SHRIMP U/Pb Zircon Ages of Acid Volcanic Rocks in the Chitradurga and Sandur Groups, and Granites Adjacent to the Sandur Schist Belt, Karnataka

SHRIMP U/Pb dating of zircon grains from a schistose acid volcanic rock from the Daginkatte Formation in the Chitradurga Group of the Late Archaean Dhwar Supergroup in western Karnataka has yielded a precise concordant age of 2614 ± 8 Ma which indicates the time of melt crystallisation. In contrast, zircons from similar schistose acid volcanic rocks in the Vibhuti Gudda Formation of the Sandur Group in the Sandur schist belt of eastern Karnataka yielded less precise concordia intercept ages of 2658±14 and 2691±18 Ma.

Zircons from high-strain grey gneisses which appear to be the oldest recognisable component of the Late Archaean granite complex adjacent to the Sandur schist belt have an imprecise age of 2719 ± 40 Ma. Zircons from the youngest recognisable granite adjacent to the belt have also yielded an imprecise, but younger, age of 2570 ± 62 Ma. The ages show that granite emplacement and deformation adjacent to the Sandur schist belt took pIace in a period of c.150 Ma.

The imprecise ages of zircon in the acid volcanic rocks in the Sandur Group and the adjacent granites are related to Neoproterozoic loss of lead which may have been an effect of either weathering or a regional thermal event. We favour the latter in the light of the record of Pan-African thermal effects in the east and south of southern Peninsular India.