Sumatra:

Geology, Resources and Tectonic Evolution

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BARBER, A.J., CROW, M.J. & MmSOM, J.S. (eds) 2005. Sumatra: Geology, Resources and Tectonic Evolution. Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 31.
BARBER, A.J., CROW, M.J. & DE SMET, M.J.M. 2005. Chapter 14: Tectonic evolution. In: BARBER, A.J., CROW, M.J. & MmSOM, J.S. (eds) Sumatra: Geology, Resources
and Tectonic Evolution. Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 31, 234-259.
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY MEMOIRS NO. 31
Sumatra:
Geology, Resources and Tectonic Evolution
EDI TED BY
A. J. BARBER
Royal Holloway University of London, UK
M. J. CROW
Lately of the British Geological Survey, UK
and
J. S. MILSOM
Gladestry Associates, UK
2005
Published by
The Geological Society
London
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Contents
Preface
Contributors
Chapter 1. Introduction and previous research
A. J. BARBER, M. J. CROW & J. S. MILSOM
History of geological research in Sumatra
before WWII
Post-WWII research
SEATAR Programme
Indonesian Petroleum Association
British and Indonesian Geological Surveys
University of London Southeast Asian Research
Group, BGS and LEMIGAS
Southern Sumatra Project
Chapter 2. Seismology and neotectonics
J. S. MILSOM
Shallow seismicity
The Wadat i -Beni off Zone (WBZ)
Toba seismicity
Relative horizontal movements
GPS data, the Enggano and Simeulue earthquakes
and Mentawai Fault
Vertical movements
Chapter 3. The gravity field
J. S. MILSOM & A. S. D. WALKER
Data sources
Regional gravity patterns
Toba-Tawar gravity low
Eastern Sumatra
Gravity effects of sedimentary basins
The forearc basin
Seismic tomography and the long-wavelength
gravity field
Chapter 4. Pre-Tertiary stratigraphy
A. J. BARBER M. J. CROW
Pre-Carboniferous basement
Tapanuli Group (Carboniferous - ?Early Permian)
Peusanguan Group (Permo-Triassic)
Woyla Group (Jurassic-Cretaceous)
Chapter 5. Granites
E. J. COBBING
Isotopic ages of Sumatran granites
The granite suites
Conclusions
Chapter 6. Pre-Tertiary volcanic rocks
M. J. CROW
Carboniferous volcanism
East Sumatra Plutonic-Volcanic Belt
(Permian volcanism)
West Sumatra Permian Plutonic-Volcanic Belt
(Early-Mid-Permian volcanism)
vii
ix
9
9
10
11
13
15
16
16
16
19
19
19
20
22
24
24
25
35
40
54
54
56
61
63
63
63
64
Geochemistry of the Silungkang and
Palepat Formations
Metavolcanics and serpentinites in the
Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone
Bentong-Billiton Accretionary Complex
West Sumatra Triassic Plutonic-Volcanic Arc
Pahang Volcanic Belt
Jurassic-Cretaceous Plutonic-Volcanic Arcs
Volcanics in the Woyla Accretionary Complex
Oceanic volcanic arc fragments
Origins of the volcanic units and their environments
of formation
Chapter 7. Tertiary stratigraphy
M. E. M. DE SMET & A. J. BARBER
Stratigraphic review
Pre-Rift stage (Eocene)
Horst and graben stage
(latest Eocene-Oligocene)
Transgressive stage
(Late Oligocene-Mid-Miocene)
Maximum transgression (Mid-Miocene)
Regressive stage (Mid-Miocene-Present)
Summary
Chapter 8. Tertiary volcanicity
M. J. CROW
Radiometric dating of volcanism and plutonism
in Sumatra
Tertiary volcanic stratigraphy
Major and trace element geochemistry of the
Tertiary volcanic rocks
Volcanism, plutonism and subduction beneath
Sumatra during the Tertiary: summary of
Tertiary volcanism and tectonic overview
Chapter 9. Quaternary volcanicity
M. GASPARON
Quaternary volcanic arc and its relationship with
main tectonic features of Sumatra
Pyroclastic deposits
Quaternary arc volcanoes
Quaternary backarc volcanics
Volcanic hazard
Chapter 10. Fuel resources: oil and gas
J. CLURE
North Sumatra Basin
Central Sumatra Basin
South Sumatra Basin
Other Sumatran basins
Chapter 11. Fuel resources: coal
L. P. THOMAS
Geology and coal deposits in Sumatra
Coal quality
Coal resources and production
67
68
68
71
71
71
72
77
79
86
86
87
88
91
94
95
95
98
98
98
109
110
120
120
123
124
125
130
131
131
135
137
140
142
142
145
145
vi CONTENTS
Chapter 12. Metallic mineral resources
M. J. CROW & T. M. VAN LEEUWEN
Sources of data
Timing of metallic mineralization events in Sumatra
Palaeozoic sedimentary basins (Pb-Zn)
Late Triassic-Early Jurassic magmatic arc and the
Tin Granites (Sn, Wo)
Jurassic to Early Cretaceous magmatic arcs
(Cu, Au)
Woyla Group and Accretion Complex
(Au-Ag, Pb- Zn)
Late Cretaceous magmatic arc (Sn, Au- Ag)
Palaeocene magmatic arc (Cu, Au- Ag)
Late Eocene-Earl y Miocene magmatic arc
Miocene-Pliocene magmatic arc (porphyry Cu, Mo)
Neogene magmatic arc (Au-Ag)
Conclusions
Chapter 13. Structure and structural history
A. J. BARBER M. J. CROW
The Sunda forearc
The Barisan Mountains
147
147
147
148
149
158
159
159
159
159
159
165
174
175
175
187
Tertiary basins in the backarc area
Chapter 14. Tectonic evolution
A. J. BARBER, M. J. CROW &
M. E. M. DE SMET
Pulunggono & Cameron (1984) model
Fontaine & Gafoer (1989) model
Metcalfe (1996) model
Hutchison (1994) model
Revised tectonic model for Sumatra
Permo-Triassic palaeogeographic reconstructions
The Woyla Nappe and the Mesozoic evolution
of the Sundaland margin
Tertiary palaeogeography of Sumatra
Recommendations for future work on
Sumatran geology
Appendix Radiometric age data for Sumatra
References
Index
214
234
234
234
236
237
239
242
248
249
255
259
266
282
Preface
The initiative for this Memoir arose from a series of field-based
geological studies in Sumatra by the Institute of Geological Sciences
(later the British Geological Survey) and the University of London
Group for Geological Research in Southeast Asia in collaboration
with the Indonesian Ministry of Mines, through the Geological
Research and Development Centre and the Directorate of Mineral
Resources in Bandung, and the Research and Development Centre
for Oil and Gas Technology (LEMIGAS) in Jakarta between 1975
and 1995. The Indonesian side selected Sumatra as a suitable area
for this programme of scientific and technical assistance in
geological, geochemical and geophysical surveys, inventories of
mineral potential and the training of geoscientists in pursuance of
successive five-year development plans (Pelita). The work
culminated in the publication by the Geological Research and
Development Centre of a series of 42 1:250 000 Geological Map
Sheets with Explanatory Notes covering the whole of Sumatra. In
compiling these geological maps the work of the Dutch geologists of
the Netherlands Indies Geological Survey, who commenced a
systematic programme of mapping in Sumatra before the Second
World War, and the work of geologists working for oil companies
with concessions in Sumatra, supported by the Indonesian National
Oil Company (Pertamina), and published since 1971 in the
Proceedings of the Indonesian Petroleum Association, were also
incorporated.
Map compilation, follow-up geological studies and the continu-
ing activity of oil company and academic geologists resulted in the
accumulation of a vast amount of geological information which is
scatttered in diverse sources and has never been properly
synthesized. A group of geologists from the BGS and the University
of London, together with other collaborating scientists, agreed to
synthesise and review our current knowledge of all aspects of the
geology of Sumatra in the present Memoir to form the foundation on
which future geological work in Sumatra may be soundly based.
Credit is due to the foresight of Directors of the Indonesian
Ministry of Mines (Dr John A. Katili, Director General of Geology
and Mining), the Indonesian Geological Survey (Ir Johannas,
Ir Salman Padmanagara), Geological Research and Development
Centre (Dr H.M.S Hartono, Dr Rab Sukamto, Dr Mohamed Untung
and Dr Irwan Bahar) the Directorate of Mineral Resources
(Ir Salman Padmanagara, Ir Kingking A. Margawidjaja), and the
Director (Dr Rachman Subroto) and Chief Geologist (Dr Bona
Situmorang) of LEMIGAS, who initiated and provided adminis-
trative and logistic support for these various geological programmes
and saw them through to successful conclusions. Credit is also due
to the many Indonesian geologists from these various organizations
who worked on the geological mapping, geophysical and mineral
exploration programmes in Sumatra and acting as counterparts to
BGS and University of London geologists in gathering the basic data
and ensuring, frequently in challenging conditions, that expeditions
in Sumatra were brought to successful and safe conclusions.
On the British side, the contribution of geologists of the Institute
of Geological Sciences/British Geological Survey and the provision
of equipment and of scholarships was supported by the Overseas
Development Administration (ODA), and later the Department of
International Development, as part of a technical aid programme to
Indonesia by the British Government. The technical programme was
initiated by Assistant Director (IGS) Dr David Bleackley CMG, and
supervised successively by Regional Geologists Dr John V.
Hepworth, Dr Clive Jones OBE, Dr John Bennett and Robert
Evans. The North Sumatra Project (1975-1980) was managed in
Bandung by Dr Barry Page, the North Sumatra Support Project by
Dr Martin Clarke, the Nortb Sumatra Mineral Exploration Project
(1984-1988) by Frank Coulson, and the Southern Sumatra
Geological and Mineral Exploration Project (1988-1994), by
Dr Michael Crow. Sandy Macfarlane OBE managed the
North Sumatra Basin Project (1985-1990) and follow-up projects
(1990-1995) at LEMIGAS in Jakarta.
The University of London Group, directed by Dr A. J. Barber,
became involved in Sumatra at the invitation of Dr John Hepworth
(BGS) to provide training and qualifications to GRDC geologists
and geophysicists who were taking part in the field mapping
programmes, in return for administrative and logistical support for
PhD research students and post-doctoral research assistants from the
University of London. A similar arrangment was subsequently made
with LEMIGAS. Financial support for British research students was
provided by the Natural Environment Research Council and by a
Consortium of oil companies who supported the work of the
University of London Group throughout SE Asia. Indonesian
geologists from GRDC, DMR and LEMIGAS studying in Britain
were supported by the Overseas Development Administration,
through the British Council, and by the University of London
Consortium. The contributions of the many geologists both
Indonesian and British who worked on projects in Sumatra under
these collaborative arrangements is acknowledged in the list of
references which accompanies this Memoir.
The editors are indebted to Mike Atherton, Paul Burton, Nick
Cameron, Chuck Caughey, Martin Clarke, John Clure, Valerie
Clure, John Cobbing, Chris Elders, Derek Fairhead, Massimo
Gasparon, Robert Hall, Clive Jones, David Land, Bill McCourt,
Greg Moore, Tim Moore, Andrew Samuel and Steve Sparks for their
reviews of chapters, or parts of chapters, in this Memoir. Some
generously reviewed more than one chapter. Their expertise has
resulted in the correction of errors and misunderstandings and the
overall improvement of the presentation of the contributions
included in the Memoir.
The authors of the chapter on mineral resources are grateful for
the provision of unpublished data by Terry Middleton, Rod Jones,
Brian Levet and Greg Hartshorn. Discussions over many years with
Andi Mangga, Mike Andrews, Nick Cameron, John Cobbing,
Thamrin Cobrie, Suudi Gafoer, Agus Ganowan, Hariwidjaja, Linda
Heesterman, Umi Kuntjara, Chris Johnson, Machali, Bill McCourt,
Sumartono and Bob Young concerning the geology and mineral
deposits of Sumatra have been invaluable in the preparation of this
chapter.
A. J. Barber is indebted to Elsevier Science and the International
Association of Gondwana Research for permission to reproduce
versions of figures which had been published previously in the
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences and Gondwana Research,
respectively, and to the Indonesian Petroleum Association for
written permission to publish figures taken or modified from
articles published in the Proceedings of their Annual Conventions.
M. J. Crow and A. J. Barber are indebted to the Librarians of the
Geological Society (Assistant Librarian Wendy Cawthorne) and the
British Geological Survey for invaluable assistance in extensive
bibliographic searches, and to Prof. Robert Hall for access to the
resources of the SE Asian Library at Royal Holloway, University of
London. They are also indebted to their wives Nuala and Brenda for
their support and forebearance during the preparation of this
Memoir.
Financial support provided by ConocoPhillips Indonesia (Chief
Geologist James Matthew) and of the Royal Holloway South East
Asian Research Group (Director Professor Robert Hall) for the
printing of coloured maps and diagrams is gratefully acknowledged.
Simon Suggate of the South East Asia Research Group compiled
the DEM image of Sumatra used on the cover of the volume.
A. J. Barber
M. J. Crow
J. S. Milsom
November 2004
Dedication
This Memoir is dedicated to all Earth Scientists who have contributed to our knowledge and understanding of the geology of Sumatra
Contributors
A. J. Barber, Southeast Asian Research Group, Department of
Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surre,
TW20 OEX, UK (e-mail: 106731.1236@compuserve.corn).
E. J. Cobbing, Lately of British Geological Survey, Keyworth,
Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK. Present address: 25 Main Road,
Radcliffe on Trent, Nottingham NG12 2BE, UK (e-mail:
j. cobbing @ bluecom, net)
John Clure, Technical Outsourcing, Court Hill House, Letcombe
Regis, Oxon OX12 9JQ, UK (e-mail: clurej@compuserve.com).
M. J. Crow, Lately of the British Geological Survey, Keyworth;
Present address: 28A Lenton Road, The Park, Nottingham, NG7
IDT, UK (e-mail: mcrow73517@aol.com).
M. E. M. de Smet, Lately of the Southeast Asian Research Group,
Royal Holloway, University of London; Present address: Mort-
nikemuurstraat 103b, Leewarden, The Netherlands (e-mail:
smet3OO.nhl.nl).
Massimo Gasparon, Department of Earth Sciences, The University
of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia (e-mail: massimo@
earth.uq.edu.au).
J. S. Milsom, The Camp, Gladestry, Kington, Herefordshire HR6
3NY, UK (e-mail: john@kinnersley.com).
