GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

AN INTERIM REPORT ON THE INVESTIGATION OF GYPSUM

BY DRILLING NEAR BADWASI, NAGAUR DISTRICT
RAJASTHAN

(PROGRESS REPORT FOR THE FIELD SEASON 1967- 68)

BY

S. N. TARAFDAR
Geological Survey of India
Western Region

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 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

AN INTERIM REPORT ON THE INVESTIGATION OF

GYPSUM DRILLING NEAR BADWASI RAJASTHAN

(Progress Report for the Field-Season 1967-68)

By

S. N. Tarafdar
Asstt. Geologist
Geological Survey of India

June, 1970.

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 CONTENTS PAGE NO
ABSTRACT 7

I. INTRODUCTION 8

Previous Work. 8

II. DESCRIPTION OP ROCK TYPES. 9

III. GYPSUM. 10
Description of main gypsum bed as observed in the bore
11
holes.
IV. QUALITY AND RESERVES. 13

V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION. 14

APPENDICES

Details of bore holes (BNR-35 to 40) with total thickness of gypsum and
I.
weighted average Ca So4, ZHzo contents.
Results of Chemical analysis of cores of gypsum beds of bore holes (BNR-35
II.
to 39).

PLATES

Plan showing location of bore holes, reduced level of gypsum beds of which
I. met with, together with total thickness gypsum and weighted average CaSo4,
ZHZo content. Scale: 1:2500.

Correlation chart of gypsum bed Scale Horizontal R.P. 1:1250. Vertical. R.F.
II.
1:1000.

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 AN INTERIM REPORT ON THE INVESTIGATION OF GYPSUM BY DRILLING
NEAR BADWASI, NAGAUR DISTRICT, RAJASTHAN

(Progress Report for the Field Season 1967-68)

By

S.N. TARAFDAR
ASSTT. GEOLOGIST
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

ABSTRACT

Investigation for gypsum by exploratory drilling near Badwasi, Nagaur district,

Rajasthan, taken up during the field season 1966-67, was continued till February,
1968 during the current field-season. The investigation was based on the drilling
carried out earlier in this area by Geological Survey of India and was aimed at proving
a sizable reserve suitable for exploitation. From October, 1967 to February, 1968, a
total of six bore holes aggregating to 384.42 metres were drilled and subsequently
the operations remained suspended due to break down of the rig engine.

The main gypsum bed together with the subsidiary bed occurs in association
with clay stones, clays, dolomite, minor sandstone and limestone belonging to the
Nagaur Series of Upper Vindhyan age (?) - (Bhanders?). The bed was encountered
in the five bore-holes at depths ranging between 47.75 to 70.05 m. below the surface.
Thickening and thinning of the bed is commonly seen and it is usually interbedded
with thin bands of gypsy’s clay and dolomite. The total thickness of gypsum in the
main gypsum bed varies from 0.95 to 7.70 m. The inferred reserve of all grades of
gypsum from the main bed has been estimated at about 0.6 million tonnes.

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 I INTRODUCTION

Exploratory drilling for investigation of gypsum near Badwasi (27°14'00”:

73°40'20"). Nagaur district, Rajasthan, started on July 15, 1966, was continued during
the present field season till February 1968, in order to find out a sizeable reserve
suitable for exploitation. The investigation was based on the drilling carried out earlier
for gypsum by the Geological Survey of India.

The area lies in Survey of India sheet No, 45 E/SE and E/NE and is situated
about 4.0 km NE of Badwasi, a railway station on the Bikaner-Merta Road metre-
gauge section of the Northern Railway.

The investigation is included under item No.3 on page No.104 of the G. S. l.

field programme for the year 1967-68.

Since the commencement of drilling on 15th July, 1966, a total of 40 bore

holes aggregating to 2917.15 m had been drilled, of which six- boreholes (one
incomplete, drilled upto 42.00 m) aggregating to 384.42 m were drilled during the part
of the present field-season from October 1967 to February, 29. 1968. Further
investigation remained suspended since March 1, 1968 due to break down of the rig
engine.

Previously two drills Jay 12B and Craelius XCH 90 worked in the area under
Shri H.C. Jain, Driller, Geological Survey of India. The drill -Craelius - XCH 90 was
withdrawn during December, 1967 and Joy 12B was replaced by another drill-
Craelius XH 90, in the third week of February, 1968. The engine of this rig suffered
breakdown on March 1, 1968. The investigation was carried out under the
supervision of Sri Muktinath, Director Rajasthan (N) Circle.

