Banded Gneissic Complex Research Articles

Proterozoic tectonic evolution and metallogenesis in the Aravalli-Delhi orogenic complex, northwestern India—Reply

Abstract The Proterozoic Aravalli-Delhi orogenic complex hosts a large number of economically important stratabound base metal sulphide deposits. A few W-Sn deposits associated with granites are also known in the complex. Based on tectono-lithological features, the following domains are distinguished: the Archaean basement consisting of the Banded Gneissic Complex and granites, the Early Proterozoic Bhilwara, Aravalli, Jharol, and north Delhi belts and the Middle to Late Proterozoic south Delhi belt and the Vindhyan basin. Intra-cratonic rifting of the Archaean basement commencing ∼ 2.2 Ga ago resulted in the rock association of the Bhilwara belt, a thick pile of detritus derived largely from felsic sources and, to a minor extent, from tholeiitic sills with the geochemical characteristics of ocean-floor basalts. Stratiform Zn-Pb(-Cu) sulphide deposits at Rajpura-Dariba, Rampura-Agucha and also possibly those at Pur-Banera and Jahazpur formed 1.8 ± 0.04 Ga ago by convective seawater circulation in zones of crustal extension. The metal content of exhalative brines was precipitated in troughs where biologic activity was prolific. The shelf sediments of the Aravalli belt, characterized by dolomites with stromatolitic phosphorites, were deposited on a passive continental margin at the rifted western edge of the Archaean basement complex. The monotonous pelitic pile of the Jharol belt represents deep-pelagic continental-rise sediments. The Rakhabdev lineament delineates the shelf-rise boundary. The mafic-ultramafic bodies along this lineament represent Aravalli oceanic crust which subducted westward and eventually obducted as a consequence of an initial collision of the Aravalli continental margin with an incipient arc to the west around 1.5 Ga ago. In the Aravalli belt at Zawar, strongly radiogenic stratabound Pb-Zn deposits were formed close to the basement in second-order basins with biologic activity, by hydrothermal solutions convecting through a heterogeneous source. The north Delhi belt comprises three sedimentation domains: the Khetri sub-basin, the Alwar sub-basin and the Lalsot-Bayana sub-basin. Sedimentation in this belt commenced with shelf carbonates, followed by coarse clastic sediments and volcanites. Finally, pelites and semi-pelites were deposited in a multi-lagoonal, shallow-water, locally evaporitic environment. Synkinematic granitic intrusives in the north Delhi rocks are in the age range of 1.7-1.5 Ga. The stratabound Cu sulphide deposits of the Khetri belt and the pyrite-pyrrhotite deposits at Saladipura with a Pb-Pb model age of ∼ 1.8 Ga were formed from hydrothermal seawater and partly bacteriogenic sulphur in small, shallow, rift-related basins. The south Delhi belt, with extensive mafic volcanism, localized felsic volcanism, argillaceous-arenaceous-carbonate accumulations in successive, elongated basins and conspicuous felsic plutonism, is interpreted as an island arc. The geochemistry of pillowed and massive metavolcanites and an ophiolite assemblage indicate subduction in the western side of the arc. Part of the rocks of the Delhi belt may also have formed in rift-related back-arc basins as suggested by the ocean-floor characteristics of metavolcanic rocks. Subduction on the western side of the arc ultimately led to its terminal collision with the Aravalli continental margin around 1.0 Ga, involving intense progressive strain and oblique convergence. Small Cu-(Zn) deposits were formed within sedimentary intercalations in calc-alkaline basalts close to the hypothetical subduction zone. Extensional tectonics in the back-arc basins produced stratiform Zn-Pb-Cu deposits (Ambaji-Deri) around 1.1 Ga ago by high-temperature reduction of seawater convecting through multiple sources. Sn-W mineralizations are apparently related to the Malani felsic igneous phase of 735 Ma Rb-Sr age.