L. P. Thomas, Dargo Associates Ltd., Anned Bach, Michaelchurch
Escley, Herefordshire, HR2 0JW, UK (e-mail: dargolpt@aol.com).
Theo M. van Leeuwen, PT Rio Tinto Exploration, 28th Floor,
Menara Kadin Indonesia, Jalan Rasuna Said Blok X-5 Kav 02-03,
Jakarta 12950, Indonesia (e-mail: t_vleeuwen@yahoo.com).
Adrian S. D. W. Wal ker, British Geological Survey, Keyworth,
Nottingham, NGI2 5GG, UK (e-mail." asdw@bgs.ac, uk).
~ ~ SOUTHEAST
ASIA
. . . . . . 5~; , ~ ~ 9 ,
Conoc0 hillips
Simplified geological map of Sumatra
M. J. CROW & A. J. BARBER
Rock units are separated into time bands based on palaeontological evidence of age for the sediments and radiometric dating for the
intrusives and the volcanics. The main sources for the compilation of this geological map were: 1:250 000 scale quadrangle geology
maps published by the Geological Research and Development Centre between 1975 and 1996; the geological map of Northern Sumatra
at l : l 500 000 by Stephenson & Aspden (1982); the 1:1 000 000 geological maps of Sumatra compiled by Gafoer et al. (1992a, b, d);
the 1:250000 map of Central Sumatra by Hahn & Weber (1981a) and the map of Sumatra in the geological compilation of
Indonesia-West at 1:2 500 000 by M. C. G. Clarke (Land Resources 1990). Earlier sources consulted include the Netherlands East
Indies Geological Survey maps (1927-1931) of southern Sumatra at 1:200 000 and the compilations of parts of Sumatra at 1 : 1 000 000
by Zwierzijcki (1922a, b, 1930a).
Fontaine & Gafoer (1989) presented palaeontological evidence for a medial tectonic dislocation in Sumatra, which was defined by
Hutchison (1994). Outcrops of the Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone (Barber & Crow 2003), the Kluet and Kuantan Formations, and the
Bohorok and equivalent formations in the Tigapuluh Mountains, shown on the map are based on published and unpublished descriptions
of the deformation, as discussed in Chapter 13 (2005, this volume).
The ages of granitic intrusions for Sumatra are from Chapter 5, and for the Tin Islands from Cobbing et al. (1992). The solid geology of
Bangka Island is taken from Ko (1986).
0
. 3
1oS
I
96 E
pA ACEH
I I
97 98 o 9~1o
ANDAMAN SEA
Lhokseumawe
Me ul a boh
Sin
o o%
Banyak Islands
Nias
Na t a l
Batu , ~ Pini
Islands 1 r
Siberut
INDIAN
OCEAN
,dip SOUTHEAST
. ASI A
..~sEA.c.
l,...-~ ,, ~ cRouP
ConocoPhdhps
, , , , __ , , , , , ,
100 ) 101 o 102 ~ 103 104 105 106 107 108
SIMPLIFIED GEOLOGICAL MAP OF SUMATRA
Sipora
ang
Sifigk
\
PADANG
Pag
PENINSULAR vo,o .,c
MALAYSIA / 1 1
/
Lower Cretaceous - Woyla Group
Upper Jurassic Rawas, Peneta,Asai
SEDIMENTS
Holocene -
Pleistocene I I
Pliocene -
Eocene
Triassic ~ Kualu
Tuhur
l Permian
MEDIAL SUMATRA l schist and gneiss
TECTONIC ZONE
INTRUSIVES
l Pliocene-
Eocene
l Late
Cretaceous
l Mid - Jurassic
l Late Triassic -
Early Jurassic
5 o -
4 _
3 _
Modified from"
Stephenson & Aspden, 1982. Simplified Geological
Map of Northern Sumatra. Scale 1:1,500,000 Institute of
Geological Sciences, Keyworth, U.K.
Gafoer et al . 1992a. Geological Map of Indonesia, Padang
Sheet. Scale 1:1,000,000. Geological Research and
Development Centre, Bandung, Indonesia.
Gafoer et al . 1992b. Geological map of Indonesia, Palembang
Sheet. Scale 1.1,000,000. Geological Research and Development
Centre, Bandung, Indonesia.
96 97 98 99 100
1 I. 1. 1 t
inas
r oPE
k
WEST SUMATRA BLOCK
Lower Permian l Palepat, Silungkang
Mengkarang
gkalis Lower Permian - ~ Kluet
' Lower Carboniferous ~ Kuantan
~ ~Tr-Jg ~- 4Tr'Jg
Islands
EAST SUMATRA BLOCK
Lower Permian - ~ Bohorok
?Upper Devonian ~ Mentulu
2 -
1 o_
r"~ { kngga TIN ISLANDS o -
Triassic- Bintan
> p~r-Jg~ -~, ?Cretaceous ~ Tempilang
Singke Bentong-Belitung Accretionary Complex
?Devonian- l
~.~--~....~, Permian Pemali Group 1 o_
~llJTr.~gBukit Batu
Tr - Jg
' ~Bangka Belitung
_ (Billiton)
Toboa l i
2 -
3..
BENGKULU
LS
JAVA SEA
4 _
101 \
1 _ _
Lake 5 .
Enggano ( : ~
LAMPUNG
0 1 O0 200km
o ~ Fi t - - . _ c'-- ~. s ,
102 103 104 105 , Kr akat au' - " " - 1 ~ 107 108
Structural map of Sumatra
M. J. CROW & A. J. BARBER
The main sources of data for the Structural and Tectonic Maps were: the 1 : 250 000 and 1:1 000 000 series of geological maps covering Sumatra
published by the Geological Research and Development Centre and the Tectonic Map of Northern Sumatra (1 : 1 500 000) by Aspden et al.
(1982a) for folds, faults and lithological boundaries in the solid geology. Sub-surface structural data shown in Tertiary and younger rocks
is taken mainly from publications of the Indonesian Petroleum Association. The location of the Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone is taken
from Barber & Crow (2003) and Chapter 13, and segmentation of the Sumatran Fault System and the structures within the Present Accretionary
Complex follow Sieh & Natawidjaya (2000). Structures in the Forearc are taken from Izart et al. ( 1994) (Meulaboh Basin), Karig et al. ( 1980) ,
Milsom et al. (I 995) (Nias Basin), Samuel & Harbury (1996) (Nias), Samuel et al. (1997) (the other forearc islands), Yulihanto & Wiyanto
(1999), Hall et al. (1993) and Howles (1986) (Bengkulu Basin). The Mentawi Fault Zone is described by Diament et al. (1992) and Malod
& Kemal (1996).
Sub-surface structures in the North Sumatra Basin are taken from Davies (1984), Sosromihardjo (1988), Moulds (1989) and Tiltman
(1990); in the Central Sumatra Basin from Moulds (1989) and Heidrick & Aulia (1993); in the South Sumatra Basin from De Coster
(1974), Katili (1974a), Pulunggono (1986), Moulds (1989), Pulunggono et al. (1992), Rashid et al. (1998), Williams et al. (1995),
Yulihanto et al. (1995); and in the the Sunda basin from Bushnell & Temansja (1986), Wight et al. (1986).
The insert Tectonic Map is derived from earlier syntheses published by Van Bemmelen (1949, 1954), Westerveld (1952b), Katili (1973),
Hamilton (1979), Cameron et al. (1980), Aspden et al. (1982a), Pulunggono & Cameron (1984), Wajzer et al. (1991), Hutchison (1994),
McCourt et al. (1996), Metcalfe (2000), Barber & Crow (2000) and Chapter 13.
The reader is referred to the main text for a more exhaustive list of the references consulted.
97
I
98
, , ,
99 100 101 102
STRUCTURAL MAP OF SUMATRA
0 1 O0 200km
"1
Aceh
4 ! i ........
~ iii~~i~ ~i~ I
\
3
~i~ iii~ ' ' ~"
I / i ' ~ ' : ;
_1
~iet
\ Basin
Tao~tl
- 0 o
INDIAN
OCEAN
- l oS
_ 2
Syncline
Anticline
Transcurrent Fault
Monocline
Normal Fault
Thrust ~ Volcanic Centre
\ st~
Nias
Batu ~i Pini
Islands ~' ~
Siberut
,,A
ADANG
PENI NSULAR
MALAYSI A
INDIAN
PLATE
TECTONIC MAP "
Pre-Tertiarv Accreted Terranes
>L_~ Bintan
Riau
',,, Islands
%
~Li n a
- 3
4
N.B. Paler colours represent undersea extension
TERTIARY
AND
QUATERNARY
JURASSIC
AND
CRETACEOUS
TRIASSIC- ~
CRETACEOUS
Volcanic Units
Sedimentary Units
Woyla Nappe
( Oceani c Arc and Accr et i onar y Compl ex)
Continental Deposits
(Kual u, Tuhur, Rawas, Penet a, Asai ,
Bi ntan, Tempi l ang)
\
BENGKULU
- 5
Conoco~hillips
PRE-TRI ASSI C BASEMENT
Bentong-Belitung
Accretionary Complex
Sibumasu (East Sumatra) Block
Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone
(Pal e ti nt beneat h Terti ary sedi ment s)
West Sumatra Block
01
I
Sunda Basin
95 96 97 98 99 100 102 ~
I I I I I I \ ' 10301 104 1 05o"~r" e e=
Chapter 1
Introduction and previous research
A. J. BARBER, M. J. CROW & J. S. MI LSOM
Sumatra, with an area of 473 606 km 2 is the largest island in the
Indonesian archipelago and the fifth largest island in the world.
The island stretches across the equator for 1760 km from NW to
SE, and is up to 400 km across (Fig. 1.1). Administratively, and
for the purposes of this Memoir, Sumatra includes the Mentawai
islands from Simeulue to Pagai, which with Enggano form a
forearc chain to the SW, and the 'Tin Islands' of Bangka and
Billiton and the Riau islands to the east. The backbone of the
main island is formed of the Barisan Mountains, which extend
the whole length of Sumatra in a narrow belt, parallel to, and
generally only a few tens of kilometres, from the SW coast. The
main peaks (which are mainly Quaternary or Recent volcanoes)
commonly rise 2000 m above sea level, culminating in Mt
Kerinci at 3805 m. Short, steep river courses drain the Barisans
towards the SW, often cuttting deep gorges, while towards the
east the rivers follow long meandering courses across broad
coastal plains and swamps to the Malacca Straits, which separate
Sumatra from the Malay Peninsula, or to the Java Sea. Eastwards,
across the Java Sea, lies the almost equally large island of Borneo
(Indonesian Kalimantan), and Java lies immediately to the SE
across the narrow Sunda Strait.
The Mal acca Strait and the Java Sea form the southern parts
of the Sunda Shelf (Fig. 1.1). Across the shelf the seafloor is
shallow with a depth of less than 200 m and remarkabl y flat.
Virtually the whole of the shelf was exposed at the peak of
the last glaciation. To the SW, Sumat ra is separated from a
linear ridge with emergent islands extending from Simeulue
in the north to Enggano in the south, by marine basins more
than 1000 m deep, which increase to a depth of more than
2000m in the south. To the SW of the ridge the seafloor
slopes steeply into the Sunda Trench, 5000 m deep in the
NW, deepening to >6000 m towards Java in the SE. The floor
of the Indian Ocean, with a depth of about 5000 m, lies to the
SW beyond the trench, extending all the way to to India and
the east coast of Africa. Immedi at el y to the west of Sumat ra
the floor of the Indian Ocean is covered by the thick sediments
of the Nicobar Fan, the currently inactive eastern lobe of the
Bengal Fan, composed of debris eroded from the Hi mal ayas.
The fan is separated from the main part of the Bengal Fan to
the west by seamounts of the nor t h- sout h trending Ninety-
East Ridge (Fig. 1.2).
In terms of present-day tectonics Sumatra forms the active south-
western margin of the Sunda Craton (Sundaland), the southeastern
promontory of the Eurasian Plate (Fig. 1.2). The relative 7.7 cm a-
NNE-directed motion of the Indian Ocean results in oblique (c. 45 ~
subduction at the Sunda Trench. Seismic profiles across the land-
ward side of the Sunda Trench imaged the removal of packages
of sediment from the downgoing plate to build a forearc ridge accre-
tionary complex (Hamilton 1979; Karig et al. 1980) (Fig. 1.3).
Oblique subduction results in the northwestward movement of a
' sliver' plate (Curray 1989), decoupled both from the downgoing
Indian Ocean Plate and the Sundaland Plate, along the Wadat i -
Benioff seismic zone, which dips northeastwards at c. 30 ~ and
along the vertical Sumatran Fault System. The Wadat i -Beni off
zone intersects the fault at a depth of some 200 km. The active
Sumatran Fault System runs the whole length of the Sumatra,
through the Barisan Mountains, from Banda Aceh to the Sunda
Strait, and is paralleled by a line of Quaternary volcanoes, mainly
quiescent, but some currently active (Fig. 1.4).
Geologically, Sumatra forms the southwestern margin of the
Sunda Craton, which extends eastwards into Peninsular Malaysia
and into the western part of Borneo (Fig. 1.2). A Pre-Tertiary
basement is exposed extensively in the Barisan Mountains
(Fig. 1.4) and in the Tin Islands of Bangka and Billiton. The
oldest rocks which have been reliably dated are sediments of
Carboni ferous-Permi an age, although Devonian rocks have
been reported from a borehole in the Malacca Strait, and
undated gneissic rocks in the Barisan Mountains may represent
a Pre-Carboniferous continental crystalline basement. All the
older rocks, which lie mainly to the NE of the Sumatran
Fault System, show some degree of metamorphism, mainly to
low-grade slates and phyllites, but younger Permo-Triassic sedi-
ments and volcanics are less metamorphosed. The area to the
SW of the fault is composed largely of variably metamorphosed
Jurassic-Cretaceous rocks. The Pre-Tertiary basement is cut by
granite plutons that range in age from Permian to Late Cretaceous.
Locally within the Barisans the basement is intruded by Tertiary
igneous rocks and is overlain to the NE and SW by volcani-
clastic and siliciclastic sediments in hydrocarbon- (oil and gas)
and coal-bearing Tertiary sedimentary basins. These basins have
backarc, forearc and interarc relationships to the Quaternary to
Recent volcanic arc. Lavas and tufts from these young volcanoes
overlie the older rocks throughout the Barisans and, in part i cul ar
cover an extensive area in North Sumatra around Lake Toba
(Fig. 1.4). Recent alluvial sediments occupy small grabens
within the Barisan Mountains, developed along the line of the
Sumatran Fault and cover lower ground throughout Sumatra.