Previous work:

Investigation of gypsum in Nagaur area of Rajasthan was carried out from

January, 1957 to April, 1961 by Sarvashree P.C. Sogani, G.J. Chandak and S.L.
Mehera of Geological Survey of India. Exploratory drilling was carried over an area of
225 sq. km. a round. Badwasi village and Nagaur town. The investigation resulted in
the location and delineation of two gypsum deposits occurring at depth around
Badwasi, Pilanwasi and Dakoria and around Nagaur town.

Detailed investigation of gypsum by exploratory drilling was undertaken

during July,1966 in time area lying between the boreholes 24 NR (27°19'32",
73°41'12") and 10 ANR (27° - 18'52", 73° 42'06" drilled by Geological Survey in of
India. The drilling was carried out in the area 1957.61 Survey of India. The drilling

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was carried out in the area in a square grid pattern at an interval of 125 m. 34 bore-
holes spreading over an area of about 0.65 sq. km and aggregating to 2532.73 m
were drilled by 8th September,1967. The reserves of all grades of gypsum of the
main gypsum bed were estimated at about 5.90 million tonnes and that of the
subsidiary bed at about 0.58 million tonnes, the total being of the order of 6.48 million
tonnes.

II. DESCRIPTION OF ROCK TYPES

The various rooks encountered in the boreholes include clay stone. Clay,
siltstone, sandstone, dolomite and limestone and belong to the Nagaur series of
Upper Vindhyan age (?) (Bhanders?). These occur beneath a thick cover of loose
sand and alluvium locally associated with gypsitic formation. The thickness of the
cover varies from 12.50 m (borehole BNR-36) to 20.00m (borehole BNR-37). The
sequence of rocks as observed in the boreholes in a descending order is grouped as
follows:
(i) Arenaceous - argillaceous group (Non-Gypseous).
(ii) Gypseous group.

(i) Arenaceous - argillaceous group

The rocks of this group consist of an interbedded sequence of clay stone,

clay, siltstone, locally with sandstone, and leached and vuggy limestone. This group
of rocks occurs upto a depth varying from 44.15 m to 64.00 m below the surface. The
facies variation among these rocks is common.

Claystone clay siltstone: The claystone, clay and siltstone have various
shades of red colour viz. brick red, chocolate red, purple red and at times grey to
greenish grey. The claystone is very often mottled and: caloareous and locally sandy
and silty. The broken surface of claystone often shows concordat fracture. The
siltstones are at places mottled, micaceous and shaly and at times calcareous.
Current bedding is sometimes found in the silts tone.

Sandstone: - The sandstone is generally brick red in colour. It is fine to medium

grained and occasionally mottled. It locally occurs as thin bands interbedded with
Claystone and siltstone.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Roy Chowhury M.K. Sgani, P.C. (1965) Nagaur gypsum
Chandak, G.J. and Mehera S.L. Bull.Geol. Surv. Ind.
Series A-Economic
Geology No. 24

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Limestone: - The limestone is greyish white to reddish grey, in colour and often
leached and vuggy. The vugs are usually filled with secondary calcite.

ii) Gypseous Group

The rocks of this group include claystone, clay dolomite and locally siltstone
and sandstone. The main gypsum bed together with subsidiary bed occurs in this
group. The claystone, clay and dolomite are generally gypseous and contain fine
veins and stringers of white and fibrous gypsum. The claystone locally contains small
pellets of clay and irregular fragments of early formed gypsum and other carbonate
rocks like dolomite and limestone.

The dolomite is grey to greyish white, also dark greyish in colour. It is fine
grained, dense, hard and compact. It occurs as thin bands, usually less than a metre
in thickness. The bands are often traversed by fine veins and stringers of white and
fibrous gypsum. The dolomite in thin section shows a mosaic of microcrystalline to
fine grained aggregates of anhedral to subhedral, rounded to subrounded grains.

III. GYPSUM

The gypsum includes all the three varieties viz. granular, if laky and fibrous,
of which the flaky and granular varieties are common. The granular variety (alabaster)
is snow white, white to greyish white in colour. It is usually fine to medium grained,
massive and compact and locally shows a mosaic of fine to coarse grained
aggregates.

