Geochemistry, Geochronology and Petrogenesis of the Proterozoic Betul–Chhindwara Bimodal Volcanics: Constraints on the Evolution of the Central Indian Tectonic Zone, Central Indian Shield

ABSTRACT The Central Indian Tectonic Zone (CITZ) runs across peninsular India and includes Proterozoic bimodal volcanics (basalt‐rhyolite), quartzite, mafic‐ultramafic rocks, volcanic sediments and Banded Iron Formation (BIF). The bimodal volcanic rocks of Betul–Chhindwara belt have been subjected to upper greenschist to lower amphibolite‐grade metamorphism and have well‐preserved remnants of pillow structures. Total alkali vs. silica diagram clearly discriminates all the samples into subalkaline basalts and rhyolites which corresponds to their bimodal nature. Mafic volcanic sequence of Betul–Chhindwara belt is represented by high Ti and low Ti Groups. I. High Ti basalt has undergone low degree of partial melting (~5%), whereas low Ti basalt has undergone a high degree of partial melting (~20%) of the same source rock. Fe and Ca decrease with decreasing Ti indicating clinopyroxene and iron‐titanium oxide fractionation in both the groups of basalt. These basalts are generally enriched in incompatible trace elements such as Rb and Ba and depleted in Nb, P and Ti, which collectively are good indicators of continental crust/lithosphere involvement in their genesis. The basalts show no Eu anomaly, which indicates little role of plagioclase during fractionation process. Positive anomalies of U–Th–Zr for the basalts indicate crustal involvement. Whole‐rock Sm–Nd isochrons for the mafic volcanic rocks indicate an age of crystallisation for these volcanic rocks at about 1232 ± 37 Ma (initial 143 Nd/ 144 Nd = 0.510752 ± 0.000035, mean square weighted deviate [MSWD] = 1.20) which is much younger than the basement rocks ca. 1500 Ma. The ε Nd t ( t = 1232 Ma) vary from −5.93 to −3.1 for the mafic volcanic rocks and between −5.81 and +0.14 for felsic volcanic rocks. Depleted mantle model ages of basalts vary from 2204 to 3040 Ma, and for rhyolites, these vary from 2174 to 2863 Ma, respectively. The ε Nd value for all the basaltic samples includes both the groups of basalts plot away from the CHUR line indicating their derivation from a depleted source and evolves to lower values, indicating longer crustal residence or more crustal contribution. Mafic magma might have been produced at the subduction zone interacted with the lower continental crust while ascending to the surface. This lowered the melting point of the continental crust which led to the production of felsic melt. Episodic mafic magma could have led to the production of rhyolite, produced at different levels of the continental crust.