events like mafic dyke activity and kimberlite activity took place along the
emplacement of granites along the line of junction of the two blocks deep crustal faults/fractures.
(Radhakrishna and Vaidyanadhan, op.cit). Besides, there are
other isolated masses of younger granite outcropping away from The generalised stratigraphic sequence pertaining to the granite-greenstone terrane of
these linearly disposed granite bodies like those of Chitradurga, Dharwar craton is shown in Table 1.
Arsikere and Banawar in the west and Patna, Torangal, Bellary
The linear belts of oldest supracrustal rocks (Sargur, Nuggihalli, Sathyamangalam and
and Raichur in the east.
Wynad) in this region are mainly represented by intercalated sequences of sediments and
More than 60% of the State of Andhra Pradesh makes up the volcanogenic assemblages, which are the locales of deposition of minerals. The important
eastern part of the Dharwar craton and 10% of this cratonic mineralization within these belts are the Gold deposits of Kolar, Ramagiri-Penakacherla,
part is covered by rocks of the Proterozoic platformal Hutti, Maski, Gadag, Raichur of Karnataka and Wynad schist belt of Kerala. Within the
basins viz., the Cuddapah, Pakhal and Bhima. The major Peninsular Gneiss and platformal sediments of Proterozoic age, the diamondiferous
part of Andhra Pradesh is covered by “Peninsular Gneiss”. kimberlite/lamproite bodies intrude. Kimberlite and lamproite, host rocks for diamonds,
The different units of the Peninsular Gneissic Complex are distributed in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. EDC hosts these bodies
includes three discrete units based on composition, along or at the intersection of the post-Cuddapah-reactivated ENE-WSW and NW-SE
structure and mutual relations viz. (i) gneissic rocks, (ii) fracture/fault systems and/or at the closure of domal structures. The geological milieu
6
Table 1: Generalised Stratigraphic Sequence of Dharwar Craton
Major Rock Types Group (with mineral occurrences) Age Era

Kimberlite Purana basins 1800 MA PROTEROZOICLATE
Mafic dyke Cuddapah, Kaladgi, Bhima 2000 MA
Potassic granite Younger granites 2600 MA ARCHAEAN
Greywacke Felsic Complex (Cu)Iron Formation (Au,Fe,Mn)Younger Greenstones
Manganese marker horizon
Limestone - ARCHAEAN
Mafic volcanics (Cu, Zn, As, Sb)(Au, U)
Oligomictic conglomerate
Gneisses Peninsular Gneiss(beryl, columbite, tantalite, Li mica) 3000 Ma ARCHAEAN
Mafic – ultramafic rocks Older GreenstonesKolar Group 3300 – 3000 Ma ARCHAEAN
Ancient supracrustal rocks (Au, Ag, Cu, W)Sargur group
Mafic? Felsic rocks Older gneisses 3300 Ma ARCHAEAN
BASE NOT IDENTIFIED
(granite-gneiss of PGC) and tectonic setup favoured emplacement of more than 65 margin of the Cuddapah basin and the EGMB together known as
kimberlite and 46 lamproite bodies. Kimberlites discovered in southern India till now are Prakasam Alkaline Province (Leenandam, 1980) was the loci of igneous
restricted to the EDC which was stabilised by ~ 2500 Ma and are distributed in four activity with the emplacement of anorthosites all along the mobile belt,
kimberlite fields, viz. Wajrakarur Kimberlite Field (WKF), Narayanpet Kimberlite Field (NKF), alkaline and sub-alkaline plutons close to the western margin of the mobile
Tungabhadra Kimberlite Field (TKF) and Raichur Kimberlite Field (RKF) while lamproites belt, syenite and granite close to the eastern margin of the Cuddapah basin.
occur in two fields, viz. Ramadugu and Krishna. Gold, iron, manganese and titaniferous- The well-known Kunavaram alkaline complex occurs within the MTZ. Alkali
vanadiferous magnetite deposits are reported from the schist belts of Gadwal, syenite and related granites also occur outside the province. The world famous
Chitradurga, Holenarsipur, Khammam and Nellore. mica (muscovite) mines at Gudur are located in the Nellore Schist belt.
TRANSITION ZONE SOUTHERN GRANULITE TERRAIN
The Marginal Transitional Zone (MTZ) occurs between the Dharwar craton to the west and The SGT is mainly exposed in the States of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and southern part of
the Eastern Ghat Mobile Belt in the east and is made up of granite gneiss and supracrustal Karnataka comprising the Coorg-Biligirirangan hills granulite belt of Karnataka in the
rocks, reworked and overprinted by younger deformational events. The schistose rocks of north and the Nilgiri-Madras granulite belt of Tamil Nadu in the south, divided by the
the Nellore Khammam belt, trending parallel to the East Coast occupies the transition zone Moyar shear zone. This Proterozoic terrain comprises the northern Periyar-Madurai
along the eastern margin of the craton. Recent studies brought to light the existence of granulite belt (Chetty, 1996; Yoshida et al., 1996), also referred to as the Madurai Block
Kandra Ophiolite Complex in southern part of Nellore schist belt. Close to the vicinity of (Harris and Santosh,1993) with intercalated charnockite (charnockitic massifs of
eastern margin of Cuddapah basin a number of granite bodies occur within the schistose Nilgiri hills, Kollimalai and Pachchamalai hills along Cauvery shear zone) and
rocks of Nellore schist belt. metasedimentary (pelitic) sequence and the southern Kerala khondalite belt. Other
This zone is underlain by Archaean schistose and granitic rocks and was intensely major rock units along the Cauvery shear zone, considered as ancient suture
reactivated during the Middle to Late Proterozoic periods. As a result, the MTZ, the eastern (Gopalakrishnan et al., 1990; Viswanathan et al., 1990), includes sheared
charnockitic and migmatitic gneisses intruded by layered anorthositic rocks
7
around Bhavani and Sittampundi. It also consists mainly of high-grade remnants The southern tip of the Peninsula is represented by the Nagercoil charnockitic massif (or
of greenstone belts (Sathyamangalam Group) along with supracrustal enclaves of the Nagercoil block), a distinctly charnockitic unit with metasedimentary intercalations.
the mobile belt, namely, quartzites, pelites.
Several intrusive igneous bodies of distinctive petrological and petrochemical attributes of
The Palghat shear zone is represented by a distinct geomorphic expression, a Proterozoic age occur amidst the granulites, greenstone belts, gneisses and the
physiographic low, bounded by Nilgiri hills in the north and Anaimalai and Palni ranges Proterozoic sediments. These can be classified broadly into (i) mafic-ultramafic
in the south. The dominant rock types along the shear zone include migmatitic gneisses complexes like Chimalpahad, Chimakurthi, Kondapalli from Andhra Pradesh, Sittampundi,
and banded charnockites. Achankovil shear zone is another major shear zone exposed Torappadi, Thenmudianur and Mamandur in Tamil Nadu and Ezhimala gabbro-granophyre
in the southern tip of SGT. The regional fabric and fold patterns around Kodaikanal and Complex, Perinthatta anorthosite and Adakkathodu gabbro in Kerala; alkaline magmatism
Madurai blocks are abruptly truncated at this zone (Narayanaswamy and is recorded in the form of several syenite-carbonatite bodies. The alkaline-related
Purnalakshmi, 1967). Sporadic lenses of ultrabasic rocks occur within the plutonism was widespread in the north in parts of Vellore, Dharmapuri and Salem Districts,
garnetiferous granitic gneisses. where a number of ultramafic-syenite-carbonatite bodies (Elagiri, Koratti, Samalpatti and
Pakkanadu) occur in a NNE-SSW-trending zone extending from Gudiyattam in the north to
In the southern flank of the Palghat gap, up to the north of the Achankovil shear Bhavani in the south over about 200 km. Besides these silica-saturated alkali plutons, there
zone, the rocks are predominantly charnockite, charnockitic and other gneisses are two bodies of silica-undersaturated syenite complexes, namely the Pikkili and the
with occasional assemblages of metasediments in the Idukki-Munnar region Sivamalai syenites. In contrast to the saturated syenites, these bodies are devoid of
representing the western continuation of the Madurai block in Tamil Nadu. carbonatite association and are characterised by pyroxene syenite, ijolite, nepheline
Within the southern part of the Palghat gap, charnockitic patches and syenite and corundum syenite. Minor carbonatites with magnetite have been recorded
hornblende-biotite gneisses predominate. Towards the central and the along the slopes of the Western Ghats near the Kerala border around Kambamettu and
northern parts of the gap, migmatitic gneisses (hornblende-biotite Kothagudi in Theni District. Minor veins of siderite-ankerite-bearing carbonatite with rare
gneisses) and patches of amphibolite, calc-granulite and granite are sovite types are recorded in the carbonated zone in Attur valley in Salem District. The
exposed. Northern flank of the gap consists of a metasedimentary Salem ultramafic body, famous for its magnesite deposit, is considered to be related to this
sequence of khondalite and calc-granulite with crystalline syenite-carbonatite activity. The time of emplacement of these alkaline plutons has been
limestone bands. Granulites, schists and gneisses, intruded by well constrained by different isotopic systematics.
acid and alkaline plutons, constitute the northernmost parts of
The SGT was earlier considered to be the southern extension of the granite-greenstone
the State. Sporadic Late Archaean Early Proterozoic granite
terrane of Dharwar Craton exposed at a deeper tectonic level. This concept was based on
and associated pegmatite as also Mesozoic-Cenozoic dykes
the observation that the grade of metamorphism gradually increases from north to south.
intrude these rocks.
Geochronological and isotopic studies have brought to light that the southern part of the
The Kerala region is an important segment of the SGT, where SGT lying south of Palghat Cauvery Lineament (PCL) has a geological history distinctly
major units of the Archaean continental crust, such as different from the Dharwar Craton. These studies have shown that the terrain lying north of
granulite, granite, gneiss and greenstone are preserved. PCL shows crustal growth during the period from 3400 to 2500 Ma. In contrast, crustal
Southern part of the State, south of Achankovil shear zone, growth in the terrain south of PCL is considered to have taken place predominantly during
exposes an assemblage of migmatised meta-sedimentary post-Archaean times, as constrained by Nd model ages (Harris et al., 1994). This terrain
and meta-igneous rocks (khondalite-charnockite might have witnessed several cycles of metamorphism, the most pervasive being the 550-
assemblages). Ma Pan-African granulite-facies event as constrained by isotopic systematics
(Unnikrishnan Warrier et al., 1995b; Jayananda et al., 1995, Bartlett et al., 1995, Ghosh et
8
al., 1998). In view of the contrasting geological history recorded by the terrains north and The generalised stratigraphic sequence of SGT is shown in
south of PCL, the SGT has been divided into the northern Archaean Craton (Dharwar Table 2.
Craton) and the southern Proterozoic (Pandian) Mobile Belt (GSI, 1994) with the PCL
marking the boundary between them.
Table 2: SGT Stratigraphy
Major Rock Types Group Age Era
Alkali granite, granite, granophyre & acid intrusive Younger Granite (W) 550-390 Ma
PALAEOZOIC
Massive & incipient charnockite, cordie-rite charnockite Charnockite (Younger) 550 Ma
Gabbro Anorthosite Ultrabasic / basic (Younger) (Mo) 700 -600Ma
NEO- PROTEROZOIC
Carbonatite, ultrabasic complex Alkali Complex (Younger) 700 – 900 Ma
Alkaline complex Alkaline rock Epidote-hornblende gneiss (U, Th, Y, Nb, Ta, Be, & REE)
Basic dyke Basic intrusive 1600 – 2100 Ma MESO- PROTEROZOIC
Carbonatite and alkaline dyke Alkali Complex (Older) 1900 – 2300 Ma PALAEO-
Syenite complex Ultrabasic complex PROTEROZOIC
Older grantie / granitoid
Pink migmatite Migmatite LATE ARCHAEAN
Pink augen gneiss Complex 2200–2550 Ma TO PALEO-
Hornblende gneiss (Peninsular Gneissic Complex II) (Fe) PROTEROZOIC
Hornblende-biotite gneiss
Garnetiferous quartzo-feldspathic gneiss
Garnet-biotite gneiss
Basic and ultramafic rock
Magnetite quartzite CharnockiteGroup 2600 Ma LATE ARCHAEAN
Pyroxene granulite
Charnockite
Calc-granulite
Limestone Khondalite Group
Quartzite
Garnet-sillimanite-graphite gneiss
Quartzo-feldspathic rock
Amphibolite Kolar Group(Au) 2900 Ma
Banded ferruginous quartzite ARCHAEAN
Pink migmatite
Granitoid gneiss (Peninsular Gneissic Complex I) (Bhavani Group) 3000 Ma
Fissile hornblende gneiss
Ultramafic / mafic, ultrabasic rock Layered ultramafic / mafic, ultrabasic complex(PGE, Cr) 3000 – 3100Ma
Amphibolite, calc-silicate rock, basic and ultrabasic rock, Sathyamangalam Group of Tamil Nadu;
sillimanite-kyanite-corundum-mica schist, fuchsite-kyanite Wynad Schist Complex of Kerala 3200 Ma
ferruginous quartzite, talc-tremolite schist etc. (Pb,Zn,Cu,Ag,Cd)
BASE NOT KNOWN
9
The SGT is associated with the metallogeny of the metallic minerals, broadly Pan-African (Sarkar and Paul, 1998; Krause et al., 2001; Aftalion et al., 2000 and Crowe et
grouped under the categories – Gold mineralisation in Archaean greenstone belts of al., 2001).
Veppanapalli and Bargur sectors in Krishnagiri district, Banded Iron Formation (BIF)
The EGMB in Orissa is separated from the Western Orissa Sector by an abrupt geomorphic
in parts of Dharmapuri, North Arcot, Villupuram and Salem districts; PGE and
and geophysical (Bouger gravity) discontinuity, also confirmed by deep seismic sounding
chromite mineralisation in Archaean ultramafic-mafic-anorthosite complexes of
(Kaila and Bhatia, 1981), and extends from the southern tip of Orissa to Sambalpur.The
Sittampundi and Mettuppalaiyam. Also recorded base metal mineralisation in the
eastern boundary of the EGMB is probably marked by another major lineament along
Mamandur area of Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, shear-controlled Molybdenum
which they abruptly meet the coastal alluvia. The Chilka lake anorthosites occur along this
mineralisation related to Neoproterozoic magmatism in shear zones; Rare metals (U-
lineament.
Th-Nb-Ta-Y, Be) and REE mineralisation associated with Neoproterozoic alkaline-
carbonatite complexes of northern Tamil Nadu and granites and pegmatites in central The EGMB has a broad arcuate trend with a westward convexity, in conformity with the
Tamil Nadu, and Tungsten mineralisation (skarn type) in calc-granulites associated shapes of the Nellore schist belt and the eastern margin of the Cuddapah basin, on the
with Neoproterozoic granites in the Karungalagudi area, Madurai district, Tamil west. Broadly, EGMB has a NNE-SSW trend in the southern part but changes to NE-SW
Nadu. trend at west of Eluru. After a gap of about 40 km occupied by the Gondwana sediments of
the Godavari graben, NW of Eluru, the western margin of the EGMB skirts the eastern
EASTERN GHAT MOBILE BELT
fringes of the Bastar craton of Madhya Pradesh. The eastern margin of the EGMB, along
The Dharwar craton is bounded in the northeast by the Eastern Ghat Mobile the East Coast is covered with Gondwana, Tertiary and Quaternary formations.
Belt (EGMB), extending for over 1000 km covering a distance of more than
The contact between the cratonic gneisses and the EGMB is a major tectonic feature
600 km of Andhra Pradesh from Ongole in the southern part of the State
marked by gabbro-anorthosite and alkaline plutons of Middle Proterozoic age (1600-1000
into Orissa in a northeasterly direction along the eastern coast of the
Ma). The Nellore Schist Belt in the southeast and Khammam Schist Belt in the northeast
Indian Peninsula. It is widest in Orissa (~ 300 km) and covers major
probably represent the remnants of an originally single N-S-trending schist belt that got
part of southern Orissa. This is a granulite terrain mainly made up of
dismembered during the development of the EGMB and its subsequent deformation.
charnockite, khondalite, quartzite, calc-granulite, pyroxene
granulite and leptynites. The EGMB includes two broad litho- These mobile belt granulites (EGMB) have contrasting geochemical attributes than the
stratigraphic groups, the Charnockite and the Khondalite Groups, cratonic granulites of SGT (Subba Rao, 1980). EGMB granulites are rich in REE with K-rich
together forming the Eastern Ghats Supergroup, intruded by alkalies compared to Na, Rb, Ba and Th-rich alkalies of SGT.
layered anorthosite and associated mafic and chromiferous
ultramafics and alkaline complexes. This belt is famous for its large resources of bauxite (formed mainly by supergene
enrichment of Al from metapelitic protoliths (khondalites), variety of dimension stones
Both its northern and western contacts respectively with (commercial granites) using charnockite, leptynite, granitoids, anorthosite and alkaline
NOC and Bastar cratons are tectonised. This is a typical rocks, occurrences of a variety of gemstones including emerald, chrysoberyl,
Proterozoic mobile belt that skirts the Archaean cratonic aquamarine, ruby, sapphire, topaz and garnet, resources of high-grade graphite and
blocks and is characterised by strong linearity, ductile manganese ore and are being exploited locally.
deformation, high grade of metamorphism and a high
gravity gradient along its contact zone with cratons. Age EASTERN INDIAN CRATON
data available from the isotopic studies have provided new The Singhbhum-Orissa or Eastern Indian Craton (EIC) comprises Archaean nucleus of
insight in to the chronostratigraphy of the events of this South Singhbhum, Proterozoic Dalma volcanic belt and the Chotanagpur Gneissic
Precambrian terrane which range from Late Archaean to
10
Complex (CGC) in the north. The Singhbhum nucleus (Naqvi and Rogers, 1987), a Enclaves of older rocks like the Older Metamorphic Group
triangular region flanking Bastar Craton in the west, is bounded by Copper Thrust Belt (OMG) of igneous and sedimentary rocks now
(CTB; also called Singhbhum Shear Zone) in the north, Sukinda thrust in the south, high- metamorphosed to amphibolite facies (ortho- and para-
grade metamorphic Satpura belt in the northwest and Eastern Ghat granulite belt in the amphibolite respectively) and the Older Metamorphic
southwest. This is the richest mineralised cratonic block in India and geographically the Tonalite Gneisses (OMTG) occur as remnants within the
EIC comprise western part of the State of West Bengal, southern part of Jharkhand and batholithic complex. The OMTG intrudes synkinematically
northern part of Orissa. into the OMG amphibolites indicating that the latter is the
The geology of EIC is detailed in Table 3. oldest unit (Sharma et al., 1994). Presence of large number
of enclaves of OMG-OMTG association occurring throughout
Table 3. Stratigraphy of EIC (after Balasubrahmanyan, 2006)

