Copper–Molybdenum–Tungsten Mineralization in Granitoids around Kanchanpur–Thuni Area, Western Bundelkhand Craton, Central India

Highly altered granitoids in the western part of Bundelkhand craton around Kanchanpur and Thuni villages in Shivpuri district, Madhya Pradesh, India, are significantly associated with copper–molybdenum–tungsten mineralization which is manifested as stringers, blebs, clots and fine specks of chalcopyrite, pyrite, molybdenite and scheelite and as vein-fillings associated with hydrothermal alteration within the ore zone and adjacent host rocks. The cumulative strike length of the zone of mineralization (NW–SE) and associated alteration is around 3.5 km. Various mineral assemblages, viz. K-feldspar–biotite–chlorite, K-feldspar–sericite–chlorite and quartz–epidote–chlorite–sericite indicate intense hydrothermal alteration in the area. Analytical results have shown anomalous values for Cu (up to 1530 ppm), Mo (up to 4080 ppm) and W (up to 1449 ppm). Field observations and chemical analysis have been further supplemented by ore microscopic, petrographic, geo-chemical and EPMA studies to identify sulphide phases (of Fe, Cu and Mo) and scheelite. All the field and laboratory studies collectively indicate a probable hydrothermal origin of mineralization in the study area. The present study on Cu, Mo and W mineralization of economic grade in the western Bundelkhand craton has important implications for further metallogenic studies and mineral exploration in the area.