MAJOR LEAD-ZINC

DEPOSITS OF INDIA

Submitted By:
M. Siva Sankar
Pavani Misra
Zeeshan Ahmad
IMPORTANT LEAD-ZINC DEPOSITS OF INDIA

Introduction
Lead occurs in native state, but it is quite rare. The metal is bluish grey in colour and shows on
its fresh surface a bright metallic luster which quickly oxidizes on exposure to air. It is so soft
that it can be scratched with finger nail and shows a black streak on paper. It is quite heavy, the
specific gravity being 11.34.

Ores Chemical composition Characters

Galena PbS Massive, granular, cubes and octahedral forms, perfect
cubic cleavage, lead grey colour, metallic luster,
Hardness = 2.5, Specific Gravity = 7.4 to 7.6
Cerussite PbCO3 Prismatic, often cruciform twinned crystals, radiating,
granular, massive and compact. Colour can be white or
grey. Hardness = 3-3.5, Specific Gravity = 6.55
Anglesite PbSO4 Prismatic, also massive. Colour can be white, blue,
grey, green or yellow. Admantine luster. Hardness =
2.5 – 3, Specific Gravity = 6.3 – 6.4

Lead is a soft, heavy, toxic and highly malleable metal. It is bluish white when freshly cut, but
tarnishes to dull grey when exposed. It is usually found in ore with zinc.

Zinc is a silvery blue-grey brittle metal with a relatively low melting (~419ºC) and boiling point.
Specific Gravity of Zinc is about 7.15. It can be rolled into sheets or drawn into wire between
100ºC and 150ºC, but reverts into a brittle condition at 300ºC and maybe readily powdered under
hammer. It is soluble in dilute acids. The chief ores of Zinc with their chemical composition and
main characters are mentioned below:

Ores Chemical Composition Characters

Sphalerite ZnS Tetrahedra and rhombododecahedra forms are
common, also occurs as massive, perfect cleavage,
black or brown in colour with white or reddish
brown streak, resinous to admantine luster, hardness
= 3.5 - 4, specific gravity = 3.9 - 4.2
Smithsonite ZnCO3 Commonly in massive, reniform, botryoidal,
encrusting, granular or earthy forms, perfect

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 rhombohedral cleavage, white, grayish, greenish or
brownish white colour with white streak, vitreous
luster, hardness = 5.5, specific gravity = 4 - 4.5

The uses of lead and zinc and their compounds are manifold and they rank next to copper as
essential non-ferrous metals in the modern industry. The chief uses of both metals and their
compounds are tabulated below:

Lead Uses
Metal Storage battery, sheeting and piping,
ammunition, alloys like solder, babbit metal,
pewter etc.
Compounds
Oxides (Red lead) Pigments, glass making, flux and rubber
industry
Carbonates (White lead) Pigment
Nitrate Calico-dying and printing
Arsenate Insecticide
Acetate Medicine

Zinc Uses
Metal Galvanizing, dry battery, tubes of toothpaste
etc, alloys like brass, German silver and white
metal
Compounds
Oxides and Sulphides Pigments
Chloride Soldering, preventing decay in wood
Sulphate Dying, glue making etc

The largest single use of lead today is in the manufacture of lead acid storage batteries while the
single largest use for the zinc is in galvanizing industry.

Zinc is normally associated with lead and other metals including copper, gold and silver. There
are four major types of zinc deposits:
1. Volcanic hosted massive sulphides (VMS)
VHMS deposits are polymetallic and are an important economic source of copper and

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 zinc often associated with significant concentrations of silver, gold, cadmium, bismuth or
tin.
2. Carbonate hosted (Mississippi Valley & Irish types)
Limestone and dolomite are the most common host rocks. The zinc lead content usually
ranges from 5%-10% with zinc usually predominating over lead. Concentrations of
copper, silver and barite of fluorite may also be present.

3. Sediment hosted (sedex deposits)

The host rocks are mainly shale, siltstone, and sandstone. Sedex deposits represent some
of the world’s largest accumulations of zinc, lead and silver. The mineral has a high
silver content. The lead/zinc content ranges from 10-20%.

4. Intrusion related (high sulphidation, skarn, manto, vein)

These deposits are typically found in carbonate rocks in conjunction with magmatic-
hydrothermal systems and are characterized by mineral association of calcium and
magnesium. Typically the ore body contains more lead than zinc and is associated with
silver.

Lead-Zinc deposits in India are localized mainly in the Precambrian formations of the Peninsular
Shield and to a smaller extent in the lesser Himalayas. The important economically viable
deposits are located in two main regions of India namely, Western Region and Southern Region
with some scattered deposits in other parts of Northern and Eastern Regions.