Newer dolerite dykes and sills 1600-950 Ma
Mayurbhanj Granite 2100 Ma
Gabbro-anorthosite-ultramafics
Kolhan Group 2100-2200 Ma
....................................................................................................................... Unconformity ........................................................................................................................
Jagannathpur/Malangtoli and Dhanjori-Simlipal lavas, Quartzite-conglomerate (Dhanjori Group) 2300 Ma
Pelitic and arenaceous metasediments with mafic sills (Singhbhum Group) 2400-2300 Ma
....................................................................................................................... Unconformity ........................................................................................................................
Singhbhum Granite-III 3100 Ma
Epidiorites (intrusives)
Iron Ore Group (IOG volcano-sediments)
....................................................................................................................... Unconformity ........................................................................................................................
Singhbhum Granite-I and II, Nilgiri Granite, Bonai Granite 3300 Ma
Older Metamorphic Group (OMG) and Older Metamorphic
Tonalitic Gneiss (OMTG) folding and metamorphism 3500-3400 Ma
OMTG 3775 Ma
OMG ? 4000 Ma
A major section of this craton is occupied by the Singhbhum granite batholith complex the batholithic complex attests to the extensive nature of these rocks before the
covering an area of about 10,000 sq km. A number of shallow basins (the supracrustals) intrusion of the Singhbhum Granite.
within and around the periphery of this granite batholith are also present viz. iron ore basins
in the western sector containing large economic deposits of iron ores, banded haematite The Iron Ore Group (IOG) of rocks (the major supracrustal unit in EIC) deposited
quartz, Simlipal-Dhanjori basin comprising volcanics and volcanoclastic sediments, etc. subsequent to OMG-OMTG. IOG constitutes low-grade metasediments including
11
phyllites, tuffaceous shales, banded hematite quartz/jasper (BHQ/BHJ), iron-ore, komatiitic affinity with definitive spinifex textures (found only within this unit of EIC;
ferruginous banded quartzite, local dolomite, acid intermediate and mafic volcanics Majumder, 1996).The upper Dhanjori basaltic suite comprises alkali olivine basalts
as well as mafic sill-like intrusives. Deposition of IOG is followed by intrusion of passing upwards into K-poor oceanic tholeiites. An extensive granite granophyre complex
Singhbhum granite batholith representing dominant crustal growth in this craton. occurring along the western margin of the main Dhanjori basin has obliterated the contact
From field evidence as well as trace, REE and isotope geochemistry (Saha, 1994), it between the Dhanjoris and Archaean Singhbhum granite complex. Another large
has been considered that this vast granite batholith can be grouped into three different Proterozoic basin, called Simlipal basin (Iyenger and Banerjee, 1964) forming Simlipal hill
phases according to their time of emplacement which are as follows: Phase-I: Dalima range, is a large oval-shaped basin of mafic volcanics. The basin comprises spilitic lavas
and Rajnagar-Kuyali units, Phase-II: Besoi, Hatgamaria and Keonjhargarh-Bhaunra and tuffs along with basal arkose-orthoquartzites and overlies the Archaean basement and
units and Phase-III: Haludpukur-Chapra, Kalikapur-Matku, Saraikela-Jorapokhar- two thick intertrappean orthoquartzite bands. Two other large volcanic suites were formed
Tiring, Gorumahisani, Gamaria-Khorband-Karanjia units. during this period, viz. the Jagannathpur lava and Malangtoli lava. These two lava
formations are considered as post-Singhbhum granite and pre-Kolhan age (Saha, 1994).
A pause in crustal growth followed the intrusion of Singhbhum Granite and was Compositionally, these lavas display three distinct types, viz. low-grade metabasalts,
interrupted by a sedimentary cycle (the Singhbhum Group) and a volcano- meta-andesite and meta-oligoclase andesite.
sedimentary cycle (the Dhanjori Group) respectively. The Singhbhum Group
metasedimentaries, mainly confined to the areas close to CTB, extend across The Proterozoic Dalma belt, lying north of CTB and sandwiched between the Singhbhum
the thrust zone to SW of Baharagora over an extensive area up to the base of nucleus in south and high-grade CGC in the north, is a 200-km-long and 3-7-km-wide
Simlipal hill range. Singhbhum Group starts with the Chaibasa Formation arcuate belt and mainly comprises greenschist facies rocks of Singhbhum Group and
containing garnet, staurolite, kyanite-bearing mica schists with numerous metavolcanics. The belt has been intensely folded into a synclinorium along E-W to NE-SW
bands of quartzites and ortho- and para-hornblende schist. This is axis which is refolded at the eastern and western extremities (Saha, 1994).
followed by Dhalbhum Formation at the top containing phyllites with a Stratigraphically, the rocks of this belt are classsified into a lower and upper member. The
few quartzite bands, chlorite, magnetite and chlorite phyllites and lower member comprises of phyllites (often carbonaceous), quartzites, shale, high-
epidiorite sills. Towards the top, the Singhbhum Group is terminated magnesian komatiitic serpentinised peridotites, lavas and vitric tuffs with quench textures,
with the eruption of Dalma volcanics. volcaniclastics, etc. Concordant basic-ultrabasic plutonic bodies (gabbro, pyroxenites) of
considerable dimensions are also found interlayered with the tuffaceous horizons in the
The Dhanjori basin, resting unconformably over the IOG in the eastern sector. The upper Dalma member is represented by high iron - low potash tholeiitic
NE part of the craton, predominantly consists of volcanics and basalt along with some rhyolite. Dalma volcanics bear considerable similarity with
volcaniclastic sediments. Vast copper deposit within the low- Dhanjori volcanics, though the former contains less basaltic komatiites. Stratigraphically,
grade metavolcanic member has been extensively mined. however, Dhanjori have always been considered as either equivalent to Dalma or slightly
The Dhanjori volcano-sedimentary assemblage is older.
considered to represent a greenstone cycle (Gupta et al.,
1985) within the south Singhbhum Proterozoics. The The Proterozoic volcano-sedimentary cycle is followed by intrusions of large isolated
sequence comprises a lower unit of metapelites, granitoid bodies like Kuilapal and Chakradharpur granites (CKPG) in the NE and southern
psammites with ultramafics and mafics (gabbro/dolerite) margin of Dalma belt respectively. The Kuilapal granite is an ellipsoidal granite gneiss body
and an upper predominantly volcanic unit comprising occurring within moderately high-grade metamorphosed pelitic schist and interbanded
mafic/ultramafic tuffs, intrusives, metabasalts and hornblende schist, talc schist and conglomerate. Its composition varies from trondhjemite
tuffaceous sediments.The lower ultramafics have distinct
12
to tonalite. The CKPG is an east-west-trending elongated body with numerous enclaves of manganese, chromium, vanadium, titanium,gold,
amphibolites, chlorite schist, talc schist, rootless intercalations of arkose-conglomerate copper, molybdenum in the mafic magmatic provinces in
and quartzite (Bhaumik and Basu, 1984). Other acid plutons, intruded along the southern Jharkhand and north Orissa; tin, niobium, lithium,
margin of CTB, are the soda granite and the Arkasani granophyre. beryllium occurrences in Late Proterozoic granite-syenite-
gabbroic province in western Orissa, occurrences of lead-
After the relatively minor Proterozoic crust building episode within the Dalma belt, there
copper, phosphorite, mica and manganese in the
was a pause followed by the final crust-forming events in this area beginning with the
carbonate-rich mobile belt of Gangpur-Chhotanagpur and
emplacement of gabbro-anorthosite complex along the eastern margin of Singhbhum
granite plutons with associated pegmatites and quartz veins
granite batholith extending from Butgora in the north to Nausahi in the south. This is
carrying beryllium, tin, tungsten, uranium and tantalum.
followed by emplacement of Mayurbhanj Granite (MBG) covering approximatly 1000 sq
km (Saha, 1994). The MBG was overlain by the Kolhan Group of sediments. The CENTRAL INDIAN PRECAMBRIAN SHIELD
sediments are sandstone, shale, argillaceous limestone and orthoquartzite. The final
stabilisation of this craton is marked by the intrusion of spectacular set of reticulating basic The Central Indian Shield is a mosaic of two crustal provinces, the
dyke swarm, known as Newer dolerite dyke swarm (NDD), mainly confined in the southern Southern Crustal Province (SCP) and Northern Crustal Province
part of CTB. NDD is considered to be the youngest magmatic activity and stratigraphic unit (NCP) separated by a prominent east-west-trending Central Indian
in EIC. Shear (CIS) or Central Indian Tectonic Zone (CITZ). The western part of
the sector (i.e major part of Maharashtra and western part of Madhya
The Chhotanagpur Granite Gneiss Complex (CGC) occupies a considerable area in the Pradesh) is blanketed by thick pile of Deccan traps The SCP is with
northern part of EIC and is intrusive into the schists in the south (Dunn and Dey, 1942). The Archaean nuclei known as Bastor Craton. Bhopalpatanam Granulite Belt is
CGC, extending from Chhattisgarh in the west through Orissa and Jharkhand up to parts of seen to shoulder along the Godavari Graben. The domain to north of the Son-
the districts of Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum and Medinipur of West Bengal in the east, forms Narmada-Tapti (SONATA) lineament is named as the Bundelkhand
an integral segment of the Precambrian continental shield of eastern India. The major parts Protocontinent (BP) or the NCP consisting of the Bundelkhand craton,
of CGC occurring in south Bihar and northern part of Jharkhand and in adjacent parts of surrounded by the Vindhyans and the fold belts of Aravalli-Delhi in Rajasthan. To
West Bengal is a vast gneissic terrain exposing complex assemblages of diversified rocks, the south, Deccan Protocontinent (DP) or the SCP occurs with the Singhbhum-
which have witnessed several periods of magmatism, tectonism, sedimentation, Bastar-Dharwar Cratons (Yedeker, 1986; Yedeker et al., 1990; Acharyya and Roy,
metamorphism, partial melting and mineralisation that have altered the pre-existing 2000). The Bundelkhand Craton (BDC) in the north and the Bastar Craton (BC) in the
volcanic, plutonic and sedimentary rocks to a gneiss-granulite-granite association. south have Archaean nuclei. The supracrustal belts in northern and western parts
include the Mahakohal, Sakoli, Sausar Groups apart from the Dongargarh Supergroup,
In northeast India, the Meghalaya is a huge geomorphic up-arch of Precambrian
whereas to the south and east the Sukma, Bengpal and Bailadila Groups form the main
metamorphic rocks with a narrow southern fringe. The northern limits of the Meghalaya
lithotectonic associations.The Abujhmar Group is a volcano-sedimentary ensemble in
uplands are marked by the Brahmaputra Plain. The various rock groups occupying the
contrast to Chhattisgarh, Indravati, Pakhal and Sullavai Groups constituting important
region includes Bomdila Group, Sung Valley alkaline carbonatite complex, basement
Purana cover sedimentary sequences.
gneisses of Meghalaya Plateau and granitoids of EIC like Kyrdem, Nongpoh and Mylliem.
The simplified stratigraphy of Central Indian Precambrian Shield (CIPS) is given in
This part of the Peninsular Indian Shield is associated with the mineralisation of copper in
Table 4.
Mosabani-Bedi–Rakha mines in Jharkhand; Jaduguda uranium mineralisation; iron,
13
Table 4: Stratigraphy of CIPS (simplified after Sarkar et al., 1990)

