Mineralogical Investigation of the Bara Formation of Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

This paper describes the mineral composition of bulk-rock samples of the Bara Formation from famous Ranikot Fort area of Sindh province of Pakistan. The purpose of this research is to identify the minerals and to get the clues of provenance of Bara Formation. The petrography, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry were used for the detailed mineralogical investigations. Quartz, feldspars, hematite, gypsum, chlorite and goethite are dominant minerals showed their presence in the studied samples. The presence of quartz, feldspar, and chlorite indicated that Bara formation sediments were supply from the Igneous and metamorphic complex which is exposed in the southeastern part of the studied area. Presence of hematite and goethite also suggested that the studied sediments were deposited under