Sm-Nd evidence for 3.3 Ga old rocks in Rajasthan, northwestern India

Abstract Tonalitic to granodioritic gneisses from the basement gneiss of the Aravalli Region, northwestern India, define a Sm-Nd isochron corresponding to an age of 3.31 ± 0.07 Ga and an initial Nd isotopic ratio that is close to chondritic. Lenticular bodies of mafic amphibolites within the gneisses, however, define an isochron corresponding to a younger age of 2.83 ± 0.05 Ga and small positive initial ϵNd. This age is similar to that reported for a large intrusive granite (the Untala granite) in this area and, combined with field evidence, suggests that mafic volcanism may have been associated with formation of the granite. A highly HREE enriched garnet separate from one of the tonalitic gneisses defines a two-point garnet-wholerock isochron age of 2.45 ± 0.02 Ga, which also is similar to the age of a known thermal event in the region: intrusion of the Berach and Bundelkhand granites at approximately 2.5 Ga. These results document in broad outline Archean crustal formation events in the northwestern segment of the Indian subcontinent, and demonstrate the need for more detailed studies of the complex terranes mapped by Heron (1953) as a single unit, the Banded Gneiss Complex.

Structural studies in the Pre-Vindhyan rocks of Rajasthan: A summary of work of the last three decades

Multiple deformation in all the Precambrian metamorphic-migmatitic rocks has been reported from Rajasthan during the last three decades. But, whereas the Aravalli Group and the Banded Gneissic Complex show similarity in the style and sequence of structures in all their details, the rocks of the Delhi Group trace a partly independent trend. Isoclinal folds of the first generation (AF1) in the rocks of the Aravalli Group had gentle westerly plunge prior to later deformations. These folds show reclined, inclined, and upright attitude as a result of coaxial upright folding (AFla). Superposition of upright folds (AF2) of varying tightness, with axial plane striking N to NNE, has resulted in interference patterns of diverse types in the scale of maps, and deformation of earlier planar and linear structures in the scale of hand specimens. The structures of the third generation (AF3) are either open recumbent folds or reclined conjugate folds with axial planes dipping gently towards NE or SW. Structures of the last phase are upright conjugate folds (AF4) with axial planes striking NNE-SSW and E-W.

Proterozoic tectonic evolution and metallogenesis in the Aravalli-Delhi orogenic complex, northwestern India

