UNITED STATES

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

PROJECT REPORT
Pakistan Investigations
(IR)PK-27

RECONNAISSANCE OF THE GEOLOGY AND ORE MINERALIZATION IN PART

OF THE CHAGAI DISTRICT, PAKISTAN

OPEN FILE REPORT

This report is preliminary and

has not been edited or reviewed for
conformity with Geological Survey
standards or nomenclature

Prepared under the auspices of the

Government of Pakistan and the
Agency for International Development
U. S. Department of State

1975
RECONNAISSANCE OF THE GEOLOGY AND ORE MINERALIZATION IN PART

OF THE CHAGAI DISTRICT, PAKISTAN, 1964

by

Raymond H. Nagell

U. S. Geological Survey
 CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT.................................................. 1

INTRODUCTION.............................................. 2

Location and accessibility........................... 2

Climate and vegetation. ........................ »...... 4

Scope of the report.................................. 5-6

Previous work........................................ 7

Acknowledgments...................................... 8

GEOLOGY................................................... 9

Physiography......................................... 11

Igneous rocks........................................ 12

Sinjrani Volcanic Group*........................ 13

Chagai intrusions*.............................. 16

Dikes........................................... 18

Koh-i-Sultan Volcanic Group ..................... 19

Age of igneous rocks............................ 19

Sedimentary rocks.................................... 20

Humai Formation*........... 1 .................... 20

Rakshani Formation*............................. 22

Early Recent deposits ........................... 22

Recent deposits................................. 23

Structure 23

Structure of the Chagai Hills................... 25

 CONTENTS (Cont.)

Page

ECONOMIC GEOLOGY........................................... 29

Mineral deposits of the western Chagai Hills.......... 31

Copper........................................... 31

Iron............................................. 40

Travertine marble................................ 40

Summary.......................................... 53

Mineral deposits other parts of the Chagai District... 54

Sulphur.......................................... 56

Travertine marble................................ 58

Iron............................................. 62

Copper........................................... 65

Lead and zinc.................................... 70

REFERENCES................................................. 72

ii
 ILLUSTRATIONS

PLATE Page

plate 1. Geologic map of the western Chagai Hills...........In pocket

FIGURES

Fi§ure 1* Index map showing mineral localities in Chagai

District, Quetta Division, and the area covered
by Plate 1........................................... 3

2. Sketch map showing distribution of igneous rocks

and the trend of the major orogenic axis in the
Chagai District...................................... 10

3. Sketch map of the Shambi Dik copper deposits

near Zargan Nala.....................................33

4. Sketch map of the Patkan copper deposit near

Amuri Nala...........................................36

5. Lower contact of the Juhli travertine marble

deposit..............................................42

6. Sill-like sheet of travertine marble cutting

monzonite............................................ 44

7. Hematite and calcite replacing green translucent

travertine marble....................................45

8. Vuggy layer in travertine marble.....................46

9. Horizontal layers of travertine marble in contact

wi£h a sloping bedrock surface.......................48

10. Juhli travertine marble depo'sit showing active

quarry bench......................................... 50

11. Sketch map showing the quarry area of the Juhli

travertine marble deposits...........................51

12.. Sketch map showing inferred copper-bearing zone

in the Bandagan copper-magnetite deposit.............66

iii
 TABLES

Page

ble 1. Travertine marble reserves in part of the Juhli

quarries............................................ 52

2. Travertine marble reserves at Mashki Chah........... 59

3. Summary of travertine marble reserves in Chagai

District............................................ 61

IV
 RECONNAISSANCE OF THE GEOLOGY AND ORE MINERALIZATION
IN PART OF THE CKAGAI DISTRICT, PAKISTAN, 1964

by

Raymond H. Nagell
U.S. Geological Survey

ABSTRACT

The Chagai District of the Quetta Division is in the north-

western part of Pakistan. %

Igneous activity during the Himalayan orogeny included the

extrusion of horizontally layered andesites of the Cretaceous

Sinjrani Volcanic Group, emplacement of monzonitic stocks of the

Cretaceous Chagai intrusions, and the extrusion of flows and tuffs

of the Koh-i-Sultan Volcanic Group during the Pleistocene.

The western Chagai Hills remained a stable area only intermit-

tently submergent during the Himalayan orogeny. Marine limestones

are interlayered with the Sinjrani Volcanic Group. The Mirjawa-

Dalbandin trough formed south of the Chagai Hills and received

conglomerates and sandstones of the Cretaceous Humai Formation,

and sandstones, shales, and limestones of the Paleocene Rakshani

Formation. Doming and faulting are the major structural features

in the western Chagai Hills; open folds developed in the sedimentary

units to the south in the Mirjawa-Dalbandin trough.

 Mineral deposits in the Chagai District include solfataric sulphur

l^^osits on the southern flank of Koh-i-Sultan volcano and scattered

travertine marble (locally called onyx marble) deposits; they are related

i: i-'-r.e to Pleistocene volcanism. Production from the sulphur deposits

is about 20 tons per day of ore containing as much as 50 percent sulphur.

T..e .~>:e is shipped by rail to a refinery in Karachi. The travertine

T.arble is quarried in blocks of 16 cubic feet or more. About 20 tons

v

per day are shipped to Karachi for trimming and export.

Hydrothermal and contact metasomatic base metal and iron deposits

tor-ed during intrusive activity in the Cretaceous and Eocene. They

are widely distributed through the Chagai District, but nearly all are

:oo small to oe of economic importance. The Bandagan chalcopyrite-

n^netite has been partly prospected by diamond drilling. Ore reserves

indicated by drilling are 32,000 tons of 0.5 to 1.0. percent copper ore.

Additional prospecting may increase the quantity and quality of reserves.

INTRODUCTION

Location and accessibility

Tne Chagai District of the Quetta Division is in the northwestern

r-'-r. or Pakistan; it is bordered by Afghanistan to the north and

'-in to che west. The general region that includes the Chagai District

* still known as Baluchistan, although it no longer is a political .

An all-weather road and a standard gauge railroad traverse

length of the Chagai District (fig. 1) linking the city of Quetta,

Pakistan, with Zahidan, Iran.
 , I

'*=-XNDlfong Kolol ', V

.--.,,^7//
Boro
WESTERN CHAGAI HILLS.

X T Travertine niartilo dopo&it

X $ Sulphur
X tu Copper
X ft Iron deposit
X Pb lead ami /me U«pokit
Area covered by pUte 1

»r

25 0 25 50 75 100 MILES
I I I I I I i i

Figure 1. Index map showing mineral localities in C.hagai District, Quetta Division, and
the area covered by Plate 1.
 The western part of the Chagai Hills (pi. 1) lies in the north-

cantral part of the Chagai District. The area covered by plate 1 is

bounded by Afghanistan on the north, parallel 28°N. on the south, and

by the meridians 63° and 64°E.

Access to the western Chagai Hills is by road from Quetta to mile-

post 284.25. From this point on the main road, a tract passable for

trucks and four-wheel-drive vehicles winds north across the stony and

sandy desert and enters Amuri Nala at the south edge of the Chagai

Hills. The road follows the nala north to Johan Karez, Shah (Sor) Karez,

and to the levy post, Patkok, on the Afghanistan border. Because of the

rugged terrain, access to areas away from the road is limited to foot

and camel trails and boulder-strewn nalas in the hill area. The stony

desert south of the hills is traversible in most places by four-wheel-

drive vehicles. The sandy desert in the northwestern part of the area

shoxvn on plate 1 is not readily accessible to wheeled vehicles.

Climate^ and vegetation

Rainfall in this arid desert varies from year to year but averages

about 4 inches annually. Some years may pass with no measurable rain-

fall. Summer temperatures exceed 100°F., and in winter, fall below freezing,

The term "Nala" means gully, arroyo, or dry wash. The term "Rud"

is also used in this sense and appears on topographic maps of the

area.
 Scope, of the report

N'ur.erous showings of base metals have been reported from the Chagai

District, especially in the area covered by this report. The associ-

ation of these deposits with the largest continuous exposure of igneous

recks in Pakistan was assigned for investigation. The investigation

was a joint activity of the Geological Survey of Pakistan and the U.S.

Geological Survey, under the auspices of the Government of Pakistan^and

"he U.S. Agency for International Development.

The area included in plate 1 was examined from October 1963 through

January 1964. All showings of copper, iron, and travertine marble were

studied and mapped. Contacts between the Sinjrani Volcanic Grouper

Chagat intrusions,* and Humai* and Rakshani* Formations were mapped on

aerial photographs. Aerial photographs were used because suitable maps

of Sufficiently large scale and accuracy were not available; the Survey

of Pakistan is currently compiling a series of 1:50,000-scale, 15-minute

quadrangle sheets in the Chagai District; at the time of the investigation

only l:253,440-scale, 1-degree sheets of low accuracy were available.

Puring March, April, and May of 1964,'mineral deposits in other

areas of the Chagai District (fig. 1) were examined. Data in the

Stratigraphic names in this report followed by an asterisk are

om,il published names reports whose status with respect to the

Stracigraphic Code of Pakistan is currently under examination.

5-6
files of the Geological Survey of Pakistan on the more important

deposits have been augmented by the recent field investigations,

as described in the section "Ore mineralization of other parts of

the Chagai District" of this report.

Previous vork

Pioneer vork in the area was by E. W. Vredenburg (1901). The

general structural and age relations of the rocks described in his

N
report are valid and represent keen observation at a time when

travel in the region was slow and difficult.

The most complete recent work is by the Hunting Survey Corpo-

ration, Limited (1960) , under a Colombo Plan cooperative project.

Regional geologic maps at a scale of 1:253,440 were compiled from

aerial photographs and checked by field traverses along major access

routes. An orderly system of stratigraphic names was introduced.

More recently, M. I. Ahmed (1951, 1962) reported on sulphur and

lead deposits of the Chagai region, and W. Ahmed (1960b, 1964)

^escribed iron and onyx marble deposits.

 Acknowledgments

I wish to acknowledge the field assistance of Moharaaad Araeen

'.'nan, of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, and the whole-hearted

cooperation of the officials and people of the Chagai District.

T^ose nost directly facilitating the project were Inayatullah Khan,

Political \gant; Nasibullah Khan, Assistant Political Agent;

Mullah Abdullah, Oafedar of Yakmach; Malik Gul Mohammad, Numerdar

of Am.uri; and Jumna Khan, guide, cook, and stadia rodraan. The

hospitality of the Chagai Militia in the western part of the

district grsatly facilitated fieldwork. Abdul Mannan Mian, Surveyor,

Geological Survey of Pakistan, assisted in fieldwork in the Chagai

District.

