Geochemical Studies of Soil, Bedrock and Stream Sediment Around Base Metal Mineralization in Tiranga Hill, Bhilwara District, Rajasthan, India

The Tiranga Hill is located in the southernmost part of the 25 km long Pur-Banera mineralized belt in the Bhilwara District of Rajasthan. Exploration by Government agencies has revealed low grade Pb-Zn-Cu sulfide mineralization along this Early to Middle Proterozoic metasediments and meta-volcanics, regionally metamorphosed to amphibolite facies. At Tiranga, the mineralization occurs within a metamorphosed banded iron-formation spatially associated with spectacularly-folded banded magnetite quartzite (BMQ) bands.

The soils, neglecting the effects of ancient workings, are highly anomalous in Pb and Zn and also to certain extent in Cu. The major anomalies coincide spatially with the cores of synformal folds in BMQ bands, suggesting structural control of the richer parts of the mineralization. The Tiranga soils display strong interelemental correlations between Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag, Fe and Mn, The base metals display similar dispersal behaviour in soils and stream sediments. Their relative mobility in the weathering zones of Tiranga Hill is : Zn >Cu >Pb. Somewhat surprising, however, is the lower concentration of Fe and Mn as well as Ni and Cr in the soils compared to the bedrock.