Abstract The Proterozoic Aravalli-Delhi orogenic complex hosts a large number of economically important stratabound base metal sulphide deposits. A few W-Sn deposits associated with granites are also known in the complex. Based on tectono-lithological features, the following domains are distinguished: the Archaean basement consisting of the Banded Gneissic Complex and granites, the Early Proterozoic Bhilwara, Aravalli, Jharol, and north Delhi belts and the Middle to Late Proterozoic south Delhi belt and the Vindhyan basin. Intra-cratonic rifting of the Archaean basement commencing ∼ 2.2 Ga ago resulted in the rock association of the Bhilwara belt, a thick pile of detritus derived largely from felsic sources and, to a minor extent, from tholeiitic sills with the geochemical characteristics of ocean-floor basalts. Stratiform Zn-Pb(-Cu) sulphide deposits at Rajpura-Dariba, Rampura-Agucha and also possibly those at Pur-Banera and Jahazpur formed 1.8 ± 0.04 Ga ago by convective seawater circulation in zones of crustal extension. The metal content of exhalative brines was precipitated in troughs where biologic activity was prolific. The shelf sediments of the Aravalli belt, characterized by dolomites with stromatolitic phosphorites, were deposited on a passive continental margin at the rifted western edge of the Archaean basement complex. The monotonous pelitic pile of the Jharol belt represents deep-pelagic continental-rise sediments. The Rakhabdev lineament delineates the shelf-rise boundary. The mafic-ultramafic bodies along this lineament represent Aravalli oceanic crust which subducted westward and eventually obducted as a consequence of an initial collision of the Aravalli continental margin with an incipient arc to the west around 1.5 Ga ago. In the Aravalli belt at Zawar, strongly radiogenic stratabound Pb-Zn deposits were formed close to the basement in second-order basins with biologic activity, by hydrothermal solutions convecting through a heterogeneous source. The north Delhi belt comprises three sedimentation domains: the Khetri sub-basin, the Alwar sub-basin and the Lalsot-Bayana sub-basin. Sedimentation in this belt commenced with shelf carbonates, followed by coarse clastic sediments and volcanites. Finally, pelites and semi-pelites were deposited in a multi-lagoonal, shallow-water, locally evaporitic environment. Synkinematic granitic intrusives in the north Delhi rocks are in the age range of 1.7-1.5 Ga. The stratabound Cu sulphide deposits of the Khetri belt and the pyrite-pyrrhotite deposits at Saladipura with a Pb-Pb model age of ∼ 1.8 Ga were formed from hydrothermal seawater and partly bacteriogenic sulphur in small, shallow, rift-related basins. The south Delhi belt, with extensive mafic volcanism, localized felsic volcanism, argillaceous-arenaceous-carbonate accumulations in successive, elongated basins and conspicuous felsic plutonism, is interpreted as an island arc. The geochemistry of pillowed and massive metavolcanites and an ophiolite assemblage indicate subduction in the western side of the arc. Part of the rocks of the Delhi belt may also have formed in rift-related back-arc basins as suggested by the ocean-floor characteristics of metavolcanic rocks. Subduction on the western side of the arc ultimately led to its terminal collision with the Aravalli continental margin around 1.0 Ga, involving intense progressive strain and oblique convergence. Small Cu-(Zn) deposits were formed within sedimentary intercalations in calc-alkaline basalts close to the hypothetical subduction zone. Extensional tectonics in the back-arc basins produced stratiform Zn-Pb-Cu deposits (Ambaji-Deri) around 1.1 Ga ago by high-temperature reduction of seawater convecting through multiple sources. Sn-W mineralizations are apparently related to the Malani felsic igneous phase of 735 Ma Rb-Sr age.

Age, source and stratigraphic implications of Pb isotope data for conformable, sediment-hosted, base metal deposits in the Proterozoic Aravalli-Delhi orogenic belt, northwestern India

Stratiform, sediment-hosted, base metal deposits in the Aravalli-Delhi orogenic belt of northwestern India are hosted by the sediment-dominated Bhilwara, Aravalli and Delhi sequences of Proterozoic age. Pb isotope data for 36 samples from five ore districts provide useful stratigraphic and approximate age information. Model Pb ages using a newly developed ‘Proterozoic model’ are ∼ 1800 Ma for the Rampura-Agucha, Rajpura-Dariba and Saladipura deposits, ∼ 1700 Ma for the Zawar deposits and ∼ 1100 Ma for the Ambaji and Deri deposits. Mineralization in this orogenic belt thus occurred at three stages in Middle to Upper Proterozoic times. The oldest of these, reflected by deposits in the Bhilwara sequence, was of broad regional extent. The Rampura-Agucha deposit is thus hosted by highly metamorphosed rocks that belong to the Bhilwara belt and not to an older supracrustal component of the Archean Banded Gneissic complex. The host rocks to the Saladipura deposit are Bhilwara-equivalent and are not part of the Delhi Supergroup, as previously mapped, and therefore stratigraphic assignments in the area must be re-examined. Model ages of ∼ 1100 Ma for the Ambaji-Deri deposits are the only evidence obtained in this study regarding the age of the Delhi Supergroup, and are in apparent conflict with much older ages indicated by previous studies. Rocks of such late Upper Proterozoic age may be restricted to the southwestern segment of the orogenic belt, or, alternatively, thrust stacking and/or interfolding of lithologically similar sequences of a wide range of ages throughout the belt may not yet be evident because of the limited age and isotopic data presently available. All the data can be readily explained by the extraction of Pb from sediments derived from an upper-crustal basement. The isotopic compositions of the Zawar deposits provide the clearest evidence for an ancient, U-enriched, upper-crustal source. The Ambaji-Deri Pb data suggest a mature status of the Delhi are when these deposits were formed.