The flaky variety (selenite) is grey, greyish white or greyish brown. The folia
often show pearly to waxy lustre and are locally arranged radialy to form spherulitic
structure. The gypsum is sometimes intercalated with clayey and finely granular
calcareous rock material. The granular and flaky varieties often grade into each other
and constitute the main mass of the gypsum bed.

The fibrous variety (satin spar) is white to snow white, at times with shades of
light red and pink colour and occasionally shows silky lustre. It occurs as fine veins
and stringers traversing through the other two varieties.

The thin sections of gypsum show aggregate of finely crystalline mass of

granular gypsum as well as coarsely crystalline aggregates of interlocking crystals of
flaky and fibrous gypsum. The crystals are generally prismatic, rectangular, and
sequential to anhedral showing one set of cleavage. Locally small crystals of
prismatic habit are seen partially enclosed by the larger crystals. In generally the

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crystals do not show any preferred orientation. Vein lets of dolomite are locally found
to be present in the gypsum. Inclusions of rounded to subrounded grains of dolomite
and quartz are commonly seen in the gypsum.

Description of main gypsum bed as observed in the bore holes.

The main gypsum bed occurs at depths ranging between 47,75m to 70.05 m
below the surface and is usually overlain and underlain by gypseous clay stone and
clay. The main gypsum bed is generally interbedded with thin bands of gypseous
clay, dolomite and limestone, at times leached end friable. The thickness of the
gypsum bed varies from 1,75 t6 16.15m of which the total thickness of gypsum varies
from 0.95 to 7.70 m

Bore hole BNR-35: The main gypsum bed occurs at a depth of 47, 75 m and
Continues upto 53.15m with a total thickness being 5.40m. The gypsum at places is
intercalated with clay and contains thin bands of gypseous dolomite and clay as
follows:-

Depth in meters.

From To

Greyish, hard and compact siliceous dolomite

(i) 48.00 48.40 occasionally traversed by fine stringers of white and
fibrous gypsum.
Clay with fine veins of flaky and fibrous gypsum and
(ii) 48.40 49.00
partly leached carbonate rock.

White and leached carbonate rock with fine veins of

(iii) 49.60 49.75
gypsum.

(iv) 50.75 52.50 White and leached carbonate rock and gypseous clay.

Bore hole BNR-36: The main gypsum bed occurs at a depth of 55.75 m and
continues upto 60.65 m with a total thickness being 4.90m. The gypsum is locally
loose end soft and is intercalated with some clay end finely granular calcareous rock
material particularly between 57.85 to 59.30 m.

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 The main gypsum bed between 55.95 and 57.85 m is possibly inter. bedded
with clay at tines with fine veins, of gypsum as the core recovery of this zone is
extremely poor.

Bore hole BNR-37: The main gypsum bed occurs at a depth of 57-25 m and
continues upto 59.0Cm, the total thickness being 1.75 m. The gypsura occurring
between 50.50 and 59.00m is traversed at places by fine veins of light greyish white,
hard and compact dolomite. The main gypsum bed between 57.70 and 50,50m is
associated with whitish grey to grey, hard and compact dolomite, locally traversed by
fine stringers of white and fibrous gypsum.

A subsidiary bed of gypsum having a thickness of 0.60 m occurs between

67.40 and 68.00m.

Borehole BNK-38: The main gypsum bed occurs at a depth of - 52.35m and
continues upto 60.50m having a total thickness of 16.15m. The gypsum is mostly
intercalated with clayey end dolomitic rock material. The main gypsum bed is
interbedded with bands of clay, dolomite as follows:-

Depth in meters.

From To

(i) 53.10 54.75 Greenish grey clay and gypseous clay.

(ii) 55.70 56.95 Soft and friable clayey gypsum, with thin - bands of clay.

(iii) 57.57 57.67 Greyish, hard and compact dolomite.

(iv) 57.67 58.15 Mostly clay, possibly with some fine veins of gypsum.

Grey to dark greyish, fine grained, hard and connect

(v) 50.00 59.55
gypseous dolomite.
(vi) 60.55 61.17 Possibly clay.

(vii) 62.30 62.60 Clay with fine veins and stringers of gypsum.

Greyish, gypseous dolomite, locally inter-calated with

(viii) 62.95 63.60
minor clay; and clay.
(ix) 63.60 65.40 Gypseous clay.

Possibly clay with thin bands of limestone and gypseous

(x) 66.40 67.25
dolomite.

