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Research about Pakistan

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Pakistan.

65 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
USGS1973

Soapstone deposits of the Sherwan area, Hazara District, Pakistan

The soapstone deposits in the Sherwan area, Hazara District, are mostly in a narrow 10 mile zone in the dolomite unit of the Abbottabad Formation of probable Carboniferous age. Most of the deposits are at the eastern end on the northern flank of a syncline. Soapstone forms irregular replacement bodies as much as 100 feet thick along bedding shears, and also along a set of fracture zones which trend N. 80° W. Alteration zones, characterized by secondary microcrystalline and coarsely crystalline dolomite, commonly are associated with the soapstone. Mining in this area, which commenced in 1952, was done originally by surface cuts; now all the operations are underground. Most production comes from five mines: the Khanda Khu, Chelethar, Bandi, Pnnjkuian, and Kharan mines. Total production is uncertain; but based on the 2,285 feet of tunnel length and on the size of the surface cuts, it is estimated to be about 20,000 tons. Indicated reserves are slightly more than 200,000 tons.

Hazara District↗
USGS1969

Devonian laterite in Chitral state, West Pakistan

A Devonian laterite has recently been discovered near Reshun in the Mastuj valley of Chitral State, West Pakistan. It is believed to be the fourth recorded Paleozoic laterite in the world. The laterite is entirely within a thick carbonate of the Shogram Formation of Upper Devonian (Frasnian) age. A chemical analysis of the laterite shows the principal constitutents to be: Al 2 O 3 35.5%, SiO 2 , 21.7% Fe 2 O 3 16.0%, FeO 10.3%, TiO 2 , 3.5% CaO 0.97%, and MgO 0.70%. Minerals determined by X-ray analysis include hematite, boehmite, diaspore, anatase, rutile, kaolinite, pyrophyllite and what is probably chamosite.

Chitral↗
USGS1968

Exploration possibilities in the Western Chagai District, West Pakistan

A northerly-trending group of quartz diorite stocks that cut Cretaceous, Eocene, 01igocene(?) and Pleistocene( ?) sedimentary rocks near Saindak, West Pakistan , contain oxidized disseminated copper minerals which may occur in commercial concentrations at depth. The stocks are enclosed by an aureole of albite-epidote hornfels about 4 miles wide that locally is cut by veins containing sparse lead and copper minerals. Within the contact aureole the few thin beds of limestone and lenticular limestone reefs have been metasomatically replaced by iron sulfide or iron oxide. The sulfide is largely oxidized near the surface. The areas of metamorphosed rocks to which the veins are mostly restricted can be recognized on panchromatic aerial photographs and from a considerable distance on the ground by their rugged topography, dark color, and by the local abundance of dikes, thus greatly reducing the area requiring field examination during a prospecting program. The red and yellow soils mantling the sulfide-rich rocks are easily recognized from short distances on the ground, but cannot be differentiated from the unmetamorphosed rocks on conventional aerial photographs. Color photography or limited-spectral photo techniques probably can be used to reveal these distinctive soils and thus define the areas of sulfide mineralization.

west Pakistan↗
USGS1968

Silurian-devonian reef complex near Nowshera, West Pakistan

The first Paleozoic reef belt on the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent has recently been recognized near the town of Nowshera (lat 34°00′ N., long 72°00′ E.) in northern West Pakistan. It consists of nine separate hills aligned in a 15-mile-long, east-west band rising out of the Peshawar alluvial plain. Each hill is composed of one or more reef cores whose thicknesses range from less than 100 feet to more than 700 feet. The reef cores are separated by relatively unfossiliferous carbonate rocks thinner than the reefs. The reef belt contains a fauna entirely new to Pakistan that has been dated as Early Devonian to to Late Silurian (Ludlovian to Gedinnian). The reef carbonates are the first sediments of possible Silurian age found anywhere in the country and the southernmost Devonian deposits in West Pakistan. Individual reef cores consist of faunal zones or layers that indicate a gradual growth of the reef mass from relatively quiet water upward into rough water. The presence of these reefs and correlative fossiliferous carbonate sediments in the Peshawar area suggests that in Silurian and Devonian times much of northern West Pakistan was covered by warm, shallow seas bordered by reefs or containing reef platforms. The association of these Paleozoic reefs with extensive deposits of fetid black limestones and porous dolomites may indicate economic potential for the accumulation of oil.

Town of Nowshera in northern West Pakistan↗
USGS1968

Potential for potash and other evaporite mineral resources in West Pakistan

Reconnaissance examination of marine evaporites in West Pakistan has revealed a highly favorable resource situation with respect to anhydrite, and a potentially favorable position for potash and sulfur. Further work is needed to evaluate the preliminary interpretations made during the present study. The establishment of a potash resource organization within the Mineral Resource Directorate of the Geological Survey of Pakistan is proposed. The organization would be concerned exclusively with the investigation of potash deposits in the Salt Range and adjacent parts of the Potwar and Indus Plains.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1968

A study of suitability of Dacca clays for light-weight aggregate production in East Pakistan

The following report covers field work and muffle furnace tests on clays in the immediate vicinity of Dacca, East Pakistan, to determine clay amenability to bloating for the commercial production of light-weight aggregates. It has been established that such clays exist in at least three areas; reserves are sufficient in each area for 20 years or more of operation of a light-weight aggregate plant, if the plant were designed to produce 1,000 cubic yards of expanded material per day for 330 operating days per year. Reserves in any of the three areas can be expanded further or new deposits can be found by additional exploratory work.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1968

Geological interpretation of a Gemini photo

Study of the Gemini V photograph of the Salt Range and Potwar Plateau, West Pakistan, indicates that small-scale orbital photographs permit recognition of the regional continuity of some geologic features, particularly faults and folds that could he easily overlooked on conventional air photographs of larger scale. Some stratigraphic relationships can also be recognized on the orbital photograph, but with only minimal previous geologic knowledge of the area, these interpretations are less conclusive or reliable than the interpretation of structure. It is suggested that improved atmospheric penetration could be achieved through the use of color infrared film. Photographic expression of topography could also be improved by deliberately photographing some areas during periods of low sun angle.

Potwar Plateau;Salt Rrange↗
USGS1968

Structural adaptation in two Permian brachiopod genera, Salt Range, West Pakistan

Silicified shells with spines preserved allow analysis of spine distribution as a specific character in the genus Marginifera Waagen and confirm validity of Waagen's (1884) six species. The animal lived with the ventral valve down, the adult shell partly buried, but many spines grew above the substrate prior to burial. Pseudopunctae are interpreted as seats of ciliate papillae or elongate setal follicles, as adaptation to partial burial in soft substrate. Auricular chambers, marginal ridges, and endospines provided effective protection against ingression of coarse or harmful particles. Productus opuntia Waagen is assigned to Echinauris Muir-Wood & Cooper; its habitat and adaptations are interpreted as similar to those of Marginifera. The stratigraphic position of the bed containing the late Permian guide ammonoid Cyclolobus proves to be lower than hitherto thought, thus extending the ammonoid's range. A Guadalupe age for the Chhidru formation is suggested.

West Pakistan↗
USGS1966

A Permian productoid brachiopod: Life history

Spine arrangements on silicified specimens of Waagenoconcha abichi (Waagen) from the Khisor Range of West Pakistan suggest that the juvenile shell attached itself to a foreign object, and that the adult shell lay on its ventral valve in the substrate, anchored and stabilized by a dense corona of long slender spines around the ventral visceral disc.

Khisor Range↗