Response of basement and cover rocks to multiple deformations: A study from the precambrian of Rajasthan, Western India

Metasedimentary rocks of the Aravalli Group of early Proterozoic age (2000–2500 Ma) are underlain by migmatitic gneisses forming the Banded Gneissic Complex (BGC), with radiometric ages varying widely from 3500 Ma to much younger. Both the basement and the cover rocks are, however, involved in superposed folding of identical style and sequence. In the metasedimentary cover rocks, isoclinal folds of the first set (F 1), with an axial planar cleavage, have been affected by coaxial folds (F 14) in some places, and have been overprinted by a set of open, upright folds (F 2) with N-S-striking axial planes. These structures are affected by small-scale conjugate folds and kink bands (F 3) with subhorizontal axial planes caused by a vertical compression, and by upright kinks and conjugate folds (F 4) developed by longitudinal shortening. The F 1, F 1a and F 2 structures match in their entirety with those in the migmatites forming the basement gneisses, the migmatization being synkinematic with the first folding. This suggests that the BGC in its present state represents a largely mobilized basement.

Sm-Nd systemics of The Banded Gneissic Complex, Northwestern India

Sm-Nd systemics of The Banded Gneissic Complex, Northwestern India

Mineralogy and metamorphic history of norite dykes within granulite facies gneisses from Sand Mata, Rajasthan, NW India

AbstractMetanorite dykes intrude the Banded Gneiss Complex at various places in Rajasthan, N.W. India. They show neither chilled margins nor gradational contacts with the country rock amphibolite or granulite facies gneisses. They have ophitic to subophitic texture with strongly zoned subcalcic clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene, olivine and plagioclase, with subsidiary biotite. During slow cooling a series of reaction coronas developed with garnet forming round biotite, ilmenite and orthopyroxene; hornblende round pyroxenes and orthopyroxene, hornblende ± spinel round olivine, which may be totally replaced. It is inferred that the dykes crystallised from a tholeiitic magma at about 1100-1150 °C and were intruded during the waning stages of granulite facies metamorphism. The corona minerals grew at about 650–700 °C. A series of reactions to account for the development of the coronas is proposed using measured mineral compositions. Although these reactions do not balance for individual corona formation, metamorphism was probably isochemical with Ca, Na, K, Ti, Si and H2O only mobile on the scale of a thin section. Si and H2O were possibly mobile on a larger scale.

Lead-zinc resource prediction in India: An application of Zipf's law

Resource prediction is necessary for allocation of exploration efforts to keep pace with future demand and the growth pattern of a commodity. Zipf's law, a mathematical relationship between size and rank of discrete phenomena, has been used for resource prediction of oil in Western Canada, uranium, gold, tin, and lead-zinc deposits in Australia, and copper deposits in Zambia. The model, applied to lead-zinc metal accumulation of 24 known “precambrain” deposits in India, indicates that about 75% of the lead-zinc metal is yet to be discovered. The probability of occurrence of 14 deposits of larger dimensions based on the cumulative percentage frequency for different accumulations lies between 5 and 30%. In future exploration, preference should be given to more effort in the Banded Gneissic Complex of Rajasthan in comparison to Aravalilis of Rajasthan, followed by similar environments throughout the country and Palaeozoic strata of the Himalayas.

