Stratigraphy, Depositional Setting, and SHRIMP U-Pb

Geochronology of the Banded Iron Formation–Bearing

Bailadila Group in the Bacheli Iron Ore Mining
District, Bastar Craton, India

Joydip Mukhopadhyay,1,2,* Richard A. Armstrong,2,3 Jens Gutzmer,2,4

Michiel De Kock,2 and Nicolas J. Beukes2
1. Department of Geology, Presidency University, Kolkata, India; 2. DSI-NRF CIMERA (Department of Science and
Technology–National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence for Integrated Mineral and Energy Resource
Analysis) and PPM (Paleoproterozoic Mineralization) Research Group, Department of Geology, University
of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, South Africa; 3. Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National
University, Canberra, Australia; 4. Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Helmholtz Institute
Freiberg for Resource Technology, Freiberg, Germany

ABSTRACT
The Bailadila Group of the Bastar Craton, India, is host to a 200-m-thick banded iron formation (BIF). We document the
lithostratigraphic context for the BIF, informally referred to as the Bose iron formation, and provide radiometric
constraints for its depositional age. Field evidence illustrates that the BIF was deposited on an inner-shelf succession
with a quartz arenite that grades upward into the BIF through storm-dominated offshore shelf deposits. The quartz
arenite to BIF transition records a relative sea level rise from transgressive to highstand systems tract when the BIFs
were deposited in a starved outer continental shelf. U-Pb SHRIMP analyses of zircons from the basement of the
Bailadila Group yielded mostly highly discordant U-Pb SHRIMP ages. However, the ages fall on well-defined discordia
lines from which concordia intercept ages could be determined. These ages, in combination with the ages of a few
zircons that are less than 6% discordant, indicate that the granitoid basement crystallized at 3500–3550 Ma. The
maximum depositional age of the Bailadila Group is constrained from the weighted mean 207Pb/206Pb SHRIMP age of
2725 5 57 Ma from detrital zircons from the basal arenites. A well-constrained weighted mean 207Pb/206Pb SHRIMP
age of 2733 5 53 Ma for zircons from a unit that unconformably overlies the Bailadila Group is within error of that age.
Stratigraphic relationships suggest that the Bailadila succession is unconformably overlain by the ~2.5 Ga Kotri and
Dongargarh Supergroups. The depositional age of the Bailadila Group is well constrained between ~2.7 and 2.5 Ga. In
contrast to most other Archean Algoma-type iron formations of peninsular India, which are closely related to volcanic
rocks in greenstone belts, the Bose iron formation is associated with siliciclastic shelf succession. It thus is considered
a Superior-type iron formation that represents the oldest known one of its kind in India.

Online enhancements: appendix tables.

Introduction
Banded iron formations (BIFs) in India are primar- tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) plutons,
ily restricted to the Archean greenstone belts of are widely accepted to fall into two age groups,
the Dharwar, Singhbhum, and Bastar cratonic nu- namely older ones of Paleo-Mesoarchean (~3.1–3.6 Ga)
cleii with smaller occurrences also on the Bun- age and younger ones of Neoarchean (~2.7 Ga) age
delkhand Craton (fig. 1A). The BIF-bearing green- (Mukhopadhyay 2020). The iron formations in the
stone successions, preserved as enclaves between greenstone belts are of great economic importance
because they host all of the large high-grade iron
Manuscript received February 19, 2020; accepted November 27,
ore deposits of India in various mining belts along
2020; electronically published April 21, 2021. the strike of major BIF units on especially the Dhar-
* Author for correspondence; email: joydip17@gmail.com. war, Bastar, and Singhbhum Cratons (Mukhopadhyay
[The Journal of Geology, 2021, volume 129, p. 000–000] q 2021 by The University of Chicago.
All rights reserved. 0022-1376/2021/12901-0007$15.00. DOI: 10.1086/713683

000
000 J. MUKHOPADHYAY ET AL.

Figure 1. A, Schematic map of the peninsular India showing the distribution of the Archean cratonic nucleii. Major
banded iron formation units occur especially on the Dharwar, Bastar, and Singhbhum Cratons. B, Generalized
geological map of the Bastar Craton, modified after Roy et al. (2001), showing distribution of the Bailadila Group and
its equivalents from the Bailadila Range in the south to the Dalli-Rajhara Range in the north. Also note the Kotri
Linear Belt, after Ghosh (2004), in the central part of the craton. TTG p tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite.