The work was done under the general supervision of Max G. White

of the U.S. Geological Survey and Mr. Asrarullah of the Geological

Survey of Pakistan.
 GEOLOGY

The Cretaceous Sinjrani Volcanic Group,* mostly andesite, is

,h" oldest rock exposed in the Chagai region.

hr ' * W
In the area included

on plate I, the vestern Chagai Hills, the horizontally layered

,. o lcanic group was intruded by quartz monzonite and granodiorite of

.u e Chagai intrusions* during the Cretaceous. Renewed igneous

.-ctivity during the Pleistocene is represented by the Koh-i-Sultan

Volcanic Group. Only small remnants of these rocks are found in the

southwest corner of the mapped area, but these are the dominant rocks

exposed to the west, north of Nok Kundi (figs. 1 and 2). Igneous rocks

extend from the Pakistan-Iran border east for more than 200 miles and

form the largest area of eruptive rocks in Pakistan.

Two sedimentary formations are exposed in the western Chagai Hills,

the Cretaceous Humai Formation,* consisting of limestone, shale, sand-

stone, and conglomerate, and the Paleocene Rakshani Formation,* consisting

of calcareous sandstone and shale. Both formations are younger than the

Cbagai intrusions.* They crop out along the southern border of the

igneous rocks in the Mirjawa-Dalbandin trough, most of which lies south

of the area included in plate 1.
\
The structural evolution of the Chagai region accompanied the

Himalayan orogeny which culminated in the Pleistocene. The arcuate

pattern of major deformational axes is shown of figure 2. Uplifted

 Ar«a underlain by
i(n«ou« rocks
28'

Alter Hunting Survey Corporation, Lid;

1960, pl.le 6
20 0 20 40 60 BO 100 MILES
-JU I

Figure 2. Sketch map showing distribution of igneous rocks and the tf end of maior
oragenic axes in the Chagat District. Pakistan.

10
a reas of the North Chagai arch and the Ras Koh geanticline (Hunting

Survey Corp., 1960) parallel the axis of the Mirjawa-Dalbandin

crcugh.

Folding is relatively slight in the Chagai Hills as compared

vith the Ras Koh geanticline. Faulting is the major mode of defor-

mation in the Chagai Hills. Destructive earthquakes in recent years

attest to continued release of stress through faulting in this

region. The gross structural form of the Chagai Hills is an elongate

dome; layering in the outer margins of the Sinjrani Volcanic Group

dips at low angles away from the center.

Physiography

The Chagai District is a region of mountains interspersed with

sandy and stony deserts. The western Chagai Hills (pi. 1) are

bounded by stony desert on the south and sandy desert on the west

and north. Base-level elevations increase from 2,900 feet in the

stony desert to 5,200 feet in the alluvium-covered area in the north-

east. Mountain peaks rise about 1,600 feet above the nalas. Malik

Naro and Malik Teznan are the highest peaks, with elevations of
v
8,061 feet and 7.679 feet, respectively.

The streams drain north, west, and south. Antecedent streams

are controlled by faults. Stream capture has taken place south of

Malik Tezanan (pi. 1) in the northern part of the map area. There,

stream valleys leading northwest have been diverted by headward

erosion of south-flowing streams. The northwest-flowing streams

are now tributary to the south-flowing Amuri Nala. In areas underlain

11
by che hard resistant rocks of the Sinjrani Volcanic Group and

diorite of the Chagai intrusions , the drainage pattern is well

developed. More easily eroded areas of quartz monzonite exhibit

^
a less well developed stream pattern, with low hills projecting

above a sea of their own coarse sandy debris. Cross-sectional

profiles of the streams show concave side slopes with flat boulder-

strewn streambeds. N

South of the Chagai Hills, in the desert-varnished plain

sloping gently to the south, stream channels are as much as a mile

wide. A degree of immaturity exists where parallel stream channels

a few hundred feet apart may differ in elevation as much as 30 feet.

The banks of streams form vertical cliffs as much as 50 feet high

in the early Recent sands and gravels underlying the plain. North

and west of the Chagai Hills, in the sandy desert, the stream

channels are ill defined or disappear beneath windswept sand. All

stream valleys in the Chagai region lead to closed basins. The

Hamun-i-Mashkel and the Hamun-i-Lora (fig. 1) are dry salt lakes

receiving interior drainage.

Igneous rocks

Igneous rocks predominate in the Chagai Hills area. The

Sinjrani Volcanic. Group of Cretaceous age and the Chagai in-

trusions of Cretaceous to Eocene age cover approximately 60 per-

cent of the map area and probably underlie much of the sandy desert

° c^e west. Both rock units are cut by dikes and are overlain to
fK ^t ^t
n e south by the Cretaceous Humai and the Paleocene Rakshani
Formations.

12
 Sinjrani Volcanic Group

General.--The Sinjrani Volcanic Group and equivalent for-

mations are found from Kachao (fig.l) on the border of Iran, east

to Hamun-i-Lora. The name Sinjrani was first proposed by Hunting

Survey Corp., (1960 p.292) after the Sinjrani area north of

Dalbandin. The unit includes the "flysch" of Vredenburg (1901, map 1).

Hunting assigned the group to the Cretaceous.

In the western Chagai Hills, the Sinjrani Volcanic Group appears

as massive, dark-green to black, fine-grained, layered rocks. The

layers are horizontal or gently inclined and range in thickness from

a few inches to several feet. At the margin of the hills, the layers

dip more steeply and form a domal structure.

Lithology.--The dominant rock type is andesite, followed in

abundance by dolerite, basalt, felsic quartz andesite, dacite, and

rhyolite. Aggloraeratic layers containing volcanic fragments and

boulders as much as 2 feet in diameter are locally abundant. Small

amounts of limestone and tuff are interbedded with these rocks.

Andesite ranges in texture from very fine grained to prophy-

ricic. Andesine is the most abundant mineral and occurs with

cpidote. hornblende, biotite, chlorite, and magnetite. Biotite is

Subordinate to hornblende; the latter is replaced commonly by

secondary calcite. Potash feldspar is present in some places, and

Serpentine (after olivine?) was noted in a few of the rocks. Plagio-

ciase microlites form the groundmass of the porphyritic andesites.

Epidote is widespread in mafic rocks of the Sinjrani Volcanic Group

13
throughout the Chagai District but is rare in the more felsic

rocks. In places, masses of nearly pure epidote as much as 20 feet

in diameter with rosettes of epidote crystals are found. The greenish

tinge of the dark to black volcanic rocks is due to the presence of

epidote.

Dolerite and basalt differ only in the fine-grained texture of

the basalt and the coarser texture of the dolerite. Feldspar most N

cctnmonly lies in andesine-labradorite range of composition. Pyroxene

(augite) or hornblende is the most abundant mafic mineral, and

magnetite, chlorite, and epidote are common accessories. Some bictite

was noted in one thin section of dolerite.

Quartz andesite, trachyte, and dacite were identified in thin

Sections, but were not mapped as separate units in the field. Quartz is

present in these rocks; the dominant feldspar is oligoclase, and biotite

is more abundant than in the andesite. Epidote, chlorite, and magnetite

are present as accessories. Some of the dacite exhibits a glassy matrix

containing feldspar microlites. Trachytic textures are rarely seen.

Rhyolica and tuff are not widespread in the mapped area (pi. 1). A

Small patch of rhyclite lies opposite Dojeekor Nala in the northern part

°f the area. The rock is pale brown, hard, fine grained and contains

visible quartz. Limonite is present on the weathered surfaces. Quartz,

Ji£oclase, and sericitized orthoclase, make up most of the rock;

vite and a small amount of sphene are present.

rL ° Pits, about 50 feet in diameter and 10 feet deep are in the

In ft lte * ^e y ar ^ locally known as the "Missi" mine (mis is copper
eL.^,o_ UC ^ * ^° ore minerals are visible in the pits, and no ore
-swere detected by spectrographic analysis of the rock. The
^nabi tant.5 do not know when or by whom the pits were dug.
 Although most of the Sinjrani Volcanic Group is andesite, compo-

sition varies along the strike and across the layering; no systematic

vertical variation was noted in the group.

Sinjrani limestone.--Limestone lenses constitute a very minor

part of the Sinjrani Volcanic Group" in the northeastern and south-

eastern part of the area. They range in thickness from 4 feet to

about 300 feet. The limestone is assigned to the Sinjrani Volcanic

& %
Group' because it is interlayered with these rocks and is not related

to the Rakshani Formation,* which it resembles. Algae, shell fragments

of pelecypods, and probable tests of Radiolaria are contained in the

whice massive limestone. None of the fossils yielded definitive age

data; all could be Cretaceous. The limestone contains a small amount

of tuffaceous clastic material.

Alteration of the volcanic rocks.--The volcanic rocks are only

slightly altered near intrusive contacts where dense fine-grained

hornfelsic rock has developed in places. Epidote appears more

abundantly near contacts and also near small hydrothermal mineral

occurrences. Tiny veinlets of quartz and calcite in rock adjacent to

mineralized outcrops are visible under the microscope; to the unaided

5 >'2j the rock shows no evidence of hydrothermal alteration.

The volcanic sequence contains small patches of skarn cpnsisting

°f epidote and garnet.' Skarn and hematite are clearly alteration

products of limestone. This rock may correspond to the host rock of

Baluchap-Kundi iron deposits (see Iron in the section on "Ore

in other parts of the Chagai District"). West of

15
Dana Nala, a patch of skarn covers an area of LOO square feet. No

lir.estone is found in this area, although it is seen under the

microscope that calcite replaced brown, zoned garnet. Associated

minerals are epidote, quartz, hematite, pyrite, and a fibrous

amphibole.
_, . . . *
Chagai intrusions
if
General.--The term Chagai intrusions was applied by Hunting

Survey Corp. (1960, p. 93) to the dominant intrusive rock underlying

the Chagai Hills. Intrusive masses of equivalent composition and

slightly younger age are found to the west near the Iranian border,

and to the east in the Ras Koh Range.

The Chagai intrusions* attain batholithic dimensions and occupy

an area 85 miles (east-west) by 30 miles (north-south). They intrude

rocks of the Sinjrani Volcanic Group;'* they do not intrude the

^r.

Cretaceous Humai Formation which contains pebbles and boulders of

the intrusives in its basal conglomerate.

Lithology.--The Chagai intrusions range in composition from

granite to gabbro. Most are quartz bearing and of intermediate

composition. Quartz monzonite and grandiorite are by far the most

abundant. Quartz diorite most commonly is found in a narrow zone

near contacts with the Sinjrani volcanic rocks. Relatively rare gabbro

forms small pluglike masses. Granite is also relatively rare, and it

is regarded as a potash-rich variant of the intermediate intrusive

rocks .

Granite, quartz monzonite, granodiorite, and quartz diorite have

16
not been napped separately because those rock types are gradaticnaL,

and the differences in composition cannot be determined accurately

without extensive microsopic study.

Plagioclase in the oligoclase-andesine range is the most common

mineral in these rocks. Plagioclase and orthoclase are cloudy brown

and partly sericitized. Hornblende, in different stages of replace-

ment by chlorite, is pleochroic in yellow-brown to green. Chlorite

>
is present in most of the rocks. Magnetite is common; apatite and

sphene are rare. Brown biotite is more common in the felsic rocks,

whereas hornblende is more common in the mafic end of the series.

Myrmekite texture is especially abundant in the quartz diorite.

Epidote is relatively rare in the intrusive rocks as compared with

the Sinjrani volcanic rocks.

