⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of mafic dykes from the Mesoproterozoic Chhattisgarh basin, Bastar craton, central India: implication for the origin and spatial extent of the deccan large igneous province

Abstract

We present ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar whole-rock ages of 63.7 ± 2.7 Ma (2σ, 92% Ar release) and 66.6 ± 2.2 Ma (2σ, 96% Ar release) for two samples of sub-surface mafic dykes intrusive into the sedimentary rocks of the Mesoproterozoic Chhattisgarh basin, Bastar craton, Central India. The obtained ages are synchronous with those of the Deccan Traps whose nearest exposures are at a distance of ~ 200 km to the west, and the recently dated diamondiferous orangeites (Group-II kimberlites) of the Mainpur area (located ~ 100 km SE within the Bastar craton). The chemical composition of the Chhattisgarh mafic dykes is indistinguishable from the chemostratigraphic horizons of the upper Deccan lavas of the Wai Subgroup (Ambenali and Poladpur Formations) and confirms them to be a part of the Deccan Large Igneous Province (LIP). The geological setting of the Deccan-age mafic dykes in the Chhattisgarh basin is analogous to that observed in other LIPs of the world such as (i) Pasco Basin of NW U.S.A, (ii) Ellisras sub-basin of southern Africa, (iii) Rift basins of New England in the NE U.S.A and (iv) the West Siberian Basin of Russia where LIP-related basalts and sills have been emplaced in distant domains from the main province. The Deccan-age of the Chhattisgarh dykes and the Mainpur orangeites permits a substantial increase of at least 8.5 × 10⁴ km² in the spatial extent of the Deccan LIP. The temporal link at ~ 65 Ma between the Deccan Traps and (i) sub-surface mafic dykes within the Chhattisgarh basin and orangeites in the Bastar craton, (ii) Ambadongar carbonatite in western India, (iii) Salma mafic dyke in the Eastern Indian craton, (iv) Rajahmundry Traps off the eastern coast of southern India and (v) tholeiitic dykes and basalts from the Seychelles, suggests a common tectonomagmatic control, via a vast mantle plume-head of the order of 2000–2500 km. Our study has relevance to the (i) origin (plume vs non-plume) of the Deccan LIP, (ii) plumbing system for Deccan dykes and lavas in domains far away from the presently exposed Trap regions, (iii) palaeo-environmental issues at the K–T boundary and (iv) metallogeny (diamond, Ni–Cu–PGE) in the Bastar craton.