Comprehensive review and critical synthesis of meta-conglomerates across the Indian shield: from Archean to Proterozoic

Meta-conglomerates of the Indian shield, ranging from the Archean to the Proterozoic, preserve a rich record of crustal evolution, basin dynamics, and mineralization through successive supercontinent cycles. Their oligomictic to polymictic clast – matrix assemblages, depositional facies, and metamorphic overprints reflect high-energy sedimentation in fluvial, alluvial-fan, and shallow-marine systems, later modified by polyphase tectonothermal events. This review synthesizes the spatial and temporal distribution of Indian meta-conglomerates across India’s major Precambrian provinces, covering the cratons and fold belts of India. Chronologically, the deposits record four distinct tectonic pulses: Neoarchean cratonization (~2.7–2.5 Ga); the Paleoproterozoic assembly of Columbia/Nuna (~2.5–1.6 Ga); the Meso- to Neoproterozoic Rodinia Cycle (~1.6–0.8 Ga); and the Neoproterozoic-Cambrian Gondwana Assembly (~550–500 Ma). Economically, several units host uranium, gold, chromite, and base-metal mineralization, underscoring their metallogenic significance. Despite these important factors, challenges persist, including poor geochronological records, metamorphic overprinting on primary textures, limited strain, and isotopic provenance studies. To address these gaps, we recommend integrated approaches combining high-precision geochronology, isotopic fingerprinting, clast strain analysis, and basin-scale reconstructions. Collectively, Indian meta-conglomerates provide complete archives of Precambrian sedimentary and tectonic processes, linking basin evolution with continental growth, supercontinent assembly, and resource potential over more than two billion years of Earth history.