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Chemical composition of gemstones and characterization of their host pegmatites and country rocks from Chumar Bakhoor, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan: implications for the source of gem-forming fluids

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Abstract

This paper presents petrographic details and geochemical data on gemstone-producing pegmatites and the rocks enclosing them, Sumayar pluton exposed in the vicinity, and chemical composition of a variety of gemstones to elucidate the nature and source of gemstone-forming fluids in the Chumar Bakhoor area of Gilgit-Baltistan, northern Pakistan. The pegmatites occur as patches, pods, lenses, and dykes in calc-silicate rocks and amphibolite belonging to the southern Karakoram Metamorphic Complex (KMC) as well as in the intrusive Sumayar pluton. A close spatial association suggests the possibility of a strong genetic relationship between the Sumayar pluton and the gemstone-hosting granitic pegmatites. Hence, the latter most likely represent pegmatitic phase of a granitic system that in its orthomagmatic stage produced the Sumayar pluton. The pegmatites thus solidified from pockets of volatile-rich melt residues after the granitic magma that solidified as Sumayar pluton. The mineralogical make-up of the pegmatite, the gemstone assemblage, and chemical characteristics of the individual gemstones suggest that the pegmatite-forming melt was highly enriched in Be, B, F, Cl, and H2O, and depleted in Li, REE, and Ta relative to its parent granitic magma. Owing to a strong likelihood of generation by localized partial melting of metapelitic rocks at shallow depth in a post-collisional tectonic setting, the magma parental to the Sumayar pluton had the potential to evolve through the process of differentiation into residues containing gemstone-forming fluids. The calc-silicate rocks, which host the gemstone-producing pegmatites, were formed by isochemical metamorphism of calcareous mudstones rather than metasomatism of carbonate rocks, although they show some mineralogical similarities with skarn-type assemblages. However, the calc-silicate rocks neither played any role in the formation of gemstones nor caused any change in the gemstone chemistry.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to Dr. Peter Gadas of the Department of Geological Sciences, Masaryk University Brno and Czech Geological Survey, Czech Republic, for his kind favor to carry out EMPA analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Collaborative Innovation Center for Exploration of Strategic Mineral Resources, School of Earth Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Amjad Hussain

  2. Fata University Dara Adamkhel, Kohat, KP, Pakistan

    Muhammad Tahir Shah

  3. National Center of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan

    Muhammad Tahir Shah & Shakir Ullah

  4. Department of Earth Sciences, Abbottabad University of Science and Technology, Havelian, Abbottabad, Pakistan

    Mohammad Arif

  5. Centre for Pure and Applied Geology, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan

    Muhammad Hassan Agheem

  6. Institute of Geology, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, 13100, Pakistan

    Muhammad Saleem Mughal

  7. Department of Earth Sciences, Karakoram International University Gilgit, -Baltistan, Gilgit, Pakistan

    Syed Asim Hussain

  8. Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

    Izhar Sadiq

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  1. Amjad Hussain
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  2. Muhammad Tahir Shah
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  4. Muhammad Hassan Agheem
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Correspondence to Amjad Hussain.

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Responsible Editor: Domenico M. Doronzo

Highlights

•Chumar Bakhoor granitic pegmatites are highly productive in gemstones.

•These pegmatites have NYF-type pegmatites affinity.

•No role of host rocks in gemstone mineralization.

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Hussain, A., Shah, M.T., Arif, M. et al. Chemical composition of gemstones and characterization of their host pegmatites and country rocks from Chumar Bakhoor, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan: implications for the source of gem-forming fluids. Arab J Geosci 14, 1303 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-07682-3

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