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Geochemical Characteristics of Quartzite in Parts of Paleoproterozoic Dhanjori Group, Singhbhum Craton, Eastern India: Implications for Provenance and Paleoweathering

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Journal of the Geological Society of India

Abstract

Singhbhum craton preserves the records of sedimentation, magmatism, and tectono-thermal events from Mesoarchaean to Neoproterozoic. The Dhanjori Group (DG), located on the northeast margin of the Singhbhum craton, comprises of a variety of rocks including quartz pebble conglomerate, quartzite, schist, inter-layered with mafic to intermediate and rarely acidic lava flows, tuff and agglomerate. Petrography and geochemical characteristics of the Dhanjori quartzite have been undertaken to interpret paleoweathering and provenance characteristics. Studied quartzites are made up of abundant quartz, feldspar, mica, and lithic fragments. With the help of geochemical data, the studied quartzites are classified as quartz-arenites and sub-arkoses. In addition to the A-CN-K plot, various chemical indices such as the chemical index of weathering (CIW), chemical index of alteration (CIA), and plagioclase index of alteration (PIA) indicate moderate to intense chemical weathering of the provenance under semi-humid climatic conditions. Rare earth element (REE) chondrite normalized patterns of the studied samples illustrate enriched light rare earth elements (LREEs) (LaN/SmN = 3.11–6.19), depleted heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) (GdN/YbN = 0.35–3.12) and negative Eu anomaly (Eu/Eu* = 0.55–0.87, ∼ 0.68). Such patterns are similar to that of the upper continental crust (UCC). In the discrimination function diagram, studied samples of the Dhanjori Group fall in quartzose sedimentary field. In addition, La/Sc vs. Th/Co and La-Th-Sc diagrams, various ratios like Th/Sc (∼0.61), La/Sc (∼4.42), Th/Co (∼0.03), La/Co (∼0.11), and Cr/Th (∼141.62) imply a mixed provenance for the studied samples. Hence, it has been inferred that the meta-sediments and ortho-amphibolites of the older metamorphic group, Singhbhum granitoid complex, as well as associated Archaean metavolcanic suites, would have acted as the probable source rocks for the studied Dhanjori quartzites.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to the Chairman, Department of Geology, Aligarh Muslim University, for providing facilities to carry out this work. We are highly thankful to the Director, NGRI, for permission to analyses of these samples. Last but not least, authors pay sincere thanks to anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions without which this work in its present form was not possible. I am also thankful to the University Grant Commission (UGC) India, for financial support, in the form of Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF), (No. 201516-MANF-2015-17-UTT-61721).

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  1. Department of Geology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202 002, India

    Usman Aarif Chaudhary & Shabber Habib Alvi

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Chaudhary, U.A., Alvi, S.H. Geochemical Characteristics of Quartzite in Parts of Paleoproterozoic Dhanjori Group, Singhbhum Craton, Eastern India: Implications for Provenance and Paleoweathering. J Geol Soc India 97, 315–325 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-021-1683-5

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