Regional metamorphism of pelitic rocks around Kandra, Singhbhum, Bihar

Abstract

A suite of pelitic rocks around Kandra, Singhbhum District, Bihar, displays a metamorphic gradient registered by the index minerals chlorite, biotite, garnet, staurolite and sillimanite in a Barrovian sequence. Metamorphism was by and large coeval with folding movements, and correlating the internal fabric of minerals and deformational characters, a regular sequence of the index minerals is derived. It is argued that the chronological order by itself is not sufficient to prove that metamorphism was progressive in time. Among the index minerals, garnet appears to have formed by the reaction chlorite+biotitea+quartz ⇌ garnet+biotiteb+H2O. For the origin of sillimanite, a new reaction, 3 staurolite+muscovite+quartz=7 sillimanite+biotite+3H2O, is suggested on the basis of significant textural features. Textural and petrological indications regarding the formation of staurolite are in discordance. Staurolite was either derived from the biotite zone phases, or should be taken to have formed, against textural evidences, from chloritoids of the garnet zone. Graphical analysis of the assemblages by Thompson's ‘AFM’ projection reveals that chlorite and staurolite are excess phases owing to retrogression and incomplete reaction. Shifting of apices of triangular fields and intersection of garnet-biotite tie lines within a zone can be satisfactorily explained in terms of extra components CaO and MnO or their ratios. It is pointed out that if MgO/(MgO + FeO) between two phases show a linear relation, their tie lines will be concurrent on the AF side of the projection, the point of concurrence reflecting equilibrium and temperature of recrystallisation.