HEAVY MINERALS OF MODERN AND RELICT SEDIMENTS OF THE NIZAMPATNAM BAY,EAST-COAST OF INDIA

Heavy minerals of the beach, sand-spit and palaeastrandline sediments of Nizampatnam bay are dominated by opaques, amphibiles and pyroxenes (70% of the total). Garnet, epidote and monazite are present in signif icant quantities (20%), whereas rutile, zircon and tourmaline are in a ppreciable amounts. Multiple regression analysis indicates that heavy mineral variations in each sedimentary environment have been significa ntly influenced by hydraulic fractionation by size, shape, density and by a selective chemical decomposition of unstable heavy minerals. A c omparison of heavy mineral suites of the modern and relict sediments, derived from a common provenance, also shows mineral variations result ing from factors other than provenance.