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Distribution and Reserves of Pb-Zn ores in India
State District Area Total Grade (%)
Reserves (ores
in million
tonnes)
Andhra Cuddapah Gollapalle, 8.319 Pb- 0.64 to 8.99
Pradesh Verikunta, Zn- 1.08 to 4.21
Zangamarajupal
Guntur Agnigundala Belt
Prakasam Nallakonda

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Bihar Godda, Jamui, Hesatu-Belbathan 0.55 Avg. Pb and Zn is
Banka, Belt 2 to 5.5
Deogarh,
Hazaribagh
Gujarat Banaskantha Ambamata 7.775 Avg Pb – Zn is 4.5
Chitrasani
Vadodara Khandia
Maharashtra Nagpur Kolari and 1.0 Zn – 3
Tambekhani
Bhandara Mendki
Meghalaya Khasi and Umpyrtha 0.118 Pb – 0.4, Zn –
Jantia Hills 2.83, Cu – 1.35
Orissa Sundargarh Sargipalli 2.63 Pb – 6.69, Cu –
Mayurbhanj Kesarpur 0.32
Rajasthan Ajmer Ghughra 332.71 Pb - 0.51 to 5.49,
Lohakan Zn – 0.4 to 7.3
Sawar
Tikhi
Bhilwara Rampura-Agucha
Pur Banera
Sirohi Deri (Ramgarh-
Delri Belt)
Udaipur Zawar
Rajpura-Dariba
Sikkim East Sikkim Bhotang and 0.95 Pb – 1.09, Zn –
(Rangpo) Dikchu 2.59, Cu – 1.08
Tamil Nadu South Arcot Mamandur 0.679 Pb – 1.15, Zn –
5.3, Cu – 0.6
Uttar Pradesh Pittoragarh Ascot 1.03 Pb - 2.64, Zn-
3.95, Cu – 2.32
West Bengal Darjeeling Gorubathan 3.250 Pb – 4.01, Zn –
4.23
Total All India 359.017 About 5 million
tonnes of Pb and
18.5 million
tonnes of Zn

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Western Deposits

The Western Region comprises Rajasthan and Gujarat States. Copper-lead-zinc mineralization
occurs as bi-and multi-metal deposits and 95% of National Ore Resource is confined to this
region. There are two distinct metallogenic provinces; the north-eastern parts characterized by
predominantly copper rich province, confined to the rocks of Delhi Supergroup, whereas in
South Rajasthan and North Gujarat, the mineralization is chiefly lead-zinc ores with
subordinate copper in the rocks of Pre-Aravalli, Aravalli and Delhi Supergroup (Table 1).

AGE GROUP DEPOSITS

2 – 1.2Ga Delhi Supergroup
Sirohi Group Ajmer lead-zinc belt
Deri-Ambaji lead-zinc-
copper belt
2.5 – 2.0Ga Aravalli Supergoup
Udaipur Group Zawar lead-zinc belt

Bhilwara Supergroup Rajpura–Dariba-Bethumani

Rajpura Group belt
Pur-Banera lead-zinc-copper
belt
3.2 – 2.5Ga Hindoli group Rampura-Agucha
Mangalwar Complex
Sandmata Complex

Bhilwara Supergroup

Rajpura-Dariba–Bethumani Belt

Latitude: 24º58’N
Longitude: 74º08’E

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Size of Deposit: It is an underground mine. Tonnage of this deposit is 7.4MT. The Zinc grade is
6.26%, Lead grade is 1.56% and Silver grade is 82.6g/t.

Geological Distribution: The Rajpura-Dariba-Bethumani belt forms the western limb of Banera-
Bhinder synform extending from Bhinder in the South to Banera in the North covering a distance
of about 130km.

The Dariba-Bethumani belt, extending from Bethumani in the North and Dariba in the South is
composed of a group of folded metasedimentary rocks belonging to the Bhilwara Supergroup.
Numerous old workings, gossans and ferruginous breccias have been recorded in the southern
part of the belt in the Rajpura-Dariba area.

Geological Map of Rajpura-Dariba

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Type of Deposit: This ore deposit is stratabound and is enclosed in a sequence comprising
metamorphic equivalents of ortho-quartzite, carbonates and carbonaceous facies which are
flanked by a thick monotonous sequence of meta-argillites. Rajpura-Dariba ore body owes its
importance to its multi-metal sulphide-sulphosalt associations within the ores.

