Research Projects

The Singhbhum Shear Zone (SSZ), eastern India, hosts several polymetallic deposits, mined primarily for U, Cu and apatite. The deposits have elevated concentrations of rare earth elements, Ni, Co, Mo, Te and Au in association with nearly ubiquitous low-Ti magnetite all of which (except REEs) have been recovered as by-products of uranium/copper mining. Despite the fact that the SSZ is one of the most important polymetallic mineral districts in India, several questions related to the origin of mineralization remain unanswered which has led to contentious ore genetic models. Decoding the ore-forming processes and linking them with the regional and global tectonics are both of academic and economic interest because contrasting ore-genetic models lead to differing exploration strategies. One important reason behind the contentious ore-genetic models in the SSZ is its prolonged and complex evolutionary history, in terms of mineralization, deformation, metamorphism and hydrothermal fluid influx. Such long-term evolution and overprinting processes have obliterated some of the tell-a-tale textural and geochemical evidences of primary mineralization and also has led to multiple generations of ore and gangue minerals. Consequently, bulk rock or bulk mineral geochemical investigations to answer ore genetic questions are bound to fail in such a terrain. It is therefore mandatory to employ in situ analytical techniques to probe into the micro-domain geochemical variability of mineral grains to track the evolving history of the mineralization/deposit. Despite the contentious ore-genetic models, all authors have agreed on hydrothermal origin of the polymetallic deposits in the SSZ. Some of the fundamental questions that need to be answered are the fluid and metal provenances and the physicochemical conditions of mineralizing fluids. Among the common sulphide minerals, pyrite is stable over a large range of physicochemical conditions and is commonly found in wide range of deposits, either as major or accessory mineral, and therefore, can be used as potential tracer of mineralizing conditions. With the advent of new analytical techniques it has become possible to analyse multiple parameters, such as major and trace element geochemistry, conventional light isotope and unconventional metal isotopes geochemistry, in micro-domain scale on texturally well-constrained single mineral grains in the context of rock fabric. In recent time, combination of these parameters is successfully being used to find most reliable and robust answers to questions concerning the source (s) of fluids (s) and metals and chemical ambience of mineralization. However, such integrated studies are either scant or unavailable in the context of the SSZ. This project aims at adopting a multifaceted approach including in situ major and trace element geochemistry and multiple sulphur isotope and iron isotope compositions of pyrite associated with the uranium and copper ores in the SSZ.