Monzonite and diorite were identified only along the southern

margin of the Chagai Hills. Monzonite underlies some of the travertine

deposits in the Juhli area, and diorite is found farther east.

Graphic intergrowth of andesine and orthoclase is well developed in

the monzonice. Hornblende is present in the diorite to the exclusion

s

of biotite.

Gabbro forms small pluglike intrusive masses as much as several

hundred yards in diameter. It is not common in the Chagai Hills.

Hornblende and labradorite are its chief constitutents; olivine,

serpentine after olivine, and magnetite are present in small amounts.

The relative lack of weathering of the gabbro suggests that it is

younger than the more felsic rocks of the Chagai intrusions and may

17
be related to the basalt dikes that cut both the Sinjrani volcanic

ind the Chagai intrusive rocks.

Form of the intrusions.--The intrusive masses are batholiths that

invaded the overlying volcanic rocks. In places, the volcanic strata

are turned up near the contact with the intrusive, but most contact

zones are undeformed. Near such contacts, xenoliths of volcanic rock

are found, and the mafic mineral content of the intrusive rock
%
increases slightly. This suggests that the mode of intrusion involved

magmatic stoping with assimilation of the volcanic wallrock.

As noted by Hunting Survey Corp. (1960, p. 96), the presence of

jf
granitic boulders in the basal part of the Humai Formation shows that

the intrusive rocks were subjected to erosion soon after their

emplacement, suggesting a shallow depth of emplacement beneath a

thin roof of the Sinjrani Volcanic Group .

Dikes

Fine-grained andesitic and basaltic dikes as much as 30 feet

thick cut the intrusive complex, volcanic rocks, and the Rakshani

Formation' . In places, a zone of recrystallized rock 2 to 3 inches

thick is seen at the contacts, but most of the contacts are unaltered.

Because flow rocks are not associated with the dikes, it seems

unlikely that the dikes are related to the Pleistocene outpourings of

tuff and lava to the west at Koh-i-Sultan. They are probably related

to a second phase of intrusive activity during or following Paleocene

time.

18
 Koh-i-SulCan Volcanic Group

Flow rocks, agglcnerates, and tuffs from Koh-i-Sultan volcano

crop out in the southwestern corner of the map area and represent a

snail part of the tremendous outpourings to the west. The flow rocks,

mostly andesite, are subordinate in quantity to agglomerates and tuffs,

Sone rocks shown as belonging to the Sinjrani Volcanic Group* in

the western part of the map area are similar in aspect to the Koh-i-

Sultan Volcanic Group. Their distribution as shown on plate 1 follows

Hunting Survey Corp. (1960, map n° 22), but more detailed study is

required to determine whether they are Cretaceous or Pleistocene in

age. The upwarped layering in the volcanic rock surrounding the

intrusive plug at Manzil (pi. 1) suggests that these rocks are the

Sinjrani Volcanic Group.*

Age of igneous rocks

Igneous activity in the Chagai region continued intermittently
from the Cretaceous through the Pleistocene. The horizontal andesitic
flows of the Sinjrani Volcanic Group* are assigned to the Cretaceous
(Hunting Survey Corp., 1960, p. 292) on the evidence of fossils in
interlayered marine limestone lenses.
The Chagai intrusions,* Raz Koh intrusions,* and Shor Koh intru-
sions* represent suites of similar composition that date from the
Cretaceous through the Paleocene. In the western Chagai Hills, peb-
Mes and boulders of the Chagai intrusions* are found in the basal
conglomerate of the Cretaceous Humai Formation;* in the eastern Chagai
H Uls, near Baluchap-Kundi (fig. 1) and to the south at Nuhli Koh,

19
the Chagai intrusions" invaded the PaLeocene Rakshani Formation

(Hunting Survey Corp., I960, p. 9-).

Andesite and basalt dikes cut the Rakshr.ai formation * east of

the western Chagai Hills. They also intrude the Chagai intrusions" of

the western Chagai Hills and may represent intermittent volcanisin

during the Cenozoic.

A Pleistocene age for the Koh-i-Sultan volcanic activity is

suggested by Hunting Survey Corp., (1960, p. 182) on the basis of the%

relatively undissected volcanic cones, the still-active Koh-i-Taftan

volcano, and the unconformable contacts of the Koh-i-Sultan Volcanic

JU
Group with the underlying Cretaceous Sinjrani Volcanic Group" Teriiary
* Jfc-
Cretaceous Chagai intrusions| and the Paleocene Juzzak Forma tiers

which crop out in the western part of the Chagai District. The layering

in the Koh-i-Sultan volcanic material does not appear to be folded or

tilted, and some of the red coloration in lacustrine deposits in the

*
Pleistocene Kamercd Formation is thought to have been derived from

contemporaneous volcanic activity (Hunting Survey Corp., 1960, p. 182).

Sedimentary rocks
x
Cretaceous and Paleocene sediments are represented by the Humai

ar.d the Rakfhani Formations that crop cue along the southern margin

of the Chagai Hills. The beds generally dip gently to the south, away

from the hills, and are at most gently folded.

*
Humai Formation

The Humai Formation was named by Hunting Survey Corp,, (1960,

P* 143) aft-_r Koh Hunai west of the Koh-i-Sultan volcano. The

20
formation includes the "Hippuritic limes cone" of Vredenburg (1901), as

veil as shale, sandstone, conglomerate, and cuff.

o
A basal red conglomerate sequence 24-0 feet thick dips 35 S. and
jf
overlies the Sinjrani Volcanic Group at Huki-Luti (Mazenen) Nala.

This red-bed sequence is gritty and contains boulders of Sinjrani

volcanic rocks, some granitic rock, and pelecypod-bearing limestone

boulders which may have cotne from limestone layers in the Sinjrani.

Above the basal conglomerate is a gray to drab-green sequence of

sandstone, grit, and conglomerate, consisting of beds as much as 2 feet

thick. Near Huki-Luti (Mazenen) Nala, the Humai Formation* exceeds

1,000 feet in thickness and grades upward into the Rakshani Formation.*

Lithologic variations within short distances along the strike are

reported by Hunting Survey Corp., (1960). North of Butig, a layer

of biohermal limestone containing pelecypods and gastropods was

mapped by Hunting as the Humai Formation;* this investigation found it

to be interlayered with Sinjrani volcanic rocks.

The Humai Formation' is readily eroded and largely covered by

early Recent gravels. Some of the best exposures are in nalas where

recent erosion has cue through the gravels and exposed the underlying

beds.

C. L. Cox (Hunting Survey Corp., I960, p. 146) has correlated the

Hippurite fauna of the Humai Formation with the Maestrichtian or Upper

Cretaceous. The age of the uppermost beds is unknown because they and
if
the lower part of the Rakshani Formation are unfossiliferous.

21
 k
Rakshani Formation

The name Rakshani Formation was proposed by Hunting Survey Corp.,

(1960, p. 248) to include various rocks mapped by Vredenburg '(1901) as

Cardita Beaumonti beds, volcanic Flysch, Ranikot, and Siwalik.

An

The Rakshani Formation" (pi. 1) consists of green to brown gritty

calcareous sandstone and sandy shale. Although most beds are less than

2 inches thick, some are as much as 10 feet thick. Near the Chagai

Hills, conglomerate layers contain rounded pebbles of the Sinjrani

Volcanic Group and some pebbles of the Chagai intrusions.. Cross -

bedding near the Chagai Hills suggests a steep gradient of deposition,

and marine fossils indicate that marine conditions prevailed during

deposition. Hunting Survey Corp., (1960, p. 250) noted the presence

of volcanic material in the formation east of Dalbandin near Ahmad Wal.

No rocks of volcanic origin were seen in the Rakshani Formation in

the mapped area.

Hunting Survey Corp., (1960, p. 251) considers most of the

formation to be Paleocene in age and the basal strata to be of

possible Danian age (Late Cretaceous or Early Paleocene).

Early Recent deposits

Most of the early Recent deposits are in the broad south-sloping

Plain south of the Chagai Hills. They are outwash deposits from the

Chagai Hills.and are coarsely stratified and unconsolidated. The '

^-aterial consists of boulders, pebbles, and sand. The surface of the

Deposits is deeply dissected by nalas. Broad interstream areas are

, and surface pebbles are covered by black to dark-brown desert

22
varnish composed mostly of iron and manganese oxides. In places, the

ur.consolidated material is cemented by lime, giving sufficienc cohesion

to permit vertical cliffs up to 50 feet high to stand above the dry

stream valleys.

The outwash deposits are Pleistocene to Recenc in age and, in

if "ft
contrast to the Humai' and Rakshani Formations, are not folded or

warped. As noted by Hunting Survey Corp., (1960, p. 299), mapping of

early Recent deposits, as distinguished from Recent deposits, serves

no useful purpose, except that within small areas it offers a broad

basis for comparing alluvial overburden. The early Recent deposits

are distinguished from the Recent deposits by being older, mere

stable, and subject to normal processes of stream erosion.

Recent deposits

Recent deposits consist of loose unconsolidated windblown sands

in dune areas in the western part of the map area and sand-to boulder -

size alluvium in dry stream valleys. This material is more obviously

transported by wind and water action than are the early Recent deposits,

Ths soil cover on the hills rarely exceeds a few inches and in

most places consists of a thin veneer of rock shards. Calcium

carbonate is a major constituent of th-s light brown soil; throughout

the Chagai region a drop of acid produces effervescence in soil.

\ Structure

The Chagai Hills are bordered by the Mirjawa-Dalbar.din trough to

tl*e south and the Hamun-i-Lora, a large flat dry lake, to the east.

*° the west is the recently active Koh-i-Sultan volcano with its

23
surrounding volcanic effluvia, and to the north, in Afghanistan, is

a broad plateau area of low relief. The Cretaceous Sinjrani Volcanic

j- -v
Group" and Chagai intrusions are sporadically traceable to the west

where they are not covered by alluvium and recent volcanic outpourings,

Deformation of the Chagai region took place before and during

the Himalayan orogeny. In Permian time, the orogeny began with the

development of the Baluchistan geosyncline in the area now occupied

by Pakistan. Downwarping continued through the Jurassic, with the %

accumulation of thousands of feet of sediments. Following the

Jurassic, the geosynclinal area was deformed into a series of east-

trending ridges and intervening basins.

The North Chagai arch, the western part of which includes the

Chagai Hills, borders the north flank of the synclinal Mirjawa-

Dalbandin trough (fig. 2). Mountains in the arch exhibit the festoon

pattern so well developed to the east in Pakistan, India, and Burma.

Volcanic and intrusive activity, beginning in the Cretaceous,

represents the beginning of the collapse of the syncline prior to

the main pulse of the Himalayan orogeny in the Pleistocene.