Trace-element studies of the Precambrian stromatolitic phosphorites of Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

Thirty-eight samples from the Matoon and Dakan Kotra phosphorite deposits, Udaipur region, Rajasthan, were analysed for P 2O 5, Cu, Ni, Co, Pb, Zn, Cr, Sr, Rb, V, Li, Ag, Cd, U and Th contents by spectrophotometer, atomic absorption and X-ray fluorescence. The dominant phosphate minerals are collophane and francolite whereas quartz, calcite and dolomite are the main gangue minerals, and sericite, muscovite, limonite and carbonaceous matter are present in small amounts. Sr, V, Cr, Pb and Zn have a positive correlation with P 2O 5 and are adsorbed by phosphate minerals. The fixation of Cu, Ni, Co, Rb, Li, Ag, Cd, U and Th seems to be geochemically controlled by the biogenic activity of fossil algae and are antipathetic or feebly correlated to P 2O 5. Rb and Li were possibly adsorbed by clay minerals. The pre-existing Banded Gneissic Complex, which occurs close to the phosphorite deposits of the Udaipur region, might be the source rock from which phosphorus, along with lime and silica, were derived and concentrated, probably in a marine environment in a more or less restricted basin of deposition. The Th/U ratio suggests a slightly reducing to fairly oxidizing condition at the site of deposition.

Mineral parageneses and metamorphic reactions in metasedimentary enclaves from the Archaean Gneiss Complex of north-west India

AbstractThree metasedimentary enclaves up to a kilometre in length of contrasting compositions within the polymetamorphic Banded Gneissic Complex (> 2580Ma) have been studied for their mineral parageneses and metamorphic conditions. The largest enclave, consisting of kyanite-chloritoid-muscovite schist with quartz or corundum, and kyanite-fuchsite-corundum ± diaspore, was metamorphosed at most under lower amphibolite conditions, and is thus not isofacial with the surrounding schists and gneisses (of the ‘basement’ complex) which reached sillimanite-grade metamorphism in the last orogenic cycle (Aravalli: 1650–950Ma Orogeny) in Rajasthan.The second enclave is a calc-silicate rock which occurs as a small lens. The presence of two generations of wollastonite which formed during different metamorphic events in the calcite-quartz-grossularite-anorthite-clinopyroxene assemblage indicates polymetamorphism.The third enclave is a metabasic rock which records a complete polymetamorphic history in discontinuous zones in garnet coexisting with hornblende-chlorite-plagioclase-quartz±epidote. To explain the garnet zoning a model involving partial resorption of early garnet during the initial recrystallization stage of superimposed regional metamorphism is preferred to the alternative based on a single prograde metamorphism and retrogression.The mineralogy of the calc-silicate and metabasic enclaves gives a recrystallization temperature of c. 700°C and a pressure in the range of 8–3 kbar during the second metamorphism.

The problem of the Precambrian basement in Rajasthan, western India

The Banded Gneissic Complex (BGC) of Rajasthan, considered to form the basement underlying the Precambrian (Proterozoic) Aravalli metasediments, shows an erosion surface marked by a conglomerate and an angular unconformity, with gneissic foliation crossing the metasedimentary bands at only a few places. The BGC is a composite gneiss, evolved by extensive migmatization of metasedimentary rocks of diverse composition, and possibly metaigneous rocks. The contact between the BGC and the Aravalli rocks is a gently curved surface, whereas the gneissic foliation, as well as the large-scale metasedimentary enclaves within the gneissic complex, show all the intricate patterns of super-imposed folding traceable in the Aravalli rocks. This implies that the “basement” gneisses have been involved in ductile deformation with the Aravalli rocks, the migmatization being synkinematic with the first deformation in the latter. All these apparently conflicting lines of evidence can be resolved if the gneisses, as we see them now, represent not the original, but the mobilized basement, with the BGC-Aravalli boundary representing, for a large part, a migmatite front, rather than the original basement-cover interface. Only at a few places was there a chance of the original basement escaping mobilization and thus, little chance of identifying this original interface.