et al. 2008a, 2008b). The Bastar Craton holds one
such belt of high-grade iron ore deposits developed
intermittently along a 1200 m thick BIF unit, in the
so-called Bailadila Group, extending over a north–
south strike distance of just over 200 km from the
mining districts of Bacheli in the south via that
of Rowghat in the center and Dali-Rajhara in the
north (fig. 1B). It is one of the most important iron
ore mining belts in India and has therefore at-
tracted attention from geologists and prospectors
for more than a century since first mentioned by
Bose in 1899–1900 (in Griesbach 1899, 1900). Even
though the type locality of the Bailadila Group is
in the Bailadila Range immediately west of Bacheli
(fig. 1) and has been described by several work-
ers (e.g., Crookshank 1938, 1963; Chatterjee 1970;
Bandyopadhyay and Hishikar 1977; Datta et al.
1981; Khan and Bhattacharya 1993), there are still
major differences of opinion regarding its internal
stratigraphy (table A1 [tables A1–A5 are available
online]). In addition, although considered to be Neo-
archean to Paleoproterozoic in age (Ramachandra
et al. 2001; Roy et al. 2001), there have been, until
now, no radiometric age data available constraining
its depositional age. In this contribution, we describe
the stratigraphy and depositional setting of the
Journal of Geology SHRIMP U-PB GEOCHRONOLOGY
Bailadila Group in its type area along the Bailadila
Range. We also report U-Pb SHRIMP detrital zircon
ages from the basal quartz arenite of the Bailadila
Group, zircon ages from its granitoid basement, and
zircon ages of a rhyolite pebble from an uncon-
formably overlying conglomerate to better con-
strain its depositional age. These new data are used
to discuss the tectono-sedimentary conditions en-
vironment on the Bastar Craton at the time of de-
position of the BIF and associated siliciclastics of
the Bailadila Group.
Geology of the Bastar Craton
The Bastar Craton in central India is bounded by
the late Neoproterozoic Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt
in the southeast, the Mesoproterozoic Central In-
dian Tectonic Zone (CITZ) in the north, the post-
Gondwana Pranhita-Godavari in the southwest,
and the Mahanadi Rift Valleys in the northeast
(fig. 1B). The craton itself is made up of a number
of tectonic terranes (fig. 2). The oldest of these
terranes is Mesoarchean to Paleoarchean in age. It
is informally referred to here as the “Ancient gneiss
complex” composed of TTG gneisses and minor
granites with metasedimentary and metavolcanic
enclaves of calc-silicates, metacherts (“quartzites”),
cordierite-sillimanite schists, quartz-sericite schists,
and amphibolites with minor BIFs, collectively
known as the Sukma supracrustals (fig. 1B). Note
that we follow recommendations by the Interna-
tional Code of Stratigraphic Nomenclature (Mur-
phy and Salvador 1998) by not capitalizing the
status of informally named rock units. Gneiss of
the Ancient gneiss complex has yielded a U-Pb
zircon age of 3509 5 14 Ma in the southern part
(Sarkar et al. 1993) and 3561 5 11 Ma in the central
part (Ghosh 2004) of the Bastar Craton, whereas a
potassic granite in the north, near Dalli-Rajhara,
yielded an age of 3582:6 5 4 Ma (Rajesh et al.
2009).
The Ancient gneissic complex is believed to be
unconformably overlain by a Neoarchean green-
stone belt succession of amygdaloidal metaba-
salt, metavolcanics, and metapelites known as the
Bengpal Group (fig. 2). This succession is mainly
restricted to a northwest-southeast-striking fold
belt just north of Bacheli, close to the southern
boundary of the Bastar Craton (fig. 1B). An out-
lier of similar rocks is also preserved in the north-
eastern corner of the craton (fig. 1B). Srivastava et al.
(2004) suggested that these rocks were deposited
in a continental rift setting. The Bengpal green-
stone belt succession and the underlying TTGs
of the Ancient gneiss complex are in turn over-
000
lain with marked angular unconformity by two
unconformity-bounded volcano-sedimentary succes-
sions. These have been metamorphosed to green-
schist facies and form an isoclinally folded north-
south-striking belt that extends nearly across the
entire central length of the Bastar Craton. The older
of these two successions is the Bailadila Group
(fig. 1B). It is composed of siliciclastic sedimentary
strata and a thick iron formation considered to be
Neoarchean in age, and it is the main focus of this
study.
The younger succession that incorporates the
Kotri and Dongargarh Supergroups (figs. 1B, 2) is
very late Neoarchean to early Paleoproterozoic in
age (Khanna et al. 2019). It is composed of coarse-
grained unsorted siliciclastic sedimentary rocks and
thick rhyolites that are thought to have been de-
posited either in a rift graben (Neogi et al. 1996;
Ghosh and Pillay 2012) or back arc (Manikyamba
et al. 2016; Asthana et al. 2018) basin. Much of the
Bailadila Group was eroded before deposition of
the Kotri-Dongargarh succession so it is only pre-
served in four isolated linear belts (fig. 1B). Wide-
spread granite emplacement at ~2480 Ma, mapped
as Paleoproterozoic granitoids (figs. 1B, 2), is
considered to mark the final stabilization of the
Bastar Craton (Sarkar et al. 1993). Based on U-Pb
zircon geochronology, Manikyamba et al. (2016)
indicated that emplacement of the Dongargarh Gran-
ite took place at 2506 5 50 Ma with outflow of
rhyolites dated between 2479 5 13 and 2463 5
14 Ma.
The Bhopaltanam-Karimnagar granulite belt flank-
ing the Pranhita-Godavari rift valley along the south-
western side of the craton is another component of
the Bastar Craton’s geological makeup (fig. 1B). It is
considered to be Neoarchean in age and may rep-
resent rocks formed during the amalgamation of
the Bastar Craton with the Dharwar Craton to the
west. Large parts of the craton are then overlain by
the virtually undeformed and unmetamorphosed
Meso-to-Neoproterozoic Chhattisgarh, Albaka, and
Indravati siliciclastic-carbonate platform strata
(Mishra et al. 1988; Mukhopadhyay et al. 2006;
Naganjaneyulu and Santosh 2010; Bhowmik et al.
2012); see figure 1B. Three sets of mafic dike swarms,
with ages confined to the late Mesoarchean, Neo-
archean, and Paleoproterozoic eras, intrude the cra-
ton (Srivastava et al. 1996, 2004; Srivastava and Singh
2004; Meert et al. 2011).
Existing Subdivisions of the Bailadila Group
The stratigraphic succession of the Bailadila Group
is described mainly from the Bailadila Range. Other
000 J. MUKHOPADHYAY ET AL.