Following emplacement of the igneous rocks, the Chagai Hills

artd remained stable in comparison with highly deformed areas to the

a £-ch and east. That strong folding did not take place during the

-Malayan orogeny is shown by the nearly horizontal attitude of the

lnjrani Volcanic Group.* Orogenic effects are represented by the

- ^y faults cutting the intrusive and sedimentary rocks, the broad

'-^l uplift of the Hills, and the gentle warping of the layered rocks

24
The relative stability of the North Ghagai arch led Hunting Survey Corp.,

(I960, p.22, 28) to suggest that the area rests en the shelf of the

hinterland craton underlying Afghanistan. The conclusion is tentative

because the geology on the Afghanistan side of the border is obscure;

the relation of the Chagai arch to the hinterland craton and the mobile

belt of the geosyncline has not been definitely established.

Structure of the Chagai Hills

«

Folds are not well developed in the western part of the Chagai N

Hills. Layering in the volcanic rocks is horizontal, or nearly so,

in molTt places. Around the periphery of the Chagai Kills, the general

direction of dip is away from the center. Adjacent to some intrusive

bodies the volcanic rocks are arched, but in most places the magma

invaded the volcanic rocks with no noticeable upturning of the strata.

*
Formations of sedimentary rock are monoclinal and dip to the

south near the Hills. Farther south, they exhibit open anticlinal

and synclinal flexures whose axes trend east-west.

Faulting has played a more active part in the deformation of the

Chagai Hills than has folding. The faults form a conjugate pattern:

the average strike of one set is N.47°E. and the other is N.42°W.

*-or.g the southern margin of the Hills a third set of faults strikes

5 «st. All faults dip steeply. Many of the straight stream valleys

3r * controlled by faults.

Beds of the Sinjrani Volcanic Group are not notably displaced

e -<cepc by rare drag folds and displacements of a few feet on dikes

tha-
><tu a re transected by faults. Displacements are not readily

25
discernible because of the difficulty in correlating displaced layers

ir. a lithologically similar sequence.

Intrusive contacts are marked by faults in places. The Amuri

Nala, opposite Dojeekor Nala in the north-central part of the mapped

area (pi. 1), occupies a fault contact between intrusive rocks to the

east and volcanic rocks to the west. In most places contacts seem

co be controlled by the vagaries of magmacic intrusion.

*
The basal conglomerate of the Humai Formation shows an apparent %

horizontal displacement of 500 feet where it crosses Huki-Luti

(Mazenen) Nala. The fault, not visible, is in the nala bed and

strikes about N.20°E. A similar fault, half a mile to che west,

offsets the conglomerate by 1,000 feet. The apparent horizontal

direction of movement is left lateral; i.e., the west side has moved

south with respect to the east side along both of the faults. To

the east, at Sohtag Nala, the apparent horizontal displacement of

the Humai Formation is 8,000 feet along a right-lateral fault

striking N.70°W. This is the greatest displacement noted on any of

the faults in the Chagai Hills.

Gentle outward tilting of layered rocks at the margins of the

Chagai Hills indicates that doming has taken place. Travertine

marble cappings in the southwestern part of the Chagai Hills, believed

to have been deposited-. in a body of water, are related to Pleistocene

volcanic activity.. They are now found at successively higher

elevations toward the interior of the Hills. This would suggest

that doming has taken place following the Pleistocene if the travertine

26
r.arble originally forir.ed in a horizontal sheet, as described later in

this report. Local doming in the Sinjrani Volcanic Group" took place

near contacts with plugs of the Chagai intrusions/*

The Chagai igneous region is thought to lie on the south edge of

the hinterland craton that manifests itself in the stable area of

Afghanistan. Because of the nearly horizontal attitude of the Sinjrani

Volcanic Group"^ the Chagai Hills represent a stable area that was
N
emergent or intermittently emergent throughout the Himalayan orogeny.

Regional uplift began toward the end of the Tertiary. Marine fossils

disappear and terrestrial red beds predominate in successively younger

formations. Sedimentary Pleistocene formations in the Chagai region

are of terrestrial origin.

Dikes were mapped by Hunting Survey Corp., (1960) but are not

shown on plate 1. On aerial photographs the dikes seem to be more

abundant in the intrusive rocks than in the volcanic rocks because

they contrast more with the lighter colored intrusive rocks; actually,

the dikes are about equally distributed in both rock types. Some of

the dikes are parallel to faults and are controlled by preexisting

fracture planes. In the center of the mapped area, near Mirenjo

(a snail cemetery), the dikes curve parallel to the contact between

intrusive and volcanic rocks. Although most dikes parallel fault

-rends, the curved pattern suggests control by primary flow structure

lr* the intruding granitic rock.

The relative horizontal displacement observed along the

conjugate faults in the Chagai Hills is in accord with the general

27
interpretation in Pakistan that maximum congressional stress was

oriented north-south and horizontal minimum stress ease-vest. The

east-striking faults elsewhere in Pakistan are steeply inclined,

mostly to the north; they exhibit a reverse slip movement and are

older than the conjugate system of tear faults (Hunting Survey Corp.,

1960, p. 333). This probably is true also in the western Ghagai

Hills, although age relations were not observed in the field. The

steep dip of the reverse faults requires an explanation other than

horizontal compression which serves to explain the formation of the

conjugate tear faults. Hunting Survey Corp., (1960, p. 377-379)

proposes that initial folding and development of east-west reverse

faults were initiated by movement of the basement whir.h transmitted

stress inclined upward to the south.

As the rocks deformed by folding and assumed arcuate shapes, the

minimum stress axis rotated to the horizontal, parallel to the fold

axes; further deformation took place along the younger tear faults.

In the region of the Chagai Hills, folds and reverse faults did

not attain the degree of development noted in sedimentary rocks in

other areas of Pakistan. This may be due to the greater competency

°n the volcanic and igneous complex and to the more stable position

° : the region in relation to the hinterland era ton. Under these

CL ^cumstances, in the' Chagai Hills, the maximum Himalayan orogeny

"^ "'itested itself mainly in pre-Pleistocene time with the formation

° : the conjugate strike-slip fault pattern.

28
 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY

Deposits of copper, lead, zinc, iron, sulphur, travertine marble,

and chromite represent the minerals found in the Chagai District (fig. 1)

Base-metal deposits are widely scattered throughout the District but

are snail and weakly mineralized; most consist of stains of green

copper oxide (malachite, chrysocolla) on fracture surfaces. Some

deposits contain small amounts of the sulfide minerals chalcocite,

ft >
chalcopyrite, galena, and pyrite. The Sinjrani Volcanic Group, the
jr
Chagai intrusions, . and related intrusive rocks are the host rocks

for most deposits, contact metasomatic deposits are in skarn and

hornfels. One of these contact metasomatic deposits, the Bandagan.

is considered worthy of additional prospecting as described below.

A small lead deposit near Dirang Kalat is being mined on an explora-

tory basis; a few tons of hand-cobbed ore have been shipped by rail

800 miles to Karachi. Slag piles at Jali Robat, Saindak, and

Bandagan indicate local smelting of copper and lead ores in the

distant past. No historical record of this activity is known to the

author.

Iron-mineral deposits are widespread in the Chagai District.

Snail veins consisting mostly of limonire and hematite are in igneous

r°cks. A small amounc of copper mineral and iron-bearing carbonate

mineral is present. The Baluchap-Kundi deposit is of contact

^stasotnatic origin in limestone and contains more than a thousand

c ons of ore assaying more than 50 percent iron.

29
 Sulphur is mined from small irregular solfataric deposits in tuff

or. the south flank of Koh-i-Sultan volcano. About 22 tens of ore

containing 50 percent sulphur is produced per day. The ore is

trucked 25 miles to Nok Kundi where it is shipped by rail about 850

miles to the refinery in Karachi. This mine is the only source of

native sulphur in Pakistan.

Travertine marble is quarried at Zeh, Tozghi, Mashki Chah,

Juhli, and Zard Ran (fig. 1). The horizontally layered deposits form %

cappings as much as 25 feet thick on low hills of the Sinjrani

it '-if
Volcanic Group and the Chagai intrusions.1'- Because of the pleasing

aspect of polished surfaces, the travertine marble is used for

building construction, table tops, lamps, ashtrays, etc. Small chips

make an attractive terrazzo flooring. The blocks are trucked from

the quarries to rail sidings near Nok Kundi, Azad, and Dalbandin (fig. 1)

Rail shipments to Karachi averaged 2,500 tons per year from 1958 to

1962. After trimming at plants in Karachi, some travertine marble is

exported.

The possibility of finding evaporite deposits in the playa lakes,

Hamun-i-Lora and Hamun-i-Mashkel is being considered by the Geological

Survey of Pakistan. Some sampling and drilling have been done in an

effort to locate favorable areas for prospecting.

Small, low-grade; low-chrome-iron-ratio chromite deposits are

in serpentine in the Ras Koh range.

Some major problems of carrying on mining activities in the

gai region Include the absence of water in most places and the

30
high salinity of available water. Rail stations in the District are

supplied by tar.k cars hauling water frctn Zahidan in Iran and frcn

Mushki east c: Ahaad *al (fig. 1). In this region of exceedingly dry

climate, prospects of finding adequate water for large-scale operations

have not been investigated.

Because of the dry climate, dust storms of 2 or 3 days duration

are frequent and work is halted by low visibility, discomfort of the

workers, and trhe deleterious effects on machinery.

Individual mineral deposits are described in two parts, ore

mineralization in the western Chagai Hills, the area covered by plate 1,

and ore mineralization in other parts of the Chagai District, the

deposit localities of which are shown in figure 1.

Mineral deposits, western Chagai Hills

Copper

More than 23 copper-mineral deposits are in the western part of

the Chagai Hills. Most are in fractures in the Sinjrani Volcanic Group*
and all are small and weakly mineralized.

Small amounts of the green copper minerals malachite and

chrysocolla stain fault and joint planes. Chalcocite, bornite,

chalcopyrite, and pyrite are present in some deposits. Limonite,

hematite, and manganese oxide are commonly present. Gangue minerals

are rare; caicite, quartz, and iron-bearing carbonate are found in

some deposits. Alteration of the wallrock adjacent to the showings

is negligible, although epidote is more abundant near some deposits
in the Sinjrani. Volcanic Group.* Two deposits are in garnet-epidote

associated with hematite.

31
 The copper minerals virtually disappear at a depth of about 2

feet, indicating chat supergene enrichment has taken place near the

surface. Because of their small size, none of these deposits is

recoracended for further prospecting.

A group of 10 deposits, in the north-central part of the western

Chagai Hills west of Amuri Nala and south of Dojeekor Mala (pi. 1),

represent the most concentrated group of ore-mineral showings in the

N
western Chagai Hills. Access to the area is north by road along

Amuri Nala to Kannar Nala north of Mirenjo. A road 6 miles long

follows Kannar Nala to the northwest. A trail 3 miles long leads

from the end of the road to the Shambi Dik copper deposit (nc. 1, pi. 1).

Showings 2 through 5 and 7 are most readily accessible from the Shambi

Dik and are in Kapisha ridge (not shown on pi. 1) south of Dojeekor

Nala. Showings 6 and 8 through 10 are most readily accessible from

Amuri Nala. The precise locations of all showings appear on aerial

photographs of the area in the files of the Geological Survey of

Pakistan. Even with the photographs, the services of local guides

familiar with the area would be most helpful to anyone attempting to

visit the showings. All the following deposits are in the Sinjrani

Volcanic Group.