Major Rock Types Group Age Era
Supracrustal rocks, granite and gneiss Khairagarh Belt, Granite in Satpura Belt; as Tirodi Gneiss (Sausar Group) 800 Ma NEOPROTEROZOIC
Kimberlites Majhgaon, Hinota diatremes 1200-1000 Ma NEOPROTEROZOIC

to MESO-
Mafic dykes, granite, gneiss Mafic dykes and granite in Bastar craton, Abhujmar Group, Keskal granite, 1500 Ma MESOPROTEROZOIC
Amgaon Gneiss, Tirodi Gneiss
Sonakhan, Bailadila, Khairagarh, Gwalior, Sausar, (?) Sakoli, Chilpi Groups 1600 Ma - 1600 Ma MESOPROTEROZOIC
Granite Sukma, Pujariguda, Burgudem, Paliam-Darba, Cholanguda granite (Sn – W mineralisation) 2200 Ma PALEOPROTEROZOIC
Granite, gneiss, volcanics Bundelkhand Granite, Khairagarh, Chilpi Ghat, Abujhmar Volcanics, Chilpi Group, PROTEROZOIC
Sausar Group, Dongargarh Granite, Malanjkhand tonalite-granodiorite Gneiss, 2400-2300 Ma To
Nandgaon Group, Mahakoshal Group LATE ARCHAEAN
Gneiss Abujhmar, Nandgaon, and (?) Sakoli Groups 2600-2500 Ma LATE ARCHAEAN
Metasediments Bengpal, Amgaon, Sukma Groups ARCHAEAN
Gneissic Complex Bundelkhand, Baya and Sukma Gneiss ? 3600 Ma ARCHAEAN
BASTAR CRATON of quartzite, phyllite and BIF, hosts iron-rich deposits; (ii) Sonakhan belt is endowed with
greenstone-granitoid association; (iii) Kotri-Dongargarh belt of volcanosedimentary-
The Bastar Craton (BC) is bounded to the northeast by Mahanadi granite association of Dongargarh Supergroup is represented by older Nandgaon Group of
graben, to the southwest by the Pranhita-Godavari graben, to the basic and acid lava and pyroclastics, the Dongargarh granite and younger Khairagarh
northwest by Satpura mobile belt and to the southeast by Eastern Group of volcano-sedimentary sequence; (iv) Sakoli belt comprises distinct low-grade
Ghats Mobile Belt. The cratonic components of Bastar includes supracrustrals of bimodal volcanics, pelites and quartzite laid on Amgaon Gneisses of 2.5
Basement Gneiss (» 3.5Ga) followed by the (i) Sukma Ga, and (v) the cover sequence of the Chhattisgarh, Indravati, Albaka and Sullavai
metamorphic suite (» 2.6 Ga), Bengpal Group (» 2.3 Ga), Supergroup / Group.
Bailadila Group (2.1 Ga), undifferentiated granites and basic
dykes (Ramakrishnan, 1990). Dutta et al. (1981) indicate a The NCP includes (i) the Central Indian Tectonic Zone with gneiss-supracrustal-granite
Narainpur Group above the Bailadila Group with sandstone, litho-associations of Mahakoshal, Sausar and Betul-Chhindwara belts and the granulites in
conglomerate and mafic volcanics. Sukma Group Sausar terrain, (ii) Bundelkand gneiss-granitoid terrain with enclaves of minor
comprises slivers of quartzite, pelites, calc-silicates, BIF supracrustal belts, and (iii) cover sequences of Vindhyan and Bijawar Supergroup /Group.
and amphibolites. The Bengpal Group of rocks consists of
Archaean gneisses and high-grade granulitic/charnockitic rocks are exposed mainly in the
low- to medium-grade volcanosedimentary sequence of
southern part of the region. This includes gneissic rocks of Pranhita- Godavari valley,
amygdular metabasalt, quartzite, conglomerate and
charnockitic suite of rocks along the Wainganga valley in Bhandara and Chandrapur
andalusite and chloritoid schist. Bailadila Group, consisting
14
districts, the gneisses and associated supracrustals of Bastar area, the Tirodi gneisses of The Nandgaon Group comprises Bijli volcanics and
Nagpur-Seoni area (Narayanswamy,1962), gneisses and supracrustals occurring to the Pitepani basic volcanics. Bijli consists mainly of rhyolite
east of Sakoli basin in Gondia-Bhandara-Rajnandgaon sector grouped as Amgaon Group and sandstone. Pitepani volcanics mainly include massive
(Sarkar, 1958). to porphyritic basalt with rare pillow structure. The rocks
are well exposed in the eastern part of Bhandara district in
The Bastar/Amgaon/Tirodi gneisses and associated supracrustals include upper
Salekasa area and extend southwards in Korchi area of
amphibolite facies, high-grade gneiss-migmatite with supracrustals including
Gadchiroli district and in parts of Rajnandgaon district of
metasediments (quartzite – BIF – carbonate– pelite) and meta-igneous (amphibolite,
Chhattisgarh.
ultramafic) litho-types. The supracrustals are interleaved with gneissic rocks that contain
relicts of TTG suite, the whole set-up being dismembered by younger granitic intrusives in The Sakoli Group covering an area of about 3500 sq km in
different areas of the region. parts of Nagpur, Bhandara and Gadchiroli districts of
Maharashtra comprise a metamorphosed volcano-sedimentary
The gneisses exposed south of Sakoli fold belt in Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Nagpur and
sequence. The volcanic to sedimentary rocks ratio is about 1:4.
Bhandara districts are generally referred as Bengpal Gneisses. This belt is about 200km X
Both mafic and felsic volcanic rocks are present in nearly equal
60km2 in area and further southward merges with the gneissic country of Bastar area
proportions. Sakoli Group includes metasediments dominated by
where these have been named as Bengpal (Sukma) Gneiss-supracrustals. Gneiss
phyllite (carbonaceous at places), mica schist (with varying
migmatites include banded gneiss, stromatic gneiss and leucocratic gneiss containing
proportions of magnetite, andalusite, chloritoid, garnet and staurolite),
meta-sedimentary, meta-igneous and TTG restites. Banded magnetite quartzite,
metabasalts, metarhyolites and banded iron formation (BIF). Quartz-
hornblende schists, pyroxene-bearing gneisses, quartzite and pelitic schists occurring as
tourmaline rock (tourmalinite) and banded garnet-amphibole-biotite-quartz
thin bands are scattered over a wide area. Towards eastern part it is designated as Baya
rock (BGA, possibly a variant of banded manganiferous iron formation) are
Gneiss. The closing of the Sukma Orogeny is indicated by the Sukma granite gneiss at
the other significant rocks of this group. Quartz veins, alkali-feldspar granite,
» 2.6 Ga. The maximum age for Bengpal Group of rocks is constrained by the intrusive pegmatite and amphibolite/gabbro are the intrusives in the Sakoli Group. The
Paliam and Darba granites and whole-rock isochron age at 2308± 48 Ma (Sri = 0.735) meta-basalt are iron-rich tholeiite while meta-rhyolite are represented by
with mineral ages of 2050 Ma and 1620 Ma. pyroclastics, tuffs and flows with composition ranging from rhyolite to rhyodacite.
Quartzite bands of Bailadila Group extend along strike for several kilometres in the The gneiss and older supracrustals (Sukma-Amgaon) encircling the Sakoli Group
southern parts of Gadchiroli District and are interbanded with other meta-sedimentary represent basement to the Sakoli sequence and also occur as inliers within the Sakoli
rocks. They show gradational contact with BIF and calc-silicate rocks. Quartzites include Fold Belt.
orthoquartzite, at times micaceous, calcareous and ferruginous, and commonly contain
minor amounts of graphite. Magnetite-specularite form BMQ (BIF) with impersistent folded The 75-km-wide and 300-km-long Sausar Fold Belt in Madhya Pradesh is a E-W
quartz-magnetite banding on millimetre to centimetre scale extending for several trending, curvilinear (southerly convex) belt extending from Balaghat in the east to
kilometres and contains 67 to 68 % Fe. Two such important patches are seen in parts of Chindwara in the west, exposing a central domain of dominantly supracrustal rocks
Chhattisgarh. (metamorphosed quartzite, pelites and carbonates) and characterised by lack of
volcanic rocks. It is intimately associated with a variety of granitic rocks of anatectic
The Sonakhan Group of rocks occurs in the eastern part of Chhattisgarh State. This origin. The Sausar Mobile Belt (SMB) displays the Sausar Group together with
comprises continental bimodal, basalt-rhyolite association of volcanics with greywackes some granulites, Tirodi Gneiss and the Augen Gneiss. It is confined between the
and conglomerates. The quartz veins in the bimodal volcanics are gold-bearing. northern Bundelkhand Protocontinent and the south Deccan / Bhandara
15
Protocontinent. This Proterozoic major crustal belt is said to have three rhyolite. Three phases of folding with amphibolite-facies grade of metamorphism and
lithotectonic units – (i) Mafic granulite-felsic migmatite gneiss – the Tirodi biotite intrusion of granite are noted. In the northern part of this belt peridotite, pyroxenite, gabbro,
Gneiss, (ii) Augen Gneiss, foliated granite, and (iii) Sausar Group comprising calc- norite and diorite have BIF granulite enclaves.
silicate gneiss, calcite marble, dolomite marble and quartzite (Bhowmik et al., 1999).
The southern periphery of the supracrustal sequence reveals linear suite of two- Volcano-sedimentary sequences of the Khairagarh and Abujhmar groups and sediments
pyroxene granulite-charnockite-metapelite granulite lenses and pods. The granulites of Chilpi Group belonging to Palaeo-Mesoproterozoic unconformably overlie the older
reveal the pre-Sausar structure (Narayanaswami et al., 1963). The main Sausar sequences and the granite in the Mailkala range and Abujhmar plateau region. Pakhal
Orogeny is » 1000-Ma Grenvillian age implying granulite metamorphism as pre- Supergroup belonging to Mesoproterozoic occupies the Godavari valley region.
Platformal cover sequence of the Chhattisgarh Supergroup of Meso-Neoproterozoic
Grenvillian. The Tirodi Gneiss indicates an age of 1525 ± 70 Ma with a mineral