Figure 2. Stratigraphic classification of the Bailadila Group in the Bailadila Range, modified after Crookshank
(1963), Bandyopadhyay and Hishikar (1977), Mishra et al. (1988), and Khan and Bhattacharya (1993). BHQ p banded
hematite quartzite; BMQ p banded magnetite quartzite.

than BIF, phyllitic shale, quartz arenite, and a prom-
inent conglomerate, referred to as the Loa con-
glomerate (Loa Stage; Crookshank 1963) has been
described from the Bailadila Group. However, as
mentioned earlier, there are major differences of
opinion regarding the internal stratigraphy of the
Bailadila Group (table A1). Crookshank (1963) sug-
gested that the Bailadila succession unconform-
ably overlies the Loa conglomerate (Stage), which
forms the topmost unit of the older Bengpal Series
Journal of Geology SHRIMP U-PB GEOCHRONOLOGY 000

(fig. 2). Bandyopadhyay and Hishikar (1977) sug-
gested that there are two iron formation–bearing
units that can be subdivided into two subgroups,
and they placed the Loa conglomerate in the middle
of the succession and at the base of their Upper
Subgroup (fig. 2). In contrast, Mishra et al. (1988)
placed the iron formation at the base of the Bailadila
succession. Khan and Bhattacharya (1993) classified
the Bailadila Group into three subgroups that are
further subdivided into five formations (fig. 2), and
they also considered the presence of two iron for-
mation units. The Loa conglomerate is placed as the
lowermost unit of their Upper Subgroup. Both Ban-
dyopadhyay and Hishikar (1977) and Khan and Bhat-
tacharya (1993) suggested that a metabasic rock
unit forms the lower part of the Bailadila Group
(fig. 2). However, it is virtually certain that this
unit in fact corresponds to the diconformably un-
derlying Bengpal Group of Mishra et al. (1988); see
figure 2.
Reappraisal of the Bailadila Stratigraphy
In view of the differences in opinion on the inter-
nal stratigraphy of the Bailadila Group, one of the
objectives of our work was to review the internal
lithostratigraphy of the Bailadila Group in the
Bailadila area before taking up geochronological
studies. Our investigations indicated that the ap-
parent differences in opinion regarding the inter-
nal stratigraphy of the Bailadila Group are resolved
when the structure of the area is taken into ac-
count. The Bailadila Range is defined by exposures
of the weathering resistant BIF unit (fig. 3A) at-
taining an elevation of 11100 m above sea level
and rising more than 800 m from the plains of the
Bastar plateau. The main structural grain, clearly
defined by the outcrop pattern of the BIF, is a nar-
row near isoclinal syncline (fig. 3A) that plunges
south at 157–207 with limbs dipping easterly at
between 657 and 807. Primary sedimentary struc-
tures indicate that the eastern limb of the syncline
is overturned. Second-generation subordinate east-
west-trending cross folds resulted in a fold inter-
ference pattern with plunge reversals of the axis of
the first-order syncline locally along its hinge zone.
The east and the west limbs of the first-order syn-
cline define two linear ridges, with a deep valley in
between along the axis of the syncline. The eastern
limb of the syncline is overturned, indicating that

