Research Projects

The Malanjkhand pluton in central India is primarily composed of medium to coarse-grained hornblende-biotite granitoids, biotite granitoids, and leucogranites, some of which are barren and mineralized. The pluton is cross-cut by mafic and aplite dykes, mineralized and unmineralized silicic veins. The granitoids are either microgranular (mafic to hybrid magmatic) enclave-bearing or enclave-free. Enclaves are considered mafic to mafic-felsic hybrid magma globules that mingled and undercooled within the partly crystalline host granitoid magma. They may represent early formed fine grained mafic facies, restite, or older lithic fragments. Microgranular enclaves are ubiquitous in felsic porphyry Cu-Mo-Au deposits, which probably act as prime sources for ore elements. The coeval mafic-felsic magmas interaction in plutonic conditions might have generated the mineralized system at Malanjkhand. The timing, origin, and evolution of enclave-free and enclave-bearing granitoids and their likely role in mineralization can be inferred from zircon U-Pb-Lu-Hf and whole rock Sr-Nd isotopes. The proposed investigation aims to unravel the timing, origin, and evolution of these granitoids and assess their role in mineralization based on phase petrology, whole rock elemental and Sr-Nd isotopes, and zircon U-Pb-Lu-Hf isotopes.