Mineralogy of K-Rich Rocks from the Jharia Basin in Jharkhand: Indications for Cretaceous Lamproite Magmatism in Eastern India

Abstract

AbstractPotassic dikes of early Cretaceous age (ca. 115 Ma) are emplaced in the Gondwana sedimentary basins of the Damodar valley in eastern India. Two potassic dikes in the Jharia basin (Ena and Moonidih) are characterized by the presence of olivine macrocrysts and phenocrysts, together with microphenocrysts of olivine, phlogopite–biotite, ilmenite, and apatite. These are set in a groundmass of phlogopite, apatite, ilmenite, spinel, and K-feldspar. Microphenocrystal and groundmass Al-Na-poor diopside and Al-poor Ti-rich amphibole are present in the Ena dike, whereas rutile, pyrite, galena, Zr-Ti-rich garnet, and quartz are minor phases occurring in the Moonidih dike. Two populations of relatively fresh olivine (I and II) are found in the Ena dike, in contrast to the Moonidih dike, where olivine macrocrysts and microphenocrysts are completely replaced by secondary magnesite, serpentine, and talc. The occurrence of fresh olivine in the Ena dike is reported for the first time in the Jharia basin. High forsterite (Fo) and Ni together with low Ca and Mn contents of the olivine-I macrocrysts suggest a mantle-derived xenocrystic origin. In contrast, the olivine-II population has high Ca and Mn, but relatively low Fo and Ni, suggesting a magmatic origin. Rimward decreasing Al and increasing Fe contents in zoned phlogopite crystals, plus the presence of groundmass spinel with compositions along the titanomagnetite trend (T2), indicate the lamproitic affinity of the K-rich dike rocks. Using a mineralogical-genetic classification scheme, the Ena and Moonidih dikes are classified as olivine-phlogopite-diopside-apatite-amphibole-feldspar lamproite and olivine-phlogopite-apatite-feldspar lamproite, respectively. We use the compositional variations of phlogopite, amphibole, apatite, and spinel to understand better the magmatic evolution and crystallization history of these potassic dikes. The Cretaceous lamproite magmatic event in eastern India was sourced from ancient metasomatized lithospheric mantle, with low-degree partial melting either triggered in the periphery of the impinging Kerguelen mantle plume head or induced by distant subduction.