CRUSTAL EVOLUTION AND PRECAMBRIAN METALLOGENESIS IN WESTERN INDIA

Proterozoic supracrustal rocks of continental derivation form the major rock groups in Rajasthan and adjacent states in western lndia and act as repositories for conspicuous base metal mineralization. The continental crust in this region evolved through three main cycles: the Bundelkhand-Berach granite pluton intruded during the Archaean-Prcterozoic transition and formed thc continental nuclei. Extensive migmatization of early volcanics and associated sedimenta during the process of cratonization brought about the evolution of the Banded Gneissic Complex. Stabilization of this basemcnt took place around 2.00a. when two slowly sinking major littoral basins received the huge pile lhe Aravalli sedimentary package through almost a billion years and the subsequent c1astogenic Delhi sedimentation. The recurrent syn-sedimentary mctallogencsis in the Precambrians of western India has been examined by presenting the salient characteristics of six, economically important, metamorphosed, sediment-hosted, stratiform, base metal sulfide deposits: one massive, early Proterozoic, Zn-sulfide deposit in lhe migmatized sediments, probably related to initial basement volcanism: two mid-Proterozoic Pb-Zn-(Cu) deposits emplaced in the Aravalli sequencc through rift-fed exhalations related to basic-felsic volcanism ; threc late Proterozoic Pb-Zn-Cu/Cu/Fe sulfide deposits which formed through sea water - basalt interaction or througb basinal brines enriched by convective circulation.

Evolution of lower proterozoic epicontinental deposits: Stromatolite-bearing Aravalli rocks of Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

Abstract The Aravalli rocks (> 2060 Ma old) which crop out around Udaipur, Western India, comprise a thick sequence of metasediments with stromatolites and basal volcanics resting unconformably over a peneplained basement, known as the Banded Gneissic Complex (ca. 2585 Ma old). The rocks have undergone a very low grade of metamorphism, and display a complex structure resulting from two major and several minor episodes of folding. There are two distinctly different ‘facies sequences’ in the Aravalli rocks, indicating deep-sea and nearshore shelf environments. The stratigraphic sequence of the rocks deposited under the shelf environment starts with basic volcanics and tuffs (altered to greenschists) and quartizites with arkosic conglomerate. In the next sequence carbonates predominate in association with orthoquartzites, carbonaceous phyllites, phyllites, and stromatolitic rock-phosphate. The carbonate sequence passes upward into greywacke-phyllite-lithic arenite in the distal parts and conglomerate-arkose-orthoquartzite in proximal areas. The youngest sequence comprises orthoquartzite with silty arenite. The distribution of different facies, particularly that of dolomite with stromatolitic rock-phosphate, is controlled by sea-floor topography suggesting the presence of an epicontinental sea bounded by a landmass to the west and a series of islands and shoals. Sedimentation in the shelf and epicontinental sea was presumably triggered by development of fault-controlled troughs along craton margins. Terrigenous debris was deposited in newly-developed troughs with contemporaneous volcanicity along trough margins. With the erasing of the ephemeral relief in the provenance, carbonate deposition was initiated. The environment encouraged algal growth and formation of stromatolitic rock phosphate. Carbonaceous phyllites developed in areas of restricted circulation. Rapid influx of terrigenous detritus with renewed tectonism in the next phase resulted in the deposition of a turbidite sequence of greywacke-phyllite and lithic arenite in the deeper parts of the epicontinental sea, and conglomerate-arkose-orthoquartizite in the marginal areas. The final phase of sedimentation was presumably under fluvial conditions which marked the completion of epicontinental trough filling. The nature of the terrigenous clasts indicates a predominantly granitic source of sediments. Supply of sediment was mainly from the continent to the east and partly from a landmass to the west. The cycle of sedimentation noted in the epicontinental Aravalli sea is broadly similar to the model of tectonic stages suggested by Krynine (1942).