Economic Importance of Deposit: Zinc is dominant metal followed by lead and copper. The
important trace metals are cadmium and silver. The sulphide ores at Dariba mine show
mineralogical zoning. Copper, lead-zinc and iron rich zones appear successively from the
footwall to hanging wall. Two important lodes namely, Main Lode and East Lode, which are
separated by a distance of 150 m, occur at Rajpura-Dariba. The Main Lode is further divided into
South lode and North lode.

Ore Genesis: Rajpura Dariba is a SEDEX type deposit. Here the host rock is Dolomite and
Graphite Schist. It is a stratabound, concordant, sheet-like/lensoid ore body.

Rampura Agucha Lead-Zinc Deposit

Latitude: 25°49'56"N
Longitude: 74°44'19"E

Size of Deposit: This is a Giant deposit. Its tonnage is 67.9MT. The Zinc grade is 13.36%, Lead
grade is 1.87% and Silver grade is 48.4g/t. The metal content of ore treated from Rampura-
Agucha mine in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan was the highest at 15.19% (2.14% Pb and 13.05%
Zn). The graphite-mica-sillimanite schist hosts the economic mineralizations in this deposit. The
economic minerals in the order of decreasing abundance along with their ranges of modal
percentages are: sphalerite (15-20%), pyrite (15-18%), pyrrhotite (12-14%), galena (1-2%) and
sulphosalts (0.1-0.2%). Graphite is ubiquitous in the ore body (7-10%). The gangue minerals that
amount up to 45% to 50% of the ore zone constitute quartz, feldspar (orthoclase, plagioclase),
various micaceous minerals (sericite, chlorite, biotite), sillimanite with significant amount of
garnets, amphibole, pyroxene, rutile, apatite etc.
Geological Distribution: Rampura-Agucha is the largest opencast mine for zinc and lead, with a
capacity of 6.15 million tonne per year lead zinc ore after a recent expansion. The ore body is

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comparatively narrower and richer in grade in the northern part and wider in the southern. Thus
open pit operation can go deeper only in the southern part. The general strike of the ore zone is
parallel to the enclosing rocks, which is roughly NE-SW. The dip of the ore zone varies along
the strike and depth. Near the surface, the dip of the hanging wall contact is steeper (75° to
80°SE) as compared to footwall contact (about 60° SE). In depth, dips of both the hanging and
footwall contacts show a tendency to flatten. In general, the dip varies from 50° to 80°. The ore
zone shows a variation in width, both along the strike and dip. The width of the ore zone
gradually widens to about 95 to 100m.

Fig: stratigraphy map of major lead zinc deposits.

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This lead-zinc deposit is located 15 km southeast of Gulabpura in the Bhilwara district,
Rajasthan. The village Rampura, originally located adjoining the western flank of the deposit
was rehabilitated in 1990, prior to the commencement of open pit operation and Agucha village
is about 1.5 km southwest of the deposit. The proximity of these two village led to the naming of
it as “Rampura-Agucha deposit”.

Map showing major Pb-Zn mines of Rajasthan, India

Ore Genesis: Mineralization is predominantly in graphite-mica-sillimanite gneiss/schist over a

strike length of 1550m. The ore zone has a sharp contact with the hanging wall and footwall. The
hanging wall side of the lode is the richest and also wide, followed by comparatively lean grade
in the middle and a narrow, rich, footwall zone. Coarse-grained crystalline galena, associated
with pyrite and pyrrohitite are seen in the hanging wall rocks. The mineralizations in hanging
wall and footwall contacts is invariably fine to coarse-grained, and is made up of sphalerite and
galena with numerous inclusions or rounded to sub-rounded discrete grains of feldspar, quartz,
hornblende, sillimanite and dark green chlorite.

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The deposits form a part of pre-Aravalli Banded Gneissic Complex consisting of gneisses, schist
and intrusive of acidic and basic igneous rocks that occupy, predominantly, the southeastern
plains of Ajmer and Bhilwara.

Geology of the Deposit: Since a greater part of the area is capped with soil cover and fresh rock
exposures are very few, much of the information for detailed geology has been gathered from the
drill cores. The rock units show NE-SW strike with steep dips in hanging wall (75°-80°) and
moderate dips in footwall (60°-65°) towards south-east and plunges towards NNE. The sequence
of rocks, from hanging wall to footwall, can be broadly grouped as under:
 Garnet-biotite-sillimanite gneiss with intermittent bands of calc-granulites, amphibolites
and aplites/ pegmatites
 Garnet-mica-sillimanite gneiss/schist
 Garnet-biotite-sillimanite gneiss with lenses of quartzo-felsphathic bands, amphibolites,
pegmatites and aplites
 Granite gneiss, and
 Mylonitic rocks.