Figure 3. A, Geological map of the Bailadila region (after Datta et al. 1981) with localities 1–3 of dated samples in-
dicated (1 p BAL-33 and BAL-34; 2 p BAL-18; 3 p BAL-28B). B, Stratigraphic succession of the Bailadila Group from
the Bacheli area. Stratigraphic positions of samples analyzed for SHRIMP U-Pb zircon dating are shown in parentheses.
000 J. MUKHOPADHYAY ET AL.
the stratigraphic succession is repeated in the two
limbs of the syncline. It appears likely that the
overturned nature of the eastern limb of the syn-
cline was not recognized by some of the earlier
workers, with the result that they concluded there
are two iron formation units developed in the
Bailadila Group (table A1). The isoclinal nature of
folding further compounded the problem in un-
derstanding the stratigraphic succession. How-
ever, an east–west traverse across the strike of the
syncline from the iron ore mining township of
Bacheli on the eastern limb to the Iron Ore Deposit
No. 5 of the National Mineral Development Cor-
poration (NMDC) on the western limb through
the central valley clearly demonstrates the strati-
graphic succession of the Bailadila Group (fig. 3B).
It comprises three distinct and easily mappable
units: a clean white quartz arenite at the base gra-
dationally overlain by an argillaceous (siltstone and
shale) unit that in turn grades upward into a prom-
inent BIF. This basal quartz arenite is an excellent
marker bed, and we informally named it the Bacheli
arenite formation (fig. 3B). The overlying argilla-
ceous unit has been referred to in the past as the East
Ridge shale (Khan and Bhattacharya 1993) and we
prefer to keep that informal name. The same applies
to the BIF that has been informally referred to as the
Bose iron formation (Mishra et al. 1988).
In somewhat more detail, the succession is as
follows. The basal clean white quartz arenite dis-
plays excellent horizontal stratification and trough
cross-bedding (fig. 4A). The latter structure indi-
cates that the succession is overturned along the
eastern flank of the syncline. The quartz arenite
grades upward into the phyllitic shale unit (East
Ridge Formation) through a succession of inter-
bedded fine arenite, siltstone, and shale. Internally,
the fine arenites are mostly flat-laminated but with
associated hummocky cross-stratification (fig. 4B).
They have sharp erosive basal contacts with sole
marks, of which flute marks are most common
(fig. 4C). The overlying shale is thinly laminated
and ferruginous. Although deeply weathered and
with no fresh outcrops around, it is most likely that
the ferruginous shale is the weathering product of
pyritiferous and carbonaceous black shale.
The shale grades upward through a zone of in-
tercalated shale, chert, and cherty iron formation
into the Bose iron formation. The thickness of the
Bose iron formation is difficult to accurately mea-
sure because of intraformational folding. How-
ever, a conservative estimate of about 200 m is
done here based on a more than 200-m-thick high-
grade iron ore body in the Iron Ore Deposit No. 5 of
the NMDC that has nearly completely replaced
the parent iron formation. The BIF is typically com-
posed of thin chert mesobands alternating with
hematite-magnetite mesobands (fig. 4D), which is
typical of primary oxide-facies BIF (Beukes 1980,
1983). Toward the base of the iron formation, sili-
cate (grunerite) facies iron formation has also been
encountered. The Fe-silicates in the Fe-mesobands
of this facies are preferentially oxidized to goethite
in outcrop.
In the core of the syncline, the Bailadila succes-
sion is overlain with sharp erosional unconformity
by a poorly sorted bouldery to pebbly polymictic
conglomerate (fig. 4E). This conglomerate, which is
co-folded with the Bailadila Group, has been re-
ferred to in the past as the Loa conglomerate for-
mation (Mishra et al. 1988), and we retain the name
for this contribution (figs. 1B, 3). It is crudely
bedded with beds of between 0.5- and 1.0-m thick-
ness composed of clast-supported and matrix-
supported unsorted conglomerate with interbeds of
pebbly and very coarse argillaceous quartzite. Clasts
are mainly composed of quartzite with subordinate
rhyolite, BIF, chert, and shale clasts. The erosional
unconformity at the base of the conglomerate is
clearly evident from the fact that on a regional scale,
it cuts across strata of the underlying Bose iron for-
mation along low-angle discordance. Thus, we con-
clude that it does not belong to the Bailadila Group
but rather represents a basal unit of the younger
Kotri Supergroup (fig. 3B) that is extensively pre-
served northward of the Bailadila Range in what is
informally known as the Kotri Linear Belt (KLB of
fig. 1B).
Zircon U-Pb SHRIMP Dating
Samples. Four samples of the succession in the
Bacheli area were selected for separation of zircons
at the University of Johannesburg and dating by
SHRIMP at the Research School of Earth Sciences
(RSES), the Australian National University (ANU),
Canberra, Australia. One sample was from the
basal quartz arenite of the Bailadila Group (BAL-18;
N 18741042.200; E 81714012.900; fig. 4A) and another
from a rhyolite cobble in the unconformably over-
lying Loa conglomerate (BAL-28B; N 18741016.400;
E 8171203.500; fig. 4E). Two concentrates of zircons
from the gneissic basement of the Bailadila Group
were also dated. They came from gray massive un-
foliated granite (BAL-34; N 18738047.100; E 81716028.700;
fig. 4F) with enclaves of biotite-rich foliated granite
(BAL 33, fig. 4F) in a quarry along the eastern foot-
hills of the Bailadila Range.
Analytical Procedure. All the separates were
cleaned up and handpicked under a binocular
Journal of Geology SHRIMP U-PB GEOCHRONOLOGY
microscope and mounted in epoxy at ANU, Can-
berra, Australia, together with the RSES reference
zircons FC1 and SL13. Photomicrographs in re-
flected and transmitted light were taken of all zircon
grains, and these, together with scanning electron
microscope cathodoluminescence (SEM CL) images,
were used to decipher the internal structures of the