occupies the Chhattisgarh plains.
isochron at 860 Ma (Sarkar et al., 1986). The Tirodi biotite Gneiss considered earlier
to be a migmatised Sausar supracrustal unit, is now related to a granulite-facies
The Dongargarh Supergroup occurs to the west of Chhattisgarh basin and to the east of
metamorphism in Ramakona-Katangi granulite belt preceding the deposition of the
Sakoli synclinorium. This group overlies Amgaon and Sakoli Groups, comprising the lower
supracrustals.
igneous suite of Nandgaon Group and upper sedimentary igneous alternation of
The Makrohar granulites occurring as a belt to the south of the Son-Narmada Khairagarh Group separated by a pronounced unconformity subsequent to the
South Fault (SNSF), south of Mahakoshal Belt and intruded by gabbro- emplacement of the Dongargarh Granite.
anorthosite and granite are thought to represent granulite metamorphism at
The Khairagarh Group is exposed in the central part of the Dongargarh Belt south of Deori
» 1.7 Ga (Pichai Muthu, 1990; Roy and Prasad, 2003).
and around Darekasa of Maharashtra and in Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh state.
The Bortalao Formation forms the lowermost litho-sequence of the Khairagarh Group,
The Mahakoshal Group is a supracrustal sequence with dominant
which unconformably overlie the volcanic rocks of Nandgaon Group and the Dongargarh
metasediments and subordinate tholeiite metavolcanics with intrusive
Granite. It forms an E-W-trending belt of varying width on the flanks of normal and inverted
dunite-peridotite and occasional sills of soda-granite. The group has
canoe-shaped folds and saddle folds in the area south and west of Deori and NNE-SSW-
a faulted contact with the Archaean gneisses and migmatites
trending limb of syncline in east of Salekasa. Impersistent beds of conglomerate often
between Jabalpur and Sidhi comprising the Agori and Parsoi
occur at the base of this formation consisting of well-rounded pebbles, cobbles and
Formations in which intrusives occur. The contact of this group
boulders of variously coloured Bijli rhyolites, Dongargarh granite, arkose, vein quartz,
with the Jungel Group is also faulted. The contact with the
quartzite, chert, trachyte, basalt and andesite in a fine-grained matrix. The Sitagota
Vindhyan Supergroup lying above is also faulted. The lower
volcanics overlie this and comprise dull green basalt with minor tuffs and agglomerates.
Agori Formation consists of pillow-pahoehoe toes, bomb
Karutola Formation disconformably overlies the Sitagota volcanics and consists of fine- to
agglomerate, volcanic breccia, tuff and chert. This group of
coarse-grained, well-bedded pure and ferruginous quartzites. It is followed by the
rocks occurs as a horst in the Satpura axis.
Mangikhuta volcanics consisting of non-porphyritic, amygdaloidal pyroxene tholeiite with
The Betul supracrustal belt is a granitoid gneiss tract minor intertrappean, laminated shale and siltstone. Ghogra Sandstone is mainly quartz-
between Mahakoshal Belt to the north and the Sausar arenite in composition, and this lithounit is considered by Yedekar and Jain (1996) as
supracrustal belt in the south. This has quartzite, pelite, intraformational between Mangikhuta and Kotima Formations.
calc-silicate, BIF, garnet-anthophyllite schist intruded by
mafic, ultramafic and granitic rocks with bimodal volcanics Several major faults have been recorded mostly affecting the lithounits of the Khairagarh
– a low K–tholeiitic basalt and calc-alkaline to alkaline Group, which include N-S-trending Darekasa Fault (Sarkar, 1957-58). Dhara-Kamarwara
16
and Tappa faults also extend in N-S direction for tens of kilometres at the eastern margin of and northwesterly swarm of mafic dykes terminate the
the Khairagarh Group. activity in this massif. The Bundelkhand Granite consists of
an early porphyritic phase followed by several intrusive
The Kotri Belt is the southern extension of the Dongargarh belt with comparable
phases of monzonite, leucogranite, diorite-syenite-granite
stratigraphy. Mahla Formation and Rhyolite Formation represent the Nandgaon Group of
and other porphyries with three generations of dolerites.
Dongargarh supergroup in the Kotri Belt. The Abujhmar Group in the Kotri Belt is
Bundelkhand Granite has been isotopically dated at » 3.3
correlatable with Khairagarh Group. The belt occurs in northwestern part of the Gadchiroli
Ga.
district of Maharashtra and partly in adjoining parts of Chhattisgarh, and includes a litho-
assemblage of locally significant conglomerate, chlorite schist, muscovite schist and Large-scale granitoid magmatism of batholithic dimension
sericite quartzite associated with meta-ultramafic and gabbro bodies. The intrusives around 2.5-2.2 Ga (Bundelkhand Granite, Dongargarh Granite,
within the belt are coarse pink granites, which are correlatable with the Dongargarh Malanjkhand Granite) in the Central Indian Shield probably
Granite. The meta-ultramafics show alteration of original pyroxene to an assemblage of reflects the Late Archaean - Early Proterozoic cratonisation in this
serpentine-tremolite and tremolite-serpentine-actinolite. The BIF includes carbonate- and part of the shield area (Ramachandra, 1994; Ramachandra and
sulphide-bearing bands, often being pyritiferous. Quartzite includes conglomeratic bands Roy, 1998).
of local importance.
Kimberlites occur as intrusives into Bastar craton. Other
The Amgaon Gneiss, located in the southern and northern part of the triangular belt with mineralisation in this part of the shield area includes the Malanjkhand
Sakoli, Sausar and Dongargarh supracrustals and granulite belts, is intruded by the copper in granodiorite; alkali granite and granodiorite in the Mahakoshal
Dongargarh quartz monzonite and Malanjkhand granodiorite, known as Dongargarh Group hosting copper mineralisation at Karaudiya in tholeiitic metabasalts;
Granite. This granite, exposed in several batholiths and stocks parts of Bhandara and stratiform zinc sulphide mineralisation at Kholari-Bhaonri in the lower part of
Gadchiroli districts of Maharashtra and Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh States, is one Bhiwapur Formation and vein type copper-galena-gold-tungsten
of the oldest rapakivi epizonal coarse-grained granite with porphyritic, equigranular and mineralisation with platinum incidence at Kholari-Bhaonri-Ranbori and
microgranite textures and devoid of pegmatites, dated at » 2.4 Ga. The isotopic age data Ranmangli areas in the upper part of the Bhiwapur Formation of Sakoli Group;
point to a temporal association among Malanjkhand granodiorite, Bijli rhyolite and minor gold-silver-tin-molybdenum occurrences in BIF of Sakoli Group; workable
Dongargarh granite. It is emplaced between older Nandgaon Group and younger Khobna tungsten prospect of Umrer Tehsil of Nagpur district, Maharashtra State
Khairagarh Group. hosted by the quartz-chlorite mica schist of the Sakoli Group; skarn type of tungsten
(scheelite) occurrences along with minor sulphides of base metals in amphibolite
BUNDELKHAND CRATON
within tourmaline granite at Umrer and in marble/calcareous quartzite at Kosamtondi-
Bagarban-Kheripur areas; occurrences of manganese ores associated with ‘Gondites’
This highly deformed granite-greenstone terrain consists of the Bundelkhand Granite
of Sausar Group; uranium mineralisation in a 100 km long shear zone in crystalline
massif with an areal extent of 26,000 km2 bounded by the Great Boundary Fault to its west,
rocks from River Mahan in the west of Surguja district of Madhya Pradesh extending to
the Son-Narmada North Fault of Central Indian Tectonic Zone to its south, Ganga Foreland
the east in Palamau district of Jharkhand State and uranium deposits in metarhyolite
to its north and wrapped around by the extensive Vindhyan Basin. This cratonic area
and metabasics in periphery or close to the Dongargarh Granite at Bodal and
comprises ultramafics, amphibolite, fuchsite quartzite, banded iron formation, schists,
Bhandaritola; fluorite occurrences within sheared Dongargarh Granite at
marble, calc-silicate rocks and tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) intruded by
Chandidongri. Laterite with pockets of bauxite forms capping at a number of places
undeformed hornblende-, biotite- and leuco granitoids. Dykes of porphyry, acid volcanics,
over these rocks in Keshkal-Amabera area.
rhyolite breccia and pegmatite veins pervade the massif. The northeasterly quartz reefs
17
WESTERN INDIAN PRECAMBRIAN SHIELD BANDED GNEISSIC COMPLEX
The Precambrian of the Western Indian Shield from east to west comprises the The oldest cratonic nucleus of the Western Indian Shield, the BGC, occupies a large tract in
Banded Gneissic Complex (BGC) or craton and the Aravalli-Delhi mobile belts with the Mewar plains of south and east Rajasthan. It is bounded on the west and southwest by
the Trans-Aravalli basins encompassing the area west of the Aravalli mountain range. Proterozoic fold belts of the Aravalli and Delhi Supergroups, while an arcuate belt of low-
The stratigraphy of the area is summarised in Table 5. grade volcano-metasedimentaries (Gwalior Series in Heron, 1953; Eastern Aravalli belt in
Table 5: Stratigraphy of Western Indian Precambrian Shield (after Gupta et al., 1980)
Major Rock Types / Group Supergroup Age Era
Erinpura Granite
Malani Volcanics 1600 – 700 Ma NEOPROTEROZOIC MESO- TO
Godhra Granite and Gneisses
Punagarh and Sindreth Groups