Aravalli Supergroup

Zawar Lead-Zinc Belt

Latitude: 24º19’N
Longitude: 73º41’E

Size of the Deposit: It’s a bulk Mississipi Valley Type, underground mine with an annual
capacity of 1.2 million tonnes of lead & zinc ores. The tonnage of this complex is 7.3MT. Here
the Lead grade is 2.04%, Zinc grade is 3.77% and in Sinesar Khurd Complex tonnage is 6.4MT,
and the Lead grade is 2.76%, Zinc grade is 5.32% and Silver is 143.5g/t.

Geological Distribution: Zawar belt has been the oldest centre of lead-zinc production in the

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world. This Group has underground mining complex which consists of four underground mines
namely Mochia, Balaria, Zawarmala and Baroi. These mines have a capacity of 4000 TPD. The
present structural disposition of Zawar area is the manifestation of two distinct major periods of
tectonic cycles, each of which was characterized by intense folding and faulting. In Zawar area,
the north and south limb of cross fold is represented by Mochia, Balaria and Bowa, whereas
Baroi and Zawarmala represent the NS trending and N plunging first generation fold system.

Map showing Zawar Mining Complex, Rajasthan

Geology of the Deposit: The Archaean basement comprising of gneiss, schist, amphibolite,
quartzite and granite dating back to 3.2 to 2.5Ga showing unconformable relationship with the
Aravalli cover rocks, is clearly marked in and around Udaipur. Stratigraphic succession,
established by Roy et.al.,(1984) for the Aravalli Supergroup of the type area around Udaipur and
Zawar show two major groups separated by an unconformity. The Upper Aravalli Group consists

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of greywacke-slate-phyllite, quartzite, dolomite and silty arenite (host for sulphides of zinc and
lead) while carbonaceous and pelitic phyllites, dolomite, quartzite, stromatolite, phosphorite,
chlorite schist, amphibolite, quartz arenite and local conglomerate belong to Lower Aravalli
Group. In general, Aravalli rocks in Udaipur-Zawar region show a low-grade metamorphism.
The recrystallisation of the silicate minerals suggests the grade of metamorphism to be of
greenschist facies.

Map showing major production and smelting capacities of Pb-Zn Deposits in India

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Ore Genesis: The mineralization occurs as sheeted zones, veins, stringers and disseminations,
forming lenticular bodies arranged in overlapping enechelon pattern. The individual ore shoots
persist along strike between 50 and 500 m, dip between 50° and vertical and plunge between 30°
and 60° west or north. The ore body varies in width between 1 and 40 meters. The mineralization
is restricted solely within dolomitic horizon along with the structural control, but regional
stratigraphic and lithological control is also evident. The main sulphide minerals are sphalerite,
pyrite and galena. Chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite are the associated minerals.
Appreciable amount of silver and cadmium occur within the ore minerals.

Other Deposits of Pb and Zn in India

Sargipalli

Latitude: 22º03’N
Longitude: 83º55’E

Age: 1.6Ga

Size of the deposit: This deposit has a capacity of 500tpd lead ore but has not reported any
production for the last few years. The tonnage of this deposit is 2.06MT. The Lead grade is
6.7%, Copper grade is 0.33% and Silver grade is 51g/t.

Geological Distribution: Sargipalli mine is in Sundergarh district of Orissa. This deposit is

sediment hosted (shale-hosted). The host rocks are paleoproterozic calc-silicate rock, chert,
dolomite, dolomitic schist, marble, mica-chlorite schist, quartzite and tourmalinite. The host rock
thickness is 150m. The rocks overlying the ore are paleoproterozoic marble and siliceous
dolomite, and thickness is greater than 200m. The rocks underlying the ore are
metaconglomerate and quartzite and their thickness is more than 600m. Related igneous rocks
include amphibolites and granite-pegmatite.

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 Map showing sulphide mineralization in Sargipalli

Ore Genesis: A stratabound, lead-dominant sulfide deposit (SEDEX type) occurs at Sargipalli,
Orissa, India, at the interface of metamorphosed quartzwacke to quartzose clay and
calcareous rocks of Proterozoic age. Ore minerals found are argentiferous galena, chalcopyrite,
sphalerite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, and a little tennantite and tetrahedrite. Here both the
host rocks and the ores got metamorphosed to the low amphibolite facies. Restriction of ore
mineralization to definite stratigraphic zones, interbanding of ores of contrasted composition
with metasediments, virtual absence of cross-cutting veins, variation of ore mineralization
with variation in sedimentary facies, isofacial metamorphism of both the ores and the
host rocks, absence of intense shearing or faulting along the ore zone, absence of wall-rock
alteration, etc. suggest that the ore materials were deposited through sedimentation in an
aqueous medium during accumulation of the associated rock-forming sediments.
Mobilization and remobilization of the ore materials during later geological processes were
insignificant.

