A2-Type Granites from the Bastar Craton, South-Central India, and Their Implication in Archean-Paleoproterozoic Tectonics in Indian Peninsula

Abstract This communication reports novel geochemical and geochronological data of granite from the southeastern part of the Bastar Craton, Central India. The studied samples are leucocratic in appearance and composed of quartz, K-feldspar, plagioclase feldspar, and biotite in decreasing order of abundances. Apatite, sphene, and zircon occur as accessory minerals. The SiO2 and Al2O3 content of the studied sample varies between 61 and 69 wt.% and 13 and 15 wt.%, respectively. The alkali oxides, K2O, and Na2O content ranges between 3 and 6 wt.% and 2 and 3 wt. %, respectively. In the primitive mantle normalized spider diagram, the granites exhibit a negative Nb–Ti, Sr anomaly, and a positive Pb–Th anomaly. Similarly, in the REE normalized spider plot, the granites exhibit a strongly fractionated trend La/YbCN=10.90−28.4 with a negative Eu anomaly (0.42-0.70). The zircon saturation in silicate melt yields crystallization temperature (Tzr) ~650 to 800°C for the Eastern Bastar Craton rocks. The P-T pseudosection modeling implies EBC granites which are crystallized at 700-750°C, at 0.4 to 0.6 GPa. The SHRIMP U-Pb ages from magmatic zircon yield an upper intercept at ~2470 Ma and a lower intercept at ~2100 Ma. When combined with the results of P-T pseudosection modeling, the geochemical and geochronological data classifies the Eastern Bastar Craton rocks as A2 granites that were emplaced during the amalgamation of Archean blocks leading to extended Ur formation. The ~2100 Ma age is correlated with mafic dyke emplacement and the Bastar Craton–Yilgarn Craton block disintegration before Paleoproterozoic Columbia supercontinent assembly.