Sendra-Ambaji Granites
Kishengarh Syenite Delhi Supergroup 2000-1600 Ma MESOPROTEROZOIC
Phulad Ophiolite Suite
Kumbhalgarh and Ajabgarh Groups
Gogunda and Alwar Groups
Champaner Group
Lunavada Group
(Udaipur, Salumbar, Udai-sagar and Darwal Granites)
Rakhabdev Ultramafic Suite
Jharol Group and Dovda Group Aravalli Supergroup 2500-2000 Ma PALAEO-PROTEROZOIC
Nathdwara Group
Bari Lake and Kankroli Groups
Udaipur Group
Debari group
Undifferentiated Granite
Ranthambor Group
Berach and Jahazpur Granites
Rajpura-Dariba, Pur-Banera Jahazpur Groups and Sawar Group Bhilwara Supergroup e” 2500 Ma ARCHAEAN
Hindoli Group, Mangalwar Complex and Sandmata Complex
Mafic and ultramafics;
Untala and Gingla Granites
18
Gupta, 1934, and Hindoli Group in Gupta et al., 1981) and Vindhyan platformal sediments gabbroic rock and chlorite schist, are by far the most
demarcate the eastern boundary of this craton. The Deccan Traps delimit the southern prolific of the suite. High-magnesia mafic and ultramafic
boundary of its outcrop area (Gupta and Malhotra, 2000). The older component of the enclaves include tremolite-actinolite schist, grunerite-
Aravalli craton occurs in the BGC in the eastern and southeastern parts of the Aravalli garnet schist, magnetite and garnet-bearing chlorite-
Range. The BGC is a time transgressive crystalline complex, comprising gneisses of actinolite schist, chlorite schist, talc-chlorite schist and
amphibolite to granulite–facies assemblages derived from plutonic, volcanic and talcose serpentinites with asbestos veins. Besides, long
sedimentary protoliths. The crystallines are intruded by granitic plutons of several linear bodies of felsic volcanics in the form of qurtzo-
generations ranging in age from Archaean to Middle Proterozoic. The sedimentary feldspathic rocks are also present.
component is dominantly pelitic and is well exposed on the eastern margin of the Delhi
Supergroup. The volcanic component is represented by basic lavas now occurring as The Hindoli Group comprises a low-grade (greenschist facies)
hornblende schist or amphibolite (Heron, 1953; Roy,1988, 1991; Sinha Roy, 1985 and sequence predominated by turbidite and volcanics. The
Sinha Roy et al., 1992). Metamorphic and structural studies have clearly demonstrated arcuate belt of the nearly continuous Hindoli Group, interrupted
that the BGC was the crystalline basement over which Proterozoic rocks of Aravalli and by Berach Granite, occurs along the eastern and southeastern
Delhi Supergroups were deposited. flank of the BGC/Mangalwar Complex. In the southern end of the
Hindoli belt, the Hindoli Group is overlain unconformably by the
The BGC was later on reclassified as the Bhilwara Supergroup comprising (1) the Vindhyan Supergroup of rocks and further south by the Deccan Trap
Sandmata Complex which is subdivided into three formations viz., the Baranch, Badnor basalts.
and Shambhugarh Formations, and intruded by Gyangarh-Asind charnockite-enderbite,
Amet Granite, Anjana Granite, etc; (2) the Mangalwar Complex which is subdivided into the Overlying the Hindoli Group of rocks and Mangalwar Complex with an
Lasaria, Kekri, Sarara, Mando Ki Pal, Suwana, Potla and Rajmahal Formations; and (3) the unconformity occur the next younger groups of rocks classified as the
Hindoli Group which is subdivided into the Bhadesar, Sujanpura and Nangauli Formations. Rajpura-Dariba (subdivided into the Bhinder, Malikhera, Dariba, Sindesar and
The metamorphic-cum-migmatitic contact between the Sandmata Complex and the Satdudhia Formations), Pur-Banera (classified into the Pur, Pansal, Rewara,
Mangalwar Complex practically coincides with the Delwara lineament. Tiranga and Samodi Formations), Jahazpur and Sawar Groups (subdivided into
the Morhi and the Ghatiali Formations) which are exposed in a series of isolated
The Sandmata Complex comprises migmatite, composite gneiss/bimodal gneiss, calc- linear belts. All these synformal metasedimentary basins/structures of Lower
gneiss, garnet-sillimanite gneiss, garnet-staurolite-sillimanite schist, chlorite-biotite Proterozoic age occur in disjointed belts as outliers and they are mostly composed of
schist, mica schist, cordierite-garnet pelitic gneiss, enderbite charnockite, pyroxene dolomite, marble, calc-gneiss, calcareous biotite schist, graphite-kyanite-staurolite
granulite, norite, hornblende schist, amphibolite, epidiorite and quartzite. The Complex is schist, garnetiferous mica schist, chert, banded ferruginous chert and quartizite.
further characterised by preponderance of acid, and mafic igneous suite of rocks. The
term Sandmata Complex is restricted to the ductile shear zone bounded by granulite-facies The BGC are devoid of mineralisation except for the Rampura-Agucha zinc-lead
rocks, with the absence of charnockite and eclogite but the presence of high-alumina deposits.
granite, basic granulite, leptynite and norite dykes.
ARAVALLI-DELHI MOBILE BELTS
The Mangalwar Complex is considered presently as representing Archaean primary
granite–greenstone belt. In the northern part, migmatitic gneiss-amphibolite association The Aravalli and Delhi mobile belts, also known as fold belts or shear belts, are the
of the greenstone sequence is represented by banded bimodal gneiss, amphibolite, pelitic major components of the Western Indian Precambrian Shield. These belts are
schist, fuchsite quartzite, quartzite, chert, BIF, calc-silicate rock and marble. In the metallogenically important with copper, zinc and lead mineralization with gold,
sourthern part of BGC terrain, mafic enclaves, represented by amphibolite, migmatised tin and tungsten at places.
19
The Aravalli-Delhi Province is composed of Proterozoic supracrustal sequences Debari Group and the upper Jharol Group. The Delwara Group forms the basal part of the
classified as the Aravalli Supergroup (Early Proterozoic) and Delhi Supergroup Aravalli Supergroup initiating with basal conglomerate followed upwards by basic
(Early to Middle Proterozoic). Metamorphic and structural parameters backed up by volcanics and associated pyroclastics, shallow marine carbonate and carbonaceous
geochronological data have clearly demonstrated that the BGC was a crystalline sediments with local development of phosphatic and non-phosphatic algal biostromes.
basement upon which the rocks of the Proterozoic Aravalli and Delhi Supergroups were The Debari Group is mainly composed of a thick sequence of conglomerate-quartzite
deposited. Besides, evidences of an unconformity between the BGC and the overlying followed by dolomitic limestone and mica schist sequence. The Jharol Group is a thick
supracrustal suites have been widely proposed. The Delhi Supergroup occurs in the flysch-like accumulation in a distal trough represented by dominantly phyllite and
form of two distinct fold belts, i.e., the North Delhi Fold Belt (NDFB) in Alwar, Dausa, intercalated quartzite with minor carbonate rocks. The Debari and the Jharol Groups
Jaipur, Bharatpur, Sikar and Jhunjhunu districts and the South Delhi Fold Belt (SDFB) exposed in Rajasthan are represented by the Lunavada (subdivided into Kalinjara,
in Ajmer, Pali, Rajsamand, Udaipur and Sirohi distrcits. Recent mapping by GSI in the Wagidora and Kadana Formation) and the Champaner Groups (subdivided into Lambia,
Khetri area have identified and separated the Khetri fold belt (Khetri basin) from the Khandia, Narukot, Jaban, Shivrajpur, Rajgarh Formation) in Gujarat State.
NDFB by a basement-cover sequence separable from the main NDFB of the Alwar-
The Delhi Supergroup metasediments and related extrusive igneous rocks rest
Bayana-Lalsot basin.
unconformably or with a structural discordance over the Bhilwara Supergroup in the
The rocks of the Aravalli Supergroup show an inverted V-shaped map pattern northeastern and the central parts and over the Aravalli metasediments (?BGC) in the
with an arcuate disposition with the apex of the ‘V’ located near Nathdwara. southwestern part of Rajasthan and contiguous parts of Gujarat. The Delhi Supergroup
The width of the belt in the north is about 40 km gradually fanning out to 150 forming the Delhi fold belt of Rajasthan and Gujarat occurs in two sectors, viz., (1) in Alwar-
km in the south in Gujarat state. The Aravalli Supergroup shows two Bayana-Khetri region, and (2) along a narrow linear belt (Main Delhi Synclinorium of
distinct ‘facies sequence’ indicating deep-sea and near-shore shelf Heron, 1953) forming the rib of the Aravalli mountain range in central and southwestern
environments interpreted by many as eugeosynclinal-miogeosynclinal Rajasthan and northern Gujarat. The two sectors differ in terms of lithofacies, structure,
couple or as foreland-hinterland duplex. The eastern part of the magmatism and metallogeny. The Khetri fold belt (Khetri basin) has been identified and
Supergroup is occupied by carbonate, conglomerate, quartzite, separated from the NDFB in the Khetri area by a basement-cover sequence separable from
phyllite and proximal greywacke representing shelf facies, the main NDFB of the Alwar-Bayana-Lalsot basin. The major stratigraphic units of the Delhi
whereas the western part of the Supergroup has a totally Supergroup in the NDFB are the lower Raialo Group (mainly calcareous), the middle Alwar
carbonate-free distal facies, with thin bands of arenite, Group (mainly areanaceous and sub-divided into Rajgarh, Kankwarhi and Pratapgarh
representing deep-water facies. Metabasic volcanics occur Formations in the Alwar-Jaipur basin and Jogipura, Badalgarh, Bayana and Damdama
near the base of Aravalli Supergroup. The ultramafic rocks, Formations in the Bayana-Lalsot basin) and the upper Ajabgarh Group (mainly argillaceous
represented mainly by serpentinite and its metasomatic constituting a lower Kushalgarh Formation and an upper Weir Formation).
alteration products, occur in the Aravalli Supergroup in the
Five lithotectionic units, namely, Basantgarh, Barotiya, Sendra, Rajgarh and Bhim, have
Rakhabdev-Dungarpur area and in the area between Jharol
been delineated from west to east, all of them together forming the SDFB in Rajasthan and
and Gogunda. Intrusives within the Aravalli Fold Belt
Gujarat. Tectonic discordance in the form of early ductile shear zones and superposed
include Jaisamand Granite, Ahar River Granite, Udaisagar
brittle-ductile shear zones demarcate the boundary surfaces of each unit. Another group
and Dakan Granite, Salumbar Granite, Lakapa Granite and
of rocks, namely, the Devgarh Group, occurring east of the Bhim Group, is tentatively
Dudar Gneiss. The Aravalli Supergroup has been
included in the eastern basin. The rock types of the SDFB continue towards south into
subdivided into a tripartite lower Delwara Group, middle
Gujarat.
20
The magmatic activity during the Meso- to Neoproterozoic times are represented by the (!907), during late Palaeoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic
Sendra-Ambaji granite gneiss, Godhra granite gneiss, Erinpura Granite and Idar Granite. period. The basins to the south of the Son-Narmada-Tapti
Several important alkaline and other igneous complexes of Gujarat include the Barda (SONATA) lineament occur as isolated basins, wheras the
Igneous Complex, Alech Hill Complex, Osham Hill Complex, Mount Girnar Complex, sediments to the north form a continuous Vindhyan Basin.
Kanessara Igneous Complex, Rajula Suite of rocks, Chamardi-Choghat Complex, Most of these basins except Kaladgi-Bhima, have contact
Pavagarh Volcanic Complex, Phenai Mata Complex, and Amba Dongar Complex. with the mobile belts. This includes Cuddapah, Kaladgi-
Bhima, Pakhal, Indravati, Abujhmar, Chhattisgarh and
The Rajpura-Dariba-Bethumni belt of polymetallic sulphide mineralisation in Aravalli
Vindhyan.
Supergroup is rich in ores of zinc, lead, copper, silver, cadmium with minor gold and
molybdenum. The Lower Aravalli rocks of Udaisagar-Umra Belts, Udaipur district hosts Cuddapah Basin
uranium and copper while phosphorite deposits are present around Udaipur and Sallopat
The Cuddapah Basin, the southernmost intracratonic basin, is
in Banswara district. The major Pb-Zn reserves are hosted in Bhilwara-Aravalli Supergroup
crescent shaped with its convex side towards west and with a
rocks in Agucha, Kayar-Ghughra, Zawar, Rajpura-Dariba, Pur-Banera belts of Rajasthan
450-km-long concave eastern thrusted contact. It lies above the
with association of silver with Pb-Zn ores of Zawar, Rajpura-Dariba, Bharak areas of
Peninsular Gneiss and the linear greenstone belts of Kadiri, Gadwal
Udaipur, Rajsamand and Bhilwara districts. The major reserves of gold are from the
and Velligallu with a marked nonconformity. The sedimentary fill is
Jagpura-Bhukia belt in Banswara district of Rajasthan. Five parallel (lode-bearing) zones
largely arenaceous and argillaceous with subordinate calcareous and
extending over a total strike length of 2 km are delineated. Minor occurrences are noted in
dolomitic components, intruded by sills and basaltic flows. Calcareous
Hinglaz Mata area (Dungarpur district), Ladera area (Jaipur district) and from associated
precipitates dominate the Kurnool Group, deposited in a basin temporally
copper ores of the Khetri copper belt. Besides, gold is also noted to occur in Pindwara-
and spatially overlapping the Cuddapah Supergroup.
Watera belt, which is about 20 km long.
The Cuddapah Supergroup of rocks is subdivided into three groups, namely i)
PURANA BASINS
Papaghni Group ii) Chitravati Group iii) Nallamalai Group and one formation,
Peninsular India witnessed the development of a number of large intracratonic/pericratonic namely iv) Srisailam Quartzite while Kurnool is retained as a separate single
platformal sedimentary basins, referred to as Purana (meaning ‘old’) basins by Holland Group (Nagaraja Rao et al.,1987). The generalised stratigraphy is shown in
Table 6.
Table 6: Stratigraphy of Cuddapah Supergroup and Kurnool Group