1. Shatnbi Dik or Kapisha - Eighteen snail pits about 3 feet

deep were excavated ot> copper showings in an area measuring 800 by

600 feet (fig. 3). Shiny black specks of chalcocite and green patches

°f malachite and chrysacolla are disseminated in small randomly

°r iented fractures in andositic Sinjrani volcanic rock. Very little

32
 6 mchs wide, some' :~V : 4 inch wide
cnalcocite I"5'c - t \, j'
6 tnchs wide: breccia
gouge caicite

4 foot zone of 1 inch fractures

some chaicocite

nchs
some chaicocite

fi-4 inch* ' ' ^ ~ ^ ° "N ^

v 3 mchs *ite;~iQutc ma\KM^sf Station A
manganese oxide

Plane taole Survey by Raymond H

Nagell and Md Ameen Khan
roo 100 200 300 400
ASSUMED DATUM 4QOO PEE* AT STAT'ON A
CONTOUR INTERVAL 25 FEE'

EXPLANATION
r> 80

Prosoect Pit Vein or Vemlet

'Sure 3 Sketch map of the Shambi Oik copper deposits Country rock is Smjram vol-
canic group; andesite unless otherwise indicated, near Zargan Nala, Pakistan.
copper mineral remains in the pits; nearly all signs of copper disappear

at: a depth of 3 feec. Gangue minerals in the fractures include calcite,

manganese oxide, and clay. The andesite adjacent to the fractures is

unaltered. Epidote is abundant in the andesite at Shambi Dik but is

not geologically significant because epidote is found through the

Sinjrani'vVolcanic Group,*

Specimens selected for obvious copper content from a pile of

material excavated from the pics assayed 3.1 percent copper. Because

of the lack of copper at depth in the pics and the small size of the

fractures, ore reserves are considered negligible.

2. The Baralop deposit north' of Shambi Dik was also t£5i piiied,

but no ore is visible in the pit. Four patches of green copper stain

are scattered within 50 feet of .the prospect.

3. The Pich deposit lies in a shear zone exposed at the head

of Dojeekor Nala. This copper showing is in a shear zone 20 feet

wide that strikes N.80°E. and controls the position of Dojeekcr Nala.

Minute quantities of chalcocite and green copper oxide minerals occur

-~ the shear zone over an outcrop length of 200 feet.

4. Gadahar is ihe local name applied to the copper showings on

: "e south side of the Dojeekor Nala, tributary to Amuri Nala. Small

s of chal^ocite, green copper oxide stains, hematite, manganese

j and a brown carbonate mineral are exposed in a vertical

zone that strikes N.83°W. Adjacent volcanic rocks contain

epidote.

5. The Tamba (copper in Urdu), Gattori, and Neilgar deposits

34
are within half a mile of one another. Short veinlets 1/2-inch wide

contain quarts, chalcocite, and green copper oxide; they strike north-

west and dip 50°SW.

6. The Churra and two unnamed showings are represented at

deposit number 6. One consists of copper minerals in a small patch

of shattered rock, and the other fills a vertical north-striking

fissure. The Churra occurrence is in a horizontal 1/2-inch crack.

7. An unnamed deposit contains hematite and green copper okides

filling a vertical fracture zone 1.5 feet wide that strikes N.45°E.

A small pit was cut along the fracture. Enclosing volcanic rocks

are unaltered.

8. An unnamed deposit is on the north side of a small nala

known as Kapisha. Patches of copper minerals can be traced for 400

feet along a fracture zone 6 feet wide that strikes northwest and
dips 75°SW.

9. Salaam Khan Nala. The deposit is high on the side of a

tributary to the Amuri Nala and lies east of the head of the valley.

" e copper showings are in a vertical northeast-striking fracture

*ane 4 feet in width.

10- Siahjik. The southeastermost of this group of deposits

c ."* **«
ists of several veins less than 4 inches wide containing small
fc*"*.
~" Unts °f chalcopyrite, magnetite, limonite, and siderite. The
n -*rir
ce appears to be the source of the magnetite and limonite.

l* Patkan (fig. 4). Patkan is east of Amuri Nala 4.5 miles

» L

Mirenjo. Green copper minerals are found sporadically

35
 fracture /one 2 to 22 ttet wide
including 3-foot quail/ v«m and
liactuitd volcanic loch with
J lo S mi lies wide qiulU Snleule
'/« inch quart/ vtinlel I nets
ininiii Amount ul <:h«l<.iicite an, I
m«lachile
.^

\ V-tuol (rtilun /one with quid/

ind tmsll amount ol i.h*l< oule
Chagat intrusions* \ and malachite
3 inchs wide, quart/ vainlal. l&leel
long with small amount ot
chalcocrte and malachite
Siniraru volcanic group*
EXPLANATION

Prospect pit

V«m or vcinlat
wmy dip, do*>t*d

Contact
dothtd wtwu apptammottly

hy K4yni.)ii(l II
toil Mil Aineen Klun
50 50 100 150 200 250 FftT
I .. 1 I
ASSUMtD DATUM 4OOO FtET Af SIAllON A
CONTOUH INHNVAI 5O K I I

Figure 4. Sketch map of the Patkan copper deposit near Amuri Nal<a. Pakistan.

36
over a distance of 300 feet along a northwest-striking vein in the

Sir.jrani volcanics, 50 feec north of the contact with Tionzonite of

the Chagai intrusions; no sign of ore was seen along the contact

or in the intrusive rocks. Ore minerals disappear 2 feet below the

surface in two small pits excavated in 1962. An assay of selected

chalcocite-bearing rock in an ore pile close to one of the pits

showed 11.0 percent copper (Chauhan, analyst, Geological Survey

Pakistan) .

12. Jaffar Wad. Two veins containing green copper, limonite,

and manganese oxide lie at the drainage divide Jaffar Wad, between

Daldan and Anuri Nalas 3 miles southeast of Mirenjo. One occupies

a fracture zone 12 inches wide that strikes N.20°W. and dips 70°E.

A few specks of bornite are in the vein which is composed mostly

of epidotized volcanic country rock of the Sinjrani Volcanic Group?

The second vein strikes N.45°E. and dips 75°SE.; it lies 50 feet

south of the 12-inch vein. It consists of a fracture zone 3.5 feet

wide containing small amounts of green copper mineral on some

fracture surfaces. The amount of copper exposed is small and

unimpressive.

An area containing several showings of iron and copper minerals

lies 6 miles northwest of Koh-i-Serbwt in the eastern part of the

7:apped area. Locally, this general area is known as Huki-Luti. The

3r ea is accessible to wheeled vehicles north along the Mazenen, Luti,

Cc Sohtag Nalas to the south edge of the Chagai Hills, and thence by

a l*ing along the nalas and over low drainage divides. An alternate

'°ute is by walking from Johan Karez along Daldan Nala.

37
 13. Luti Nala. Hematite, associated with epidote and garnet,

is ihe predoninanc metallic mineral in snail skarn and carbonate

vein deposits. The skarn represents partial alteration of an

unfossiliferous lens of limestone 4 feet thick interbedded with

the Sinjrani Volcanic Group;. About 1,000 feet north of the skarn

deposits, near the crest of a hill, two veins, each 2 to 13 inches

thick, contain hematite, a small amount of magnetite, and green

\
copper oxide stain. The hematite appears to have formed from the

oxidation of iron carbonate in the veins. Several similar veins

in ihe area, known to local inhabitants, were not examined.

14. The Spitk copper deposits consist of four small

concentrations of chalcopyrite, bornite, and malachite in fractured

nor.zonite. The fracture can be traced for nearly a mile. Other

patches of green copper stains are in the area and are indicated,

without number, near the Spitk deposits. The deposit at the south-

east end of the fracture was prospected with a small pit in which

* few chisel-shaped pieces of volcanic rock were found and identified

^Y local inhabitants as digging tools. A few pieces of slag were

^=n near the pit, indicating that ore was locally smelted at some

-" '.r.own date. The site of the old smelter has not been found.

15. Number 15 marks the location of some very small showings

- iron and copper minerals northeast of the Spitk deposits.

Deposits numbered 16 through 19 trend from west to east,

"finning 9 miles northeast of Juhli near the southwest margin of

" Chagai Hills. They are similar to those described above.

38
Number 19, near the head of Huki-Luti (Mazenen) Nala, is unusual

because of disseminated pyritic alteration in the Sinjrani volcanic

rocks .

Access to these showings in the southern part of the Chagai

Hills is by motor vehicle across the desert-varnished plain of early

Recent gravels to the nearest nala leading into the hills. Foot

trails lead into the hills toward the deposits.

16. Tamba is a small patch of skarn containing garnet-epidote-

hematite west of Sailok Nala, a tributary of Dana Nala. Striated

cubic crystals of hematite after pyrite and traces of green copper

oxide stains are present. A small pit had been dug on the showing.

17. The Tratki Nala-Arghati Nala deposit is just east of the

Pudkash Nala, a tributary of the Amuri Nala in the south-central

part of the mapped area. Hematite, chalcopyrite, iron carbonate,

and green copper oxide" stains occupy several veins that range from

0.5 to 3 inches in width. All veins lie within an area 75 feet in

diameter; none exceeds 25 feet in length.

18. The Gurandi deposit is east of Nissi Nala. A very small

amount of copper stain is in an ill-defined vertical northwest-

bending fissure. East of that fracture is a 4-inch-wide vein of

r'Sniatite and epidote. The showing is in quartz monzonite of the

Cha 3ai intrusions.* v

19. At Pincashi Nala, a tributary of Mazenen Nala, volcanic

*- c -<s contain disseminated pyrite. The alteration zone measure 300

"*'- in diameter. The volcanic rocks are bleached white, suggesting

39
that they are hydro thermally altered. Yellow-green sulphurous -

sine I ling alteration of the volcanic rocks is associated with small

springs emanating near the floor of the nala. Pyrite and some

specular hematite are visible in the bank near the floor of the

nala, but only one trace of green copper stain was noted.

Iron

Veinlets and small masses of hematite, magnetite, and iron

carbonate are scactered in the western Chagai Hills, two zones of

which are shown on plate 1 (locations 13 and 16). Both are skarn

deposits. The copper and iron in these deposits is very small.

^f
Iron-bearing veins in the Sinjrani Volcanic Group reach a

aaximum of 20 feet in length and average 4 inches in width. Iron

carbonate in some veins suggests that hematite may have formed from

oxidation of carbonate. A very small amount of green copper oxide

'tain is found in some of these veins, indicating that iron and

copper are related forms of metallization in the region.

