|
Bailadila, Dhalli Rajhara, Rowghat |
|
|
Chhattisgarhi, India |
| Main commodities:
Fe
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
Super Porphyry Cu and Au
|
IOCG Deposits - 70 papers
|
All papers now Open Access.
Available as Full Text for direct download or on request. |
|
|
The Bailadila iron deposits are located in Chhattisgarhi State in eastern India, approximately 250 km north-west of the Bay of Bengal port of Vizag at Vishakhapatnam. The Dhalli Rajhara and Rowghat groups of deposits are 100 and 200 km north of Bailadila respectively, following the same discontinuously exposed belt of iron formation.
The deposit is within the 600x600 km Bhandara Craton which is bounded to the south-east by the NW-SE trending Godovari Rift, to the north-east by the NW-SE trending Mahanadi Rift and to the north-west by the major ENE trending Narmada-Son lineament. To the south-east, the craton is overprinted by high grade metamorphics of the Eastern Ghats front.
The Bhandara Craton is occupied by granitoids and gneisses representing a wide range of ages, which have engulfed or surround structural enclaves and inliers of supracrustal successions, and have been overlain by other similar, but younger sequences. All of these rocks are overlain by a series of Neoproterozoic sedimentary basins which, unlike the older sequences, have not been metamorphosed .
The supracrustal successions in the Bailadila area comprises the following, from the base:
Archaean Sukmar Series - composed of sillimanite-quartzites, grunerite schists, magnetite and diopside, hornblende schists, biotite-cordierite gneiss, etc.
Archaean Bengpal Series, which is composed of:
i). sericite-quartzites, andalusite gneiss, banded magnetite-quatzites, grunerite schists and quartzites with intercalated basalt flows;
ii). slates, schists, phyllites, grunerite-garnet schists, magnetite quartzites, garnet-biotite gneiss and basaltic flows and tuffs
iii). Ferruginous schists, schistose conglomerate, biotite-hornblende quartzites, shales and cherts.
Both the Sukmar and Bengpal Series rocks have been subjected to severe deformation. The line of division between the two is based on metamorphic grade with the Sukmar being characterised by sillimanite annd the Bengpal by andalusite.
Unconformity
Paleoproterozoic Bailadila Series (Iron Ore Group) - occurring along a series of disjointed, but prominent ranges that stretch across much of Madhya Pradesh as a near 300 km north-south trending belt. The series has been subjected to two periods of deformation and comprises:
i). Bose Iron Formation - quartz-sericite schist, arkosic quartzite, quartzite and gritty quartzite, banded hematite quartzite and banded magnetite quartzite;
ii). Lao Formation - conglomerates and grits, ferruginous shale, tuffaceous shale and carbonaceous shales;
iii). Galli Nala Formation - mafic meta-volcanics (greenstones), chlorite schists, acid volcanics and phyllites;
Intrusives - the preceding successions are intruded by granites, pegmatites and dolerite dykes.
Unconformity
Mesoproterozoic Purana Basins - two major and six minor basins are developed over the Bhandara Craton, composed of unmetamorphosed sequences which include conglomerates, orthoquartzite and other sandstones, shales, limestones, cherts and dolomites with an aggregate thickness of more than 1500 m.
Iron ores are developed along the trend of the Bailadila Series. The major Bailadila deposit is close to the southern margin of the belt of exposure. Other deposits are known in the Durg district at Dhalli Rajhara approximately 200 km to the north and at Rowghat near Narainpur approximately 100 km north of Bailadila.
The Bailadila deposits are exploited by a number of separate mines developed within the 35x9 km Bailadila Ranges. The iron formation follows a single ridge over a strike length of 19 km, before splitting into two parallel ridges. The ores occur as strongly deformed (folded) banded hematite quartzite which occur as laminated to massive, very hard, blue hematite. The orebodies are steeply dipping to vertical and developed over an apparent stratigraphic thickness of between 300 and 600 m, which can be traced continuously for a strike length of 6.4 km. They have been show to extend to a depth of 250 m. The hard ores give way to 'blue dust' at depth. Laterally the high grade ores pass into banded hematite-quartzite BIF.
The Indian National Minerals Development Corporation Ltd (or its predecessor) commenced mining at Bailadila in 1967. Ore is railed 475 km to the port of Vizag on the Bay of Bengal.
At least six large hematite deposits are known and have been exploited at Rowghat. The ores include banded, massive and jasperoid hematite. Other deposits in the district are believed to be continuations of the main Rowghat deposits.
A number of important deposits are exploited in the Dhalli Rajhara district, again as massive and laminated hematite developed within the hematite-quartzite BIF of the Bailadila Series.
Resource and reserve figures published for these deposits include:
Dhalli Rajhara - 286 Mt @ 68 to 69% Fe (Reserve, 1987, Krishnaswamy & Sinha, 1988);
Bailadila Range - 2 Gt @ 64.75 to 69.40% Fe, 0.032 to 0.198 % P, 0.03 to 0.07% S (Resource, 1987, Krishnaswamy & Sinha, 1988);
Bailadila Deposits 5, 10/11A - 240 Mt @ >66% Fe (Original reserve, NMDC Website, 2006);
Bailadila Deposit 11C - 131 Mt @ >66% Fe (Original reserve, NMDC Website, 2006);
Bailadila Deposit 14 - 101 Mt @ >66% Fe (Original reserve, NMDC Website, 2006);
Rowghat 550 Mt @ >60% Fe (Steel Authority of India Limited, 2005).
The most recent source geological information used to prepare this decription was dated: 2007.
This description is a summary from published sources, the chief of which are listed below.
© Copyright Porter GeoConsultancy Pty Ltd. Unauthorised copying, reproduction, storage or dissemination prohibited.
|
|
|
Porter GeoConsultancy Pty Ltd (PorterGeo) provides access to this database at no charge. It is largely based on scientific papers and reports in the public domain, and was current when the sources consulted were published. While PorterGeo endeavour to ensure the information was accurate at the time of compilation and subsequent updating, PorterGeo, its employees and servants: i). do not warrant, or make any representation regarding the use, or results of the use of the information contained herein as to its correctness, accuracy, currency, or otherwise; and ii). expressly disclaim all liability or responsibility to any person using the information or conclusions contained herein.
|
Top | Search Again | PGC Home | Terms & Conditions
|
|