Compositional restraints on the sillimanite paragenesis in metapelites from Kuanthal, district Udaipur, India

The rocks exposed in the area around Kuanthal represent one of the oldest Precambrian formations of India and constitute the Banded Gneissic Complex (B.G.C.) of Heron (1953). The main rock types are staurolite-sillimanite schists/gneisses, sillimanite gneisses with or without K-feldspar, migmatites and amphibolites, often intimately and inextricably mixed up with one another. The petrochemical studies of the metapelitic rocks show that the formation of sillimanite is controlled by parent rock chemistry. The critical controlling parameters area: alumina, alkalies (Na 2O + K 2O) and oxidation ratio of rocks. These criteria are equally valid for other well-known areas of high-grade metamorphism. The validity of this proposition has been tested by statistical methods such as multivariate analysis and Mahalonbis's generalized distance D 2. The linear discriminant function controlling sillimanite paragenesis in metapelites has been worked out and an equation has been evolved to delineate the ‘SB’ (sillimanite-bearing) and ‘SF’ (sillimanite-free) rocks.

Deformational and crystallization history of the Precambrian rocks in north-central Aravalli Mountain, Rajasthan, India

Abstract Large-scale structures, textures and mineral assemblages in the Precambrian rocks of the Banded Gneissic Complex and the overlying Delhi Group in north-central Aravalli Mountain reveal a complex deformational-crystallization history. In the basement Gneissic Complex at least three deformational events, D 0 , D 1 and D 2 , and two separate episodes of metamorphism, M 1 and M 2 , are recognized. The supracrustal Delhi Rocks display only two phases of deformation, D 1 and D 2 , associated with a single protracted period of metamorphism, M 2 . The first phase of deformation (D 1 ) of the Delhi orogeny (1650-900 m.y.) produced large isoclinal folds that are overturned towards the southeast and have gentle plunges in NE and SW directions. The second phase of deformation (D 2 ) gave rise to tight open folds on the limbs and axial-plane surfaces of the D 1 folds. These folds generally plunge towards the N and NNW at 30°–80°. In the Basement Complex one more deformation (D 0 ) of the Pre-Delhi orogeny (> 2000 m.y.) is recorded by the presence of reclined and recumbent folds with W to WNW trending fold axes. The D 0 folds were superimposed by D 1 and D 2 folds during the Delhi orogeny. The three deformational events have been correlated with the crystallization periods of minerals in the rocks and a setting in time is established for this part of the Aravalli range.

Inversion of fold-hinge in superposed folding: An example from the Precambrian of central Rajasthan, India

Abstract Axial culminations and depressions of folds are common in regions of superposed deformations involving two sets of folds at high angles to each other. If the intensity of the later folding in these cases exceeds a particular limit, plunge reversal of the early folds gives way to “plunge inversion”. In such instances, segments of early folds rotate through end-on or reclined geometry while being refolded. And instead of plunge reversal at the hinge zones of later folds, the early folds plunge in the same direction in both limbs of the later folds. As a result, an antiform will pass along the axial trend to a synform. A particularly clear instance of plunge inversion has been noted from the “Sawar outlier” comprising a metasedimentary sequence within the older Banded Gneissic Complex in central Rajasthan. In Sawar, the southern segment of a south-southwest-trending synformal early fold has been inverted to attain an antiformal geometry because of superposition of a later fold at high angles to the early fold axes and axial planes. The deformation history of the large-scale folds has been traced and the stratigraphic implications of the plunge inversion discussed. From the movement pattern, it seems justifiable to correlate the metasedimentary sequence of the outlier with the Late Precambrian Delhi Group of parametamorphic rocks.

