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Hydrothermal alterations and U-REE mineralisation in the Narwapahar uranium deposit, Singhbhum shear zone, India

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Abstract

The polymetallic mineral district in the Singhbhum shear zone (SSZ), eastern India, hosts some of the most important Palaeoproterozoic uranium, copper and apatite–magnetite deposits in India. Although the shear zone had been the locale of profuse hydrothermal alteration and there is general consensus about hydrothermal mineralisation, the alteration types vis-à-vis ore mineralisation are not amply clear. In this paper, we describe ore mineralogy and multiple alteration types vis-à-vis uranium-rare earth element (U-REE) mineralisation in the Narwapahar uranium deposit located in the SSZ. Uranium mineralisation is hosted by intensely deformed and metamorphosed tourmalinite, albite schist and chlorite schist, which are mineralogically heterogeneous showing extreme variations in constituent minerals and their modal abundances in the outcrop, hand specimen and microscopic scales often grading to nearly monomineralic rocks. Thorium-poor uraninite is an ubiquitous ore mineral of uranium. High uranium content is also noted in ilmenorutile and some unidentified U silicates. Allanite is the most abundant REE-bearing mineral whereas monazite and xenotime are subordinate. Low-Ti magnetite is nearly ubiquitous in the U ores. Based on locally preserved cross-cutting hydrothermal veins and frozen-in mineral replacement textures, the sequential metasomatic events deciphered from the Narwapahar deposit are B (boron) → Na–Fe (±Ca)→ K–Fe (±Ca)→ K→ H+. Uranium mineralisation is associated with B, Na–Fe and H+ metasomatism and perhaps with K–Fe metasomatism too whereas REE mineralisation is associated with K–Fe metasomatism and resultant hydrothermally altered rocks. The alteration types, especially the well-known pervasive regional-scale alkali metasomatism, the alteration paragenesis as described here and metal association (Fe–Cu–U–REE–Co–Ni–Mo–Au) are akin to Fe oxide (Cu–U–REE) (IOCG)-type mineralisation. The presence of a substantial amount of uranium in ilmenorutile and very fine-grained inclusion of uraninite in magnetite may potentially affect the recovery of uranium during beneficiation leading to low leachability of some uranium ores. The close association of REE-bearing minerals with the U ores requires focused study to examine the potential of U ores as a source of by-product REEs.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Chairman and Managing Director of the Uranium Corporation of India Limited for granting permission to work in the Narwapahar uranium mine and to collect samples. The work was initiated with funding from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, through a Fast-Track Young Scientists project (SR/FTP/ES/24/2004) to DCP. Saptarshi Sinha of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur helped in EPMA analyses. The constructive suggestions and criticism from the anonymous reviewer helped to improve the manuscript. NV Chalapathi Rao and Joydip Mukhopadhyay are acknowledged for editorial assistance.

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Author notes

  1. A K Sarangi

    Present address: , Flat No. 202, Sai Shivam Apartment, Kalarahanga, Bhubaneswar, 751 024, India

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700 032, India

    Dipak C Pal & Atanu Banerjee

  2. Uranium Corporation of India Limited, Narwapahar, 832 111, India

    Arindam Dutta

  3. Uranium Corporation of India Limited, Jaduguda, 832 102, India

    A K Sarangi

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  1. Dipak C Pal
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  2. Atanu Banerjee
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  4. A K Sarangi
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Contributions

DCP conceptualised and designed the study and wrote the paper with inputs and editing from others. AB carried out the geochemical analyses. AD and AKS provided and validated information and data collected during the field investigation.

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Correspondence to Dipak C Pal.

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Communicated by Joydip Mukhopadhyay

Corresponding editor: Joydip Mukhopadhyay

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Pal, D.C., Banerjee, A., Dutta, A. et al. Hydrothermal alterations and U-REE mineralisation in the Narwapahar uranium deposit, Singhbhum shear zone, India. J Earth Syst Sci 131, 31 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-021-01782-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-021-01782-0

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