Cenozoic • Paleogene In GSP lexicon

Saindak Formation

Eocene (Ypresian-Priabonian; ~56-33.9 Ma)

Cited in 7 sources Last reviewed Jul 30, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Paleogene · EoceneEocene (Ypresian-Priabonian; ~56-33.9 Ma)
Named by: HSC (1961)
Type locality: Mirjawa synclinorium near Saindak, Chagai-Raskoh Magmatic Province29.2777°N, 61.5662°E
Thickness: 60-1500 m
Lithology: Interbedded shale, sandstone, limestone and minor volcanic conglomerate; fossiliferous; local pure gypsum beds in red shale.
Synonyms: Washap Formation; Amalaf Formation (in part)

An Eocene volcanic-and-sedimentary unit of the Chagai arc — the host rocks of the Saindak copper–gold mine, in the same belt as the giant Reko Diq deposit.

Named after Saindak Fort. Contains volcaniclastics indicating continued arc activity. Host rock for Saindak copper-gold deposit.

Fossils

Assilina dandotica Assilina exponens Fasciolites oblonga Linderina brugesi Opertorbitolites douvillei Echinolampas nummulitica Velates perversus

Contacts

In the Chagai Hills column

IgneousLimestoneShale / mudFossils recordedContact not recorded

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

Chagai Hills

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: marine, volcanic-arc
Coordinates: 29.2777°N, 61.5662°E

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Correlation

Not recorded. Compare this unit against other basins on the correlation panel →

Economic significance

Metals & minerals

A wall-rock unit of the Saindak porphyry copper–gold deposit; the surrounding Chagai magmatic arc hosts world-class porphyry Cu–Au–(Mo) systems including the giant Reko Diq deposit (~5.9 Gt at ~0.41% Cu plus gold) and the Saindak mine.

Remarks

An Eocene volcano-sedimentary unit of the Chagai magmatic arc; quartz-diorite to tonalite stocks intruding it and the adjacent Amalaf Formation host the Saindak porphyry copper–gold orebodies, part of the ~300 km Chagai porphyry copper belt on the Tethyan metallogenic belt.

Research notes (3)

Field-by-field findings drawn from the cited literature. Every statement is traced to a registered source — follow a citation for the full reference.

Name & nomenclature (1)

Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.

Shah, S.M.I. (2009)

Age & correlation (1)

Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Saindak Formation (Eocene; Chagai–Ras Koh) is 60–1,500 m of interbedded shale, calcareous sandstone, fossiliferous limestone and volcanic rocks (agglomerate/conglomerate), resting conformably on the Rakhshani Formation and overlain transitionally by the (?Oligocene) Amalaf Formation; forams Assilina exponens, Opertorbitolites douvillei and the echinoid Echinolampas nummulitica.

Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997)

Economic significance (1)

The Chagai magmatic arc that the Saindak volcano-sedimentary unit belongs to hosts porphyry Cu–Au mineralization generated in successive events — 43–37 Ma (middle–late Eocene) and, principally, the early–middle Miocene at 24–22 and 18–16 Ma — including the Saindak and Tanjeel deposits (early-Miocene uplift) and the world-class Reko Diq (H14–H15) system dated ~13 Ma (Perelló et al. 2008).

Perelló, J., Razique, A., Schloderer, J. et al. (2008)

Sources (6)

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
Perelló, J., Razique, A., Schloderer, J. et al. (2008). The Chagai Porphyry Copper Belt, Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. Economic Geology, 103(8), 1583-1612.
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.
Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.
Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.

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.

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Cite this unit

APA

Qudsi, L. (2026). Saindak Formation. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_saindakformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Saindak 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/saindak-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: HSC (1961).

Below · older

Rakhshani Formation

Cretaceous–Paleogene

Referenced in other successions

Underlain by Nisai Limestone