Early Precambrian stratigraphy of central and southern Rajasthan, India

Abstract Structural, stratigraphic and petrologic studies between Amet and Sembal in the Udaipur district of southcentral Rajasthan indicate that all the rocks belonging to the Banded Gneissic Complex, the Aravalli Group and the Raialo Formation have been involved in isoclinal folding on a westerly trend, co-axial refolding, and upright folding on a north to north-northeast trend. There is neither an unconformity nor an overlap between the Aravallis and the Raialos. The conglomerates supposed to mark the erosional unconformity above the Banded Gneissic Complex near Rajnagar is a tectonic melange of folded and torn quartz veins in mica schist within the Aravalli Group. The Aravalli—Raialo metasediments have been migmatized synkinematically with the first folding to give rise to the Banded Gneissic Complex; the gneissic complex does not have any separate stratigraphic entity. By contrast, there is an undoubted erosional unconformity between the type Aravalli rocks and the underlying Sarara granite to the south. These relations, coupled with the continuity of the Aravalli rocks of Udaipur northward to the metasedimentary rocks of the Sembal—Amet area along the strike, and a comparable structural history, point to granitic rocks of at least two generations in the Early Precambrian of central and southern Rajasthan. Preliminary radiometric dating of rocks of known stratigraphic—structural relationship seems to confirm the presence of granitic rocks of two ages in the Early Precambrian, and of a considerable interval between the deposition of the Aravalli—Raialo rocks and the Delhi rocks. The Udaipur granite, post-dating the first deformation but preceding the upright folding on the northerly trend, provides evidence for granitic activity of a third phase before the deposition of rocks of the Delhi Group.

Structure of the Rajnagar marble band and its bearing on the early Precambrian stratigraphy of central Rajasthan, Western India

The marble band of supposedly Raialo (Precambrian) age around Rajnagar in the Udaipur district of Rajasthan represents a large isoclinal fold with the two limbs coalesced and with the terminations marking the sharp hinges. The arcuate map pattern is due to coaxial refolding of the axial surface of the isoclinal fold, on which open, NNE-trending upright folds have been overprinted. The isoclinal folds of small scale are reclined or inclined in style and plunge gently westward where not involved in the upright folding. The axes of the isoclinal folds have been scattered by superposed folding, so that some of the isoclinal folds now plunge even to the south. The plunge of the upright folds is gentler and steeper in the limb zones of reclined and inclined isoclinal folds respectively. Subvertical upright folds occur only in the hinges of the westerly trending reclined folds. Interference patterns of dome-and-basin type and mirror-image type have formed in zones where both hinges and limbs of the early folds have been affected by upright folding. The structure of the marble band, the stratigraphic relations that the marble bears with the supposedly older Aravalli mica schists and migmatites of the Banded Gneissic Complex engulfing it, and the stratigraphic findings in adjacent terrains indicate that the Banded Gneissic Complex represents migmatized portions of the metasediments of the Aravalli and the Raialo groups, and is not the basement rock in central Rajasthan. Evidence for granitic rocks of at least two generations in the Early Precambrians of central Rajasthan is adduced.

The Precambrian geochronology of Rajasthan and Bundelkhand, northern India

Many new age determinations are reported for the Precambrian of Rajasthan and Bundelkhand in northern peninsular India. All are by Rb–Sr and mostly from total-rock analyses. They show that the oldest rocks in the area are undated sediments intruded by the Bundelkhand and Berach Granites, dated at about 2550 m.y. The overlying Aravalli System was intruded by granites dated at between 1900 and 2100 m.y., and is succeeded by the Delhi System, which was intruded by granite dated at 1650 m.y. Other granitic intrusion at 950–1000 m.y. was followed by repeated pegmatitic intrusion. The Banded Gneiss Complex of Rajasthan contains components of ages varying from at least 2000 m.y. to less than 1000 m.y. Nepheline-syenites at Kishangarh have an age of 1490 ± 150 m.y., but a biotite in an inclusion gives 970 m.y., which is the age of the Newania carbonatite.These determinations show that the Precambrian sequence in Rajasthan is much older than previously suggested. They confirm the antiquity of the Bundelkhand–Berach craton suggested by field studies, denying its derivation from Aravalli System rocks by granitization.