Travertine marble

Travertine marble (ornamental travertine) is the only mineral

-duct of economic importance found in the western part of the

5ai Hills. The deposits near Juhli crop out along a north-south

'e 6 miles long. The Butig deposits lie 5 miles west of Juhli

st the barchans of the sandy desert,

^o companies, the Pakistan Industrial and Mining Syndicate

* "** Jo J
a t Juhli and the Malik Mir Hassan and Company 3 miles north
' ^hLi
> are producing as much as 30 and 15 tons per day respectively

40
frc- their Leases. The quarried blocks are trucked 30 miles by road

to the rail siding at Azad (fig. 1). Rail shipment is 850 miles to

the trimming plants at Karachi where the blocks are prepared for local

use and export.

Reserves in the Juhli area are estimated at 645,000 tons of

recoverable commercial grade marble (W. Ahmed, 1964). This figure

includes an estimated 18,000 tons in the Butig deposits.

The travertine marble deposits at Juhli form gently south-

west-dipping layered cappings 10 to 15 feet thick on rounded knobs

of the Chagai intrusions* and the Sinjrani Volcanic Group'';. The

deposits decrease in elevation from 3,800 feet at the northernmost

to 3,200 feet at the south Butig deposit. Individual cappings are

as much as 2,000 feet long. Much of the rock is not of commercial

grade because vugs, turraceous impurities, and the inability to

take a polish diminish its desirability as a decorative stone.

The Juhli marble exhibits a variety of colors: white, green

red, and brown. White and green varieties are translucent and

the red and brown varieties are opaque because of contained

hematite and traces of manganese. Carbonaceous matter in trace

amounts is associated with the hematite (J. J. Matzko, U.S. Geol.

Survey, analyst). Aragonite is a minor constituent of the white

^ arble. Most of the Juhli deposits are a variegated mixture of

i r -en, red, and brown; deposits of pure white marble are at Butig.

The lower contact of the marble is a calcite-cemented surface

- of intrusive rock fragments (fig. 5) similar to the present

41
 K:.. ;>:> «>>*<
>fe > -*: i«ir^ -;>'r-. 'i
*,^^- ^J^ff^B^ygf* " I ,' r- -
T^P^WL'-.^';""
'l\vi*V.^»v''- '«'^v^' '
A fe..Stiiuiiil.<ai>:^i!i.i''?i«" 1- % -

Figure 5. I^ower contact of the Juhli travertine marble deposit.

surface through the Chagai region. Sill-like sheets of travertine as

much as 3 feet thick cut the intrusive rock and join the overlying

capping (fig. 6). The sills are mostly white aragonite and are

enclosed by sericitized myrmekitic quartz tnonzonite. These sills

probably represent feeders through which the calcium carbonate

waters reached the surface.

Most layering within the deposits is even and regular. Individual

>
small layers are less than 1 inch thick and are demarcated by color

changes in thin partings. Calcite crystals are elongate normal to

layers, and the tips of crystals mark the parting between successive

layers. Thin films of hematite coat the tips of the calcite crystals

and appear as jagged lines under the microscope. Some hematite layers

cut across the calcite crystals and resemble liesegang rings formed

in colloidal substances. Massive hematitic calcite replacement of

the green travertine marble proceeds outward from fractures (fig. 7).

In incipient stages, the replacement is selective in certain layers,

but volumes of several thousand cubic feet are completely converted

to opaque red hematitic calcite in more advanced stages.

Fractures and microfaults, rarely showing more than 2 inches

°f displacement, are perpendicular to the layering.

Exceptions to the even layering appear where lower layers were

inclined and truncated, prior to the deposition of successive layers.

These small unconformities are traceable for distances of less than

20 feet and may have resulted from slumping or tilting during

^position. Vugs are found in hematite-rich layers (fig. 8). The

43
Figure 6. Sill-like sheet of travertine marble cutting monzonitti.
 ~-f, ^tl&&'££Z*2::J*~£f{*3PX.'y2rSi. s .»£**3i'-*i>

VTT^J:^^

Figure 7. Hejnatite and calcite replacing green translucent travertine marble.

Figure 8. -Vuggy layer in travertine marble.
vugs are about 1 foot in height, circular in cross section, flat-

bottomed, and rest on undisturbed travertine marble layers. The tops

of the vugs are arched, and successive travertine marble layers are

also arched through a thickness of about 1 foot. The vug-bearing

layers bend sharply upward adjacent to the vugs. Their origin is

not clear. Because the vugs are confined to certain layers and are

nearly equidiniensional, slumping or sliding of unconsolidated

travertine along a layering plane does not offer a satisfactory

explanation of origin. Carbonaceous matter is contained in the

hematitic vug-forming layers. Gases may have formed during the

decomposition of organic matter contained in the layers and may

have moved upward through semi-consolidated travertine marble

layers.

Valleys have been eroded in what apparently was a large

continuous area of travertine marble, leaving the isolated cappings

on knobs of bedrock. Some higher knobs are devoid of travertine

marble and may have been islands above the marble, if they were

capped originally, they have been eroded. Evidence that the

travertine precipitated in a body of water is seen where nearly

Horizontal layers of travertine marble abut a sloping bedrock

surface (fig. 9). The presence of organic matter in the travertine

s^rble may represent algae that lived in such a body of water. The

increasing elevation of deposits from Butig northwest through

Juhli suggests that doming of the Chagai Hills followed the

^Position of the travertine, if the travertine were deposited

47
fv » -../-'.. .1 y*'^ - > ''4' '' .r'- Jf&ir-ft * * »i i" '. ' ' '' ',, "^ ^ *"'*' '.**'> vj'-iiwf. » j: 1 ~ - , ' . «\> ' ' «'* i. ' -" '» t t"

^^J^^^.^te^'Vv »V!ft^

Figure 9. Horizontal layers of travertine marble in contact with a sloping bedrock aurfuce.
in a single large body of water. If travertine had been precipitated

from water cascading down hill slopes, there would be greater

irregularity in the layering, and the layers would be approximately

parallel to the slope of the bedrock surface.

Commercial-sized shippable blocks measure a minimum of 4 feet on

a side and 1 foot thick. Contractors are paid Rs. 4 (about $0.80)

per cubic foot of shippable rock. Company production records refer

to tons shipped and are calculated from the volume measurements by

a factor of 2 maunds 6 seers (about 176 pounds) per cubic foot. No

records of total rock broken or ore/waste ratios are kept. Waste

(undersized fragments) from the mining process is estimated by this

writer to be 25 to :50. per cent. ^..

Because the opaque travertine marble is not as desirable as the

translucent and variegated varieties, it is not shipped and under

present operating conditions must be regarded as waste. The amount

of this rock varies from place to place in individual deposits and

from one deposit to another. In the active quarry area at Juhli

(figs. 10 and 11) the amount of opaque waste is estimated at 25

Percent; in other deposits this figure ranged from 5 to 100 percent.

Ore reserves in the active quarry areas at Juhli (fig. 11)

total about 50,000 tons of producible travertine marble under present

°perating conditions (table 1). This figure could be increased by

^proved mining methods to reduce undersized waste and by greater

acceptance of the opaque travertine marble. Measurements made in

by W. Ahmed (1964) show a total of 16,600,000 cubic feet which

49
 1

Figure 10. Juhli travertine marble deposit showing active quarry bench.
 Travertine marble, not quarried

Travertine marble, partly quarried

Plane table Survey by Raymond H.

Nagell and Md.Ameen Khan
200 200 400 600 FEET
I
ASSUMED DATUM 3000 FEET AT STATION A
CONTOUR INTERVAL 20 FEET

Figure 11. Sketch map showing the quarry area of the Juhli travertine marble deposits.

51
Table L.--Travertine marble reserves in oart of the Juhli auarries

Deposit Area Average Volume Tonnage

(sq. ft.) thickness (ft.) (cu. ft.) (long tons)

Unmined area

12,800 64,000 5,000

13,000 65,000 5,000

12,800 76,800 6,000

53,800 430,400 33,000

45,000 315,000 24,000

Total 73,000

Partly Mined Area

21,100 84,400 6,000

5,100 20,400 21,000

23,000 92,000 7,000

34,000
\

! i
* The tonnages given are gross tonnage figures and should be reduced

by approximately 50 percent to arrive at the producible tonnage

under present operating conditions.

52
converts to about 1,100,000 tons of total reserves or 645,000 tons

of producible L- eserves in the Juhli and Butig area. Examination of

travertine marble deposits outside the active quarry area indicates

high-quality shipments of travertine marble.

?atkok deposits.--Small, impure gray-brown deposits of travertine

marble are near Patkok (pi. 1) in the northwestern part of the

Chagai Hills. Because of their apparent low quality and the long

haulage over poor roads, the Patkok deposits are considered

uneconomical.

Other deposits.--A few small impure deposits, measuring a few

tens of square feet, are scattered through the Chagai Hills. One

of these is shown in the southwestern corner of the northeast 15-minuta

quadrangle on plate 1. The deposits resemble those near Patkok

in color, high porosity, and an apparent initial dip parallel to

the bedrock surface. They probably formed by precipitation of

calcium carbonate at the air-rock interface rather than in a body

of water.

Summary

The sparsely distributed and weak showings of iron and copper

«re associated with the waning phase of the emplacement of the

Chagai intrusions.. Weak, tenuous iron and copper-bearing

solutions migrated from the intrusive centers into the Sinjrani

^Icanic GrouP °f host rocks. Metallic minerals precipitated

'com the ore fluid in tiny cracks bearing no apparent relation to

* e §ional structures, and also in well-defined shear zones and faults.

%n a il places, the amount of metal deposited is very small.

53
 The emplacement of travertine marble with its tuffaceous interlayers

indicates that the deposits are related to Pleistocene volcanic activity,

represented by the tremendous outpouring of tuff and lavas at the

Koh-i-Sultan volcano to the west. The position of the deposits on the

present erosional surface attests to the relatively recent age cf

these deposits. No apparent spatial or genetic relationship exists

between the metalliferous deposits and the travertine marble deposits.

\
The origin of travertine marble cannot be stated with certainty.

The possibility is considered that calcareous rocks beneath the

Sinjrani Volcanic Group may have been taken into solution by heated

meteoric or magmatic waters during the Pleistocene and Recent volcanic

activity and poured out on the surface. Except for limestone lenses

in the volcanic rocks, the existence of such rocks is unknown.

Mineral deposits, other parts of the Chagai District

Deposits of copper, lead, zinc, iron, sulphur and travertine

marble were examined in other parts of the Chagai District; the

following descriptions augment data in file reports and publications

of the Geological Survey of Pakistan.

Sulphur is mined from small solfataric deposits high on the

southern slope of the Koh-i-Sultan volcano. A company was formed by

Messrs. A. Hamid, R. Ahmed, and associates to produce sulphur from

Ore stockpiled at Nok Kundi by Sulphur Operations, a wartime emergency

fining activity of the Geological Survey of India. The company has

SuPplied sulphur to the munitions, match, sugar refining, and rubber

industries while experimenting with sulphur-refining methods and

54
developing the ore deposits. The high cost of domestically produced

sulphur (about R3.300 per ton or $60) is protected by a warehouse

tax on imported sulphur. Leases on the mineral deposits were acquired

in 1961 and mining began in 1963. Systematic mapping and prospecting

are recommended to assure sustained production from the Koh-i-Sultan

sulphur deposits.

