182 Geology & Tectonics ofPakistan

CHAGAI MAGMATIC ARC

North of the Kharan depression, the Chagai arc is an east-west-trending, arcuate,
south-verging magmatic belt comprised of Cretaceous to Tertiary sediments and ,olcanics.
It is intruded by Tertiary granites, diorites and mafic dykes and sills. Small tectonised
blocks of ultramafic rocks occur in the southern part (Ras Koh Range). Quaternary vol­
canoes dot the landscape in the northwestern section of the arc (Fig. 4.45). fhis mag­
matic arc forms a part of the Makran trench arc system on the southern margin of the
Afghan and Lut blocks (Jacob et al. 1979). It comprises three main tectonic clmponents.
From north to south these are: (i) the North Chagai calc-alkaline and maimatic belt,
(ii) Mirjawa-Dalbandin trough and (iii) the Ras Koh uplift block (Kazmi andRana 1982).
Eastward the Chagai arc is abruptly truncated by the Chaman Fault (Photo. U,Fig. 4.47)).
The Chagai magmatic arc has been discussed in detail in Chapters 5. 6 and 7. Its
general stratigraphy and geochronology has been summarised in Table -1-.9. From the
fore-going account it is clear that the Kakarkhorasan, Makran and Cha&ai regions are
all parts of Makran-Chagai trench-arc system which developed in response to northward
movement of the Indian and Arabian plates and subduction of the Neotethys under the
southern margin of the Afghan block (see Chapter 3). Cretaceous submarine volcanism
associated with periodic uplift eventually led to the formation of Chagai mdesitic volcanic
arc. It appears that the Ras Koh tectonic block formed at about the same time south of
the Mirjawa-Dalbandin trough. The origin of this block is not clear though vuious
models have been proposed (see Chapter 6). There is evidence of ophiolite obduction,
metamorphism, magmatism and deformation between Late Cretaceous and Early Pale­
ocene. This was followed by deposition of turbidites with syndepositional deformati01 and
Paleocene volcanism. Northward subduction of the oceanic lithosphere and developnent
of the Makran trench started between Late Eocene and Early Oligocene and apparmtly
 Kazmi & Jan 185

from a deep-sea fan type of flysch to a shore-shelf-slope type of sedimentary sequence.

Further volcanism occurred in the Chagai arc during Pleistocene and Early Holocene
r.ccompanied by two more phases of uplift and faulting. During this latter period up­
lift, folding and faulting occurred on Makran Coast, and several fault related mud
volcanoes formed in southeastern part of the region.
The Cbagai Magmatic Arc, Balochistan
The Chagai assemblage occurs in a broad plateau or arc bordered on the south by an
abrupt, deep fore-arc basin. It consists of calc-alkaline magmatic, and sedimentary rocks
which extend N-S for 150 km and E-W for 400 km in northwestren Balochistan of Paki­
stan and neighbouring Afghanistan and Iran. The magmatic belt appears to be a part of a
several thousand kilometres long andesitic arc developed on the southern margins of
Gondwanic microcontinental blocks in Iran and Afghanistan (for more details see
Stocklin 1977, Lawrence et al. 1981). The Chagai arc is considered to have developed in
response of northward subduction of the :Arabian oceanic plate (Stonely 1974) or Neo­
Tethys under the southern margin of the Dasht-i-Margo basement block as a continental
margin of Andean-type (Sillitoe 1978, Sillitoe and Khan 1977), or as an intraoceanic
island arc (Siddiqui et al. 1986, 1987).
Magmatic rocks: Most descriptions of the Chagai magmatic rocks are based on field
observations and little geochemical and geochronology data are available to throw light on
the petrological ev�lution of the arc. It appears, however, that the Chagai arc magmatism
 Kazmi &Jan 319

A group of very Late- or post-Cretaceous sills (with some lenticular masses and dykes),
several hundred metres thick, form many high ridges in the Saindak area b@cause of their
resistant nature. Named as Tanki sills, they stretchNW-SE for some 55 km and can be used
as a marker horizon (HSC 1960). They are wade up of andesite porphyry containing abundant
phenocrysts of plagioclase and augite in-:a very fine-grained to microlitic groundmass. The
sills may be vesicular near the top, and columnar structure is well-developed at places.
Chloritisation and saussuritisation have variably affected the rocks.
An earlier group of tonalites, quartz diorites and diorites was em.placed about 20 to 21 Ma
ago (K-Ar hornblende and biotite ages: Sillitoe and Khan 1977), and intrudes the nearly
horizontal beds of Amalaf Formation near Saindak. The intrusions form many small
(<l km 2 ) stocks and associated dykes and sills. The Saindak copper deposit is associated
with three closely-spaced tonalite porphyry stocks around a parent stock (20 Ma age).
These possess abundant phenocrysts of quartz, medium plagioclase, biotite, and up to
10 mm long hornblende, in a fine-grained groundmass of the same minerals and, locally,
minor K-feldspar. The hornblende porphyries are· commonly altered and contain secondary
albite, epidote, chlorite ± calcite. There also are uniformly fine-grained quartz diorites
containing andesine, hornblende, and 5-10% quartz. Around some of the stocks, there are
several-kilometres broad zones of albite-epidote (locally hornblende) facies hornfelses
(Ahmed et al. 1972).
· . A l�rge number of dykes and sills of hornblende andesite porphyry are associated with
the s..h1cks but there also are a few quartz diorite porphyry dykes that post-date the early
phase· of copper mineralisation. Dykes of other compositions have been described: aplites
cutting the tonalite porphyry predate weathering and mineralisation, and dacite porphyry
containing quartz, hornblende and plagioclase emplaced during mineralisation. Very in­
teresting in the Saindak area are local occurrences of near vertical dykes up to 12 m thick
and trendingNNE to N. To the north of the Saindak Fault, the swarms occur in aN-S zone
measuring 2,500 x 250 m (Fig. 6.16: Sillitoe and Khan 1977). There appears to have been
a long pause in the magmatic activity until Quaternary or, possibly, Late Pliocene,
discussed at the end of this chapter.