A Geochemical Investigation of the Early Cretaceous Ultrapotassic Dykes in the Raniganj Coalfields in Damodar Valley, India

Abstract:

The early Cretaceous ultrapotassic dyke rocks intruding the Permocarboniferous coal bearing Gondwana sediments of the Eastern Damodar Valley, Singhbum craton, are known for their petrographic and geochemical diversity. They remain a ‘Pandora’s box of petrological confusion’ with a variety of exotic, and potentially diamondiferous, rocks such as lamprophyre, lamproite, orangeite and kimberlite being continuously reported from them for over one century or more. Intra-plate volcanism of this type discloses hidden information about the interior of the Earth. Samples from two dykes intruding Raniganj coalfield is studied here. The samples from Dyke1 are characterized by fine grained texture and phlogopite+apatite+K-feldspar+rutile+ankerite+dolomite+ chromite+chlorite+quartz assemblage while the samples from Dyke2 are characterized by coarse grained texture and phlogopite+ pseudomorphosed-olivine+apatite+ clinopyroxene +dolomite+ankerite+calcite+norsethite+talc+rutile+quartz+Ca-Mg-Fe-Zr silicate+K-feldspar+monazite+ perovskite assemblage. Based on the TiO₂-Al₂O₃-FeO trends observed in phlogopites, the dykes seem to be a lamproite-orangeite transitional variety. The phlogopites observed in Dyke2 show two stages of crystallization defined by Ti-poor overgrowths on Ti-rich cores indicating that Dyke2 consolidated from a melt that fractionated from a magma which was initially emplaced at a different depth while the Dyke 1 phlogopites do not show any such sudden drop in Ti concentration in their rims indicating single stage crystallization. Ti-in-Quartz Thermometry yields temperatures between 769°C to 1115°C for Dyke1 and 779°C to 1019°C for Dyke2 which must corresponds to the emplacement and crystallization of these dykes. Trace element and isotopic ratios can be used to constrain particular mantle source characteristics of the dykes. Rb-Sr method can be used to determine the emplacement ages of these dykes.