These alluvial sediments are of fluvial origin immediately
adjacent to the Barisans, but pass into swamp, lacustrine and
coastal deposits towards the northeastern and southwestern
margins of the island.
History of geological research in
Sumatra before-WWII
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Sumatra
was explored by geologists and engineers working for mining
and petroleum companies under the auspices of the Bureau of
Mines in the Dutch East Indies Colonial Administration. In 1925
a ' Palaeobotanic Expedition to Djambi (Jambi)' was undertaken
to collect samples of the ' Djambi Flora' . This early work is
summarized by Rutten (1927) in his ' Lectures on the Geology
of the Netherlands East Indies' . Between 1927 and 1931 the
Netherlands Indies Geological Survey conducted a mapping
programme in South Sumatra with the production of a series of
sixteen 1:200 000 Geological Map Sheets (e.g. Musper 1937),
and carried out other geological studies in Central and Northern
Sumatra (Musper 1929; Zwierzijcki 1922a, b, 1930a). Unfortu-
nately, as a result of the global economic depression, this
mapping programme was discontinued in 1933, before the
mapping of the whole island was complete. However, the cessa-
tion of fieldwork provided an opportunity to publish the results
of the 1925 Palaeobotanic expedition to Djambi (Zwierzijcki
1930a; Jongmans & Gothan 1935). Exploration by mining and
petroleum companies continued throughout Sumatra, but for
commercial reasons most of the reports remained confidential
and unpublished. However, some of the results, notably for
2 CHAPTER 1
ANDAACEH
~. ~
elo
1 O0 ~
0
%
1MEDAN %
Batu
Indian
Ocean
\ \
%
t <o0o
9 Active Volcanoes
, and over 000m
Land 1000-2000m
Land 100-1000m
Land bel ow 100m
Submar i ne cont ours in met res
- - ---- Provi nci al boundar i es
101"
9 PEKAN BARU
I' ' '
/
106 ~ 108 ~
South China Sea
o~
/ ~'..
/ 2~ "Anf i mbas
I ~ Is
,,,atun ,o
BENGKULU
'/--.SINGAPORE
Riau Is
9 Tambel an
.o~, Is
Sunda Shelf
SO UTI--~ )" k,, (,. /.,
0 1 O0 200 300 400 500km
2 ~
BILLIT ON
/
/
J Ao
Java Sea
I
BANDAR LAMPUNG
Krakato~
96 ,, 98 ~ 100 ~ 102" 104" 106" "
I I I I I I
Fig. 1.1. Topography and bathymetry of Sumatra and surrounding areas with boundaries of administrative provinces and principal cities.
108"
work carried out in Siberut, Nias and Simeulue and the other Outer
Arc Islands on behalf of the Nederlands Pacific Petroleum
Maatschappij and the Geological Service of the Baatafsche
Petroleum Maatschappij before WWII (Elber 1939; Den Hartog
1940a, b; Hopper 1940), were made available to van Bemmelen
(1949, 1970) during the preparation of his major synthesis of
' The Geology of Indonesia' .
Van Bemmelen began work on this comprehensive and masterly
summary, immediately before WWII. The first manuscript version
of this work was completed in Bandung between 1937 and 1941.
When Java was invaded by the Japanese in 1942 van Bemmelen
was taken into custody as a prisoner of war. There are reports
that during the war he was permitted by the Japanese authorities
to continue work on the volume. Van Bemmelen says that he
entrusted his manuscript to an official of the Geological Survey,
but after the war this official refused to return it (van Bemmelen
1949, 1970). On his release from captivity van Bemmelen returned
to the Netherlands, where he was commissioned to rewrite
the volume by the Director of the Netherlands East Indies
Bureau of Mines. Work commenced in 1946 and the first edition
was published by the Government Printing Office in the Hague
in 1949. A second edition was published in 1970. The volume
provides a complete summary of the state of knowledge of the
stratigraphy, structure, igneous history and mineral deposits of
the whole of Indonesia at that time. For Sumatra, van Bemmelen
(1949, 1970) developed a tectonic synthesis in which deformation
proceeded as a series of waves, across the island from NE to
SW, with the earliest cycle having occurred in the Malay
Peninsula during the Triassic, and the most recent continuing in
the outer arc islands at the present day.
INTRODUCTION 3
i
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Fig. 1.2. The tectonic setting of Sumatra
with the floor of the Indian Ocean
subducting beneath the southwestern
margin of the Sundaland Craton. The
deformation front of the Sumatran
subduction system is indicated by the
toothed line; spreading centres and
transform faults are shown in the Andaman
Sea (after Curray et al. 1979).
Pos t - WWI I r e s e ar c h
Little geological work was possible during the years immediately
after the end of WWII, but following Indonesian Independence in
1947 the Geological Survey of Indonesia (GSI) was established in
the old Bureau of Mines building in Bandung. From 1969 to 1974
the Mapping Division of (GSI) commenced a systematic pro-
gramme of mapping in the Padang area of West Sumatra, in col-
laboration with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), as
part of the First Five Year Development Plan (PELITA I).
Several 1:250 000 Geological Map Sheets were published as a
result of this programme (Silitonga & Kastowo 1975; Rosidi
e t al . 1976; Kastowo & Leo 1973). As part of this collaboration
a senior geologist of the USGS, Warren Hamilton, was commis-
sioned to prepare a series of maps and a memoir reviewing the
geology of the Indonesian region in plate-tectonic terms
(Hamilton 1977, 1979). Hamilton' s (1979)Tect oni c Map, which
includes Sumatra, shows clearly present views of the tectonic
setting of Sumatra.
SEATAR Pr ogr amme
In 1973 a meeting was convened by the United Nations Committee
for the Coordination of Joint Prospecting for Mineral Resources
in Asian Off-shore waters (CCOP) in Bangkok which established
the Studies in East Asian Tectonics and Resources (SEATAR)
Programme. At that time a review of the current understanding
of the tectonics of eastern Asia was prepared by Deryck Laming
on behalf of CCOP-IOC (1974). As a result of the meeting it
was proposed to concentrate research along a series of transects
across the island arc systems of East and SE Asia. Subsequently
A. J. Barber (University of London) and Derk Jongsma (BMR)
were engaged by CCOP as Technical Consultants to prepare a
report on the current state of knowledge along the lines of
these transects (CCOP-IOC 1980). One of the selected transects
ran from the Malay Peninsula across northern Sumatra and the
forearc island of Nias to the Sunda Trench. Although the final
report for this transect was never published, a great deal of
important research was carried out by American researchers
4 CHAPTER 1
INDIAN OCEAN
NIAS MALAY
Present BARISAN MOUNTAINS PENINSULA
Accretionary
Sunda Compl ex Sumatran Fault MALACCA STRAIT
Toba Caldera Backarc Basin NE
_, - ~- ~- , , - ' ~S~ ~ ~--._1.1. ~, ~~_" '.: ,' ~' -.~-.__ ~-=~-,'-~_.'~: ~ - ---~ ~ 0
SW Nicobar Fan Trench Ridge Forearc Basin
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50 Length of cross-section 800kin
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~_LLL~- ~e] I I / I I I I I I I I ~UNUALAI NU I I I I I
~( I I I I I ~TI ~I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
I I I I I I I I I I I I I ~l I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I [ I I
' ' ' :":: ~l ~, ~ ~ ~ i ~ i i I~I~~ ~ i ~ ~ '~~ i ~ ~ ~ ~ II II I~II II i II II II II II lli i II i ~ ~ EURA~"i A~ ~1~' ~ :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
km
50
Fi g. 1.3. Di agr ammat i c sect i on across the Sumat r an Subduct i on Syst em from the floor of the I ndi an Ocean to the Mal ay Peni nsul a, dr awn to scale.
under the auspices of the SEATAR Programme, particularly in Nias
and the surrounding seas (Curray et al. 1982; Karig et al. 1980;
Moore & Karig 1980). Also in conjunction with the SEATAR Pro-
gramme, Cobbing et al. (1992) made a detailed study, including
isotopic dating, of the granites on the Tin Islands of Bangka and
Billiton, supported by the UK Overseas Development Adminis-
tration as a contribution to the work of : COP.
Since the effective termination of the SEATAR Programme,
US research in Sumatra has been concentrated on neotectonics,
an important part of which has been the monitoring of movement
along the Sumatran Fault System, using GPS location systems
(Prawirodirdjo et al. 1997).
Indonesian Petrol eum Association
In 1971 the Indonesian Petroleum Association (IPA) was estab-
lished by petroleum companies operating in Indonesia, in associ-
ation with the Indonesian national oil company, Pertamina.
Since its inception the IPA has held Annual Conventions which
continue to the present day. At these conventions papers on the
geology of Indonesia are presented and published as the Pro-
ceedings of the Indonesian Petroleum Association. The IPA
Proceedings provide an invaluable source of information on the
geology of Indonesia. Most of the papers deal with Tertiary depos-
its and details of the stratigraphy and structure of the oil and
gas fields of Indonesia, including those of Sumatra, but more
general papers on geology and tectonics have also been published.
The publication of the IPA Proceedings has resolved van Bemme-
len' s (1949) complaint of the pre-WWII situation, in which large
amounts of geological data, accumulated by the oil companies,
remained unpublished for commercial reasons, and were not avail-
able for the compilation of regional geological syntheses.
British and Indonesian Geological Surveys
Major UK involvement in the geology of Sumatra began in
1975 when the Institute of Geological Sciences (IGS, now the
British Geological Survey, BGS), in collaboration with the
Geological Survey of Indonesia (GSI), commenced a five-year
mapping and reconnaissance geochemical survey of northern
Sumatra to the north of the equator (Northern Sumatra Project,
NSP). In 1978 GSI was reorganized into a number of semi-auton-
omous directorates and the Directorate of Mineral Resources
(DMR) became the designated Indonesian counterpart organisation
in the NSP. The work of IGS in the Northern Sumatra Project,
and subsequent projects by BGS in Sumatra, were funded from
the Technical Assistance and Technical Cooperation budgets of
the U.K. Overseas Development Administration (ODA).
The structural, stratigraphic, geochemical and tectonic results
of the Northern Sumatra Project have been presented in a series
of papers (Page et al. 1978, 1979; Cameron et al. 1980; Rock
et al. 1982; Aldiss & Ghazali 1984) and unpublished reports.
In a continuation of the NSP, geological maps and reports result-
ing from the project were edited by BGS personnel, and published
by the Indonesian Geological Research and Development
Centre (GRDC), one of the constituent directorates of GSI,
as a series of 18 Geological Map Sheets at 1:250 000 scale,
with accompanying Explanatory Notes. Follow-up studies of
fossil localities, with the view of establishing the stratigraphical
ages of the sedimentary units in Sumatra, were carried out
by Metcalfe (1983, 1986, 1989a, b; Metcalfe et al. 1979) and by
Fontaine and his collaborators, under the auspices of : COP
(Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). The results of the regional geochemical
stream sediment sampling survey were published in a joint
IGS/ DMR Geochemical Atlas (Stephenson et al. 1982) and sub-
sequently DMR published sets of single element proportional
symbol distribution maps at 1:250000, for many of the
quadrangles to the north of the equator. Geochemical anomalies
found during the NSP were followed up by BGS and DMR
in the collaborative North Sumatra Geological and Mineral
Exploration Project (NSGMEP, 1985-1988). The results of a
separate programme of research into the mineralization in north
Sumatra, also funded by UK ODA, have been published by
Bowles et al. (1984, 1985) and Beddoe-Stephens et al. (1987).
University of London Southeast Asian Research Group,
BGS and LEMIGAS
In 1978 members of the University of London Southeast Asian
Research Group which had previously been active in Eastern
Indonesia, commenced a programme of research projects in
Sumatra, in collaboration with BGS, DMR and GRDC. In 1984
a joint University of London/BGS North Sumatra Basins
Study Project, was set up with funding from the UK Overseas
Development Administration, in collaboration with the Indonesian
Research and Development Centre for Oil and Gas Technology
(LEMIGAS) (Kirby et al. 1993). This project built on the major
involvement by LEMIGAS in this productive basin, where
one of the largest exploration blocks is operated directly by
Pertamina. The overall programme was largely concerned with
the stratigraphy, sedimentology and geophysics of the Tertiary
basins in northern Sumatra, with the University contribution
Concentrating on field studies of the relationship of the Tertiary
rocks to the underlying basement, with a view to understanding
the tectonic evolution, of these basins (Turner 1983; Tiltman
1987, 1990; Kallagher 1990). More recently the University of
London contribution, funded by the UK Natural Environment
Research Council (NERC), ODA and a number of oil companies,
INTRODUCTION 5
I
96~
BandaAceh
I
98 ~
I
1 O0 ~
_4 ~
-0~
Li ne of
Sect i on
Fi g. l . 3.
Nias
~' yY
Y
Q
- 4 ~
/
Quaternary-Recent volcanics
Tertiary Sediments and volcanics
Pre-Tertiary Basement
I
102 ~
A
0 100
" . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : .
. . . . . . . . . . . . | j
(-:-:.:-:-:-:-:-:.:-:.:[... ...-
:i:~i:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:iQ:i
I
104 ~
Active Volcano
Sumatran Fault System
Deformation Front of the
Sumatran Subduction
Complex
200 300 400
..............
[ i i : i i l ; i : : : i : : : i ; i ; i : ~~: : i i i i ~mbang
j~.'.ii::.. ~::!:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. I
Bengku[ : : i ~' - "' -' " ""' ""' "' "' ""' "' -' "' "' -' "' "' -
I
106 ~
6 ~ -
4 o .
500km
2 ~ -
0 o-
2 ~ -
4 ~ -
~
pung
6 ~-
96~ 98 ~ 100 ~ \ 102 ~ 104 ~ 106 ~
i I I \ I I I
Fig. 1.4. Simplified geological map of Sumatra showing the distribution of the main stratigaphic units and the active volcanoes. Toothed line marks the deformation
front of the Sumatran Subduction System. The line of section in Fig. 1.3 is also shown.
became increasingly concentrated in the forearc islands, where
a series of geological mapping and gravity surveys were
completed (Situmorang et al. 1987; Milsom et al. 1990; Harbury
& Kallagher 1991; Samuel & Harbury 1996; Samuel et al.