Major Rock Types Supergroup/Group
Nandyal Shale
Koilkuntla Limestone
Paniam Quartzite Kurnool Group
Owk Shale
Narji Limestone
Banganapalli Quartzite
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Unconformity-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21
Major Rock Types Supergroup/Group

Srisailam Quartzite
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Unconformity-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cumbum(Pullampet) Formation Nallamalai Group
Bairenkonda Nagari Quartzite
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Angular unconformity ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gandikota Quartzite Cuddapah
Tadpatri Formation Chitravati Group Supergroup
Pulivendla Quartzite
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disconformity ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vempalle Formation Papaghni Group
Gulcheru Quartzite
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unconformity -------------------------------------------------------------------- Archaean
This basin is historically famous for the world renowned diamonds like Kaladgi and Badami basin
the Koh-i-noor, the Great Moghul, the Hope and the Orloff identified in
the kimberlite diatremes of Eastern Dharwar Craton (EDC) at The Kaladgi and Badami sediments, exposed in northwestern Karnataka extending to
Wajrakarur in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh and Narayanpet Southwestern Maharashtra, represent intracratonic basins occurring above the Archaean
in Mahbubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh and lamproite dykes at Dharwar greenstones with a nonconformity and partly covered by the uppermost
Chelima-Zangamrajupalle and Krishna lamproite fields. Cretaceous-Lower Tertiary Deccan traps to its north and west. The sediments consist of
Basemetal mineral deposits are known in the Cumbum orthoquartzite-argillite-carbonate association without volcanics and are least
Formation, Vempalle and Tadpatri Formations spread in
metamorphosed and deformed.
Agnigundala, Zangamrajupalle-Varikunta, Rayavaram-
Chinavani-Palle, and Gani-Kalva and Pulivendla belts. The Cement-grade limestone of Bagalkot, haematite iron ore occurrences in Kerkalmati and
largest barite deposit in the world with a reserve of 74 usage of Kerur arenites as dimensional stone are the mineral resources found in these
million tonne is located in Mangampeta in Cuddapah platformal sediments.
district in the Pullampet Shale of the Cuddapah Supergroup.
Besides, this basin has huge reserves of cement-grade Bhima Basin
limestone in the Narji Limestone in Kurnool and Palnad
subbasins; chrysotile variety of asbestos mined in the This is the smallest and youngest of the Purana basins located in Karnataka and Andhra
Pulivendla serpentinised belt and phosphorite Pradesh overlying Archaean basement rocks and covered by Deccan Traps and consists
occurrences in Tadpatri, Cumbum Formations and of clastic sediments and limestone.
Srisailam Quartzites of Cuddapah Supergroup.
22
Mineral potential in the sediments of this basin includes cement-grade limestone, use of The rocks of this basin are classified into three formations,
limestone as dimensional stone, nodules or layers of barytes, and phosphorite within of which the middle Kanger Formation represents a deep
shale. intracratonic basinal system with deposition of lime-mud
used in cement and flux.
Pakhal Basin
Ampani Outlier
The Proterozoic Pakhal Basin extends in NW-SE direction for 350 km along the Pranhita –
Godavari Valley from Andhra Pradesh in the SE to Maharashtra in the NW. The sediments of 2
An outlier, 220 km in extent, located west of Ampani reveals
the basin occur as two mutually parallel belts, with about 40- km- wide stretch of a 280-m-thick sequence of polymict conglomerate,
Gondwana sediments separating them. The southwestern belt extends from Khammam in subarkosic sandstone, siltstone and shale with calcareous
the southeast to Adilabad in the northwest and extends further into Maharashtra State. The sediments. This incomplete sequence has been correlated with
northeastern belt extends from a little north of Bhadrachalam in the southeast, to a little the basal stage of the Indravati-Chhattisgarh Basin and Upper
beyond Chanda (Maharashtra) in the northwest. The Pakhal Basin includes Kurnool equivalent of Cuddapah Basin (Balakrishnan and Babu,
unmetamorphosed (except locally) and unfossiliferous sediments of the Pakhal 1987).
Supergroup, unconformably overlain by the rocks of Penganga Group and Sullavai
Sandstone. The Pakhal Supergroup correlatable to the Cuddapah Supergroup rests on the Abujhmar Basin
Archaean Gneiss Complex. The Penganga Group of rocks is correlated with the rocks of
Kurnool Group. Conglomerate, arkose, shale, dolomite and quartzite characterise the The Abujhmar Plateau of Bastar district, Chhattisgarh State, exposes the
2
Pakhals while arkose and limestone characterise the Penganga, and sandstone the sediments in a 3000 km rectilinear basin trending NNW-SSE overlying
Sullavai. Bengpal, Bailadila and Nandgaon Groups. This basin is bounded on the west
by the NNE-SSW-trending Kotri Lineament, on the south by the WNW-ESE-
Mineral resources include streaks and disseminations of copper ores (chalcopyrite) in trending lineament and the Indravati river, and the BIF of Bailadila Group underlie
dolomite, shale or quartzite (with old workings) near Venkatapuram, Sarkar in the north. The sediments are metamorphosed locally, and carry a pile of lavas
Ragaboyanagudem and Manikaran villages; barytes at Sripuram, Cheruvapuram and and intruded by dykes and sills. They are correlated with the Cuddapah Basin and
Pochavaram, clay at Marigundem, cement- and flux- grade limestone from Putunur, Dhanjori Group of Singhbhum Basin and considered younger to Nandgaon
Cherla, and Madharam shales and west of Gunjeda; haematite iron ore from the Volcanics.
ferruginous grits and quartzites extending from Bayyaram to Nilavanch; quartzite of this
basin are used for refractory purposes in ferrosilicon industry; dimensional stones in Chhattisgarh Basin
Sullavai sandstone and Jakkaram arkose have been quarried from Chavai, Ramagundam 2
The Chhattisgarh Basin covers an area of 33,000 km in the Chhattisgarh State. It has a
and Amarapad areas.
lower arenaceous and an upper argillaceous-calcareous sedimentary sequence and
Indravati Basin overlies the Archaean granite gneiss and supracrustals of Chilpi and Sonakhan
Groups. The isolated basins of Indravati, Ampani and others are considered to have
The Proterozoic Indravati Basin in the Bastar Craton extends for 9000 km2 revealing flat- been part of a Greater Chhattisgarh Basin. They have tuffs and pyroclastics and had a
lying sandstone, shale, limestone and stromatolitic dolomite above the Archaean rift history. The Chhattisgarh Basin is correlated with Lower Vindhyan, Indravati,
basement. Kimberlite-clan rocks were discovered in this basin in Tokapal Kimberlite Field. Kurnool and Bhima basins of Peninsular India.
23
Recent exploration for diamond in Pairi-Khariar basin has resulted in the discovery Trans-Aravalli Basins
of five kimberlite pipes, two of which are diamondiferous. In this Mainpur Kimberlite
Field, more than forty mineral indicator zones were detected by stream sediment The Proterozoic-Mesozoic basins in the terrain west of the Aravalli-Delhi mobile belt are
sampling. known as the Trans-Aravalli, bounded in the south by the Satpura trend and Son-Narmada
rift and separated from the Himalayan belt in the north by the Lahore-Delhi shallow ridge.
Vindhyan Supergroup Extensive mafic and ultramafic rocks separate this Indus Basin from the Baluchistan Basin.
The shelf of Rajasthan is connected to that of Gujarat with a ridge known as the Jaisalmer
2
The Vindhyan Supergroup is 1 to 4 km thick and extends for about 60,000 km in a Mari Arch with the NW-SE Kanoi Fault truncating the Arch in Thar Desert. The Kutch Basin
curvilinear basin surrounding the Bundelkhand Granite massif and bounded by the has Nagar Parkar Massif, Rann of Kutch depression and Mainland High. The Kathiawar
Son-Narmada-Tapti (SONATA) Lineament in the south, the Great Boundary Fault Uplift to the south and Radhanpur Barmer Arch to the east form boundaries.
(GBF) of Rajasthan in the west and Ganga alluvium to its north. A small outlier, the
Bhaunathpur Basin of Vindhyan Formation is situated south of Son River in The Marwar Supergroup and the Mesozoic basins occurring in Rajasthan are correlated
Jharkhand. It is correlated with the Marwar Supergroup of Trans-Aravalli region of with the Vindhyan Supergroup. The Upper Proterozoic - Early Cambrian evaporite basin of
2
Rajasthan. Though the basin to the north of the SONATA and east of GBF is 50,000km area, with the Hanseran Evaporite Group and Nagaur Group constituting the
generally depicted as Vindhyan, it is represented in Himalaya by the Hazara Marwar Supergroup, occurs in Trans-Aravalli Vindhyans, below 300m of Quaternary
Slate, Attock Slates, Simla Slate, Haimanta Group and the Salt Range beds. sediments in the semi-desert areas of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan extending beyond to
Vindhyan sedimentation commenced later than the Cuddapah Basin at the Salt Range occurrences. The evaporite sequence is 100-160m thick with halite,
around 1400 Ma and continued to the end of the Proterozoic to terminate potassic salts, dolomite/dolomitic limestone, anhydrite/gypsum and clay.
before Cambrian (» 570 Ma). Several works have been carried out in
GONDWANA BASINS
this basin in the last 150 years in search of diamonds, limestone and
dimensional stones. The Gondwana sedimentation which commenced in late Carboniferous after the Hercynian
orogeny (mid-Carboniferous), during which almost whole of land surface is represented
The Vindhyan Supergroup has been classified into four
by nondeposition except the Tethyan margins. Fall in sea level has been attributed to the
groups–Semri, Kaimur, Rewa, and Bhander – and twenty-three
glacio-eustatic drawdown during the accumulation of ice on uplifted high grounds.
formations.
During late Carboniferous, the Gondwana supercontinent rotated clockwise by almost
The Vindhyan basin is a major storehouse for limestone, 180o resulting in widespread glacio-marine and rift-related sedimentation in many of the
diamond, glass sands and building stones. Occurrence of Gondwana basins during early Permian (Acharyya, 1998).
copper, lead, zinc mineralisation and native sulphur are
noted at Semri in Bundelkhand; reported occurrence of Most part of Talchir sequence is unfossiliferous and the only fossil-bearing horizon within
galena from Narsinghpur; pyrites from Amjhor, Banjari Talchir is at the top part associated with grey shale and limestone band that indicates a
and Rohtas Fort; dolomitic limestone, laterite, bauxite, Sakmarian age. There is more than 500-m-thick Talchir sequence present in many basins.
ochre, clay and potash are known and explored to a
varying degree. Palynoevents in Indian Gondwanas correlatable to the multiple marine transgressions
caused by deglaciation covered part of Palaeo-Tethyan and Panthalassan margins and
24
extended deep into the plate interior in almost all the continents except Antarctica during Krishnan and Jacob (1956) had made an earliest recorded
Sakmarian. Marine Eurydesma and Deltopecten fauna is found in India (both in peninsular attempt to build up the International Stratigraphic Lexicon
and extrapeninsular basins) (Sinor,1922; Ghosh,1954; Dutt, 1965; Reed, 1932; Sahni and of Gondwana. Subsequently, in 1971, stratigraphic
Srivastava,1956; Mishra et al.,1961; Dickins & Shah,1977). Two distinct groups of marine standardisation was actually conceived by adoption of a
fossils associated with this transgression were initially reported from upper part of Talchir standard code by the Committee on Stratigraphic
Formation in Daltonganj, Manendragarh, Umaria, and Badhaura. Based on their recent Nomenclature of India (Geol.Surv.India, Misc.Pub. No. 20,
finding of Eurydesma fauna in western part of Satpura basin, Ghosh (2003) proposed a 1971) which was ratified by the International Sub-
single marine front from east and considered the somewhat different fossil assemblage of Committee on Stratigraphic Classification (ISSC) in 1972.
Umaria as due to some local bathymetric reasons. He has excluded the fossils of Badhaura Thereafter no serious attempt was made to re-classify/re-
from the Gondwana gamut. build the Gondwana Stratigraphy.
Karharbari Formation is represented by coarse clastic-dominated proximal sequence The different lithostratigraphic marker horizons of some selective
where fluvial processes dominate. Presence of conglomerate at the contact of Barakar and coalfields have already been prepared by the CW, GSI while
Karharbari formation is quite common in many coalfields (e.g. Talchir, Ib Valley, Raniganj, carrying out 50 K map compilation work, with the different
Bisrampur, North Karanpura. A coarsening-up sequence, starting with the shale facies at palynoevent-marker zones.
the top of Talchir Formation and ending at the top of Karharbari Formation is quite distinct.
It may indicate the lowering of base level related to regressive phase of the sea. Scarcity of It has been found that marine flooding surfaces within the Permian can
plant fossils might indicate that a periglacial environment persisted during the deposition of be used to define sequence boundaries as well as time slots for dealing
Karharbari Formation. However, the environment was conducive enough to promote with the stratigraphy of the Gondwana Period.
sufficient growth of vegetation resulting in deposition of coal particularly where fluvial
system was established. On this basis, the Gondwana lithosequences of different basins within India,
could be grouped under specific time slots which may serve as powerful tools to
Deposition of coal-bearing Permian Barakar and Raniganj Formations under post-glacial arrive at a reasonable correlation framework. These time planes can be
warmer condition in a fault-controlled subbasinal structure is quite distinct with recognised as distinctive Gondwana events.
enlargement of basinal area, which is more conspicuous in Damodar valley basin belt.
Plant fossils so far reported from different Gondwana basins are very wide ranging
The fossil spores & pollens are considered to reflect the past plant life accurately because thus helping in no way to ascertain any specific age. Palynological data has its own
of taphonomic factors and hence episodic changes in lineages of presence of a short constraints and till date can at best be considered as corroborative. Vertebrate fossils
interval of the temporal scale in the Stratigraphy are well documented by the study of are scanty in India excepting few instances and in most cases are not very helpful in
Sporae Dispersae. It is also well known in the Lower Permian, the climate was very assigning pinpoint age. Moreover, radiometric age data for any of the formation in
favourable for triggering the rampant rise of the Glossopteris flora , giving rise thereby to Gondwana basins of India is not available. Based on available tectonic,
form huge coal deposits in Gondwana Basins. Palaeo-climate and the nature of precursor sedimentological, palaeontological and palaeomagnetic data total span of deposition
vegetal matter are the prime determinants for formation of different type of heterolithic coal of the Gondwana Sequence in India was considered to be initiated in Late
in Indian Gondwana Basins. Since the introduction of the term”Gondwana” by Sir Carboniferous after the Hercynian orogeny (mid-Carboniferous), by glaciations
Medlicott (1872) no serious attempt was made to define the “Gondwana” into litho- bio, or during which almost whole of land surface was represented by non-deposition
except the Tethyan margins. Fall in sea level has been attributed to the glacio-
chrono-stratigraphic divisions and thereby to correlate them.
25
eustatic drawdown during the accumulation of ice on uplifted high grounds Rajmahal trap exposed along the western margin of Bengal Basin covering the Gondwana
(Veevers and Powell, 1987), which was subsequently affected by severe erosion, beds of Damodar-Rajmahal Gondwana basins. Volcanic flows in Meghalaya, better known
and at places the sedimentary packages were totally eroded down to the as Sylhet trap, are considered to be the equivalents of Rajmahal Trap.
Precambrian level.
Lamprophyre dykes and sills occurring in Indian Gondwana form a consanguinous suite
Abundance of coal and carbonaceous materials in the immediately succeeding ranging from ultrabasic mica peridotite to micro-syenite assemblages. They are mainly
Permian sediments also suggest an ameliorated humid climate which subsequently reported from the Damodar Valley Basin close to Rajmahal and the preponderance
fluctuated gradually with time along with rifting of different basins to different degrees. diminishes towards west beyond Bokaro coalfield. They have a preference for coal seams
and invade them at coal-sandstone interface.
The end of deposition is considered as the product of major rifting activities as a result
of Pangean break-up. Termination of Gondwana sedimentary deposition in India is Rajahmundry trap occupies about 35 sq km in Rajahmundry area at the northwestern
considered to be terminated by the deposition of Bagra, Chikiala formations during fringe of Krishna-Godavari Basin. The upper flow (Rajahmundry trap) overlies the
Early Cretaceous with the outpouring of Rajmahal Group of volcanics around 110- Maastrichtian-Campanian sediments while the lower flow (Rajmahal equivalent) occurs
118 Ma, whereas the Deccan traps erupted around 65 Ma. Distensional below the Albian sediments.
tectonics, related to the movement of the Gondwana continents during
Cretaceous, was accompanied by voluminous eruption of tholeiitic flood Tripartite classification of Gondwana exclusively on the basis of floral remains (e.g. Lower-
basalt and emplacement of sills and dykes. Igneous activity within the Glossopteris, Middle-Dicroidium & Upper-Pterophyllum) is more acceptable and seems
Gondwana basins of Peninsular India is represented by dykes/sills of valid. The Middle Gondwana is also characterised by the record of Triassic reptiles,
dolerite/basalt and lamprophyre and basic flows as found in many amphibians and estheriids.
coalfields. Although there were differences in opinion regarding the
actual age of these intrusive/effusive, it is more or less accepted that However, it is necessary to follow a uniform standard/code in conformity with the
there are two major events of volcanic activity which can be International practice while attempting interbasinal correlation of different Gondwana
correlated with the Rajmahal Trap and the Deccan trap. Moreover in basins of Peninsular India, as in widely separated Gondwana basins closely related
most of the cases, these intrusives are found to follow the Unit/Member/Formation so far defined are encountered with gross lithofacies variation
preexisting faults and are never displaced by them. along with diversified fossil record.
Trachyandesite porphyry is found to occur along the southern The lithological/sedimentation breaks as depicted were not synchronous throughout and
main boundary fault of Raigarh Coalfield, Mahanadi Valley varied from one basin to basin; e.g. in the type area of Kamthi, there is a significant phase of
Basin (Chakraborty, 1999). The rock is intrusive within the pre-Kamthi erosion, but in other part it is gradual. Thus the entire lower Gondwana
basement granite and also directly in contact with the Talchir sedimentation reflect both gradual/conformable (e.g. Mahanadi Basin) and abrupt/sharp
Formation. relation by the presence of paleosol zones (e.g. South Rewa Basin). To sort out these
paradoxes, attempt has been made to define the entire gamut of Gondwana sedimentation
Almost all the coalfields/basins of the Gondwana contain by palynoevents/sequences. Indian Permian coal deposits of Gondwana Sequence are
dykes/sills of dolerite/basalt of varying dimensions except well known as conventional energy resources and to varying degrees for metallurgical
the Talcher and Ib coalfields of Mahanadi Basin and purposes. Besides, recently it assumed significance for their potential as repository of coal
Godavari Valley Basin. The origin of these intrusives has bed methane. Refractory clays are also present within Permian sediments.
been linked with Deccan/Rajmahal Trap.
26
STRATIGRAPHIC CORRELATION OF GONDWANA SEQUENCE OF PENINSULAR INDIA

