Petrological and geochemical studies of ultramafic–mafic rocks from the North Puruliya Shear Zone (eastern India)

Abstract

Ultramafic and mafic rocks occur within a linear belt, trending nearly E–W along North Puruliya Shear Zone of the Chhotanagpur Gneissic Complex (CGC). These rocks are classified as gabbro, norite, gabbro-norite, dolerite, diorite, olivine-websterite and lherzolite. Mafic rocks (Group 1) often occur in association with ultramafic variants (Group 2) and sometimes in isolation. A genetic link has been established between these mafic and ultramafic rocks using disposition of ultramafic and mafic rocks in the outcrop, systematic variation in modal mineralogy, co-linearity of plots in biaxial chemical variation diagram. Chemical composition of biotite and clinopyroxene reveal calc-alkaline nature and arc signature in these mafic–ultramafic rocks and whole rock geochemical characters indicate similarity with arc magma in subduction zone setting. The high values of Mg no. (47–81) and Al 2 O 3 (5.5–17.9) of mafic rocks indicate primitive, aluminous nature of the parental melt and presence of amphibole and biotite indicate its hydrous nature. The parent mafic melt evolved through fractionation of olivine, spinel, clinopyroxene and plagioclase. The crystal cumulates gave rise to the ultramafic rocks and the associated mafic rocks formed from residual melt. Crustal contamination played an important role in magmatic evolution as evident from variation in abundance of Rb in different lithomembers. Mafic–ultramafic rocks of the present study have been compared with intra-cratonic layered complexes, mafic–ultramafic rocks of high grade terrain, Alaskan type ultramafic–mafic complex and ophiolites. It is observed that the ultramafic–mafic rocks of present study have similarity with Alaskan type complex.