1997). At the same time LEMIGAS collaborated with the
French CNRS (Centre National pour Recherche Scientifique) in
a number of studies in the forearc region using the Indonesian
Marine Research Vessel Baruna Jaya III (Diament et al. 1992;
Izart et al. 1994). Outside the bounds of the NSP, University of
London Staff and research students with funding from NERC,
ODA and a Consortium of petroleum companies collaborated
with LEMIGAS on studies on the Ombilin interarc basin
in central Sumatra (Lailey 1989; Bartram & Nugrahaningsih
1990; Howells 1997b), the Woyla Group in North Sumatra
(Wajzer et al. 1991; Barber 2000; McCarthy et al. 2001) and a
study of the Sumatran Fault System throughout the island
(McCarthy & Elders 1997).
Southern Sumatra Project
Geological mapping, gravity surveys and geochemical program-
mes in Sumatra south of the equator were conducted by GRDC
and DMR during PELITA II (1974-79) and in successive five
year development programmes, continuing into the 1980s. In
1988 the Southern Sumatra Geological and Mineral Exploration
Project (SSGMEP) was established, and BGS joined DMR and
GRDC in the completion of these surveys and in research
6 CHAPTER 1
r./i/o: d o
[ / Banda Aceh ~ . . . . . . . . ,, ,. ......" / " . Lhokseumawe
VZZZEZA
i~".._o4. 2o U. / ;
"rebingt!pggi' I
; t7
/Si di kafang, ~,/Pematan( " Bagansiapiapi
" ~' ( / / / " / ~ / siantar" ." . / c- ~/ . / ' / / . / '
Padang-
si dempuan
106<'30 ,
I
<b
NE Muarasiberut
Sungaipenuh'
and
Ketuan
., 0913 / ..."
6'- ~ " ' " t " ~ ~ ~ " -~,.%.f~
t3 1 O0 200 300 ................. 400 500kin %'7 /
Fig. 1.5. Coverage, sheet numbers and names of the 1:250 000 Geological Maps published by the Indonesian Geological Survey, the Geological Research and
Development Centre, Indonesian Ministry of Mines and Energy.
programmes with funding from UK ODA Technical Cooporation
budget. This programme was completed in 1995 with the publi-
cation by GRDC of the last of the forty three Geological Map
Sheets at 1:250000 scale, covering the whole of Sumatra
(Fig. 1.5) and 18 1:250000 scale Bouguer gravity anomaly
maps of southern Sumatra, including Bangka and Billiton
islands, but excluding the coastal swamps and the Barisan
Mountains. The collaborative geochemical survey was completed
in 1994 with the publication by DMR of 14 quadrangle boxed sets
of 1:250 000 single element proportional symbol geochemical
maps (up to 15 elements) with accompanying reports on the
geochemistry, geology and mineral occurrences. Subsequently
the Sumatra geochemical data was made available on CD-ROM
(Version 2 in 1999). In 1995 following a one-year 'Sustainability
Phase' of the SSGMEP a Geochemical Atlas of Southern
Sumatra was issued in digital form on CD-ROM (Machali et al.
1995). Publication in book form followed in 1997, with text in
both Bahasa Indonesia and English (Machali et al. 1997). An
evaluation of tectonic models for the Pre-Tertiary history of
Sumatra based on BGS/DMR/GRDC and University of London
research programmes has been published by Barber & Crow
(2003).With the completion of this major phase of UK
involvement in the study of the geology of the Sumatra, the
time is ripe to review the vast increase in our knowledge of
the geology of Sumatra since van Bemmelen' s (1949, 1970)
synthesis.
Chapter 2
Seismology and neotectonics
JOHN MILSOM
Sumatra is an active (Andean) continental margin that would be
linked by land to SE Asia if sea level fell by as little as 50 m.
Present-day tectonic processes are controlled by three major
fault systems, the most obvious of which is the subduction thrust
which crops out in the Sunda Trench. The trench curves very
little in the 800 km between Enggano and Nias, i.e. off central
Sumatra (Fig. 2.1), but is markedly convex towards the Indian
Ocean both further north and further south. Water depths of
more than 6000 m are reached in the south but the maxi mum in
the north may be less than 5000 m. The difference is usually,
and convincingly, attributed to the presence on the Indian Ocean
plate of the Nicobar Fan, consisting of sediments, derived
ultimately from erosion of the Himalayas, which increase steadily
in thickness towards the north (e.g. Hamilton 1979). Continuing
subduction is attested by a Wadat i -Beni off Zone (WBZ) that
extends to depths of the order of 200 km (e.g. Newcomb &
McCann 1987) and by volcanic activity in the Barisan mountains,
the peaks of which generally lie within a few tens of kilometres
of the coast. The change, of more than 45 ~ in the trend of the
trench between 96~ and 97~ (the ' Nias Elbow' ) may have
been initiated by subduction of the 2 km high Investigator Ridge
(Investigator Fracture Zone), which trends approximately north-
south at about 98~ Sieh & Natawidjaja (2000) defined a
' Central Domain' of mainland Sumatra between the Nias Elbow
and the ridge intersection as anomalous in a number of ways
(notably in the differing trends of the Sumatran Fault and the
volcanic line) and as distinct from more regular Northern and
Southern domains on either side (Fig. 2.1).
Inland, the dextral transcurrent Sumatran Fault runs the entire
length of the island, from Banda Aceh to the Sunda Strait
(Fig. 2.1). A variety of names have been used for both the
overall fault system and parts of it, and new nomenclature
developed by Sieh & Natawidjaja (2000) divided it into 19 indi-
vidual segments. Even this detailed study failed to answer many
fundamental questions, and estimates of total lateral displacement
still vary from several hundred kilometres to as little as twenty
kilometres. The 150km suggested by McCarthy & Elders
(1997) seems to be about the mean of the published values. The
fault trace coincides roughly with the watershed of the Barisans
and with the volcanic line, although most of the volcanoes lie
somewhat to the NE of the fault and only nine of the fifty youngest
centres lie within 2 km of it (Sieh & Natawidjaja 2000). A more
precise correlation is with the subduction thrust, since for most
of its length the distance between the Sumatran Fault and the
trench axis differs by no more than 30 km from the average
value of 290 km. The largest deviations are a narrowing within
the bight of the Nias Elbow and a broadening in the region
further to the NW.
The third and most enigmatic of Sumatra' s major fault systems
is the Mentawai Fault, at the outer margin of the forearc basin
(Fig. 2.1). In many publications the name is reserved for the
segment extending from the Sunda Strait to Nias (Samuel &
Harbury 1996) or the Batu Islands (Diament et al. 1992), but the
same disturbance zone continues at least as far as the Andaman
Sea (Malod & Kemal 1996) and possibly to the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands. Movement has been variously interpreted as
normal, strike slip or reverse (Sieh & Natawidjaja 2000). There
are considerable changes in appearance on seismic sections
even within the region from Nias southwards; the structure was
described by Sieh & Natawidjaja (2000) as a homocline and by
Karig et al. (1980) as a ' fault-flexure' .
Magnetic anomalies in the Indian Ocean south of Sumatra
trend east -west and were interpreted by Sclater & Fisher (1974)
as indicating Palaeogene ages for most of the crust adjacent to
the trench, with a possibility of Late Cretaceous crust in the
extreme SE. Transforms such as the Investigator Fracture Zone,
which may offset the anomalies by several hundred kilometres,
run almost precisely north-south. With the trend of the trench
varying from N40~ to N60~ and the direction of the Indian
Ocean-Sumat ra convergence vector being about N15~ (Fig. 2.1),
Sumatra has long been recognized as a key area for studies of
the partitioning of strain between thrust and transcurrent faults
during oblique convergence (Fitch 1972; McCaffrey 1992, 1996;
Malod & Kemal 1996). The suggestion, originally made by
Fitch (1972), that the oblique motion is to a first approxima-
tion accommodated by orthogonal subduction at the trench and
dextral slip along the Sumatran Fault, is now widely accepted.
To the extent that this is true, the forearc region must be decoupled
from both the Indian Ocean and Eurasia. The commonly used
term ' sliver plate' (e.g. Curray 1989) suggests more strength and
rigidity than could reasonably be expected of such a long and
narrow strip of lithosphere, and any analysis of subduction
beneath Sumatra must take into account the probability of inde-
pendent movements of forearc fragments (e.g. McCaffrey 1991).
Estimates of the movements of the Indian Ocean relative
to Sumatra are shown in Figures 2.1 and 2.4. Changes in magni-
tude and direction from NW to SE are dictated by the East
African location of the pole of rotation (Larson et al. 1997). If par-
titioning of orthogonal and transcurrent strain between, respect-
ively, the trench and the Sumatran Fault were complete (and
movement occurred only along these features), then sites in the
forearc sliver would move parallel to the Sumatran Fault relative
to SE Asia, but at right angles to the trench relative to the
Indian Ocean. Trench-normal relative motion implies that the
forearc sliver ' tracks' across linear features on the Indian Ocean
Plate, such as the Investigator Fracture Zone, which have nort h-
south trends (Fig. 2.1). If the long term movement between the
forearc and the Indian Ocean has actually been approximately
orthogonal, the intersection point of the Investigator Fracture
Zone with the trench, now near the Batu Islands, would have
been north of Nias less than 10 million years ago. The relief, of
more than 2 km, on the Investigator Fracture Zone might not
only impede such tracking but could be responsible for cyclical
uplift and subsidence in the forearc basin and ridge.
Slip partitioning and subduction of Indian Ocean lithosphere
produce high levels of seismicity in the Barisan Mountains, in
the forearc basin and along the forearc ridge (Fig. 2.2). The poten-
tial for extremely destructive earthquakes was most recently
demonstrated by the Magnitude 9 event near Simeulue in Decem-
ber 2004 and by the resulting tsunami, which gave rise to one of
the worst natural disasters in recorded human history. However,
and despite the geological evidence for a long history of subduc-
tion (e.g. Page et al. 1979), shocks deeper than 200 km are rare
(Fig. 2.3). Events below 300 km are confined to the extreme SE
and may be associated with north-directed subduction beneath
Java rather than NE-directed subduction beneath Sumatra. The
abrupt change in orientation of the active margin between these
two islands must produce considerable stress in the downgoing
8 CHAPTER 2
Northern Domain
Central Domain
Southern Domain
1000 ~ LINE --~l
42-43 Batu
pora N.
El bow'
Fi g. 2.1. Sumatra: the neotectonic setting. The figure has been oriented on the main fault direction. The India-SE Asia convergence vector changes significantly in both
direction and magnitude over the length of the island, from 52 mm a-1 directed at N10~ (at 2~ 95~ to 60 mm a- l directed at N 17~ (at 6~ 102~ Convergence
data (and mainland structural domains) are from Sieh & Natawidjaja (2000). Elongated rectangles in the forearc region indicate the locations of the zeros on the seismicity
cross-sections in Figure 2.3. The seismic image along Line 42-43 is shown in Figure 2.7. The white stars mark the epicentres of the Enggano 2000 and Simeulue
2004 Great Earthquakes. Bathymetric contours at 200, 1000, 3000, 5000 and 6000 m are from GEBCO (1997). Shading indicates sea floor deeper than 6000 m. I.F.Z.,
Investigator Fracture Zone. Onshore topography derived from the Global Relief Data CD-ROM distributed by the National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder, Colorado.
slab but this is not obvious in the patterns of shallow seismicity
shown in Figure 2.2 and discussed below.
Shallow seismicity
As in most active continental margins, shallow ( <60 km depth)
earthquakes in Sumatra are distributed over wide areas of the
upper plate and are not restricted to the WBZ (Fig. 2.2).
Maximum shallow earthquake activity occurs within the sliver
defined by the Sumatran Fault in the east and by the subduction
thrust in the west and at depth, and is most intense along the
line of the forearc ridge. There must be considerable forearc
extension (see McCaffrey 1991 ) if the estimates of large variations
in rates of transcurrent slip (more than 400 km of offset in Aceh
but negligible displacements in the Sunda Strait; Curray et al.
1978) are correct (see also Bellier & Sebrier 1995). Although
there have been relatively few shocks of Magnitude 6 or greater
beneath the mainland, some have occurred, most notably in
the vicinity of the ' equatorial bifurcation' in the Sumatran Fault
identified by Prawirodirdjo et al. (2000).
The insets to Figure 2.2 attempt to show separately the distri-
butions of events within the uppermost 40 km of the crust and
at depths of between 40 and 60 km. Because of the uncertainties
inherent in determining the depths of shallow earthquakes (see
discussion in Engdahl et al. 1998), there will be events on one
map that should properly have been plotted on the other, but the
overall differences between the plots are likely to be real. The
40- 60 km events are concentrated in a narrow zone centred on
the forearc basin and most are probably directly associated with
the subducted oceanic lithosphere, i.e. with the WBZ. There are,
however, some similarities with the patterns of shallower events,
noticeably in the tendency for epicentres to be concentrated in
short linear zones at right angles to the trench, presumably due
to some form of forearc segmentation. The most obvious examples
can be seen around Enggano and western Simeulue, i.e. close to
the sites of the Great Earthquakes (defined as earthquakes with
MW magnitudes greater than about 7.8) in June 2000 and Decem-
ber 2004 respectively. Interestingly, the Simeulue events cluster
along the crest of a basement ridge that defines the northwestern
boundary of a marine and sedimentary basin (Simeulue Basin)
where maximum water depths exceed 1000 m. The trend of the
linear alignments changes slightly north of the Nias Elbow to
partly match the change in orientation of the trench but, surpris-
ingly, NE- SW alignments of epicentres can be seen east of the
even more dramatic change between Sumatra and Java (Fig. 2.2).
A second feature of the shallow seismicity is the separation
of the shallowest earthquakes (Fig. 2.2; lower inset) into two
divergent zones, one along the forearc ridge (with a bend or
offset where the Investigator Fracture Zone enters the subduction
zone near the Batu islands), the other very approximately along
the west coast of Sumatra. The forearc basin itself is relatively
quiet seismically at these depths. The offset at the Investigator
Fracture Zone is interesting because Newcombe & McCann
(1987) noted that ruptures associated with Great Earthquakes do
not propagate across this region. In 1833 a Magnitude (Mw) 8.7
event faulted the plate margin for about 600 km from Enggano
to the Batu Islands, while the effects of the Mw 8.4 event in
1861 were confined to a 300 km segment between the Batu and
Banyak Islands.
The Wadati -Beni off Zone (WBZ)
In keeping with the continental margin setting, seismicity beneath
Sumatra is more diffuse than beneath a typical intra-oceanic arc.
