Application of gravity and magnetic methods for the crustal study and delineating associated ores in the western limb of Hazara Kashmir Syntaxis, Northwest Himalayas, Pakistan

Abstract

The present geophysical study deals with the ores and crustal demonstration of southeastern Hazara and its adjoining areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan, on the basis of terrestrial gravity and magnetic data. Tectonically, the study area lies in the Lesser Himalayas as well as to an extent in the sub-Himalaya, more specifically in the western limb of Hazara Kashmir Syntaxis. In this study, 567 gravity and 508 magnetic stations have been measured with CG-5 gravimeter and proton precession magnetometer, respectively. The collected data have been processed by applying standard corrections and then different types of maps were prepared. The ores in the area have been delineated by the qualitative interpretation of residual Bouguer anomaly and reduction to pole total magnetic intensity maps, whereas regional structures are demarcated by the Bouguer anomaly and regional Bouguer anomaly maps. The positive contour closures on the residual Bouguer anomaly map indicate the iron ore and phosphate, whereas negative contour closures are the effects of low-density material which consists of gypsum and soapstone. The pole-reduced total intensity map also shows the negative and positive contour closures almost in the same localities and confirms the residual Bouguer anomaly map. The geological model computed on the basis of Bouguer anomaly demarcated a series of faults between different rock units in the study area. The Kashmir Boundary Thrust cuts the western limb of Hazara Kashmir Syntaxis near the apex in the north of Muzaffarabad and marks the boundary between Murree Formation and carbonates of Abbottabad Formation. The gravity model also suggests that the thickness of the crust increases towards the northeast.