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Bore hole BNR-39; The main gypsum bed occurs at a depth of 70.05 m and
continues upto 73.90m below the surface, the total thickness of the bed being 3.05 m
The gypsum occurring between 70,05 and 70.85m is locally intercalated with clay and
that between 71.39 and 72.30 m and between 72.50 and 72.90 m, contains, at places
irregular ferments and patches of dark greyish to ash greyish calcareous rock
material. The main gypsum bed between 70.85 and 71.39 m and between 73.45 and
73.70 m., contains thin bands of greyish, hard, and compact, gypseous dolomite.

IV. QUALITY AND RESERVES

Quality

The gypsum occurs in three varieties eg. granular flaky and fibrous. Of there,
the fibrous variety normally occurs as fine veins, and stringers traversing through the
granular and flaky types. Both granular and fibrous varieties are usually very pure but
the flaky one is often associated with some impurities like clay and other finely
granular calcareous rock material.

The analytical results of gypsum from different bore holes have been shown
in the table (Appendix - B). The weighted average of CaSo4 ZHzo content of the
gypsum bed has been calculated by eliminating the bands of gypseous clay and
dolomite as well as other inferior portions of gypsum showing less than 65% caso4,
ZHzo content.

Appendix - A shows the weighted average of CaSc4 ZHzo content together with the
total thickness of gypsum from the main bed of different bore holes.

It is observed that the quality of gypsum with its hydrated CaSo4 content
varies from one bore hole to the other and from top to bottom of the same bore hole.

Out of five bore holes four bore holes eg, BNR-35, 36, 38 and 39
contain'averase GaSc4.ZHzocontent between 80.00 and 85.CO % and one eg. BNR-
37 below 80.00 %.

Reserves

In the proposed drilling programme, the bore hole points were located at an
interval of 125 m in a square grid pattern (Plate I), The reserve of gypsum has been
calculated by assuming the total thickness of gypsum found in each bore hole to
persist over half the distance between the adjacent bore holes and thus an area of

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15625 acuaremetres has been taken as an area of influence around each bore hole.
The total thickness of gypsum has been calculated after eliminating the bands of
gypseous dolomite and clay, wherever present in the gypsum.

The sp. gr. of gypsum has been found to vary from 2.25 to 2.37 and the
average of 2.31 has been taken for the purpose of reserve calculation.

The details of reserves estimated are as follows:-

Thickness of Vol. in cubic Reserve in

Bore hole.
gypsum (m) metre tonne.
BNR-35 2.50 39062.50 90234.38

BNR-36 3.00 46875.00 103281.25

BNR-37 0.95 14843.75 34289.06

21,656.25
0.60 9375.00
(subsidiary bed).

BNR-38 7.70 120312,50 27792l.88.

BNR-39 2.86 44687.50 103228.12

613954 21656

Thus, the inferred reserves of gypsum of the main gypsum bed are of the
order of 613954 tonnes (or say 0.6 million tonne) which includes 193462 tonnes with
an average CaSo4 ZHzo content more than 83.00 %.(Fertilizer grade) and 3862.03
tonnes between 80.00 - 83.00 % (cement grade). The reserve of the subsidiary bed is
of the order of 21656 tonnes (or say 0.02 million tonne).

The reserves estimated during the carrier field season were of the order of
5.90 million tonnes (main gypsum bed) and 0.58 million tonne (subsidiary bad). Thus,
the total reserves, so far estimated, from the main gypsum bed are of the order of
6.50 million tonnes and those from the subsidiary beds are 0.60 million tonne. ,

V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

The main gypsum bed is usually interbedded with gypseous claystone, clay,
dolomite and limestone and occurs at depths varying from 47.75 to 70.05 m.
Thickening and thinning of the main gypsum bed is commonly seen, the thickness
varying from 1.75 to 16.15 m, of which the total thickness of gypsum varies from 0.95
to 7.70 m. In general, the gypsum is massive and compact.

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 The inferred reserves of all grades of gypsum from the main gypsum bed are
of the order of 0.6 million tonnes, and those from the subsidiary bed are 0.02 million
tonnes. Thus the total reserves so far estimated from the main gypsum bed are of the
order of 6.50 million tonnes and those from the subsidiary beds are 0.60 million
tonne.

In order to find out the continuity of the main gypsum bed and to complete the
block it is recommended that the drilling may be continued.

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