This is illustrated in Figure 2.3, which shows hypocentre dis-
tributions within three typical swathes, each 200 km wide. In the
extreme NE (Fig. 2.3a) the WBZ forms the lower boundary to a
seismogenic zone that extends up to the surface over a distance
of approximately 300 km from the trench. The greatest concen-
tration of events is at about I00 km from the trench and at
depths of about 50 km. In the swathe immediately south of the
equator, near the islands of Siberut and Sipora, there is a much
SEISMOLOGY & NEOTECTONICS 9
i Hypocentres above 40 km o "
oe L a t e *
%* **" - . /Hypocentres 40-60 km
N e,++"
. /
,i.
Equat or
k
'.++~+
+++4o - 6o km onJy
0,~" o
300 ki n - / 0
o+
+I~ COo "' ,
o Oo
o
Oo o o
, , ' - ,
/
~ / o ",
9 , %: + 1
. . . . / +o /
40ku, o,,~* ] o '~0s / o
+ +++:+ +~+ I ~ ' . I ~ ~ ' + o /
I
6+ ~ , e : ~
+ 9 ........ ~ + , + +
"ore, o ~o obo( +,+++++:+ +++++++++: + .... I ... /o'| + o " <" "V
++ ?++++++++++++++++++++;+++++++++ I + ....... . i o +, . +++
+ ' % ~+++++++'++++++ +I. . . . . . . . . o ...... o * ,i
9 ,'+::~:~+;++++++++:~++I + o .~.~
]++, ;.:,:)+ +i] o
............... + + :i~' :+i. i I O0~ 104~ o, oo
". . ,
%o
Fig. 2.2. Shallow selsmicity of Sumatra. Data downloaded from supplementary
material to Engdahl et al. (1998) using only events occurring between 1980 and
1996. Rectangles show locations of swathes cross-sectioned in Figure 2.3. Thick
lines within the rectangles mark the cross-section zeros. Insets show 0-40 km
and 40-60 km hypocentres separately 9
clearer devel opment of a linear WBZ but the scatter is still con-
siderable (Fig. 2.3b). Sieh & Natawidjaja (2000), among others,
have cl ai med that the depth of the WBZ beneat h the volcanic
line is considerably greater in this Central Domai n (Fig. 2.1)
than to either the NW or the SE, although the maxi mum depth
of the seismic zone is actually smaller. The effect is not,
however, obvious in Figure 2.3.
The most intensely active part of the WBZ is in the ext reme
south, near Enggano, where there are two mai n event clusters, at
about 40 and 70 km (Fig. 2.3c). The sei smogeni c zone continues
down to at least 200 km. The two deepest shocks mi ght be
associated with Java subduction but, if associated with Sumatra,
indicate a pronounced steepening of the WBZ bet ween 200 and
300 km.
Toba s e i s mi c i t y
A more comprehensi ve picture of Sumatra seismicity than is
provi ded by Figure 2.3 was presented by Hanus e t al . (1996),
who plotted hypocent res within 50 km wide, NE- SW swathes
that together covered the whol e of the island. Arguably their
most interesting plot was A15, whi ch i ncl uded the northern part
of the forearc island of Nias and much of the Toba caldera
(Fig. 2.1). The WBZ in this region dips at an angle of a little
more than 30 ~ and the deepest shocks occur bet ween 200 and
250km. There is a small but not i ceabl e gap in seismicity
beneat h the volcanic line at depths of about 150 to 180 km and
a corresponding region of shallow seismicity i mmedi at el y
beneat h the volcanoes.
In detail, the picture provi ded by Hanus et al . (1996) is suspect
because of the reliance on International Sei smol ogi cal Centre
T R F
200 100 0 100 200 300
o 0+~+., o+..++ ~ I
o ) o qt o o+o..~ ~ .
og~. o, ~ ~ "~ . o : . o o
o %~~ : o
o o o 1O0
North
o
o ?
T R o o F ~ I l~ 1200
o . . . . . . . : - i
e o' ~ ~, : o :
I
I
o 6
I
. . . . . . ~ - : , ~ o o,~, o :
". - $ 00 .: ~ a)
9 9 9 o
Simeulue
T R F
200 100 0 100 200 300
o oGo o o o
o ~ " e~
: : . . . . o, , o ~o, ~ o
o
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
O
Central
I00
200
~g0 T 100 O R 100 F200 30g
o o bo 0
oo : o 0 o
~ o 9 oi~o.Oo <l l . _ , , . . o :
' + . . . . . . : : .o~ <' * "~l Rm~- T~. . , , ~
: :, .... i ~ +, ~, . ~ .
. ,~o ~++~_~l[llm~ o . . . . I oo
. . . . :~ : " : A~176176176 o
o <>~ . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o
~>o
2OO
South c) .:~ 300
Magni t ude s 3 9 4 o 5 o
Fig. 2.3. Cross-sections of seismicity, Sumatra subduction zone 1980 to 1996.
Each cross-section is based on a swathe drawn at right angles to arc. Each swathe
is 300 km across, except for the Simeulue swathe (inset, profile 2.3a), which is
only 100 km across. T, R and F in each case indicate the locations of,
respectively, the trench, the crest of the forearc ridge and the Sumatran Fault.
Locations of cross-section zeros are shown in Figure 2.1 and the swathe areas are
shown in Figure 2.2. For profiles 2.3b and 2.3c these zeros coincide with the crest
of the forearc ridge, but for 2.3a, where the ridge is poorly defined, the zero is in
the centre of the forearc basin. The star on the Simeulue swathe indicates the
location of hypocentre of the December 2004 event, after NEIC (2005). All other
data were downloaded from supplementary material to Engdahl et al. (1998).
Distances in kilometres, no vertical exaggeration.
(ISC, Thatcham, UK) hypocent re locations. These, being
deri ved from interpretations of t el esei smi c data based on global
velocity models, are inevitably of fairly low accuracy. The signifi-
cance of this limitation has been demonst rat ed by Fauzi et al .
(1996), who used additional data from a newl y established (but
now permanent ) net work of short-period digital sei smomet ers to
study earthquakes in the vicinity of Toba. The primary aim of
the work reported, whi ch covered the peri od from October 1990
to April 1993, was to investigate a hypot hesi zed break in the
downgoi ng slab due to subduction of the Investigator Fracture
Zone. Seismic activity was found to be unusually high in the
appropriate area but no discontinuity was det ect ed and a limit
of 20 km was placed on the magni t ude of any possible displace-
ment. There was more success with a subsidiary objective of
defining the shape of the WBZ as it fol l owed the bend in the
offshore trench bet ween Nias and Simeulue. In contrast to both
the ISC and Engdahl e t al . (1998) data, hypocentres deri ved
from the local study and plotted for narrow cross-strike swathes
10 CHAPTER 2
~.Lake
%
Batu
IS.
I Indian ~
: [Ocean/
SE Asia
convergence
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v e c t or ;
52 mm/yr
0 300 km
Sipor
k, pNgr taih ~' ~f~ S~
N ~l ' ~ga l
Convergence velocity scale .... X
50mm/yr % ~ [ ! ~
Contours on the WBZ
in the Toba region, after %.
Fauzi et al., 1996 * . . . . . !~ I ndi an.
June 2000 Enggano earthquake ~ Ocean/ I
Main ~ Aftershocks~ ~ ~" SEAsia /
convergence [
shocks ~ k.' ~ vector I
December 2004 Simeulue & "~ 58 mm/ v r / 7 ....
/
March 2005 Nias ,IL
earthquakes Main shocks ~ ~
f
Equator
i 9
BengkulL
. . . . . o
Engganc
o 0
........ ............................. 6"S
Fig. 2.4. Movements of sites in Sumatra as determined
by GPS observations during the period 1989-1993
(Prawirodirdjo et al. 1997). Vectors show rates of
movement relative to a stable SE Asia. They imply stress
accumulation in parts of the forearc region, some
of which would have been released by the June
2000 earthquake near Enggano, the December
2004 earthquake near Simeulue and the March 2005
earthquake near Nias. The locations and mechanisms of
these earthquakes are indicated by the centres of the
lower hemisphere projection 'beachballs', from
Abercrombie et al. (2003) for Enggano and from NEIC
(2005) for Simeulue and Nias. Locations of aftershocks
of the Enggano earthquake for which fault-plane
solutions were calculated by Abercrombie et al. (2003)
are also shown. Major aftershocks to the Simeulue
earthquake occurred almost entirely NW of the limits of
the map. MS, Muara Siberut. S, Sinabang, PB, Pulau
Babi. The pecked grey lines show the locations of
barriers to propagation of ruptures from Great
Earthquakes inferred by Newcomb & McCann (1987).
were found to be tightly concentrated in very narrow zones that
changed in dip scarcely at all around the bend (Fig. 2.4). Estimated
depths also tended to be smaller than those based only on
teleseismic data, especially beneath the forearc basin.
A more recent seismological study of the Toba area used a tem-
porary network compri si ng 30 short-period and 10 broad-band
seismographs depl oyed for four months in the first hal f of 1995
(Mast uryono et al. 2001). Tomographi c methods were used
to define velocity variations beneath the caldera. The results
support the hypot hesi zed existence of two distinct eruptive
centres, one in the south-central part of the lake and the other at
its northern end, whi ch erupted at different times (Knight et al.
1986). Low velocity zones underl yi ng these two centres and
ext endi ng down into the mantle are separated by a region with a
more typical crustal velocity structure.
Rel ati ve hori zontal movement s
The i nformat i on on present-day tectonic processes in Sumatra pro-
vided by sei smol ogy is now being suppl ement ed by geodetic data
from Global Positioning Syst em (GPS) satellites. Repeated
measurement s at fixed pillars provide an essential compl ement
to earthquake studies, whi ch record only episodic, although some-
times very large, displacements. Duri ng sei smi cal l y quiet periods,
GPS measurement s monitor aseismic creep and can indicate
regions in whi ch stress is increasing and may be released catastro-
phically at some time in the future. Because of the short time
intervals over which observations are made (typically 3 to 5
years), GPS measurement s must always be considered in the
context provided by estimates of long term relative plate motions.
Most of the GPS site markers in Sumatra were established by
BAKOSURTANAL, the Indonesian mapping and geodetic survey
authority, worki ng in collaboration with various US institutes, and
most are located between 2~ and 2~ (Prawirodirdjo et al. 1997;
Genrich et al. 2000). Additional measurement s were made at sites
near Bengkul u and Medan and on Nias and Billiton in the course
of the GEODYSSEA study, whi ch covered the whole of SE Asia.
The GEODYSSEA results defined a ' Sunda' Bl ock that includes
Borneo, the Mal ay Peni nsul a and Indochi na and moves east rela-
tive to Eurasia at 7- 10 mm a -1 (Chamot -Rooke & Le Pi chon
1999; Mi chel et al. 2001). Billiton Island and Medan are clearly
within this block, as is much of Sumatra east of the Sumatran
Fault, but motions near and to the west of the fault are much
more complex. The mai n BAKOSURTANAL campai gn (sites
shown in Fig. 2.4) began in 1989. Detailed analyses of the data
obtained to 1996 in the Central Domai n (Fig. 2.1) have been pro-
vided by McCaffrey et al. (2000) and by Genri ch et al. (2000). To
supplement these analyses, Prawirodirdjo et al. (2000) also con-
sidered the results of convent i onal triangulation surveys ext endi ng
over a period of 100 years in the same area. These generally con-
firmed the GPS estimates of 20- 30 mm a-1 of dextral movement
SEISMOLOGY & NEOTECTONICS 11
on this portion of the Sumatran Fault, but revealed very consider-
able differences in detail in both movement magnitudes and
directions.
Figure 2.4 shows the site motions relative to SE Asia as
interpreted by Prawirodirdjo et al. (1997) and (also relative to
SE Asia) the averaged long term Indian Ocean movement
vectors (Demets et al. 1990). Strain partitioning was evidently
only partially achieved, at least over the short time interval
involved, nor were movements confined to the main fault
systems. Sites east of the Sumatran Fault but within 50 km of it
were not stationary with respect to SE Asia but recorded small
but significant displacements to the north and NW. Similar pat-
terns near other major strike-slip features have been interpreted
as recording stress accumulations in wide regions of deformed
rock that are ultimately released by faulting (e.g. Armijo et al.
1999).
Sites in the forearc experienced much larger trench-parallel
displacements, but McCaffrey et al. (2000) argued that only
about two-thirds of the necessary slip was accounted for and
that most of the remainder must have been accommodated ocean-
ward of the crest of the forearc ridge. However, the situation
varied considerably from place to place. On forearc islands in
the Central Domain (between the Batu and Banyak Islands) the
trench-normal components were small, suggesting strong parti-
tioning of convergent and transcurrent movements, but it seems
that the forearc was largely coupled to the downgoing slab every-
where to the south of the Batu Islands. The boundary between
the two regimes occurs in the region where the Investigator
Fracture Zone enters the trench. Prawirodirdjo et al. (1997) tenta-
tively interpreted the northwestwards decrease in coupling as a
consequence of the subduction of thick, water-rich sediments of
the Nicobar Fan, resulting in high pore pressures in the forearc
wedge and weakening of the upper plate by the introduction of
hydrothermal fluids. The change in coupling would thus be due
to the barrier to sediment flow from the NW presented by the
Investigator Fracture Zone, rather than directly to its presence as
an asperity on the lower plate. However, the magnitude of the
December 2004 Simeulue earthquake suggests a ' sticky' , rather
than well-lubricated, fault zone.
The combination of gradual change in the orientation of the
Indian Ocean/ SE Asia convergence vector and the change in
trench orientation at the Nias Elbow implies almost orthogonal
convergence across the trench in the vicinity of Simeulue
and the Banyak Islands. The Sumatran Fault, however, changes
direction much less noticeably, and the differences in curvature
of structures on the mainland and along the forearc ridge
produce a widening and deepening of the forearc basin NW of
Simeulue. Rather surprisingly, the GPS motions of the two sites
in the Banyak Islands were almost perfectly parallel to the trend
of the Sumatran Fault, and so to the trench further south. The
lack of GPS sites on Simeulue means that short-term neotectonic
patterns in this critical area remain, for the moment, undefined.
The data from GPS measurements and triangulation surveys
can be compared with long-term slip estimates based on geolo-
gic and topographic offsets at the Sumatran Fault. Slip rates esti-
mated from stream offsets on SPOT imagery vary from
10 mm a -1 at the Sunda Strait to 23 mm a -1 near Lake Toba
(Bellier & Sebrier 1995). Much of this change occurs in the
Central Domain, where the rates estimated by Sieh & Natawid-
jaja (2000) using geological offsets increase from 11 mm a i in
the SE to 27 mm a-1 in the NW. Slip rates estimated from GPS
observations vary much less, increasing by only 4 mm a -1, from
23 mm a-1 to 27 mm a-1, over the same distance (Genrich et al.
