Clay minerals from the Lameta Formation of Pandhari area, districts Amravati, Maharashtra and Betul, Madhya Pradesh: Its paleoclimatological implications

This report highlights the record of clay minerals from the Lameta Formation of a new locality of central India. A 9-m thick argillaceous column represented by various shades of grayish-greenish-brownish-yellowish coloured clay to silty-clay has been investigated. The clay has been separated from the host sediment by pipette method which has been further subjected to XRD analysis. The peaks identified are of palygorskite, sepiolite, illite, montmorillonite and kaolinite. The assemblage is interpreted to be a product of arid to semi-arid climatic condition due to weathering of pre-existing rocks. The depositional site also shows the possibility of short term marine incursion.