Travertine marble is produced in small quantities from deposits

at Zah, Tozghi, Mashki Chah, and Zard Kan; quarrying methods are N

primitive. Much of the rock is freed by driving wedges and iron bars

along partings; some is freed by blasting. Blastholes are drilled

by tamping with a heavy iron bar. The total annual production in the

District was as much as 4,900 tons in 1961. Additional deposits are

not likely to be found.

Small deposits of hematite and magnetite are distributed through-

out the Chagai District. Of these, the Baluchap-Kundi contact

metasomatic deposit north of Dalbandin is the largest. A few thousand

tons of ore assaying more than 50 percent iron is present, but

available geological information and the prospecting done to date

furnish little hope for developing a substantial ore reserve at

Baluchap-Kundi.

Small low-grade copper mineral deposits are widespread through-

out the Chagai District. Most formed from weak hydrothermal activity

associated with igneous intrusions of Cretaceous and Eocene age;

others are contact metasomatic deposits. Conditions favorable for

supergene enrichment were not present in the Chagai District; some

deposits are enriched to a depth of 2 feet.

55
 The Bandagan copper deposit contains an estimated reserve of

32,000 tons of ore assaying between 0.5 and 1.0 percent copper, as

established by mapping, geophysical testing, and diamond drilling.

Although it is located in an area of difficult access, more prospect-

ing is recoimended to augment reserves.

Lead and zinc minerals are associated with some copper mineral

deposits in the Ghagai District. The deposit of Dirang Kalat, north

of Dalbandin, yielded a few tons of high-grade galena ore and is %

worked on an exploratory basis by Pakistan Industries, Limited.

Small chromite deposits are in serpentine derived from ultrabasic

intrusive plugs in the Ras Koh range. They were not visited and are

not described in this report. Chromite localities are shown on

Hunting Survey Corporation maps (1960).

A vermiculite deposit in the western part of Ras Koh range has

been described by Abu Bakr (1962) but its usability as a source of

vermiculite remains doubtful.

Sulphur

The sulphur deposits at Koh-i-Sultan (fig. 1) produced 51,700

tons of ore containing 50 percent sulphur and 14,000 tons of ore

containing 25 to 50 percent sulphur from 1941 to 1944 (M.I. Ahmed,

1951). In 1961, mine development was resumed, and in 1964,

production reached as much as 22 tons per day. The crude ore,

containing about 50 percent sulphur, is shipped by rail from

Nok Kundi to the company refinery in Karachi. The rail distance

to Karachi is 870 miles.

56
 The deposits are 25 miles north of Nok Kundi near the cresc of

the extinct volcano Koh-i-Sultan. Three sain deposits, Batal, Miri,

and Nawar, are distributed around the southern half of the volcano's

crater. Other deposits are known, but because of their difficult

accessibility have not been explored.

The sulphur is in irregular lenses impregnating volcanic tuff

and ash. The larger sulphur bearing masses are about 100 feet long
s
and 20 to 30 feet thick.

Hydrogen sulfide gas emanating from some of the deposits

renders them impossible to work and is lethal to small birds and

insects. The gas confirms the solfataric origin of the deposits.

Ore reserves were classified as ore containing more than

50 percent sulphur (high grade) and ore containing 35 to 50 percent

sulphur (low grade). Of the three major deposits at Koh-i-Sultan,

the Batal deposit was depleted of high-grade ore in 1944. The Miri

deposit, according to Gee (1946), contains 40,000 tons of high-grade

and 17,000 tons of low-grade ore; according to M. I. Ahmed (1951)

the Miri deposit contains 50,000 tons of high-grade and 38,000 tons

of low-grade ore. Gee (1946) estimated 7,000 tons of high-grade

and 5,950 tons of low-grade ore in the Nawar deposit. These estimates

indicate a total reserve of about 85,000 tons of ore containing less

than 50 percent sulphur.

Because the Koh-i-Sultan deposits constitute the only known

large source of native sulphur in Pakistan, an effort should be made

to increase the reserves through detailed exploration and geologic

57
sapping. Buried ore lenses might be prospected by Long-hole per-

cussion drilling from the surface.

Travertine marble

Onyx marble is quarried at Zard Ran, 46 miles by road north of

Dalbandin; at Mashki Chah, 35 miles by road northwest of Nok Kundi;

and at Zeh, 56 miles by road northwest of Nok Kundi (fig. 1). The

following descriptions and reserve estimates are abstracted from a

report by W. Ahmed (1964). Travertine marble at Zard Kan forms a

triangular east-dipping capping overlying syenodiorite and volcanic

tuff. The rock is yellow, pale green, grayish white, and white, and

makes attractive decorative stone when polished. Red ferruginous

layers in the upper part of the deposit suggest that the material

added during its later stages of formation was richer in iron.

Blocks as much as 3 feet thick can be quarried.

Reserves calculated by Ahmed (1964) total 240,000 tons (tonnage

factor 15 cubic feet per ton), of which an estimated 180,000 tens

is of shipping quali:y. Quarrying was started in 1959 by the Malik

Mir Hasan and Company.

Mashki Chah. Seven deposits in the Mashki Chah area consist of

browr. and whi~-= travertine marble. The deposits form mappings en

low rolling hills underlain by volcanic tuffs and flows and Chagai

intrusive rock.

Reserves calculated by Ahmed (1964) indicate 1.2 million tons

of usable material (table 2).

The Pakistan Industrial and Mining Syndicate holds leases on

the Mashki Chah deposits.

58
Table 2.--Travertine marble resources at Mashki Chah

Deposit Total tons Producible tons

Mashki Chah N° 1 127 ,600 Not estimated

Mashki Chah N° 2 60 ,000 Not estimated

JL /
Mashki Chah N° 3

Mashki Chah N° 4 1,350 ,000 500, 000

Mashki Chah N° 5 1,294 ,600 670, ooo N

Mashki Chah NO 6 8 ,000 4, 000

Mashki Chah N° 7 1,750 ,000 70, 000

Total 4,590 ,200 1,244, 000

I/ Marble not suited for decorative use

59
 Zeh--.Several Leases are held in the Zeh area, including those of

Sheik Moharcmad Din and Sons, Pakistan Industrial and Mining Syndicate,

and others. In 1964, the Sheik Mohammad Din and Sons quarry was

producing at the rate of 6 to 7 tons per day. The deposits form

cappings on low rolling hills surrounded by flat stony desert.

Most of the travertine marble is pure white containing some green

layers. The deposits are about 10 feet thick and are mined in blocks

exceeding 2 feet in thickness. %

Reserves are visually estimated to exceed 50,000 tons, but the

deposits have not been mapped, and more precise estimates are not

available.

Total travertine marble reserves in the Chagai District (given in

£able 3) were calculated by W. Ahmed (1964) to be on the order of

7 million tons. The tonnages listed are estimated producible tonnage.

They were calculated with a tonnage factor of 15 cubic feet per short

ton, reduced by a factor ranging from 25 to 70 percent to allow for

mining losses. As stated above, about 50 percent of the rock is

wasted. Marsh (1963, p. 171), states that only 25 percent of the

production of most marble quarries is suitable for export in sound

blocks. This figure agrees with the author's qualitative assessment

of producible rock in many of the inactive travertine marble deposits

in the Chagaa District.

Production.--Daily production at the quarries fluctuates widely,

depending upon the availability of labor and trucks to haul the rock

co rail sidings. Occasional days of freezing cold weather or blinding

60
Table 3.--Surnnary of travertine marble reserves in Chagai District
(after W. Ahmed, 1964)

Deposit Volume (cu. ft.) Gross tons Producible tons

Zard Kan 3,600,000 240,000 180,000

Pat Kok 321,000 21,400 16,000

Juhli 16,212,000 1,080,800 626,900

N
Butig 390,000 26,000 18,000

Mashki Chah 69,604,800 4,840,200 1,244,000

Tozghi 2,880,000 190,000 142,500

Z.hl/ 15,000,000 1,000,000 -

Total 108,007,800 7,398,400 2,227,400

I/ Possible reserve

61
sandstorms also halt production. In 1964, the maximum productive

capacity of the Chagai District is estimated at 70 tons per day, with

an actual rate of about 20 tons per day average for the year. The

yearly production of travertine marble is as follows (Industry and

Natural Resources, 1963):

Year Production (in long tons)

1958 553

1959 2,796

1960 2,245

1961 ' 4,921

1962 2,113

Iron

Several high-grade iron deposits are scattered through the

Chagai Districc. The Baluchap-Kundi deposits north of Dalbandin are

the largest, the others much smaller.

Baluchap-Kundi deposits.--The Baluchap-Kundi deposits are 22

miles by road north of Dalbandin (fig. 1) and are known variously as

the Dalbandin deposits, Baluchap-Kundi deposits (W. Ahmed, 1960b) ,

and the Gorband deposits (Hunting Survey Corp., 1960). The Baluchap

deposits and the Kundi deposits are 4 miles apart and are separated

by the broad alluvial swath of Bulo Nala.

The iron deposits are in a jasperoid alteration zone at the

contact between limestone in the Sinjrani Volcanic Group and

intrusive rocks. The limestone near the contact has altered to an

ePidote-grossularite-pyroxene-jasperoid assemblage. Hematite is the

62
chief ore mineral and is associated with some magnetite, garnet,

epidote, dioptase, and a tourmaline-bearing jasperoid gangue. Seme

hematite, associated with arsenopyrite and covellite, fellows joint

and fault planes. Unaltered limestone is coarsely crystalline,

white to light gray, and consists mostly of calcice. In both

deposits, Baluchap and Kundi, the limestone appears to form a

capping over the alteration zone and the iron deposits. The lime-

stone may correspond to Cretaceous limestones interlaysred wich %

the Sinjrani Volcanic Group."?

Partial analyses of 12 samples taken from the Baluchap and

Kundi prospect pits range from 43.5 to 64.7 percent iron, 0.1 to

11.0 percent manganese, and 0.01 to 0.08 percent arsenic (W. Ahmed,

1960b).

Tonnage reserves in five deposits at Baluchap total 1,082 tons

of measured ore per foot of depth and 233 tons of inferred ore per

foot of depth. The greatest length of exposed ore is 130 feet

(W. Ahmed, 196Ob, a=ble 3 ).

Beginning in 1957, several shallow pits were dug in croppings

of ore, and geclcgic and topographic mapping was carried on by

officers o£ th-* Geological Survey of Pakistan. Two diamcnd drill

holes drilled in 1959 failed to encounter ore in areas with high

°>agnetic anomalies. The results of these investigations are

inconclusive in that the drilling done on the basis of the magnetic

anornaly did not eliminate the possibility of ore at depth.

After 3 years of exploratory work, the relatively small

63
tonnage de"elcped suggests thst the chances of finding sizeable

reserves ir t:r° 3aluchap-Xundi area are remote.