2000). Sieh & Natawidjaja (2000) suggested that the geologi-
cally indicated changes in slip rates along the fault must have
developed only during the last 100 ka, because of the absence
of compressional accommodation structures, but left the geo-
l ogi cal -GPS discrepancy unexplained. They also suggested
that the total slip on the Sumatran Fault might be little more
than the 20 km of the maxi mum verifiable geological offset,
and that the remainder of the roughly 100 km offset required
by stretching in the Sunda Strait might have been accommo-
Tr e nc h- or t hogonal motion Tr e nc h- par al l e l motion
1 2
Fig. 2.5. GPS vectors and the Great Earthquake of June
2000. The upper diagram shows overall movement
vectors relative to SE Asia and their trench-parallel and
trench-orthogonal resolved components. The lower
diagrams compare these components individually.
Vector 1 is the regional convergence vector, after
Demets et al. (1990). The remaining vectors are GPS
vectors from the 1991-1993 campaign at sites at the
bases of the arrows, after Prawirodirdjo et al. (1997).
'Beachballs' show the locations of the two subevents
proposed by Abercrombie et al. (2002) for the June 2000
earthquake.
12 CHAPTER 2
dated by slip on the Mentawai Fault. Their proposed defor-
mation history (which they emphasized was only one of a mul-
titude of possibilities) involved arc-parallel stretching during the
Pleistocene but provided no role for the segment of the Menta-
wai Fault north of the Nias Elbow.
GPS data, the Enggano and Simeulue earthquakes and the
Mentawai Fault
During the period covered by published GPS measurements,
the southern forearc islands (Siberut to Enggano) were moving
NW relative to Sumatra at roughly the same rate as the underlying
Indian Ocean Plate (Fig. 2.4). Enggano, in particular, participated
in virtually all of the motion of the Indian Ocean during the period
of observation, which unfortunately in this particular case
extended only from 1991 to 1993 (Fig. 2.5). Much smaller relative
motions were recorded at two sites on the adjacent coast of the
mainland and therefore only a small part of the trench-parallel
motion required accommodation further inland, in the vicinity
of the Sumatran Fault. More than half the trench-parallel motion
and an even greater proportion of the trench-normal motion
must have been absorbed between Enggano and the coast, either
at one or more discrete faults or by distributed strain over the
width of the forearc basin.
Seismic reflection sections from many parts of the basin
favour localized faulting in the forearc basin, since deformation
of Late Neogene sediments is generally confined to the narrow
zone close to the eastern coasts of the forearc islands which was
named the Mentawai Fault by Diament et al. (1992). However,
the now numerous published images of this feature obtained on
crossings reported by Karig et al . (1980), Diament et al. (1992)
(Fig. 2.6a), Malod & Kemal (1996) and Schlfiter et al. (2002)
(Fig. 2.6b) and the excellent multichannel imagery obtained
by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) south of
Nias (Fig. 2.7), indicate a very complex and variable structure.
Considerable uncertainties remain as to its true nature. On some
seismic sections (e.g. Diament et al . 1992) it appears to be a
simple faulted anticline, while in other areas the zone of weakness
has been exploited by shale diapirs which conceal fundamental
structures (Milsom et al. 1995). The extreme linearity has been
used as an argument for a fundamentally transcurrent role
(Sieh & Natawidjaja 2000) but subsidence of the forearc basin
and elevation of the forearc ridge imply either normal or thrust
components. Where it emerges on land, in southeastern Nias, the
fault was interpreted by Samuel & Harbury (1996) as an originally
extensional fault that has suffered Pliocene to Recent subduction-
related inversion. Significant transcurrent movement was regarded
as improbable. Interestingly, however, seismic section presented
by Schltiter et al. (2002) (Fig. 2.6b) shows the disturbance
as having moved away from the landward side of the forearc
ridge (which is itself fragmented in this region; see Fig. 3.1) to a
/ ' ~ ~ ~ ~ " r (a)
l" i
. . . . . . . . 9 2.5
!
Seismic sections from Diament et al. (1992) " ~
Fig. 2.6. (a) Interpreted single-channel seismic reflection
sections across the Mentawai Fault in the southern part of
the Sumatra forearc basin (after Diament et al. 1992). Line
locations as shown. (b) Multi-channel seismic reflection
section across the Mentawai Fault south of Enggano, after
Schltiter et al. (2002). Location shown on (a). The greater
penetration achieved on the more recent survey suggests a
transcurrent origin for the feature which, in the nearby
southernmost single-channel section, appears to be a
simple faulted anticline.
SEISMOLOGY & NEOTECTONICS 13
Fig. 2.7. SIO Line 42-43, showing the Mentawai Fault
immediately south of Nias. Section provided by Scripps
Institution of Oceanography.
position within the forearc basin. This fact, and the image itself,
are more compatible with transcurrent than vertical motion.
Indeed, Schltiter et al. (2002) suggested that the transcurrent
function of the Sumatran Fault might be in the process of
shifting to the Mentawai Fault. This is an attractive hypothesis
but difficult to reconcile with the suggestion by Sieh &
Natawidjaja (2000) that the total offset on the Sumatran Fault is
rather small, despite the abundant evidence (including occasional
large earthquakes; Untung et al. 1985) for recent and continuing
offsets along it.
A further complication is introduced by a possible relationship
between the Mentawai Fault and the Batee Fault. The latter is a
dextral splay from the Sumatran Fault that trends offshore
near the Banyak Islands and was interpreted by Karig et al.
(1980) as displacing or terminating the Mentawai Fault near
Nias (Fig. 2.1). The Mentawai Fault is often shown as either
ending near Nias (e.g. Diament et al. 1992) or merging with the
Batee Fault, but a very strong gravity gradient indicates a major
structural discontinuity between the two westernmost islands in
the Banyak group (see Fig. 3.5). This is roughly the position
where a Mentawai Fault continuation would be expected if
the Batee Fault were not present. Moreover, the existence of
Mentawai-type structures still further north has been confirmed
by Izart et al. (1994) and by Malod & Kemal (1996) using
single-channel reflection data.
Additional insights into the role of the Mentawai Fault in
the Enggano area were provided in June 2000 by an Mw 7.9 earth-
quake followed by a train of strong aftershocks (Fig. 2.5). P and S
wave studies of the primary event suggested that this comprised
two subevents, involving strike-slip within the Indian Ocean
Plate followed by thrust motion on the subduction fault
(Abercrombie et al. 2003). The events were too deep, and in the
wrong plate, to be due to failure on the Mentawai Fault, but
they do provide important data on its relationship to the transition
between the accretionary wedge and the continental margin.
Matson & Moore (1992) suggested that this transition occurs
near the east coast of Nias in the Central Domain and that the
subduction fault originally reached the surface in this area. Its
subsequent migration oceanwards was interpreted as a conse-
quence of the development of the accretionary wedge that now
forms the forearc ridge. This is consistent with the Malod &
Kemal (1996) interpretation of the Mentawai Fault along its
entire length as marking the transition between the wedge and
a rigid backstop of pre-existing basement. On this hypothesis,
the linearity of the fault is a consequence of the linearity of the
original subduction trace, which would, in turn, have been con-
trolled by the linearity of the former passive margin.
The significance of the Enggano composite earthquake to the
backstop concept is that the GPS results shown in Figure 2.5 indi-
cate that in this area, and possibly only for short periods, the accre-
tionary wedge moves with the subducting plate and must therefore
compress against the backstop, resulting in folding and reverse
faulting. Potential energy stored in this folded and faulted zone
can be released in large earthquakes in which the wedge moves
oceanwards and deformation near the backstop is reversed. Pre-
sumably such reversals are only partial, so that deformation gradu-
ally increases. At no point in this stick-slip cycle would large
earthquakes necessarily occur within the wedge, because accreted
material is usually too weak to sustain large local stress. Large
earthquakes will therefore be associated principally with the
unsticking of the wedge from the backstop or from the downgoing
slab along the main subduction thrust and with relative lateral
movement between locked and unlocked segments of
the forearc. Events of both types appear to have occurred in
June 2000, with the movement between segments of the Indian
Ocean plate increasing the stress and triggering failure along
the subduction thrust (Abercrombie et al. 2003).
The results of future GPS measurements in the Enggano-Beng-
kulu area (there have, unfortunately, been no measurements on
Enggano since the earthquake) are thus likely to be very different
from those obtained between 1991 and 1993. Amongst other
things, they can be expected to provide insights into the highly
controversial question of the extent to which trench-parallel
motion is accommodated by the Mentawai Fault. It seems prob-
able that the new vectors will resemble the vectors shown in
Figure 2.4 for the islands north of Siberut, i.e. they will show
almost entirely trench-parallel motion, implying a primarily trans-
current long-term function. The characteristics of both the main
earthquake and the extensive aftershock sequence suggest that
effects of the Enggano Great Earthquake are unlikely to be seen
in the forearc north of Bengkulu (Abercrombie et al. 2003), and
in fact no such effects have been observed in post-earthquake
GPS studies in the Central Domain (Bock et al. 2003). If this is
the case, then dangerous levels of stress must be accumulating
in the region from South Pagai to Siberut.
The June 2000 Enggano earthquake was completely oversha-
dowed by the December 2004 Simeulue event, information on
which was posted on the National Earthquake Information
14 CHAPTER 2
Center website within a few days (NEIC 2005). The suggested
maxi mum displacement was 15 m, in a region where convergence
is more nearly orthogonal to the trench than it is further south (see
Figs 2.1 and 2.4). Bizarrely, in view of this latter fact, the results
from the only GPS site NW of the change of strike, on Pulau Babi
(PB on Fig. 2.4), suggest that during the 1989-1993 period the
forearc moved slightly further in a direction parallel to the
trench than did the Indian Ocean, the supposed driver of the
forearc motion. It also seems that about half of the Indian Ocean
trench-normal motion was accommodated between Pulau Babi
and Sumatra, which is less than at Enggano, but much more
than predicted by simple sliver-plate models. The motion of
Simeulue, a few tens of kilometres to the NW, might, of course,
have been different but there is no bathymetric or other evidence
for the placement by NEIC (2005) of an extensional (or any other)
boundary to a ' Burma Plate' immediately east of Pulau Babi.
Fault-plane solutions for the Simeulue earthquake are consist-
ent with either SW-directed thrusting dipping at about 10 ~ to the
NE or NE-directed reverse faulting dipping at about 80 ~ (NEIC
2005). The first of these is much the more likely, but thrusting
on a surface so nearly horizontal, when the Benioff Zone dips at
about 30 ~ in the vicinity of the hypocentre, raises some questions.
The Harvard Centroid Moment Tensor solution, however, places
the centroid west of the forearc ridge and beneath the eastern
wall of the trench (at 3.09~ 94.26~ cf. the NEIC epicentre at
3.30~ 95.96E~ Since, subject to errors introduced by faulty vel-
ocity models, hypocentres correspond to points of rupture intiation
whereas centroids represent weighted average locations of
moment release (Meredith Nettles pers. comm. 2005), the results
can be interpreted as describing an event initiated in the vicinity
of the Mentawai Fault and propagating oceanwards and also
NW along the forearc. The complexity of stress patterns in the epi-
central area is indicated by the multiplicity of previous smaller
shocks, some of which had strike-slip solutions and others sol-
utions similar to that of the December 2004 event (see
Newcomb & McCann 1987, Fig. 2). The fact that the region
around the Mentawai Fault appears to respond to stress in different
ways at different places and at different times is consistent with the
fault itself being the expression of a fundamental geological dis-
continuity rather than a simple break through an essentially homo-
geneous rock mass.
The Simeulue event also spectacularly confirmed the extreme
segmentation of the forearc. Aftershocks occurred along 1200
km of the arc, from the site of the main shock as far as the northern
tip of the Andamans, but there was virtually no activity to the SE
(NEIC 2005). The bathymetric high northwest of Simeulue where
the epicentre was located may therefore be the surface expression
of a discontinuity similar to those associated with the Banyak and
Batu highs further south. The extents of Great Earthquake ruptures
are strongly correlated with the extents of deep marine basins
between Sumatra and the forearc ridge and, given that the NW
limit of the rupture zone of the 1861 event was not at Simeulue
but at the Banyak Islands (Newcomb & McCann 1987), it seems
possible that stress is still building up in a ' Simeulue Basin'
segment, to be catastrophically released at some time in the not
too distant future.
Vertical movements
It is more difficult to monitor vertical movements with GPS than
horizontal movements, both because of the generally smaller
displacements and because the accuracy is inherently lower.
At present, more reliable estimates of rates of vertical motion
are being obtained by observing short-term changes in relative
sea level. Natawidjaja et al. (2000) studied the submergence and
emergence of corals and deduced a pattern of progressive
landward tilting of the forearc ridge, with uplift within about
115 km of the trench axis and subsidence at all greater distances.
Instantaneous vertical movements of tens of centimetres associ-
ated with large earthquakes were superimposed on this pattern.
Individual islands in the northern part of the forearc often record
similar tilting. Islets shown on Dutch colonial maps as protecting
Sinabang harbour, at the eastern end of the north coast of Simeulue
(S in Fig. 2.4), are now permanently submerged, and palm trees
are dying along much of the coast as salt water invades the soil
around their roots. Muara Siberut, the main town on Siberut
(MS on Fig. 2.4), is regularly flooded at high tide and some
nearby offshore ' islands' consist entirely of mangroves with
their roots submerged even at low tide.
On Nias the situation is more complicated, since the west coast
can be divided into two very different sectors. In the north the
coastal region is flat and swampy and the beach is broad and
gently sloping, but in the south there are cliffs 50- 100 m high
and the sea floor shelves steeply. This section of the coastline is
concave seawards and appears to be a scarp created by failure of
an unstable slope (see Fig. 2.1). The relatively low gravity field
along the coast and offshore (see Fig. 3.5) suggests loss of mass
from this region and also supports the concept of failure of a
slope that has been uplifted to unsustainable elevations. On
the opposite (eastern) side of the island, rivers have been incised
in narrow valleys to depths of 5- 10 m within a broad coastal
plain east of the Mentawai Fault, suggesting recent and rapid
uplift, but further north there is evidence of both uplift and
subsidence.
The uplift of the coastal plain on Nias could have been associ-
ated with great earthquakes. Zachariasen et al. (1999) interpreted
the results of a detailed study of coral heads exposed around
the Mentawai Islands of Sipora and North and South Pagai,
south of Siberut, as recording aseismic subsidence followed by
co-seismic uplift related to the great earthquake of 1833. In this
area, and in contrast to areas further north, both aseismic and
co-seismic movements appear to have involved tilting towards
the trench. Deducing long-term regional displacement patterns
from measurements of movements over a few years, or even
over tens of years, is clearly never going to be a simple exercise.
