Khondalite
A rock subtype
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This term is a bit nebulous.
The term was introduced by Walker in 1902 to describe a garnet-sillimanite-quartz-feldspar gneiss with or without graphite from east-central India. The rock was named after an aboriginal tribe called “Khond”, who live there, and Walker was helped by them during the field work. Hence, he proposed to honor them by introducing the term.
It has been used in Tomkeieffs Dictionary of petrology for:
1. A sillimanite quartzite.
2. A variety of pantellerite (an alkali rhyolite).
3. And also the khondalite series is used for a series of metamorphic rocks including garnet-quartz-sillimanite rocks (e.g. in the Kerala Khondalite Belt).
Wikipedia lists it as a quartz-manganese rich garnet-rhodonite schist.
Other geological references say khondalites are essentially graphite-bearing garnetiferous biotite gneisses.
The term was introduced by Walker in 1902 to describe a garnet-sillimanite-quartz-feldspar gneiss with or without graphite from east-central India. The rock was named after an aboriginal tribe called “Khond”, who live there, and Walker was helped by them during the field work. Hence, he proposed to honor them by introducing the term.
It has been used in Tomkeieffs Dictionary of petrology for:
1. A sillimanite quartzite.
2. A variety of pantellerite (an alkali rhyolite).
3. And also the khondalite series is used for a series of metamorphic rocks including garnet-quartz-sillimanite rocks (e.g. in the Kerala Khondalite Belt).
Wikipedia lists it as a quartz-manganese rich garnet-rhodonite schist.
Other geological references say khondalites are essentially graphite-bearing garnetiferous biotite gneisses.
Unique Identifiers
Mindat ID:
53907
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:53907:6
Classification of Khondalite
- Rock
- Metamorphic rock
- Schist
- Khondalite
- Schist
- Metamorphic rock
Mineralogy of Khondalite
Essential minerals - these are minerals that are required within the classification of this rock:
| Garnet Group | X3Z2(SiO4)3 |
| Rhodonite | CaMn3Mn[Si5O15] |
| Silica > Quartz | SiO2 |
Non-essential minerals - these minerals are common, sometimes major components, but are not always present:
| Feldspar | A petrological term for Feldspar Group. |
| Graphite | C |
| Sillimanite | Al2(SiO4)O |
Internet Links for Khondalite
mindat.org URL:
https://www.mindat.org/min-53907.html
Please feel free to link to this page.
Please feel free to link to this page.
References for Khondalite
Reference List:
Gupta, M. P., Gupta, N. P. (1967) An X-ray investigation of green mica in khondalite from Auranga-Koel Valley, Palamau, Bihar, India. Mineralogical Magazine and Journal of the Mineralogical Society, 36 (280) 591-594 doi:10.1180/minmag.1967.036.280.12
Froese, E. (1988) Metamorphic P-T Conditions of the Kerala (South India) Khondalite Belt, A Granulite Facies Supracrustal Terrain: A Discussion. The Journal of Geology, 96 (3) 383-384 doi:10.1086/629229
Bindu, R.S. (1997) Granulite Facies Spinel-Cordierite Assemblages from the Kerala Khondalite Belt, Southern India. Gondwana Research, 1 (1) 121-128 doi:10.1016/s1342-937x(05)70010-1
Sreeraj, K., Santosh, M., Wada, H. (2000) Incipient Charnockites from the Southern Margin of the Kerala Khondalite Belt. Gondwana Research, 3 (4) 552-554 doi:10.1016/s1342-937x(05)70761-9
Braun, Ingo (2006) Pan-African granitic magmatism in the Kerala Khondalite Belt, southern India. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 28 (1) 38-45 doi:10.1016/j.jseaes.2005.03.012
Bhattacharya, S.; Chaudhary, A. K.; Basei, M. (2012) Original nature and source of khondalites in the Eastern Ghats Province, India. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 365 (1). 147-159 doi:10.1144/sp365.8
Harley, Simon L., Nandakumar, V. (2014) Accessory Mineral Behaviour in Granulite Migmatites: a Case Study from the Kerala Khondalite Belt, India. Journal of Petrology, 55 (10) 1965-2002 doi:10.1093/petrology/egu047
Miranda, Daniel Andrade, Chaves, Alexandre de Oliveira, Dussin, Ivo Antônio, Porcher, Carla Cristine (2021) Paleoproterozoic khondalites in Brazil: a case study of metamorphism and anatexis in khondalites from Itapecerica supracrustal succession of the southern São Francisco Craton. International Geology Review, 63 (4) 397-421 doi:10.1080/00206814.2020.1716273
