ABSTRACT

The present endeavour is concerned with analyses of heavy mineral distri- bution enclosed within the sandstones of an extra-peninsular Gondwana basin located in Kalijhora, West Bengal, India. Heavy mineral indices indi- cate the sandstones of the study area to be somewhat mineralogically mature. Source rock of the study area shows dominance of ultrastable and metastable minerals which was again probably due to greater distance from the provenance and also as an outcome of recycling or changes com- ing into effect during transportation as well as due to post-depositional events. The plate tectonic setting shows affinity towards mature continen- tal passive margin that is characterised by minerals which are dominantly derived from granites, sialic metamorphic rocks, reworked zones as well as deeply weathered zones that are typically constituents of a Precam- brian terrain. The heavy minerals were contributed from a southern Pre- cambrian terrain and accumulated under marine shoreline influence. It is considerably probable that contributions of detritus from the denuded Pre- cambrian Eastern Ghats Supergroup were very high.

Key words: Heavy minerals, Extra-peninsular Gondwanas, provenance, statistical tests.