Note added in proof
The earthquake activity in the central Sumatra forearc between 26
December 2004 and the end of April 2005 is summarized in Figure
2.8. The first four plots show how the seismicity associated with
the 26 December event gradually died away during the succeeding
three months. It is clear that even as late as March 2005, the
majority of events were part of the aftershock sequence.
However, on 28 March 2005 there was a further Great Earthquake,
with an epicentre just west of the Banyak Islands and an estimated
magnitude of 8.6. The distribution of aftershocks to this event indi-
cated that rupture extended throughout the whole of the region
between the Banyaks and the December 26 epicentre. It was, in
fact, being quite widely predicted in the first few months of
2005 that this would be where the next break would occur.
However, and unexpectedly, the zone of aftershocks also extended
south as far as the Batu Islands (Fig. 2.8e). It seems therefore that
not only had the last remaining segment that had no historic record
of Great Earthquakes failed, but that the segment that ruptured in
1861 moved with it.
Fault plane solutions by both the NEIC and the Harvard group
indicated a shallow thrust, at an even smaller angle of dip than
had been the case the previous December. Once again, movement
seems to have been initiated close to where the Mentawai Fault
(assumed to be near vertical) would reach the subduction fault at
depth, and once again there was a significant displacement
between the calculated positions of the epicentre and the centroid.
In this case, however, the centroid lay south rather than west of the
SEISMOLOGY & NEOTECTONICS 15
6 ~ ~ ~lc ~ : December 26 - Decemb'er 31, 2004 I
oO~O- o o-, \ , o~ %. , ~ ...... ~I
, o. F2"
( ~) .....
o -w=. \ I
0o : : ; : ..................................................... ............ .....
a : % :
. . . . ~ o " - , a,,,i,,,,~., 20osl
. o \ , ........... ...............
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
o o% ~ ............... ~ ......................... \ \ ............. : February, 2005
0 .................. . ~ ................. - ~, . , ........
. . . . . . . , ~' . . . . . . .................... .................. ............ ............... + .................. ~. 3
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
~
~ ~ Mar ch ! - March 27. 2005
o .~ , . ~ o
. . . . . . . . . . O ~ . . . . . . . . . . . R .................. ? ....... ~ ,'4"N
' " "l
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . f ........................... " 2
. . . . . . C) ~ . . . . . ~ .............. Apr i l 10 - April;30, 2005
d
2
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , ......................... ~,....; ............ ;.: ........ io~
' ' . . . . o' o .................................. 2~
I ~) ~ ~ ...... ~ .................... ,,~ ,~ ~: ,
Fig. 2.8. Central Sumatra seismicity,
December 26 2004 to April 30 2005.
Epicentres plotted from catalogues available
on the Internet from http://
www.ngdc.noaa.gov. Note that the periods
covered (shown in the top fight hand corner
of each diagram) are not of uniform length,
being dictated in part by the dates of
initiation of significant earthquake swarms.
The circles corresponding to the NEIC
epicentres of the two Great Earthquakes (in
plots a and e) are shaded and the locations of
the centroids of their Harvard CMT
solutions are indicated by fault-plane
solution 'beachballs'.
epicentre, and was still a considerable distance from the trench.
Also, and as mi ght have been expected in view of the smaller mag-
nitude of the shock, and hence the probable smaller width of the
slip zone, the di spl acement bet ween centroid and hypocent re
was considerably less than in December. The greater distance of
the centroid from the trench, together with the smaller magnitude,
may be sufficient explanation for the much smaller associated
tsunami, whi ch was only about 3 metres hi gh on exposed coasts
of Nias and Si meul ue and decreased rapidly in amplitude at
more remote locations. It is also possible that submarine slides,
whi ch may have contributed to the destructive power the Decem-
ber wave, did not occur in March because of the absence of any
remai ni ng potentially unstable slopes. The aftershock sequence
(Figures 2.8e and f) was notable for being much more tightly con-
strained to the region i mmedi at el y beneat h the forearc ridge than
had been the case following the December event.
A new train of events began still further south and j ust seaward
of Muara Siberut in the fol l owi ng weeks. There were a few rela-
t i vel y weak shocks in this area in the period i mmedi at el y after
March 28 (Figure 28e), but the first maj or event (Mw=6. 7) took
place on April 10, and was fol l owed three quarters of an hour
later by another strong (Mw=6. 5) shock. Once again, the Menta-
wai Fault appears to have controlled the location at whi ch
failure was initiated. Both events were compressi onal but, in con-
trast to the two Great Earthquakes, the slip planes were much
steeper (from 30 ~ to 60~ There fol l owed numerous weaker
events in the same area but, again in contrast to the pattern associ-
ated with the Great Earthquakes, there was no significant rupture
propagation (Fig. 28f). It is to be hoped that the earthquakes in
this isolated cluster will prove to be the last major events in the
current phase of sout hward-propagat i ng unzi ppi ng of subduction
west of Sumatra.
Chapter 3
The gravity field
JOHN MI LSOM & ADRI AN WALKER
Data sources
The gravity field of Sumatra and the surrounding marine areas is
shown in Figure 3.1. Contours in the onshore area of Bouguer
gravity, but offshore are of free-air gravity. Terrain corrections
have not been applied. Although marine gravity measurements
have been made in the forearc basin and elsewhere on a number
of research cruises (e.g. Kieckhefer et al. 1981), the data from
these generally widely spaced lines have not been used in pre-
paring the maps because free-air gravity values obtained from
inversion of satellite radar altimetry provide more systematic
coverage and can resolve anomalies with widths of as little as
7 km (Sandwell & Smith 1997). The onshore and satellite-
derived offshore data were matched at coastlines without undue
difficulty, as should be the case because both free-air and
Bouguer corrections are zero at sea level. However, gradients
tend to be steep at the coasts in the forearc region, partly
because of the change from free-air gravity, which is strongly
correlated with local bathymetry, to Bouguer gravity, which is cor-
rected for local topography.
Figure 3.2 shows the locations of the onshore stations used in
preparing Figure 3.1, but not of the offshore estimates, distributed
on a regular 2 minute grid. Onshore data were obtained from a
variety of sources, but unfortunately the results of the many
detailed gravity surveys carried out by oil companies remain
confidential. The largest single available data set was assembled
as part of the collaboration between the British Geological
Survey (BGS) and the Geological Research and Development
Centre (GRDC) during the period 1988-1995. Almost all of
Sumatra south of the equator was covered at a reconnaissance
level, although there are significant gaps in a few areas where
access would have been especially difficult. In addition to the
Sumatra mainland, measurements were made on Bangka and
Billiton islands in the northeast and the Mentawai islands in the
west (Fig. 3.2). GRDC have published numerous Bouguer
maps at 1:250 000 scale showing contours, generally at 2 mGal
intervals, and station locations. There are also two summary
maps at 1 000 000 scale (Padang and Palembang sheets), con-
toured at 5 mGal intervals and without station positions. Terrain
corrections, of up to 12 mGal, were applied in preparing the
summary maps but were not used for any of the 1:250 000 detailed
maps. The two versions of Bouguer gravity are therefore slightly
different in the mountainous areas close to the Sumatran Fault
but gradients in these areas are in any case steep, and overall
patterns are very similar.
Coverage north of the equator, principally by GRDC and
LEMIGAS (the Indonesian Petroleum Research Institute), is less
complete than in the south but is progressing rapidly. Moreover,
Japanese universities working between 1977 and 1979 obtained
data along many of the more important roads in the Lake Toba
area (Fig. 3.2). In the northern forearc LEMIGAS collaborated
with the University of London in surveys of all of the major
islands (Milsom et al. 1991). Stations were mainly along the
coasts, except on Nias. LEMI GAS/ Uof L stations on Siberut
were restricted to the southeastern corner, but the island was
subsequently covered at a reconnaissance level by GRDC.
In 1991 and 1992, stations were established along major roads
throughout Sumatra by BAKOSURTANAL, the Indonesian
geodetic survey authority. A map showing the locations of the
BAKOSURTANAL stations and Bouguer gravity contours after
the application of a severe high-cut filter has been circulated
on a very limited basis, but these stations are not included in
Figure 3.2. An unfiltered but very small scale version of the
BAKOSURTANAL Bouguer map was published by Kadir et al.
(1996), and the data may also have been used by GRDC in pre-
paring the 1: 10000000 Bouguer anomaly map of Indonesia
(Sobari et at. 1993). BAKOSURTANAL Bouguer values around
the Toba caldera are generally 10- 20mGal higher than those
reported by the Japanese groups, a difference probably due to
the lack of terrain corrections in the Japanese work.
The onshore contours in Figure 3.1 are based on actual point
gravity data where available, supplemented where necessary by
values estimated at known BAKOSURTANAL station positions
using the contours of Kadir et al. (1996). Accuracy is inevitably
low where this has been done, and even so some significant gaps
remain. The problem of making full use of good regional coverage
where this exists and at the same time displaying in an acceptable
way the results of interpolation across larger gaps has been
addressed by overlaying the map based on a relatively fine
(0.1 ~ grid, which is blank in areas of inadequate coverage, on a
map produced using a much coarser grid and a greater degree of
interpolation. This is obviously unsatisfactory as a quantitative
method, but Figure 3.1 is intended to be used only qualitatively
and the general patterns can be considered sufficiently well estab-
lished to support regional interpretation. It is just possible on
Figure 3.1 to identify discontinuities in the colour patterns at the
edges of areas where the coarse grid has been used.
Extending Figure 3.1 to include Billiton has brought western
Java within the boundaries of the map. The data used were
obtained in 1970 by the BGS, working in conjunction with the
Geological Survey of Indonesia. The results of recent more
detailed work on Java by GRDC are not shown but are generally
compatible with the BGS survey.
Regional gravity patterns
The most prominent features in Figure 3.1 are offshore. Gravity
highs with nort h-sout h or NNE- SSW trends are associated
with fracture zones and seamount chains on the Indian Ocean
Plate and these control the positions of individual culminations
on the broad flexural high at the outer margin of the Sumatra
Trench. Two deep NW-SE-t rendi ng free-air lows, associated
respectively with the trench and the forearc basin, intervene
between this oceanic domain and the Sumatran mainland and
are separated from each other by a high along the forearc ridge.
The low over the trench exists because the mass deficit of the
water column is not in local isostatic equilibrium but is balanced
elastically by the offset mass of the subducting slab.
Although the available gravity coverage is much less complete
north of the equator than in the south, there can be no doubting
the existence of fundamental differences between SE and NW
Sumatra. In the south the Barisan mountains are associated with
a narrow, discontinuous and rather weak Bouguer low that,
where it exists, coincides quite precisely with the axis of the
mountain range, but in the north the low deepens and expands to
GRAVITY FIELD 17
Fig. 3.1. The gravity field of Sumatra and the surrounding seas, based on data from sources discussed in the text. Contours are of free-air gravity offshore and Bouguer
gravity onshore. The Bouguer reduction density is 2.67 Mg m -3. Faint white contours are bathymetry, at 200 m and at intervals of 500 m thereafter, from the GEBCO digital
atlas prepared by the British Oceanographic Data Centre. The continuous black line running the length of Sumatra marks the approximate surface trace of the Sumatran Fault.
The yellow line crossing the forearc basin near the equator marks the location of the interpreted profile of Figure 3.6. The black outlines enclosing the letters ' O' and ' B'
indicate the locations of the gravity surveys of the Ombilin and Bengkulu basins shown in Figures 3.3 and 3.4 respectively. The letter B also indicates the approximate
position of the town of Bengkulu. TS and T indicate, respectively, Lake Toba (including Samosir Island) and Lake Tawar. The letters ' IFZ' at about 97 ~ 30'E mark the central
trough of the Investigator Fracture Zone. The inset shows the GEM-T3 long wavelength gravity field in the Sumatra region (see Lerch et al. 1994).
18 CHAPTER 3
6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . , ' ' o ~ I o -,
E .ELF : t 102 SOUT. SE , 108 E
-N(. {'~.,, _~&7. ")~>o ? " ~ i i
" La ke . ~ ....................................................
{ "v. -<o " \ ~ . l ~. Na t una , - ~e i
SIN,;KEL . \ .~,. . ' i
? ~ 3 N
Ni as ' ~ ~ .~.'V >' %. . t >~" ;'. ' , . " "
Pl nl :...;. . .
l l , . ~t , , l e ~" Xl , ~ ~ ] " 2%. ~. ~, : *. ':g"" :~*'~'e/~, ) \ K, ~!
4-. " ~ ~<' t . : . : " : "',, ~" ( ! " ~. " o"
9 "~ . ~, . ".'~{':..: ~:"" "'~,-ff Ba n , ka
,v,,~ ~ . . . . . 22 "~ t ~ "-'-, : "':-:- . 9
.~-:. \ \ % "'..' "-:'. -rV77~ ;-~ g ~2 ~ ' ~
~" ~":'".,::"': i ":f,. ''.~. " ..:'7"~. 0
" t . , "c' ; > ~a '~< "' ~ ~
~3~\ ~, , ~ :: . . . . . " ~' . . . . . . . . . ~4,.~.. " / SHELF
. ~\ ~. Y )I6"K~ :: t : l l l a ma l l c s ~1~ ~ - " :': ,%~:':',."v-J
{ " . : . " ,'~.1 : s
- t % tA>4-_~ ) )} ~"' ~"- 5 ~, t *~z - x~x - ~ ~ a. ~, "' "' %, J .... , J ..... "z
2' 30" N . ....................... ............... " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .~ v .r
- : ~ ~ OCEAN < ~
imeu,ue
9(, "E 9630" I!
. . . . . . .
Fi g. 3. 2. Di s t r i but i on of r egi onal gr avi t y st at i ons on Suma t r a and t he adj acent i sl ands. I nset : t he gr avi t y fi el d of Si meul ue, s howi ng l ocat i ons of t he smal l expos ur es of
ophi ol i t i c r ocks.
occupy most of the width of the island (Fig. 3.1). Values below
- 60 mGal are associated with the Toba caldera and with an
even deeper low (or, rather, a deeper cul mi nat i on of the same
low) that occurs farther north and extends as far as Lake Tawar
(see Figs 3.1 and 3.2). The j unct i on between the two gravity
provinces (approximately along a line runni ng NNW from
Bengkulu) does not correspond to any of the terrane boundaries
recognized in publ i shed accretion model s of Sumatra (cf.
