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3D Subsurface Characterization of Banded Iron Formation Mineralization using Large-Scale Gravity Data: A Case Study in Parts of Bharatpur, Dausa and Karauli Districts of Rajasthan, India

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Abstract

Our study interprets large-scale gravity data to delineate concealed banded iron formation (BIF) iron mineralization in India's Rajasthan province. The study area belongs to the Bharatpur, Dausa, and Karauli districts of Rajasthan. We measured 1462 gravity readings to understand the rock types, depth and geometry of the different rock formations in the proposed study area. We also collected representative lithologies from more than 100 locations in the study area and calculated their density values. The measured gravity datasets are investigated via qualitative (e.g., Bouguer anomaly, first derivative and second derivative) and quantitative (radially averaged power spectrum, 3D Euler deconvolution, and 3D inversion) approach. The qualitative methods suggest a general NE–SW orientation of the BIFs, controlled by the general trend of the study area's structural setting. The lithological contact between the Bhilwara and Vindhyan Supergroups is demarcated by a NE–SW trending steep gravity gradient zone. In this area, representative lithologies yield high densities (about 3.746 gm/cc), and the samples identified as BIF represent exploration targets for iron ore. We have also developed our own in-house 3D gravity inversion code in this study. A model space inversion algorithm is converted into a data space using the identity relationship. It makes inversion algorithm very user-friendly on conventional desktop computers. The outcomes from the 3D inversion suggest that the concealed iron ore thickens to the west. This interpretation is also in good correlation with Euler 3D deconvolution of the gravity data.

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Source: Geodata Division, GSI, WR)

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Acknowledgments

SS is thankful to the Director-General of GSI for permitting to use of the data in Ph.D. work. SS is also grateful to Sri S.K. Bharati, Senior Geophysicist, and Kalpana Kumari, Geophysicist, for helping in data collection. SS also express her gratitude to Mr. Haolienll Chongloi, Geologist, and Miss. Shilpa Nandi, Geologist for their help in identifying the rock samples collected from the field. AS is grateful to IRCC-IITB for the financial support to carry out the computational work.

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  1. Northern Region, Geological Survey of India, Lucknow, India

    Saudamini Sahoo & Santu Biswas

  2. Department of Geology and Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India

    Saudamini Sahoo & S. P. Sharma

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India

    Anand Singh

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  1. Saudamini Sahoo
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Sahoo, S., Singh, A., Biswas, S. et al. 3D Subsurface Characterization of Banded Iron Formation Mineralization using Large-Scale Gravity Data: A Case Study in Parts of Bharatpur, Dausa and Karauli Districts of Rajasthan, India. Nat Resour Res 30, 3121–3138 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-021-09880-y

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