Hobat.--TVo miles north of Robat (fig. 1) small scattered show-

ings of hemcite -nd copper minerals are associated with a contact

inetasomatic zon£(s) in the Robat limestone* near the Shor Koh

, i
intrusions*.!' Patches of epidote and garnet are in the limestone

aa.ir the iron .shovines. Alt the deposits are too small to be of

economic value. >

Sslp.dak, Mashki Chah. and Amir Chah. --Small deposits of hematite

in jasperoi'i, disseminated in limestones and volcanic rocks, and in

skarn roc> formed from thermal alteration of limestone, are described

by Hunting 3ucv»y Corp., (1960, p. 448-449) near Saindak, Mashki Chah

arvi Amir Chah (fig. 1). All measure less than 100 feet in longest

dimension. Veinj of high-grade hematite up to 1 foot wide can be

traced for distances of as much ar: 30 feet. Siderite in some veins

suggests that the hematite is a weathering product.

Sandngan. The Bandagan deposits are in the Ras Koh Range near

the border of Kalat Division. Associated chalcopyrite is of greater

importance than the magnetite, as described below. These are in horn-

felsic rock, v;hich originally may have been calcereous or tuffaceous.

I/ The Shor Koh intrusions are similar in composition to the Chagai

intrusions* although they appear to be younger because they cut

the Eocene Robat limestone* (Hunting Survey Corp., I960).

64
 Copper
Showings of ccpper minerals are widespread throughout the

Chagai District. Most of them are isolated green copper oxide

mineral stains on fracture surfaces; some contain chalcopyrite,

bornite, and chalcocite. Supergene enrichment has taken place

within 2 or 3 feet of the surface. The most promising copper

deposit in the district is in Bandagan Nala in the Ras Koh Range.

Bandagan.--The Bandagan copper-magnetite deposit (figs. 1, £2)

is in the Ras Koh Range west of Shehin Peak. Access to the area is

from Jadino Landi, a rest hut on the Quetta-Zahidan road 43 miles

east of Dalbandin. From Jadino Landi a road leads 6 miles south

to an old base camp. From the old base camp, a 3-mile footpath

leads over a steep divide and down into Bandagan Nala. W. Ahmed
(1960a) prepared a geologic map of the area. This work was

followed by magnetic and electromagnetic surveys by I. R. Mufti

and Mohammad Ali in 1961. On the basis of the geophysical

results, nine holes were drilled in 1962 for a total depth of

1,563.5 feet. Five adits, the longest of which is 87 feet, were

driver, under th= supervision of R. G. Bogue.

Black slag below a talus slope at the southeastern end of

the mineralized zone indicates that the ore was smelted at one time.

The rocks in the vicinity of the deposits consist mostly of

^
hornfels intruded by dioritic rocks of the Ras Koh intrusionsi'. The

age and original composition of the host rock is not definitely known;

the Paleoc-jne Rakshani Formation* is in this area as shown on

Hunting Survey Corporation map number 19 1(1960)..

65
 N

603-E3

2A-17

EXPLANATION

(c
Inferred ore zone

Adit

a7C-13
Drill hole

100 50 100 200 FEET

Compiled 'rom /naps by W Ahm«?d. I960-

I. Mufti, a^d diamond drill log-; _

Figure 12 Sketch map showing inferred copper-bearing zone in the Bandagan copper-
magnetite deposit, Pakistan.
 The ~halcopyrite-mcignetita zone is 4Q feet thick and includes

Kin-en rones of tuff(?) and diorite (Diamond drill logs, 1962, on

f:.ld in th'i Geologic.il Survey of Pakistan). The zone forms a U-

shapec body (fii. 12"), its open end to the south. The lowest point

of the ere -or.s lies just east of Bandagan Mala. In holes 9 (2-15)

ar.d ?. (A-I7) chalcopyrite and magnetite are logged as being snail in

f,uantity. Hole 1 (Oil) contains ore estimated at 1 percent copper

i't thu ir.te\-v?tl fruir 141 to 172 feet. This zone is 50 feet below

that in hol« 3 (C-16) and may indicar.3 a northern extension of the

(.ire 2one.

liifarrad resevves, estimated from available data, ere 32,000

.- ovt tons, probably assaying bet^ean 0.5 and 1.0 percent copper

.ri' from 40 to 50 percent iron. The diamond drilling done does

riot define t'"»e limits of the ore body or the amount of copper and

i~on in thu orj. The d^-osit is considered worthy of additional

pror-pectinu following the preparation of topographic maps and sections

In addition to more quantitative data on copper and iron, gold

'ind silver should be assayed. In a set of three analyses of samples

by a "Japanese Research Team," May 21, 1959, one of the samples

Gride estimate^ -ire derived from descriptive phrases and visual

estimates in the diamond drill logs. The drill core was not

assayed and is available for inspection near the collars of

the drill holes.

67
contained 7 grains of gold and 5 grams of silver per Con. The other

cvo samples contained traces of these elements.

Robat.--Jali Robat (fig. 1) in Afghanistan, 3 miles east of the

Chagai Militia Post at Robat, was the scene of extensive copper

smelting in the distant past. The slag pile measures 450 feet wide

by 1,200! ; feet Long. Vredenburg (1901), mentioning the slag pile,

said that the source of the ore was unknown. The old mines are in

Harlid Nala (fig. 1) near Lar Koh in Iran, about 6 miles south^of

Robat.

Local inhabitants say that the mines were worked prior to

British occupation of the region.

Old pits and tunnels are along the contact between monzonitic

Shor Koh intrusions and hornfels and skarn that formed in the
*gr
adjacent Robat.limestone.7* The ore is chalcopyrite and chalcocite

in a gangue of epidote, garnet, calcite, and hematite.

Several small copper showings with a similar mineralogy are

in Pakistan near Robat. None of these have been worked in the

past, nor do they merit attention at this time.

Kirtaka--M.G. White (written communication, 1963) reports small

copper carbonate and copper sulphide minerals in massive Cretaceous

conglomerates; the deposit is at lat.29°29 18"N.,long. 61°17'24"E.,

near Kirtake (fig. 1).

Saindak.--Several small showings of weak copper mineralization

are near Tarani Nala 3 miles east of Saindak (fig. 1; W. Ahmad,

S. N. Khan and R. G. Schmidt, in press; M.G. White, written

68
communication, 1963). The deposits consist of a few small showings

of green copper oxide minerals associated with chalcopyrite in a

north-trending zone of dioritic intrusive rocks. Assays of seven

samples collected by R. G. Schmidt from this area are as follows:

1. Four bulk samples of diorite assayed from 100 to 350 ppm

(parts per million) copper.

2. One sample of sulphide-rich metamorphic rock assayed 350

N
ppm copper.

3. One sample of tuff or diorite with visible copper mineral

assayed 0.8 percent copper.

Two samples from this area selected by the author assayed 0.26

and 1.49 percent copper, a trace of silver, and 2.44 and 1.98 percent

lead (Chauhan, analyst, Geol. Survey Pakistan). The samples are

from pits that were readily excavated to a depth of about a foot.

Below this depth, the rock is hard and the copper disappears.

Copper in this dry alkaline desert environment is stable at

the ground surface and represents supergene enrichment. The low

copper content and the small amount of copper showing at Tarani

Mala indicate that this area has little potential as an ore reserve.

The presence of lead indicates that this area is similar to other

weakly mineralized lead deposits in the Saindak area, as described

below.

Koh Marani.--Small veins containing copper and gold are described

in the Koh Marani area (fig. 1) of the eastern Chagai Hills by

M. I. Ahmed (1962) at Mukani Wad, Anjiri Lop, and Mahian Rud. Four

69
<nrrtp'.e< fro-?, the Mal>ian ilud deposit assay as much as 2.86 percent

cnpp.ir. -old reported in a small vein on the west siHe of Anjiri

lor (.'.. I. Ahaed, I°n2) has not been confirmed by analysis.

'^_thar_ deposits. --Locations and brief descriptions of other

-orr.z*' .-ihou-in-.:^ In the Chagai District are given by White (1975).

lead and zinc

>ai.ia-r.c an--4 ~>irnng Kalat (fig. 1) are two areas containing lead

- ir>. -nail inuunts of zinc. At Saindak, small slag piles indicate

N
ni.r.ini: activity In the past. A few carloads of hand-cobbed lead ore

-..-are shipped in recent years from the Dirang Kalat area, east of Koh

Mir.'.n 1'., by Pakistan Industries, Limited.

S.-u.n da k. - - j g v e r a 1 galena-bearing veins have been described in

the Saindak area O'rendsnburg, 1901; M. I. Ahmed, 1943; W. Ahmed,

S. NT . Khan, inn SI. G. Schmidt, in press). Malachite, cuprite, and

ar.urita are present in addition to cerussitc, galena, calcite, quartz,

limonite, hematite, and manganese oxide. All veins are short and narrow,

and ore minerals in small clots are sporadically distributed through

rhe gangue. Some of tha veins have been prospected by pits. Because

of the lov.' grade and spotty distribution of ore minerals in these

deposits, further prospecting is not warranted.

Dirang Kalat.--M. I. Ahmed (1962) describes the Dirang Kalat vein

as consisting of three galena-bearing zones in faulted andesite. He

visited the area several times between January 1949 and April 1962.

During this period, as exploratory mining progressed, the mineralized

area decreased from 60 square feet near the surface to 40 square feet

at n depth of 47 feet.

70
 Asaayr of two channel samples of the vein averaged 0.01 02. Au/ton,

1.19 oz. Asi/ton, £-6.8 percent Pb, and 3.1 percent Zn. Later, samples

tnken by ? .. C. Sogue of unsorted dump ore, ore channeled in place, and

band-screed dump ore (four samples total) ranged from 23.8 to 3&.9 per-

c^nc Pb, 0.96 to 3. 1 oer^.ent Zn, and 0.3 to 2.4 percent Fe. Traces of

copper an^i sliver vere present in these samples.

Ahmed (1962, p. 13) states that, "The mineralization is not expected

tv^ continue a~ depth at the present dimensions as the vein is lenticular.

%
The possibility of its widening at a deeper level, however, cannot be

ruled out." Several other veins containing a few crystals of galena are

in the Diranc Kalat sraa.

71
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Abu Bakr, M., 1962, Vermiculite deposits in the Koki River area", Ras

Koh Range, Kalat Division, West Pakistan: Pakistan Geol. Survey

Recs., v. 9, pt. 1, p. 5.

Ahned, M.I., 1943, Report on lead ore (galena) deposits at Saindak

and Zonk: India Geol. Survey, file rept.

___________, 1945a, Progress report on the geology of the Killa

>
Sufaid-Saindak area, District Chagai, Baluchistan: India Geol.

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__________f 1945b, Geology of Koh-i-Sultan, Chagai District,

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_______, 1951, Volcanoes and sulphur of western Baluchistan:

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_______, 1962, Mineral localities in the Chagai-Koh Marani area,

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Industry and National Resources, 1963, /_ Table of production of minerals

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Industrial Rocks and Minerals, CENTO, Lahore, 1962, p. 169-171.

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and part of eastern Persia: India Geol. Survey Mem. 31, pt. 2.

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U. S. Geol. Survey open-file rept. 75-62 ((IR)PLC-4), 39 p., 7 figs.

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