The Dharwar Supergroup is a significant geological formation in India, divided into the Western and Eastern Dharwar Cratons, and known for its diverse rock types including greenstone belts and gneisses. It spans an area of 450,000 sq.km and is characterized by extensive metamorphism and mineralization, important for economic resources like copper, iron, and gold. The formation dates back approximately 3.0 to 2.6 billion years and features major schist belts with high economic significance.

1. DHARWAR SUPER GROUP
PRESENTED BY
HAROON MUHAMMED
MIT- MAHE

2. INTRODUCTION
 Dharwar craton – one of 5 major cratons of Indian Shield
 Covers an area of 450,000 sqr.km
 Known for its greenstone/schist belts, grey gneisses, charnockites
and younger granites.
 Dharwar craton divided in to:
 Western dharwar craton
 Eastern dharwar craton
 Divided by the chitradurga shear zone.

3.  The craton is bounded by
South – Pan African ‘Pandyan Mobile Belt’
North – Deccan Flood Basalts
East - Eastern Ghat Mobile belt
West - extends westwards into offshore limit defined by
cretaceous oceanic layer in Arabian sea.

4. Tectonic divisions
of Indian Shield.

5. Dharwar Craton -

6. STRATIGRAPHY OF
DHARWAR CRATON -

7. WESTERN DHARWAR CRATON(WDC)
 WDC is located in southwest India.
 Western Dharwar Craton (WDC) is occupied by three suites of north-south
oriented metamorphic belts : oldest-surgur group, peninsular gneissic complex
and youngest dharwar super group.
 Metamorphism is regional, effecting all parts of craton.
 The principle structural trend in WDC is NW – SE to north south
 Rocks have been deposited during 3400-2500 m.y.

8. EASTERN DHARWAR CRATON(EDC)
 The Craton is composed of the Dharwar Batholith , greenstone belts, intrusive
volcanics, and middle Proterozoic to more recent sedimentary basins.
 The supracrustal belts of the EDC are smaller in size than those of the western blocks.
 Older greenstone belts that are either older or equivalent to the Bababudan Group of
the western block. Metabasalts from Kolar schist belt indicating that they are
contemporaneous with the Chitradurga Group of the western block (WDC).
 The contact between WDC and EDC is separated by chitradurga shear zone.
 Greenstone belts are seen in kolar and ramagiri area.

9. DHARWAR SUPER GROUP
 The Dharwar supergroup is deposited unconformably over a sialic basement of
tonalitic and granitic “Peninsular Gneiss”.
 Dharwar supergroup is exposed as 2 major schist belts:
1.Bababudan-‐Western Ghat-‐Shimoga Schist belt.
2. Chitradurga-‐Gadag Schist Belt.
 Younger schist belts belonging to dharwar supergroup are charecterised by
metamorphism predominantly of greenstone facies.
 They contain abundance of clastic and quartzose sedimentary rocks -
conglomerates containing clasts of underlying gneisses.

10. DHARWAR SUPER GROUP
 Typical rocks – arenite, shales, volcanic rocks varying from basalts to rhyolites,
cherts, phyllites and carbonates.
 Well known examples are exposed in chitradurgah, shimoga, bababudan and
kudremukh.
 Total thickness of these Dharwar schist belts is estimated to be 6 to 7 km .
 Age of the Dharwar SuperGroup -3.0-2.6 b.y.

11. BABABUDAN GROUP.
 The belt occupying an area of 300km long and 100km wide.
 Schistose rock occupy an area of 30000 sq. km, remaining 15000sq.km occupied
by basement peninsular gneisses.
 This group is dominantly made up of Metabasalt with interbedded quartzite,
capped by a prominent BIF
 Age is about 2700 – 2800my.

12. BABABUDAN GROUP
 BABABUDAN GROUP
 Bababudan Group of rocks are exposed mainly in Bababudan, Western
Ghats, arm of Chitradurga schist belt.
 The bababudan group unconformbly lies over the gneissic basement.
 The Bababudan sediments and Volcanics suggest nearshore and
subaerial to shallow marine environment respectively.
 The rocks of Bababudan Group are metamorphosed upto lower
amphibolites facies (garnet isograd) at the borders and green schist facies
at the core portions.

13. BABABUDAN GROUP
 The bababudan group is sub-divided into kalsapura formation, Allembur
formation, santaveri formation and Mulaingiri formation.
 The sequence of rocks in bababudan starts with oligomectic quartz pebble
conglomerate which consist of gold.
 Succeeding quartzite exhibits ripple marks, indicating stable shelf conditions. The
quartzites are interbedded with baslats.

14. BABABUDAN GROUP
 These rocks are overlain by a very thick layer of BIF’s. which is followed by schist ,
greywacke and Conglomerate.

15. CHITRADURGA GROUP
 The lower-bababudan group and upper chitradurgah group are separated b an
unconformity.
 Commonly this belt is known as Chitradurga Schist Belt(CSB).
 Cover an area - 400KM long, 40km width at the centre and tepers towards 2km width
towards south.
 The chitradurga group is sub- divided into Vanivilas, Ingaldhal and Hiriyur formation.
 CSB extends from gadag in the north to srirangapatanam in the south
 The southern part of schist belt consist of ultrmafic schist, amphibolites, silecious
sedimentary rocks and marbles.
 The middle part of the belt consist of amphibolite, fuchsite quartzite, metabasalts,
conglomerate, phyllite, iron and manganese formation.

16. CHITRADURGA GROUP

17. CHITRADURGA GROUP
 The northern part of the belt consist of conglomerate, phyllite, volcanics, BIF’s ,
Mn- formations, quartzite and chert.
 The varieties of volcanic rock ranges from spinifex textured komatiite, pillowed
metabasalt, andesite and rhyolite.
 Eastern part of the belt is known as Javanahalli belt.(gneisses and amphibolites).

18. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
 The Archean Group of rocks, of which dharwars forms a very important.
 These group are regarded as the most important economic mineral bearing
Groups of India stratigraphy.
 Most of the economic minerals like those of iron, copper
manganese, lead ,zinc, and gold etc. have come from rocks which broadly
belongs to Archean time.
 As regards mineralization,
 1. The western block is characterized by copper, iron and manganese
mineralization, whereas
 2. The Eastern Block is known for gold, iron and manganese mineralization.

19. CONCLUSION
 Dharwar super group is exposed both in WDC mainly and EDC.
 Age is about 2600-3000MY.
 In WDC dharwar super group as divided into chitradurga and bababudan group.
 No fossils have yet been found from Dharwarian rocks.
 Structure: extensive folding and faulting and intense metamorphism.

20. REFERENCES
 Precambrian basins of India by Geological society
 www.geosocindia.com
 www.shodhganga.com
 Interpretation of stratigraphy and structure of the Neoarchaean Dharwar
Supergroup of rocks in Chitradurga area, Dharwar Craton by Abhinaba Roy, H M
Ramachandra & Siladitya Sengupta.(scienceopen.com)