Age Damodar-Koel Rajmahal Son Sat pura Mahanadi Godavari
Early Cret Chikiala
Late Jura-Early Bansa/Chandia Jbalpur Gangappur
Cret Bangra
Mid Jurassic Kota
Early Jurassic Up. Up. Kammthi
Late Triassic Supra-Panchet Dubrajpur Parsora Pachmarhi Kamthi Dharmaram
(Undifferentiated)
(Tiki) Maleri
Late Mid. Triassic Mid. Pachmarhi/ Bhimaram
Denwa Yerappalli
Early Mid. Triassic
Early Triassic Panchet Panchet Pali Lr. Pachmarhi Mid. Kamthi
Late Late Perm Raniganj Raniganj Bijori Raniganj Lr. Kamthi
Early Late Perm Barren Measures Barren Measures Motur Barren Measures Barren Measures
Late Early Perm Barakar Barakar Barakar Barakar Barakar Barakar
Early Early Perm Talchir Talchir Talchir Talchir Talchir Talchir
DECCAN TRAP (CONTINENTAL BASALT) VOLCANISM INDO-GANGETIC – BRAHMAPUTRA PLAIN

Deccan Traps, the second most extensive geological formation in Peninsular India
Indo-Gangetic Plain extends from Aravalli - Delhi ridge in the west to the Rajmahal
occupies major part (» 75%) of the Maharashtra State. It extends from Kutch in Gujarat in
hills in the east. Indo-Gangetic (Ganga) Plain occupies the major part of the States of
the west to as far as Belgaum in Karnataka in the south to Rajamundry in Andhra Pradesh in Haryana and Punjab with the its upper and part of the middle part in Uttar Pradesh. The
the southeast to Sirguja in Madhya Pradesh and to a few remnants in the bauxite laterites in rest of the middle part of the Ganga Plain falls in Bihar and the terminal part comes in
Ranchi-Palamau in Jharkhand in the east. They comprise tholeiitic flood basalts with some West Bengal where it merges with the deltaic plain of the river transgressing into the
picrites. The Traps rest on Upper Cretaceous strata. The isotopic ages indicate a 69 to 64 Indo-Bangladesh border to the east. The Brahmaputra Plains cover the whole of Assam
Ma period for the eruption with peak around a narrow span of 1 Ma around 65 Ma. The Plains. The Ganga Plain is a part of the ‘Indo - Gangetic Foreland Basin’. This foreland
intertrappean fossils are Upper Cretaceous to Lower Eocene in age. The Bagh beds in basin is developed during upper Tertiary and is closely related to the orogeny
lower Narmada Valley and the Lametas of Jabalpur constitute important infratrappean Himalayan.
datums. Native copper has been reported from the Deccan basalts near Handigund
(16°25N’: 75°05E’), Belgaum district, Karnataka. Magnetite, haematite and maghemite This Plain exposes fluvial sediments of Quaternary Period. Subsurface
are other associated minerals. exploration, particularly for petroleum, has revealed that a thick pile of alluvium
27
rests over the Siwalik sequence of Neogene - Early Pleistocene Period. This immediately north of the Ganga-Brahmaputra alluvium of Miocene to Tertiary age. The
alluvium constitutes sedimentary fill of the Ganga Foredeep – the youngest foreland Molasse belt in Siwalik and other foothills with the Main Frontal Thrust (MFT) limit the
basin. The foredeep sediments extend much to the south of the depositional orogenic margins of the Himalaya against the Ganga Brahmaputra Plains. This is
boundary of the Siwalik Foredeep and rest over the cratonic rocks of Precambrian constituted of Early Tertiary (Subathu-Dagshai-Kasauli-Chunabati-Yinkiong) and Late
Period. The thickness of the alluvium increases towards north and is maximum Tertiary (Siwalik) rocks.
adjacent to the Foot Hill Fault (FHF) that marks the northern limit of the Ganga Foredeep
There are two belts of Sub-Himalayan Tertiary coalfields trending WNW-ESE in Jammu-
Basin.
Kashmir.
EXTRA-PENINSULAR REGION (ii) The Lesser Himalaya is a 60- to 80-km-wide zone stretching between the Main
Boundary Thrust (MBT) in the south and the Main Central Thrust (MCT) in the north and is
The Himalayan mountain chain constituting the Extra-Peninsular Region resulted due
made up of autochthonous sedimentaries of Precambrian (Shali-Deoban-Tejam belt) and
to continent - continent collision process during Tertiary period. The evolution of the
Palaeozoic-Mesozoic age (Krol-Tal-Subathu) thrust overlain by epizonal metamorphic
Himalaya – the largest of the mountain ranges – can be described in a simple way
(Chail-Ramgarh) and mesozonal metamorphic (Jutogh-Munsiari) thrust sheets. At places,
(Balasubrahmanyan, 2006). A sea named variously as the Tethys or Purana
the crystalline thrust sheets have been removed by deep erosion in river valleys exposing
evolved to the north of the Indian Shield providing the base for Lesser Himalaya
the autochthonous sedimentaries of Shali-Degboon-Tejam belt as tectonic windows such
characteristics. The withdrawal of this sea marks the beginning and the
as Kishtwar window, Kulu-Rampur window, Shali window, Chareota window, etc. It has
breakway of Tibetan microcontinent and development of Tethys Himalaya.
Riphean to Palaeozoic platform sediments with some characters of the Peninsular Shield
During the tectonically unstable period between Permian and Cretaceous,
and is overlain by thrust sheets and crystalline nappes.
submarine topography changed with formation of volcanic chain of
islands. The movement of Indian plate over 7000 km to the north (iii) The Higher Himalaya is a 10- to 15-km-wide zone of Precambrian crystallines
subsequent to the breaking from Africa-Madagascar resulted in exhumed along the greatest uplifted terrain with highest peaks of Himalaya (NunKun,
notable changes in the geography of Asia, with Deccan Trap Leopargial, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Nanda Devi, Api, Dhaulagiri, Everest, Kanchanjunga,
volcanism and formation of the Indo-Tsangpo suture welding India etc.), made up of katazonal metamorphics (kyanite-sillimanite gneisses, migmatites and
with the rest of Asia. The contemporary deformation and calc-silicates) and intruded by granites some of which are of Tertiary age. Metamorphic
metamorphism resulted in initiation of major crustal fractures of crystalline sequences of the Higher Himalaya are overlain unconformably by
the Main Central Thrust and Main Boundary Thrust and predominantly marine sediments of Paleozoic and Mesozoic age in parts of Kashmir, Spiti-
evolution of the Siwalik basin and leucogranite intrusions of Zanskar (H.P.) and Kumaon Garhwal (U.P.) in the Higher Himalayan Tethyan basins.
Himalaya. Sporadic occurrences of bedded baryte and polymetallic sulphide mineralisation have
been reported from Garbyang and Ralam Formations of Uttaranchal.
The Sub-Himalaya, Lesser Himalaya, Higher Himalaya and
the Trans-Himalaya are the morphotectonic and (iv) The Tethys Himalaya extends to the south of the Trans-Himalayan ranges and
lithostratigraphic zones from south to north. comprises predominantly fossiliferous sediments ranging in age from Late Proterozoic to
Eocene. This belt bears an unconformable or faulted contact with the Higher Himalaya, the
(i) The Sub-Himalaya lies in the extreme south and
basement to the Tethyan sedimentary sequence.
separated from the northern Lesser Himalaya by Main
Boundary Thrust. This is a 10-to 50-km-wide zone Tethyan sequence containing fossiliferous Paleozoic rocks is well exposed in Garhwal and
28
Kumaon region, Kinnaur basin, Lahul and Spiti in Himachal Himalaya, as Lachi, So Lamo Arunachal Himalaya
Formation in Sikkim Himalaya. The Martoli Group, about 4500m thick, consisting of
phyllite, mica schist, quartzite, with lenticles of marble in the upper part overlie the Central The correlation of Arunachal geology with the other parts
Crystallines with a tectonic contact. This Group is also intruded by granite, pegmatite and of Himalaya is a complex job fraught with uncertainites.
quartz veins. Earlier workers considered it to be of Precambrian age, forming the basement Hence the geology has been dicussed separately following
for the fossiliferous Paleozoic sequence. broad Himalayan classification. Bomdila Group comprise a
sequence of low- to medium-grade metasediments with
(v) Trans-Himalaya lies to the north of the Indus Suture Zone in Ladakh region and extends associated gneisses and younger granitoids occupying
eastward into Tibet. It is characterised by a huge discontinuous, nearly 2600-km-long expansive areas throughout the lesser Himalaya of Arunachal
batholith comprising rocks ranging from gabbro to granite. The Trans-Himalayan Pradesh from Siang valley in the east to Kameng valley and
lithotectonic units north of the Indus Suture Zone include the Ladakh batholith/magmatic Bhutan in the west. Similar sequence of rocks is known as Ithun
arc (Ladakh Granitoid Complex), Shyok Suture Zone, Karakoram batholith/magmatic arc Formation and Rikor Group in Dibang valley and Lohit valley
(KGC) and the Karakoram Supergroup and the Tso Morari Crystalline Complex. This zone areas. Tilung Formation and Namdhapa Crystalline Complex are
represents the lithounits brought together during the Eocene collision of North Indian plate also included in this group. The granitic and gneissic rocks of
elements with the trailing edge of Eurasian plate, i.e. the Lhasa block. The Indus-Tsangpo Bomdila Group are garnet bearing and highly deformed and
Suture Zone (ITSZ) extends as a linear belt all along the Indus-Tsangpo valleys between the mylonitised under ductile domains. The ultramafic bodies intruding the
Higher Himalaya to the south and Karakorum – Gangdse ranges to the north. It is best para-metamorphites of Ithun Formation in Myodia area have minor
exposed for about 500 km in the Ladakh region and is referred as the Indus Suture Zone. amounts of Platinum Group of elements. The lesser Himalayan zones of
This narrow linear belt comprises two units, tectonically juxtaposed, one including basal Arunachal Pradesh are classified into two parts: (i) The Kameng, Subansisri
ophiolite followed by basic volcanics and flyschoid sediments and another by ophiolitic and Siang Himalaya and (ii) Lohit Himalaya). In Kameng-Subansisri-Siang
melange. This zone is separated from the Tethys Himalaya by Dras Thrust in the south and Himalaya, the Tertiaries, Gondwana, Bichom Group and the metamorphic
from the Karakorum Tethys and Granitoid Complex by the Shyok Thrust in the north. rocks are regionally disposed in ENE-WSW to NE-SW trend. In the lower
Himalayan region, NNE-SSW to N-S trends are superimposed on the above
Two belts of granitoid complexes lie in the Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh. The northern
regional trends. In the Lohit Himalayas the rocks exposed belong to Bomdila Group,
belt called the Karakorum Granitoid Complex, lies to the north of the Indus Suture Zone and
Tenga and Miri Formations and Upper Siwaliks. A diorite-granodiorite Complex
intrudes the Late Palaeozoic metamorphites. The southern belt called the Ladakh Granitoid
considered to be of Late Paleozoic age is also exposed in Lohit Himalayas.
Complex intrudes the Upper Cretaceous-Eocene rocks of the Indus Suture Zone.
Karakorum Granitoid Complex (KGC) is a linear batholithic body, about 20km wide and From west to east, the Bomdila Group is overlain by the Dirang Formation till east of
15km long stretching NW-SE and occupies higher peaks of the Eastern Karakorum and the Subansiri river. In Siyom and Siang river sections, Sela Group of Higher Himalaya
Pangong mountains.This granitoid belt extends into the Western Karakorum across Baura comprising high-grade schists, migmatites and gneisses overlie the Dirang schists in
range, Hispar, Biafo to the west of Baltaro. the Higher Himalaya of Kameng district of Arunachal. Rocks of khondalite affinity of
Southern Granulite Belt are noticed in the form of graphite-bearing quartz-biotite-
The ITSZ branches into two thrusts ¯ Main Mantle and Main Karakorum ¯ with rocks in
sillimanite schists in the Simi Member of Khetabari Formation of Precambrian age in
between comprising the rocks of the Kohistan Zone. Along the Karakorum Highway, in a
Upper Subansiri district.The NNW-SSE Trans-Himalayan Belt of Arunachal Pradesh
north to south section, the K2 consists of Yasin flyschoid sediments, Chitra volcanics, the
exposed in the Upper Siang, Upper Dibang and Lohit valley areas is juxtaposed
Kohistan-Ladakh batholith, the Chilas Layered Complex and the Jijal Complex.
against the rocks of the Himalayan belt along the Tidding Suture. The Trans-
29
Himalayan belt comprises two distinct lithopackages, viz,. i) the suture package Formation occupy a large area along the coast overlapping the Mesozoic sediments and at
