Dr. Chandan Kumar
Boraiaha

My approach to geological research is rooted in fieldwork. Every project begins in the outcrop — mapping lithological contacts, structural fabrics, and alteration zones before any sample enters the laboratory. I believe the best geochemical data is only as good as the geological context it sits within. Whether working in the greenstone belts of the Dharwar Craton or the shear zones of southern India, the field notebook comes before the mass spectrometer.

In the laboratory, I focus on the trace-element and isotope geochemistry of both bulk rocks and accessory mineral phases — zircon, apatite, biotite — to constrain petrogenetic processes and ore-forming conditions. Zircon U-Pb geochronology and Lu-Hf isotope analysis provide the temporal and source framework; whole-rock geochemistry fills in the magmatic and hydrothermal story.

I also place strong emphasis on training the next generation of exploration geologists. My ore geology course uses a classification scheme based on ore-fluid movements (hypogene and supergene) paired with real-world case studies aligned to practical exploratory models — not purely genetic frameworks. Students learn to think like field geologists who can generate and test exploration hypotheses from the outcrop up.