sectioned grains and target specific areas within zir-
cons for spot analysis.
U-Pb analyses were done on SHRIMP II, with
some additional analyses done on the detrital zir-
con samples BAL-18 on SHRIMP RG at the RSES.
The data have been reduced in a manner similar to
that described by Williams (1998, and references
therein), using the SQUID Excel Macro of Ludwig
(2000). For the zircon calibration, the Pb/U ratios
have been normalized relative to a value of 0.1859
for the 206Pb*/238U ratio of FC1 reference zircon
grains, equivalent to an age of 1099 Ma (Paces and
Miller 1993). U and Th concentrations were de-
termined relative to the SL13 standard (Claoué-
Long et al. 1995), which is a chip of a zircon with a
uniform U content.
Uncertainties given for individual analyses (ra-
tios and ages) are at the 1j level. However, un-
certainties in the calculated weighted mean ages
are reported as 95% confidence limits (unless
stated otherwise) and include the uncertainties in
the standard calibrations where appropriate. Con-
cordia plots, regressions, and weighted mean age
calculations were carried out using Isoplot/Ex (Lud-
wig 1999; see fig. 5 and tables A2–A5).
Results. Zircon grains from the older biotite-
rich foliated granite enclaves (sample BAL-33) in
massive gray granite are rather poorly preserved,
with only small areas on individual grains suitable
for analysis. The grains are generally euhedral with
occasional subhedral forms. With CL imaging, it is
possible to see some internal structure with possi-
ble inherited cores surrounded by relatively uni-
form zones. Some grains show bright-CL patches,
embayment, or rims, which might indicate growth,
recrystallization, or alteration (fig. 5A). Results of
35 grains that were analyzed are presented in ta-
ble A2 and are plotted on a conventional U-Pb
Concordia diagram (fig. 5A). Unfortunately, virtu-
ally all of the grains display significant lead loss
(fig. 5A) and gave highly discordant ages (table A2).
However, the ages plot along a rather well-defined
discordia line that intercepts the Concordia curve
at an upper 207Pb/206Pb date of 3466 5 34 Ma
(MSWD 56) and a lower date of 681 5 120 Ma. One
zircon that is only 6% discordant yielded a date of
3491 5 4 Ma (table A2). It is considered to repre-
sent the absolute minimum age of the foliated
000
granite enclave. However, the granite could be con-
siderably older because this zircon did experience
some lead loss after crystallization.
Similar to the foliated biotite-rich granite, the
sample of the enclosing gray unfoliated massive
granite (sample BAL-34) also yielded highly dis-
cordant ages (table A3). However, ages of the
20 zircon grains analyzed also plot along a dis-
cordia line that, although not very well defined,
intercepts the Concordia curve at an upper date of
3552 5 89 Ma and a lower date of 640 5 120 Ma
(fig. 5B). One grain that displays a slight negative
discordance of 1% yielded a date of 3566 5 4:5 Ma.
This date agrees very well with the date derived from
the linear regression analyses of dicordant zircon
grains and provides support for the conclusion that
although most zircon grains experienced consid-
erable postcrystallization lead loss, the granite
likely has an upper Paleoarchean crystallization age
of ~3.55–3.6 Ga. This is an important observation
because the gray unfoliated granite constitutes the
most extensive country rock in the basement of
the Bailadila Group along the eastern foothills of
the Bailadila Range.
The lower intercept dates of 681 5 120 Ma and
640 5 120 Ma in samples BAL-33 and BAL-34,
respectively, could perhaps record alteration of
zircon grains during development of the late Neo-
proterozoic Eastern Ghats granulite belt (Simmat
and Raith 2008), marking the southern boundary
of the Bastar Craton not too distant from Bailadila
(fig. 1B).
The sample of the Bacheli quartz arenite at the
base of the Bailadila Group (sample BAL-18) yielded
zircon grains with an array of shapes, sizes, and col-
ors. Most of the grains show rounding from transport
abrasion, but some still preserve subhedral forms.
Many of the grains have suffered postdepositional
alteration and are metamict; these were not ana-
lyzed. Forty-two zircon grains were analyzed in two
SHRIMP sessions. The results are listed in table A4,
and ages are plotted on a conventional Concordia
diagram (fig. 5C). Most of the analyses are highly
discordant, showing the effects of Pb loss. However,
it clear from the Concordia diagram that there are
two main detrital age populations present in the
quartz arenite, as defined by the presence of two
discordia regression lines (fig. 5C). The one popu-
lation plots along a discordia line that by extrapo-
lation intercepts the Concordia curve at 207Pb/
206
Pb date of ~3300 Ma, and the other intercepts at
a date of ~2700 Ma. The latter discordia line seems
to originate from a well-defined group of four near
concordant analyses that in combination yield a
weighted mean 207Pb/206Pb date of 2725 5 7 Ma
Figure 4. Field photographs of different lithological units in the Bailadila Group and the basement granitoids.
A, Cross-stratified quartz arenite from the basal part of the Bailadila Group. Note that the beds are overturned, as
evident from the truncation of the foresets of cross-strata (arrowhead) away from the dip directions of beds. Sample
(BAL-18) for detrital zircon comes from this quartz arenite. B, Amalgamated hummocky cross-stratified (HCS)
quartz arenite beds from the arenite-siltstone-shale heteroloithic interval immediately overlying the basal quartz
arenite. Note erosional surface (arrow) at the base of thick, wavy, storm-deposited arenite beds (now upside down
because of overturning of strata). The section is about 3 m thick. C, Flute casts (arrow) of storm-induced high-energy
currents from the lower surface of HCS-arenite beds (now exposed on top surface of bed in the overturned limb of the
Bailadila syncline). D, Thinly bedded microlaminated banded iron formation from the top of the Bailadila Group. Note
Journal of Geology SHRIMP U-PB GEOCHRONOLOGY 000