comprising Yang Sang Chu Formation and Tidding Formation with serpentinites places over the crystalline basement. Cuddalore Formation contains large quantities of
and metavolcanics, and ii) the Lohit Granitoid Complex and the Etalin Formation, the fossil wood around Tiruvakkarai in Villupuram District which have been declared and
latter occurring as restites. The total assemblage of the suture package resembles an maintained as a National Fossil Wood Park by GSI. Thick lignite beds at Neyveli in
ophiolitic melange. Cuddalore District were originally thought to belong to Cuddalore Formation.
The Upper Tertiary (Mio-Pliocene) molassic sediments constituting the Siwalik Group In the coastal tract of Tuticorin and Tirunelveli districts, the Mio-Pliocene group,
occurs as a linear belt along the foothills of Arunachal Pradesh extending from Bhutan represented by fine-grained limestone and gritty sandstone intercalated with pebble beds,
to just east of Pasighat where it is overlapped by the alluvium. However, it re-appears is found to overlie the Archaean unconformably and below the Recent formations. These
on the left bank of Dibang river where it is tectonically overlain by the rocks of the are referred to as Panamparai Sandstone. Along the west coast of Kanyakumari district, a
Bomdila Group along the Roing Fault, which is considered as the continuation of the sequence of sandstone and clay with thin lignite seams is recorded. These are correlated
Mishimi Thrust. The Siwalik Group is bounded to the north by the Main Boundary to Warkhali beds of Mio-Pliocene age of south Kerala and are similar to Cuddalore
Fault along which the Pre-Tertiary sequence has been brought over and its Formation. Beds of shelly limestone, clay and grit, intercalated with lignite layers are
southern limit with the alluvium of the Brahmaputra River. The Tertiary sequence recognised in the southern coastal tracts of South Kanara district; these quasi-indurated
of Arunachal Pradesh is classified into Dafla, Subansiri and Kimin Formations sequences of sediments are considered to be the extension of Warkhali Beds occupying
broadly corresponding to the Lower, Middle and Upper sub-divisions of the further south of Kerala. These Miocene beds, about 20m thick and unconformably
Siwalik Group of northwestern Himalaya and are considered as the overlying the weathered gneisses and charnockites are capped by laterites.
northward extension of the Tertiary sequence of Assam.
In the East Coast, the Tertiary rocks are represented by algal limestone in subcrops at
Massive and vesicular basaltic and andesitic rocks of Abor volcanics of Debagram, Jaguli, Jalangi and parts of Medinipur, Bankura, Bardhaman and Birbhum
Phanerozoic age are associated with Miri Quartzites. The rocks Districts of West Bengal. Recently, Distichoplax biserialis, an index fossil of the Paleocene
overlying the Miri Quartzite are cherts, shales, black shales and age was recognised in the subcrop samples from boreholes of ONGC.
carbonates, developed in the western flank of Subansiri valley, Igo
During early Eocene period, upheaval confined along a narrow NE-SW-trending track
valley, Basar-Along areas and in Siang valley areas in Arunachal
resulted in intrusion of ultramafic cumulates and volcanic members resulting in the
Pradesh.
formation of the Ophiolite suite of rocks comprising tectonised peridotite, cumulate
ultramafics including dunite, peridotites and pyroxenites that are exposed in the eastern
CENOZOIC FORMATIONS OF THE SHIELD
fringe of North-Eastern Region for about 200 km from Moreh in Manipur in south to north-
In the southern Peninsular India, the Tertiary sequence is east of Chiphur in Nagaland in north. Mid-Eocene sediment is represented by polymictic
well developed. In Tamil Nadu, the Ariyalur Group of Upper conglomerate, tuffaceous greywacke and lithic feldspathic arenite. Chromite is the main
Cretaceous is overlain conformably by a sequence of economic mineral of the ophiolite suite of rocks with Cr2O3 >45% and low TiO2. Parts of the
limestone, calcareous shale/mud, clay and sandstone of ophiolite belt have been explored for chromite and other metals like Ni, Co, Cu, etc.
Paleocene age. This sequence is named as Niniyur
The Tertiary rocks of northeast India rest over the weathered platforms of Precambrian
Formation in the Tiruchirapalli sub-basin with its equivalent
rocks, and these comprise both shelf and geosynclinal-facies sediments of Eocene age
in Pondicherry sub-basin as Karasur Formation. Rocks of
represented by the Jaintia and Disang Groups respectively. The overlying Barail
Mio-Pliocene age (early Neogene) termed as Cuddalore
(Oligocene), Surma (Lower Miocene), Tipam (Upper Miocene), Dupi tila (Mio-Pliocene)
30
and Dihing (Pliocene) Groups also represent both shelf and geosynclinal facies. The Indian subcontinent covering an area of 8249 km2. The
Tertiary sedimentary history of Assam is an integral part of the tectono-sedimentary Andaman & Nicobar (A & N) Islands represent the subaerial
setting of the Tertiary sediments of the northeast India and is influenced by the prominent part of the submarine fore-arc ridge of the Indonesian
‘Brahmaputra Arch’ running parallel to Brahmaputra River. The shelf-facies sediments island-arc system. An active zone of subduction along the
(Jaintia Group) of Eocene age are calcareous and abundantly fossiliferous. In Meghalaya, Andaman-Java trench lies on the west of the Andaman-
Tertiary coal occurrences are recorded in Jaintia Group. Nicobar Islands and continues southward into Indonesia.
Underthusting of the Indian oceanic plate below the Eurasian
QUATERNARY FORMATIONS plate since Cretaceous to present day along this subduction
resulted in the formation of a wide accretionary prism and
The Quaternary sediments in the peninsular India occur along the coastal tracts and inland upbuilding of a high forarc-outerarc ridge known as Andaman-
river valleys by narrow continuous palaeo-beach ridges, interrupted by the prograding Nicobar ridge.
deltas of major rivers. They are represented by thick blankets of alluvium, gravel and
colluvial deposits, beach sand, kankar, soils of various types and laterite. The Quaternary The ophiolite occurrences in Andaman Islands are interpreted as
sediments were laid down in four major depositional environments, namely fluvial, fluvio- thrust slices of oceanic crust scraped off the subducting slab at the
marine, marine and aeolian. toe of the accretionary complex. The outerarc-forearc terrain
constituting the Andaman-Nicobar Islands is characterised by a
The Quaternaries in Rajasthan and Gujarat are assorted deposits of aeolian, fluvial and complex mosaic of different geological provinces each having its own
lacustrine origin. They occur mostly in the large tract of Thar desert in western Rajasthan. record of origin and geological evolution vis-a-vis mineral potentiality.
One of the important Quaternary episodes in Gujarat is the formation of the Rann Rocks of the Andaman Islands are technically thrusted into a narrow north-
Surface,—a vast, marshy, saline tract extending for about 300 km in east-west direction in south-trending linear belt paralleling the north-south trend of the Andaman-
Kachchha region of Gujarat. Java subduction. Older continental metamorphic rocks occur as small
enclaves within the ophiolite-melange packages. Ophiolitc rocks in Andaman
A major part of the area flanking the Brahmaputra River in Lower and Upper Assam is
occur as north-south-trending dismembered units of subhorizontal sheets
covered by thick Quaternary fluvial sequence. Quaternary sequence located in Imphal
thrusted over the much younger Andaman Flysch. They are Cretaceous-Paleocene
valley of Manipur is of both lacustrine and fluvial types. Recent deposits in northeast India
in age and are intermittently exposed from the saddle reef of North Andaman to
are represented by sand-silt-clay sequence in Brahmaputra and Surma river valleys in
almost the southern tip of the Great Nicobar Island. Rutland Island in the southern tip
Assam and in the foothills of Garo and Khasi hills of Meghalaya. Minor recent sediments
of South Andaman Island hosts the largest exposure of the ophiolites. The Ophiolites,
also occur in Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.
their cover sediments and the Andaman Flysh together are folded into an open anticline
The Quaternary sand deposits along the coastal tracts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu are (Ray, 1982). Sets of mesoscopic folds occur in all the sedimentary units associated
economically exploitable for ilmenite, rutile, zircon and monazite. with ophiolites.
Andaman & Nicobar Islands Recent Volcanism in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
The Andaman-Nicobar Islands represent part of an arcuate island-arc chain, running from In Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Narcondam and Barren are the two small volcanic
Myanmar to Indonesia to Indo-Sumatra subduction zone, flanked on the west by the Bay of islands of Quaternary age, located about 100 km north and northeast of Port Blair
Bengal and on the east by the Andaman Sea, constituting the southernmost part of the on Andaman Sea. The Narcondam is considered to be a dormant type while the
31
Barren has the history of recurring volcanic eruption since pre-historic age Lakshadweep Islands
(Halder et al., 1992). The Barren Island volcano, the only active volcano in the Indian
The Union Territory of Lakshadweep forms a NE-SW-trending archipelago in the
subcontinent has recently exploded during May 1991 after lying dormant for a long
Laccadive-Chagos ridge system in the Arabian Sea, 220-440 km off the west coast of
time. Subsequently it erupted again during 2005, 2006 and in 2009.
India. It is located between 8º and 12º30" North latitude and 71º and 74 º East longitudes
The Barren Island volcano is characterized by resurgent volcanism, with three distinct and consists of twelve atolls, three reefs and five submerged banks, with a total of about 36
volcanic episodes recorded so far. An initial submarine volcanism, having taken place islands and islets, roughly covering 32 sq km. Geologically, all the islands are made up of
possibly in late to post-Pleistocene time formed a giant volcanic cone representing the coralline limestone and calcareous coralline sand and its variants. Mineral occurrences
ancestral / primordial Barren Island. This ancient volcanic cone was at times blown out include coralline limestone, calcareous sand with high CaO content and Guano deposits
and a thick pile of pyroclastics got deposited over the surface of the relict cauldron. (P2O5- 8-11.72%) in Pilli island 30 km NW of Kavaratti (0.12 million tonnes estimated by
Olivine basalt represents the first phase of eruption, while the second phase IBM in 1970).
witnessed the eruption of high-alumina olivine basalt. The recent spate of basaltic
andesite eruptions contains phenocrysts of plagioclase, diopsite, augite and
titanomagnetite set in a hyalopilitic groundmass.
32
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GEOLOGY OF INDIA 1 Geology and Mineral Resources of India GEOLOGY OF INDIA

Book · January 2010

Dipendu Bhushan Guha

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INTRODUCTION major rivers that originate from the great Himalayan

DHARWAR CRATON regional metamorphism (andalusite-sillimanite type) in the

Table 1: Generalised Stratigraphic Sequence of Dharwar Craton

Major Rock Types Group (with mineral occurrences) Age Era

Table 3. Stratigraphy of EIC (after Balasubrahmanyan, 2006)

Table 4: Stratigraphy of CIPS (simplified after Sarkar et al., 1990)

Kimberlites Majhgaon, Hinota diatremes 1200-1000 Ma NEOPROTEROZOIC

Metasediments Bengpal, Amgaon, Sukma Groups ARCHAEAN

Gneissic Complex Bundelkhand, Baya and Sukma Gneiss ? 3600 Ma ARCHAEAN

WESTERN INDIAN PRECAMBRIAN SHIELD BANDED GNEISSIC COMPLEX

Major Rock Types / Group Supergroup Age Era

Punagarh and Sindreth Groups

Table 6: Stratigraphy of Cuddapah Supergroup and Kurnool Group

Major Rock Types Supergroup/Group

STRATIGRAPHIC CORRELATION OF GONDWANA SEQUENCE OF PENINSULAR INDIA

DECCAN TRAP (CONTINENTAL BASALT) VOLCANISM INDO-GANGETIC – BRAHMAPUTRA PLAIN

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