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Geology, Structure and Geochemical Features of the Laterites with Anomalous Ti-V-Cr and REE of the Dhandraul Formation of the Vindhyan Supergroup, Eastern India

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Journal of the Geological Society of India

Abstract

The present paper reports an important amount of Ti-V-Ga and REE enrichments in the hitherto-unreported eighteen bodies of ferruginous and aluminous laterite capping over the Dhandraul Formation of the Vindhyan Supergroup, Eastern India. It is brown to deep reddish-brown, limonitic, massive, and having a pisolitic form which is mainly rounded to subrounded and filled up of clay, bauxite, limonite, hematite, goethite, and surface encrustation of ferruginous material. Laterites are chiefly composed of ferruginous minerals like hematite, magnetite along with secondary jaspery material and limonite, goethite, in association with silicates and clay minerals. The analyzed samples show high values of Ti, V, Ga, and LREE like La, Ce, Pr, Nd, and Eu along with some significant values of Sm, Gd, Dy, and Yb. TiO2 value is ranging from 0.72 to 18.84 % with an average of 9.77 wt. % which is twenty-two times higher than the crustal abundance. Values of vanadium vary from 48 to 1163 ppm with an average of 593 ppm, and gallium varies from 9 to 90 ppm with an average of 47 ppm, and these values are three to five times higher than the crustal abundance. The “REE is varying from 208.81 to 899.31 ppm with an average of 484.49 ppm which is three times higher than the crustal abundance. The other significant trace elements identified are in ppm: Co (5–135), Cr (76–970), Cu (5–17), Ni (7–48), Pb (6–143), and Zn (14–231 ppm). This finding has got an enormous impact on the future Ti-V-Ga and REE exploration in the Vindhyan Supergroup in the state of Bihar.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are highly indebted to the Director General, Geological Survey of India for giving permission to publish the paper. They are also thankful to the Deputy Director General and Shri Sukhendu Ray, Director, Geological Survey of India, SU: Bihar, for their cooperation, constant encouragement, guidance and valuable suggestions during the work. Authors would like to convey their sincere thanks to the anonymous reviewer for his critical comments and suggestions for a fruitful and substantial revision of the paper.

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  1. Geological Survey of India, SU: Bihar, Lohia Nagar, Kankarbagh, Patna, 800 020, India

    Pawan Kumar Yadav & Manorama Das

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Yadav, P.K., Das, M. Geology, Structure and Geochemical Features of the Laterites with Anomalous Ti-V-Cr and REE of the Dhandraul Formation of the Vindhyan Supergroup, Eastern India. J Geol Soc India 97, 603–614 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-021-1735-x

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