(fig. 5D). These two populations are also apparent
on the probability density plot of zircon ages that
are less than 10% discordant (inset in fig. 5C).
The 2725 5 7 Ma date is considered to represent
the maximum age of sedimentation for the quartz
arenite.
The rhyolite cobble from the Loa conglomerate
(sample BAL-28B) yielded a reasonable quantity
and quality of subhedral to anhedral zircon grains.
The grains are somewhat altered and metamict,
but a number of low-U areas could be identified
from the CL-images as targets for the SHRIMP
analyses. The zircon grains display faint oscilla-
tory zoning confirming their igneous origin, but
in most cases the zoning has faded or has been
obliterated by alteration. Eighteen analyses were
performed on different grains, the results of which
are presented in table A5. Many of the analyses
are highly discordant. However, there is a well-
defined cluster of eight zircons that are less than
2% discordant, and they yield a well-constrained
weighted mean 207Pb/206Pb date of 2733 5 3 Ma
(MSWD p 0:57; P p 0:78); see figure 5E. It is re-
garded as the best estimate of the crystallization age
of the rhyolite from which the cobble was sourced.
Discussion
Geochronology. Although not very well con-
strained, the upper intercept ages of 3466 5 34 Ma
on a foliated granitoid (BAL-33) and 3552 5 89 Ma
on a unfoliated gray granite (BAL-34) obtained from
the granitoid basement of the Bailadila Group in
the Bacheli iron ore mining district compare well
with other known ages of granitoids at other lo-
calities from the Ancient gneiss complex of the
Bastar Craton. Most interesting is the fact that the
3552 5 89 Ma age of the unfoliated gray granite
(sample BAL-34) is very similar to the U-Pb zircon
age of 3561 5 11 Ma from TTG basement farther
to the north near the village of Kapsi (Ghosh 2004).
This age is also not much younger than the age of
3582 5 4 Ma reported by Rajesh et al. (2009) from a
true alkali granite immediately south of Dalli-
Rajhara in the north (fig. 1B).
The upper 35-point intercept date of 3466 5
34 Ma obtained from the foliated biotite-rich gran-
itoid enclave in the unfoliated gray granite may
appear problematic because it is younger than the
20-point upper intercept date of 3552 5 89 Ma of
the gray granite intruding into it. However, the
two intercept ages are within error of each other.
It is also most likely that the foliated granitoid crys-
tallized much earlier than what the upper intercept
age indicates because a zircon separated from it
gave an age of 3491 5 4 Ma at 6% discordance
(table A2). As mentioned earlier, this age is con-
sidered the absolute minimum age of the foliated
granitoid because even this zircon experienced some
lead loss after crystallization. Thus the discrep-
ancy between the older age of the unfoliated granite
and the younger age of the foliated granitoid enclave
in it becomes smaller, and it may be that they be-
longed to the same phase or event of granitoid em-
placement. It is interesting to note that the ages are
all within the error of 3509 5 14 Ma U-Pb zircon
age reported by Sarkar et al. (1993) from trond-
hjemitic gneiss in the southern part of the Bastar
Craton. The consistency of these ages, spread over
wide parts of the Ancient gneiss complex of the
Bastar Craton, strongly suggest that the craton must
have already developed a rather extensive sialic
crust between 3500 and 3580 Ma years ago. The
Bailadila Group was then unconformably deposited
on this older Paleoarchean basement.
Detrital zircon ages suggest that deposition of
the Bailadila sedimentary rocks took place at least
800 million years after crystallization of the si-
alic basement. This is indicated by the prominent
2725 Ma detrital zircon population present in
the basal Bacheli quartz arenite of the Bailadila
Group (fig. 5C, 5D). The quartz arenite was also
sourced from older ~3300 Ma granitoid basement
(fig. 5C). It is interesting to note that the 27255
7 Ma detrital zircon population in the basal Ba-
chelli quartz arenite of the Bailadila Group is also
within error of the 2733 5 3 Ma age of the rhy-
olite cobble dated (fig. 5E) from the unconform-
ably overlying Loa conglomerate. It is thus highly
probable that the rhyolite from which this cob-
ble was sourced also sourced zircons during depo-
sition of the Bachelli quartz arenite. The strati-
graphic position or locality of this rhyolite remains
unknown. We can speculate only that it forms part