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Mamandur (South Arcot District)
Latitude: 12°0'53"N
Longitude: 78°57'5"E

Age: 2.6Ga

Size of the Deposit: The length of the deposit is 0.76km while the deposit thickness is 3.6m.
Tonnage of this deposit is 0.92MT. Here the Zinc grade is 2.7%, Lead grade is 2%, Copper grade
is 0.63% and Silver grade is 40g/t.

Map showing the ore zones of Mamandur deposit. (Stratiform and concordant nature of
mineralization zone)

Geological Distribution: This deposit is in the south Arcot district of Tamil Nadu. It is also a
sediment-hosted Pb-Zn deposit like the Sargipalli deposit. This deposit lies in the Peninsular
Archean complex in the transition zone between charnockites on the west and migmatites on the

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east. The Mamandur area is made up of migmatites and charnockites with bands of garnetiferous
biotite sillimanite gneiss, magnetite quartzite and a suite of ultrabasic rocks comprising
pyroxenite, gabbro, norite and anorthosite.

Ore Genesis: Host rocks of Neoarchean age include amphibolite, granulite, migmatite (arkose)
and sillimanite gneiss. The host rock metamorphism varies from high grade granulite facies
(800ºC and 8.5 kb) to as low as retrograde greenschist facies (275-255 ºC). The related igneous
rocks include unmetamorphosed norite dike and sill.
The multimetal lode comprises sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and pyrite with minor
tetrahedrite, marcasite, cubanite, bornite etc. and is considered to be of the stratiform exhalative
volcanogenic sedimentary type.

Bandalamottu (Agnigundala Belt)

Latitude: 16º13’15”N
Longitude: 79º39’47”E

Age: Late Proterozoic

Size of the Deposit: The tonnage of this deposit is 8.319MT. Here the lead grade is 0.64 to 8.99%
and zinc grade is 1.08 to 4.21%.

Geological Distribution: This is a sediment-hosted Cu-Pb deposit, in the Guntur district of the
Cuddupah Basin. Here the host rocks include dolomite and phyllite. Stratigraphically the host
rock belongs to the Cumbum formation of the Nallamalai Group, in the Cuddupah Supergroup.
Tectonically this deposit is in the continental margin basin-foreland.
The mineralized zone in the Bandalamottu hill is spread over a strike length of about 1200m with
a down dip extension of about 500m. The main ore body is developed on the North-western
flank of an anticlinal structure and consists of 5 overlapping lodes over a strike length of 400 to
600m. The thickness of the ore bodies ranges from 1 to 11m and the average thickness of

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individual lodes from 1.5 to 6.5m. The Eastern ore body is located on the eastern flank of the
anticlinal structure which extends over a strike length of about 320m.

Geological map of Bandalamottu Area

Ore Genesis: This is an undifferentiated deposit (Carbonate-hosted deposit) formed as veins

along bedding planes in (cherty) dolomite. Zones of lead-copper mineralization occur mainly in
the upper part of the dolomite. Dolomite is fine-grained and massive and shows discrete
carbonaceous matter in interstices between carbonate grains. Occasionally thin bands of chert are
seen in carbonate host rocks. The mineralization is generally poor where the dolomites are
associated with chert bands.

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REFERENCES
 International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering, ISSN 0974-5904,
Vol. 04, No 02 - Spl issue, March 2011, pp. 12-20
 Sarkar, S.C., 1974, Sulfide mineralization at Sargipali, Orissa, India:
Economic Geology, v. 69, p. 206–217
 Mookherjee, A., 1964, The geology of the Zawar lead-zinc mine, Rajasthan,
India: Economic Geology, v. 59, p. 656–677
 Pal, T., Deb, M., 2013, Chert association in the mineralized zone of the
Proterozoic Dariba – Rajpura – Bethumni belt, Rajasthan: an oxygen
isotope study and its implications, Current Science, v. 105, No.1
 www.geologydata.info
 USGS mineral resources online spatial data (sediment hosted zinc-lead
deposits)
 --------------; 2011, Indian Minerals Yearbook. Vol. 2, 50th edition, Lead &
Zinc (Advance Release), Indian Bureau of Mines, Nagpur.
 --------------; 2000, Economic Geology, 2nd edition, Umeshwar Prasad, CBS
Publication

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