Lakhra Formation
Paleocene
Kirthar Basin · Eastern Kirthar (Sindh)
Part of Ranikot Group
Paleogene in the time scale →Cited in 9 sources Last reviewed Aug 9, 2026
- Rank
- formation
- Status
- Published
- Age
- Cenozoic · Paleogene · PaleocenePaleocene
- Named by
- Cheema et al. (1977)
- Type locality
- Southern Lakhra anticline25.5458°N, 68.0042°E
- Thickness
- 50–242 m
- Lithology
- Grey, thin- to thick-bedded nodular, sandy and locally argillaceous fossiliferous limestone with sandstone and shale interbeds in the upper part.
- Synonyms
- Not recorded
The top, limestone unit of the Paleocene Ranikot Group, rich in foraminifera, corals and molluscs.
Lakhra Formation It was named by Ahmad and Ghani (Written communication in 1971 to Cheema et al. 1977) after Lakhra of Laki Range. It includes the upper Ranikot limestone of Vredenburg (1906) and upper Ranikot of lator workers, upper Ranikot formation of HSC (1961). It consists of dominant limestone with minor shale. It is correlated with Dungan Limestone of western Kirthar and Sulaiman basin. Its lower contact with Bara Formation is transitional and upper contact with Sohnar Gaj Formation is disconformable. For fossils pl. see the Dungan Formation in western Kirthar. Its age is Late Paleocene.
Fossils
Contacts
Band colour = period; texture = dominant rock type. Lines between bands mark the contact type; dotted = no contact recorded in the sources (not a claim of conformity). True scale makes height ∝ recorded thickness; hatched = thickness not recorded. Ages approximate, for ordering.
This unit (highlighted) within its province column; faded ends continue above and below. Line style marks the contact type.
Distribution & setting
- Basin
- Kirthar Basin
- Region
- Eastern Kirthar (Sindh)
- Depositional environment
- shallow marine
- Coordinates
- 25.5458°N, 68.0042°E
See it in the field
Geoheritage site where this unit is exposed at outcrop.
Correlation
Not recorded. Compare this unit against other basins on the correlation panel →
Economic significance
Not recorded
Remarks
The upper, marine-limestone unit of the Paleocene Ranikot Group in the Kirthar/Sindh region.
Research notes (4)
Field-by-field findings drawn from the cited literature. Every statement is traced to a registered source — follow a citation for the full reference.
Age & correlation (1)
-
Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) treat the Lakhra Formation (Shah 1977) as part of the upper Dungan Formation (limestone and shale), yielding larger benthonic foraminifera (Miscellanea miscella, Discocyclina ranikotensis, Lockhartia haimei, Ranikothalia nuttalli, Assilina dandotica) indicating a late Thanetian to early Ilerdian age (Late Paleocene to earliest Eocene), with nannofossil Zones NP4-NP9 and planktonic Zones P3-P7. Extends the curated Paleocene age into the earliest Eocene.
Thickness (1)
-
Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): 242 m at type section; 135 m northern flank; 50 m at Bara Nai. Type locality: Lakhra-Bholari section, southern flank of the Lakhra anticline, Laki Range. Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.
Shah, S.M.I. (2009)
Economic significance (2)
-
Brohi et al. (2012): around Khanu Brohi and Khadhar (Laki Range, District Jamshoro, Sindh) the Paleocene Lakhra Formation (upper Ranikot Group) yields dimension- and cut-stone-quality limestone — very hard, thick- to massive-bedded, sugary-textured, orange-yellow to pinkish-yellow (medium quality) — worked for decoration and construction; a distinctive Lakhra limestone bed also serves as the local marker for the Paleocene–Eocene boundary.
Brohi, I.A., Solangi, S.H., Bablani, S.A., Agheem, M.H., Sahito, A.G. & Brohi, A.U. (2012)
-
Malik (1989): the Late Paleocene Lakhra Formation forms the Lakhra coalfield - a broad, tectonically undisturbed anticline (~64 x 16 km) at the 'Hinge Line' of the Indo-Pakistan Plate - with five seams and reserves ~498 Mt, the largest single field, though high in pyritic sulphur (5,742-10,620 BTU/lb).
Sources (9)
- Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
- Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.
- OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.
- Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
- Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.
- Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.
- Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.
- Brohi, I.A., Solangi, S.H., Bablani, S.A., Agheem, M.H., Sahito, A.G. & Brohi, A.U. (2012). Geological and Stratigraphical Studies of Dimension and Cut Stone Deposits Around Khanu Brohi and Khadhar Areas, District Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 44(4), 623-628.
- Malik, I.A. (1989). Geodynamics and Coal Deposits of Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 12-43.
Reviewer confidence: high
Every fact on this page is source-cited. This entry is part of the peer-archived Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset (doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991, CC‑BY‑4.0).
Lexicon status: Name attested in the Shah (1977/2009) Geological Survey of Pakistan compilation — the national stratigraphic lexicon. This records where the name is documented; it is not an endorsement of the unit’s definition, age or figures.
Cite this unit
Qudsi, L. (2026). Lakhra Formation. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991
@misc{stratigraphypk_lakhraformation,
author = {Qudsi, Lareb},
title = {{Lakhra Formation} --- Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Zenodo},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.21363991},
url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991}
} Archived dataset: doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991 (CC‑BY‑4.0) · Direct link to this entry: https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/lakhra-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).
To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Cheema et al. (1977).
Related units
Referenced in other successions
Overlain by Sohnari Formation
More from Sindh Province
Same age (Cenozoic · Paleogene)
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