centimeter-scale alternate chert/jasper and Fe-oxide (darker) mesobands. E, The Loa conglomerate from the valley at the
core of the Bailadila syncline. Note the boulder- to pebble-sized clasts within muddy chloritic matrix. Their matrix-
supported character and poor sorting suggest that conglomerate was deposited by cohesive debris-flow mechanism.
The dated rhyolite cobble (sample BAL-28B) comes from one of these clasts in the conglomerate. F, The basement
granitoids from one of the quarries at the eastern foothill of the Bailadila Range. Note that the foliated older granite
(sample BAL-33 for zircon dating) occurs as enclaves in the massive gray granite (sample BAL-34 for zircon dating). A
color version of this figure is available online.
Figure 5. A, U-Pb concordia plot for the SHRIMP analysis of zircon grains from the biotite-rich granite enclave
(sample BAL-33) that forms the basement of the Bailadila Group. Note the 35-point concordia with upper intercept
at 3466 5 34 Ma. Inset shows cathodoluminescence images of zircon grains used for the analyses. Sites of the
SHRIMP spots are encircled and data are listed in table A2. B, U-Pb concordia plot for SHRIMP analysis from zircons
from the gray unfoliated granite (sample BAL-34) that forms the basement of the Bailadila Group. Note the 20-point
concordia with upper intercept at 3552 5 89 Ma that gives the age of the gray granite. Data are presented in ta-
ble A3. C, D, U-Pb concordia plot for the SHRIMP data from detrital zircons from the basal sandstone (sample BAL-18)
of the Bailadila Group. Note that at least two age populations of zircons are present, namely an older population at
~3400 Ma (in C) and a younger one at 2700 Ma (in D). Data are presented in table A4. E, U-Pb concordia plot for the
Journal of Geology SHRIMP U-PB GEOCHRONOLOGY
of one of the Neoarchean greenstone belts, collec-
tively referred to as the Bengpal Group, encapsu-
lated in the Paleoarchean TTG core of the Bastar
Craton (fig. 1B).
Unfortunately, we do not have direct data on
the upper age limit of the Bailadila Group in the
Bachelli area. However, it is certain to be older than
2500 Ma based on zircon ages from rhyolite in the
disconformably overlying Kotri and Dongargarh
Supergroups (Ghosh and Pillay 2003; Manikyamba
et al. 2016) in the KLB (fig. 1B). The minimum age
of sedimentation is also given by the 2480 5 3 Ma
a U-Pb zircon age of the Dongargarh granitoid (Sarkar
et al. 1993) that intrudes strata of the KLB (fig. 1B).
We did not sample this granitoid because it is not
reported in the vicinity of Bacheli.
Depositional Setting of the Bose Iron Formation.
Vertical lithofacies associations in the Bailadila
Group (fig. 3B) provide important clues as to the
depositional setting of the iron formation. The
horizontally and cross-stratified, very well sorted
quartz arenite at the base of the succession most
likely represents an onlapping inner shelf, shore-
face (Johnson and Baldwin 1996) marine sandstone
deposit that was formed during the transgressive
phase of the sea (fig. 6). The overlying heterolithic
unit, which is composed of interbedded fine-grained
arenite, siltstone, and shale, most probably repre-
sents offshore transition zone storm-dominated
shelf deposits (fig. 6). This is indicated by the flat-
laminated and hummocky cross-stratified nature
of the fine-grained arenite beds. These are structures
typically formed by high-energy shallowing combined-
flow storm-energy currents and waves (Walker and
Plint 1992; Cheel and Leckie 1993). The erosive
bases of the quartzite beds with flute marks also
indicate that they were most probably deposited
during high-energy storm events that affected an
offshore shelf (Myrow 1992; Beukes 1996). Further
flooding of the shelf in a transgressive systems tract
then led to deposition of the overlying finely lami-
nated shale and finally microbanded iron forma-
tion in a distal offshore setting during maximum
flooding, when the basin became starved of siliciclastic
input (fig. 6). These interpretations are in line with
depositional models developed for rather similar
iron formations and associated ferruginous shales
hosted by the Mesoarchean Witwatersrand and Pon-
SHRIMP data from the zircons from the rhyolite cobble of the Loa conglomerate (sample BAL-28B) that uncon-
formably overlies the Bailadila Group. The filled error ellipses represent those analyses that were used in the cal-
culation of weighted mean 207Pb/206Pb age. The upper intercept at 2733 5 8 Ma is considered the age of the rhyolite
from which the cobble was derived. Data are presented in table A5.
000
gola Supergroups in South Africa (Beukes and Cairn-
cross 1991; Smith et al. 2013).
The disconformably overlying Loa conglomerate
most probably represents an alluvial fan deposit.
Rapid deposition under highly varied flow condi-
tions, typical of alluvial fan deposits (Blair 2000), is
indicated by laterally discontinuous interbedding
of poorly sorted cobble- to pebble-sized clast- and
matrix-supported conglomerates with thin lentic-
ular interbeds of coarse to very coarse immature
quartzites. Matrix-supported conglomerates in al-
luvial fans are typically formed by debris-flow pro-
cesses (Blair 2000), and their abundance in the Loa
conglomerate suggests that the fan was debris-flow
dominated. The Loa conglomerate is also rather
similar in character to some of the conglomerates
present in the Kotri Supergroup farther to the north
in the KLB; see figure 1B. These rocks are consid-
ered to have been deposited in a rift graben or back-
arc basin setting (Ghosh et al. 1999; Ghosh and
Pillay 2003; Manikyamba et al. 2016), and deposi-
tion of the Loa conglomerate most probably took
place along the same system.
Implications for the Tectono-sedimentary Setting of
the Bose Iron Formation. The Archean iron forma-
tions on the Indian peninsula mostly occur in close
association with mafic-felsic volcanics and/or gray-
wackes in greenstone belts of the Singhbhum, Bastar,
Dharwar, and Bundelkhand Cratons (see review by
Mukhopadhyay 2020). These iron formations ap-
pear to have developed in active tectonic settings of
either subduction zones (Drury 1983; Krogstad et al.
1989; Newton 1990; Manikyamba et al. 1993, 2004,
2005; Chadwick et al. 2000; Jayananda et al. 2008) or
of plume-related vertical accretion zones in hotspot
environments (Choukroune et al. 1995, 1997) or of a
combination of plume-arc tectonics (Jayananda et al.
2018). Such iron formations associated with volca-
nics are generally referred to as Algoma-type, in con-
trast to Superior-type, which has no clear or direct
association with volcanics but rather occurs inter-
bedded with siliciclastic and/or carbonate shelf suc-
cessions. In relatively undeformed situations, the
latter is also referred to as cratonic-hosted iron for-
mations versus deformed greenstone belt-hosted iron
formations (Beukes and Gutzmer 2008), with the
latter term applicable to virtually all Archean iron
formations of the Indian peninsula.
000 J. MUKHOPADHYAY ET AL.

