Research Projects

To achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070 and the development of green energy technologies, battery storage systems, aerospace engineering, and defence infrastructure, India will require a reliable and abundant supply of critical minerals such as Platinum Group Elements (PGEs), Nickel (Ni), Cobalt (Co), Chromium (Cr), and Vanadium (V). Government-led initiatives like the National Critical Mineral Mission (2025) have underlined the value of these minerals as India advances towards a clean energy economy. The proposed research aims to investigate the underexplored critical mineral potential of East West trending mafic intrusive (gabbroic, gabbronorite, and troctolite) and ultramafic rocks (lherzolite, harzburgite, websterite, and hornblendite) hosted by North Purulia Shear Zone (NPSZ), Chotanagpur Granite Gneissic Complex (CGGC), eastern India, in alignment with national objectives. The gabbroic rocks are composed of olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, amphibole, phlogopite, Fe-oxides and ultramafic rocks are composed of olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and Fe-oxides (Mandal and Ray, 2009, 2015). Sensarma et al. (2024) reported a high concentration of PGEs and other critical elements in phases like pyrite, pentlandite, and chalcopyrite. Based on whole rock geochemistry and mineral chemistry, a combined magmatic and hydrothermal petrogenesis in an arc-type tectonic setting is suggested (Mandal and Ray, 2009, 2015; Sensarma et al., 2024). This project intends to understand the critical mineral potential of the NPSZ by integrating in-situ mineral-scale geochemistry with high-resolution whole-rock analysis together with drone-based 3D digital outcrop modelling. Digital outcrop model (DOM) will be produced from high-resolution UAV (drone) photogrammetry, thereby capturing lithological contacts, structural features, and alteration zones with high accuracy. Similar methods have already redefined research focussed on ore bodies worldwide (Honarmand & Shahriari, 2021; Dong et al., 2024; Cawood et al., 2022). A DOM guided sampling will enable precise sample collection in both cumulate zones and hydrothermally altered zones. The collected samples will be studied for mineral chemistry studies. Whole rock studies will be performed to ascertain their petrogenesis. Samples containing sulphides will be analysed by the in-situ LA-ICP-MS for the determination trace elements such as Ni, Co, V, and PGEs for the identification of the specific mineral hosts and fluid enrichment pathways. Results will be integrated into the 3D digital model to distinguish between main and secondary mineralization zones. Delivering the first digital analogue model of mineralized mafic ultramafic rocks in NPSZ will help to establish a national benchmark for sophisticated exploration methods. It advances India's next-generation research and exploration capacity, supports its critical mineral strategy, and provides a replicable approach for other environments.