Figure 6. Sequence and genetic stratigraphy of the Bailadila Group indicating depositional setting of the Bose iron
formation.

However, the Bose iron formation of the Baila-
dila Group appears to be an iron formation with a
hybrid tectono-sedimentary setting relative to all
of these. First, the absence of any clear association
with volcanics indicates that it could be classified
as a Superior-type iron formation in contrast to the
Algoma-type. Second, the siliciclastic shelf depo-
sitional strata underlying the Bose BIF in the Bai-
ladila Group suggests that the iron formation was
deposited on a continental shelf. Excellent sorting
of the basal shallow marine quartz arenite, com-
bined with the deposition of a thickness of more
than 200 m of microbanded iron formation above
it, attests to prolonged stable conditions of the
shelf that could thus perhaps be equated to a pas-
sive continental margin setting. The continent
itself must therefore have been rather stable. This
may suggest that cratonic conditions started to set
in on the Bailadila Craton by this time. Thus the
Bose iron formation could be classified as belong-
ing to the cratonic group of iron formations as de-
fined by Beukes and Gutzmer (2008). However,
classical Superior-type cratonic iron formations
are typically not as highly deformed as the Bose
iron formation. Perhaps, then, it is best described
as a deformed cratonic-hosted Superior-type iron
Journal of Geology SHRIMP U-PB GEOCHRONOLOGY
formation. The original aerial extent of the Bailadila
succession is unknown, but it may have been very
widespread as indicated by, for example, the very
thick deepwater microbanded iron formation that
displays no features such as wave reworking and/or
siliciclastic that would suggest proximity or ap-
proach of a depositional basin margin. In fact, the
succession may have covered much of the ancient
Paleoarchean core of the Bastar Craton before post-
depositional folding, uplift, and erosion.
The earliest record of deposition of BIF in stable
cratonic shelf environment comes from the Neo-
archean Witwatersrand and Pongola Supergroups
(2.96–2.85 Ga) on the Kaapvaal Craton in South
Africa. Multiple BIF intervals of meters to about
15 m thick are intercalated with offshore sili-
ciclastics in the Witwatersrand and Pongola suc-
cessions (Beukes and Cairncross 1991; Smith 2007).
The major period of deposition of cratonic iron
formations in Earth’s history takes place along the
Neoarchean-Paleoproterozoic boundary as mani-
fested by the super-large iron formations of the
Hamersley Range on the Pilbara Craton in Western
Australia, the Transvaal Supergroup on the Kaap-
vaal Craton in South Africa, and the Minas Super-
group on the São Francisco in Brazil (Beukes 1973,
1983; Simonson 1985; Klein and Beukes 1989, 1992;
Morris 1993; Trendall et al. 2004; Clout and Simon-
son 2005; Klein 2005; Beukes and Gutzmer 2008;
Bekker et al. 2010, 2014). Deposition of the hybrid
cratonic iron formation of the Bailadila Group
thus appears to have been deposited some 100 Ma
after the deposition of the oldest known ones of
the Witwatersrand-Pongola basin in South Africa
and shortly before deposition along the Archean-
Paleoproterozoic boundary of the major super-
large cratonic iron formations of South Africa,
Western Australia, and Brazil.
Conclusions
The Bailadila Group in the Bastar Craton records
the deposition of a 1200-m-thick microbanded BIF
on a stable continental shelf. A detrital zircon
U-Pb SHRIMP age of 2725 5 7 Ma from the basal
shallow-marine Bacheli quartz arenite and the zir-
con age of 2733 5 3 Ma from a rhyolite cobble in
the Loa conglomerate that, unconformably, over-
lies the Bailadila Group suggest a maximum depo-
sitional age for the succession of ~2700 Ma. How-
ever, it was deposited before the unconformably
overlying ~2500 Ma Dongargarh and Kotri Super-
groups, indicating that the succession was depos-
ited in late Neoarchean times (2500–2700 Ma).
000
Although zircons extracted from granitoids of the
Ancient gneiss complex, which formed a conti-
nental shelf basement to deposition of the Bai-
ladila Group, experienced extensive lead loss after
crystallization, they do preserve well-developed
discordia lines, as well as some zircons that are
less than 6% discordant. Concordia intercepts
ages calculated from the discordia lines, as well as
from the least discordant zircon grains, indicate
that the granitoid basement crystallized in the
early Paleoarchean between 3500 and 3550 Ma.
By the time that the Bose iron formation of the
Bailadila Group was deposited (2700–2500 Ma),
this sialic continental basement must have been
stable for a considerable period of time to have al-
lowed deposition of an at least 200-m-thick suc-
cession of microbanded iron formation on a shelf
along a passive continental margin. This passive
margin setting stands in contrast to the predom-
inantly active margin tectonic setting of the other
Archean BIF-bearing successions of peninsular
India. On these grounds, the late Neoarchean Bose
iron formation of the Bailadila Group could be
considered to belong to the cratonic-hosted group
of iron formations. It was deposited in the period
between that of the oldest known cratonic-hosted
iron formation in the Mesoarchean Witwatersrand-
Pongola succession in South Africa and the super-
large deposits of the Transvaal Supergroup on in the
Kaapvaal Craton in South Africa and the Hamers-
ley Group on the Pilbara Craton in Western Austra-
lia (formed along the Neoarchean-Paleoproterozoic
boundary).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work is an outcome of a collaborative research
project funded by the Department of Science and
Technology (DST) in India and the Department of
Science and Innovation (DSI), as well as the Na-
tional Research Foundation (NRF) in South Africa.
We are thankful to the National Mineral Devel-
opment Corporation (NMDC), India, for providing
logistic support during our fieldwork in Bailadila
region. J. Mukhopadhyay acknowledges UGC-CAS,
DST-FIST, and FRPDF support from Presidency
University, and N. J. Beukes acknowledges sup-
port from the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence for
Integrated Mineral and Energy Resource Analy
sis (CIMERA) hosted by the University of Johan-
nesburg. We are thankful to M. E. Bickford, A.
Basu, and one anonymous reviewer for helpful com-
ments and critical review of an earlier version of the
article.
000 J. MUKHOPADHYAY ET AL.
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