Pulunggono & Cameron 1984) or to those identified in Chapter
14, and may reflect entirely post -amal gamat i on processes. It is,
however, also possible that a maj or but hitherto unrecogni zed
suture is bei ng recorded by the gravity field.
Correlation of gravity patterns across maj or strike-slip faults
can, in favourable circumstances, suppl ement straightforward
geological mat chi ng as a means of det ermi ni ng total offsets.
There is, however, little hope of i dent i fyi ng unambiguous
gravity correlations across the Sumatran Fault because of the
very rapid changes in gravity produced along and to the west of
the fault by fault-parallel belts such as the volcanic Barisan
range, the forearc basi n and the forearc ridge.
Detailed gravity surveys in mai nl and extensions of the forearc
sedi ment ary basins and in inter-montane basins in the Barisan
Hi ghl ands have revealed strong local correlations between
sediment thickness and gravity field. These are, however, most
GRAVITY FIELD 19
precise where the basins are of only small lateral extent and
are often not apparent on regional maps. The examples of the
Ombilin intermontane basin and the Bengkulu forearc basin are
discussed in more detail later in this chapter.
Toba-Tawar gravity low
Low Bouguer gravity is to be expected in the mountainous regions
of northern Sumatra because isostatic balance requires mass
deficiencies at depth to support the topographic masses. Kadir
et al. (1996) interpreted these low values as evidence for a
structural model in which the crust is very thin and is underlain
by low density mantle. The alternative, and more conventional,
possibility is that the crust is in fact thicker in the vicinity of
the gravity low than elsewhere and is underlain by normal
mantle. Calculations based on a profile drawn across the strike
of the gravity low near Lake Toba indicate that this solution is
perfectly feasible and that a satisfactory crustal model can be
developed on this basis without undue difficulty. The mode of
compensation was discussed further by Masturyono et al.
(2001), who drew attention to regions of low velocity (and
hence, probably, of low density) in both the crust and uppermost
mantle in two areas beneath the Toba caldera. However, they
came to no firm conclusion as to the overall compensation
mechanism. The Bouguer low covers an area vastly greater than
the low velocity regions and the latter can therefore play only a
subsidiary role in its formation. It is, however, probable that
some compensation does occur within the crust and that the
regional Bouguer low is due in part to the presence of a large
granitic batholith that may still be in the process of formation.
The Toba- Tawar low is almost entirely onshore. There is a
weak possible extension out to sea to the north but this could
be fortuitous and merely a consequence of the presence of rela-
tively deep water and light sediments on the Mergui Shelf.
A north-trending high that marks the western limit of the shelf
at about 96~ is associated in part with a low-amplitude bathy-
metric high known as the Mergui Ridge but is probably mainly
due to the transition from continental crust under the shelf to
oceanic crust in the Andaman Basin. Shelf-edge free-air highs
are the world-wide norm. They exist because the rapid shallowing
of the Moho beneath continental slopes affects gravity fields
near the edges of shelves even though the crust immediately
beneath such locations is still thick and the sea is only a few
hundred metres deep.
The western limit of the Toba- Tawar low between about 96~
and 97~ is marked by a steep gradient defined by roughly
north-south contours, and the northwestern tip of Sumatra is
occupied by a gravity high with Bouguer values that in places
exceed ,1,100 reGal. The average gradient between the base
stations at Banda Aceh airport and town (Bouguer values -t-39
and +53. 5 reGal respectively: see Adkins et al. 1978) is about
one milligal per kilometre. The surface geology does not suggest
a terrane boundary in this region and the gravitational change
at the margin of the Toba- Tawar Low is probably largely a
lateral effect of high mantle beneath the forearc basin, coupled
with the effect of a change within the crust from young granitic
rocks to an older and denser basement.
Eastern Sumatra
Away from the Barisan Mountains, gravity fields in the vast and
often swampy flatlands of eastern Sumatra are controlled by a
number of competing factors. The most obvious of these is
the subsurface presence in the region between the east coast of
Sumatra and the eastern margin of the South Sumatra Basin of
the roughly nort h-sout h oriented Lampung Structural High
(Pulunggono & Cameron 1984). The high separates the South
Sumatra (onshore) from the Sunda (offshore) basin, and the
dense basement rocks, which almost reach the surface along its
crest, produce high gravity fields. However, the magnitudes of
the differences in gravity are smaller than those implied by the
changes in sediment thickness and suggest some degree of
crustal thinning beneath the basinal areas.
A number of southwards-convex curvilinear gravity trends are
superimposed on the local anomaly patterns in south and central
Sumatra. These continue, and become even more prominent,
offshore on the Sunda Shelf, where they are members of a set of
curved anomalies that ring almost the whole of Borneo in an
apparent rotational swirl. The trend lines cut across a number of
Late Tertiary boundaries between basins and structural highs,
including the Lampung High, and are therefore likely to be due
to sources within the basement rather than to basement relief.
An origin in strain accompanying the rotation of Borneo is
possible, but the processes by which some of the observed
gravity patterns could be generated by rotations are not clear.
For example, the most prominent curved trend in the South
China Sea is the shelf-edge anomaly at the western margin of
the central oceanic basin (Holt 1998), and it is hard to envisage
a causal link between this and Borneo rotation. An alternative
explanation for the arcuate trendlines in Sumatra and on the
Sunda Shelf is that these mark basement features associated
with past subduction and accretion, implying that belts of former
arc basement have been ' wrapped around' the core of continental
SE Asia in Borneo and the Malay Peninsula. In eastern Sumatra
there is some correlation between a curvilinear low sandwiched
between two positive curved features and the location of the
Mutus assemblage that may mark the suture between the
Malacca and Mergui microplates (Pulunggono & Cameron
1984). The rotation and basement suture hypotheses can be com-
bined by supposing that rotation of Borneo imposed curvature on
sutures that were originally approximately straight.
Gravity effects of sedimentary basins
The regional map of Sumatra (Fig. 3.1) is sufficient to show the
broad gravity effects of most of the sedimentary basins but not
the variations due to structures within them. Most of the
oil-company data that might define such details in the main
producing (back-arc) basins remain confidential, but there are pub-
lished studies of detailed work done by LEMIGAS in the Ombilin
intermontane basin (Situmorang et al. 1991) and the Bengkulu
forearc basin (Yulihanto et al. 1995). The locations of these two
surveys are indicated on Figure 3.1.
The Ombilin Basin lies immediately to the east of the main
Sumatran Fault (Fig. 3.1). It covers an area of some 1500 km 2
and in places contains more than 3000 m of Eocene to Middle
Miocene sediments. It derives its economic importance from
coal rather than oil or gas, and low density coals may well contrib-
ute to the gravity signature. The location suggests a genetic link
to the Sumatran Fault, but Howells (1997b) interpreted the main
basin as a result of wrench modification of an earlier rift rather
than as a simple strike-slip pull-apart. Only the much younger
Lake Singkarak rift (largely the area occupied by Lake Singkarak
in Fig. 3.3) is now interpreted as having formed as a recent pull-
apart within the Sumatran Fault (Sieh & Natawidjaja 2000).
There is good correlation between thin and thick sediments and
gravity highs and lows (Fig. 3.3), both in relation to relatively
small structures (Situmorang et al. 1991) and also at a basin-
wide scale. High Bouguer values define the main horst that
separates the Ombilin Basin proper from Lake Singkarak. Low
( <- 20 mGal) Bouguer gravity characterizes the northern lobe
of the Palaeogene basin, but these values, some 50 mGal below
those on the horst block near Sulitair, are still higher than the
levels (of well below - 30 mGal) in the Singkarak rift. The differ-
ence could be due to differences in sediment thickness, to more
20 CHAPTER 3
- 0" 30' S
9
100 ~ 45' E
i
i
~Bohi a m"
o
I OF' E
i
Fig. 3.3. Bouguer gravity and main structural
controls of the Ombilin Basin, after
Situmorang et al. (1991). Contour interval
10 mGal (thick contours) and 2 mGal (thin
contours). Stipple indicates closed lows.
Steep gradients in the west of the area are
associated with the margins of the Late
Neogene Singkarak pull-apart basin. Weaker,
but still well defined anomalies are associated
with the Palaeogene basin and testify to the
complexity of the basement architecture. See
Figure 3.1 for location.
developed isostatic compensation of the older depocentre or to the
Neogene section having a significantly lower average density.
The Bengkulu Basin (Fig. 3.4) is roughly the same age as the
Ombilin but lies entirely west of the Sumatran Fault and at
much lower elevations. A large part of it lies offshore. Tradition-
ally, it too has been regarded as a pull-apart basin generated in
a transtensional regime and this interpretation is still generally
accepted (Yulihanto et al. 1995). There are very few BGS/
GRDC gravity stations in the part of the basin lying to the SE
of Manna (Nainggolan et aL 1992) and even in the west
102' 3{}'E 103E
PAGARJATI
3 30' S
Be ngkul u
30
MASMAMBANG
Manta
4S
KEDURANG
0_. .......... 2 0 k,,
Fig. 3.4. Bouguer gravity of the Bengkulu Basin, after Yulihanto et al. (1991).
Contour interval 5 mGal (thick contours) and 1 mGal (thin contours). The overall
high level of Bouguer gravity is probably largely a consequence of crustal
thinning beneath the forearc basin. Local closed lows, indicated by stipple,
identify the locations of separate depocentres within the basin. See Figure 3.1
for location.
the regional survey provided only patchy coverage (Sobari et al.
1992). However, very detailed onshore surveys for oil explora-
tion (Yulihanto et al. 1995) have confirmed the division of the
main basin into two structural lows. These features (the Pagarjati
Graben in the NW and the Kedurang Graben in the SE)
are oriented very roughly nort h-sout h and are separated by the
Masmambang High. Within these broad divisions, a series of
roughly equi-dimensional highs and lows cover areas similar in
size to those occupied by sub-basins within the Ombilin.
A peculiarity of the Bengkulu Basin is the very high level of
background gravity field, which results in strongly positive
( >+40 mGal) absolute levels of Bouguer gravity even in the
centres of the gravity lows. The basinal area overall appears on
regional maps as a gravity high and Bouguer levels on the horst
blocks may exceed -t-80 mGal (Fig. 3.4). The high fields probably
reflect crustal thinning beneath both the Bengkulu sedimentary
basin itself and the forearc marine basin. However, the offshore
extension of the high, which is associated with a bathymetric
bulge, is probably also partly due to the replacement of seawater
by young sediments and to the lack of any corresponding com-
pensatory local subsidence of the crust into the mantle. Such
patterns are seen over many young deltas formed at passive
continental margins, the Congo and Niger deltas being good
examples (Sandwell & Smith 1997).
The f or e ar c bas i n
The northeastern margin of the deep free-air low associated with
the trench west of Sumatra includes the frontal part of the
forearc ridge, which is composed largely of accreted material.
The crest of the forearc ridge is marked by a prominent asym-
metric high, with the steeper gradients towards the forearc basin.
In most cases, Bouguer gravity on the forearc islands decreases
from west to east in response to increasing crustal thickness
(Fig. 3.5), but on Nias there is a residual gravity high centred
over the young uplifted coastal plain in the east of the island
(Fig. 3.5, inset).
Low free-air and Bouguer gravity characterize most of the
forearc basin, with minimum values even lower than the free-air
minima associated with the trench. The forearc basin low is,
however, divided into two segments by a gravity high near the
equator (Fig. 3.1), where a Bouguer maximum of +100 mGal
has been recorded on Pini, the easternmost island in the Batu
group (Fig. 3.5). Pini has an anomalous east - west orientation,
GRAVITY FIELD 21
Banyak Is,
-b
X\x"X\.,
/ / / "
///"
0 50kin
~ - T 7 ~ s ~ ~2~l~I~E
i l l
A
\
' ~ Bat u Is.
98~
S.I.O. RAMA 6 Line 58-59
Pleistocene - Recent
Interpretation simplified after Matson & Moore (1992)
/.
I ~
. . /. //"
/ / / "
Pi ni
Equat or
Fig. 3.5. Gravity variations in the central
forearc basin. In contrast to Figure 3.1,
Bouguer gravity is contoured in the offshore
as well as the onshore regions. Contour
interval 10 mGal. Offshore data are from
Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO)
shipborne readings along the tracks shown
by dashed lines. Areas of water depths in
excess of 500 m in the vicinity of the
Banyak and Singkel sedimentary basins
indicated by light stipple. The upper inset
shows SIO seismic line 58-59 across the
Banyak forearc basin east of Nias, from SIO
cruise Rama 6, with a simplified version of
the interpretation provided by Matson &
Moore (1992). Note the strong asymmetry
in the basin. The lower inset shows the
residual gravity anomaly over eastern Nias,
obtained by subtracting a linear regional
gradient parallel to the trends of Bouguer
contours in the north of the island from the
local values.
lies j ust north of the equator and straddles the forearc basin. The
hi gh gravity is evi dent l y not due merel y to the presence of the
bat hymet ri c high, since a gravity low is associated with similar
bat hymet ry in the Banyak group further north. A - 80 mGal
mi ni mum was recorded on the most easterly of the Banyak
islands (Fig. 3.5).
There is an obvious geographi cal correlation bet ween the Pini
hi gh and hi gh free-air gravity associated with the Investigator
Fracture Zone on the Indian Ocean plate i mmedi at el y to the
south (IFZ; Fig. 3.1). A causal l i nk between the two seems
likely. Subduction of the fracture zone, whi ch is a promi nent
bat hymet ri c feature consisting of a deep linear trough flanked by
two high standing ridges, has been suggested as a possible cause
for both the change in strike of the trench and forearc north of
Nias (the Nias ' el bow' ) and the enhanced volcanic activity in
the Toba region (Fauzi et al. 1996).
In part the low Bouguer and free-air values in the forearc basi n
reflect the presence of the water column, whi ch is up to 1500 m
thick, but there is also a significant contribution from l i ght
Neogene sediments The seismic stratigraphy of the area east
of Nias was first described by Beaudry & Moore (1985), who
recogni zed three mai n sequences and assigned these t ent at i vel y
to the Pleistocene (Unit 4), the Pliocene and uppermost Mi ocene
(Unit 3) and to most of the remai nder of the Mi ocene (Unit 2).
Uni t 2 was further subdivided into Units 2a and 2b, separated
by a general l y continuous, hi gh-ampl i t ude seismic event. Ol der
stratified sediments (Unit 1) can be seen in places beneat h a
strong regional unconformi t y at the base of Uni t 2a, but el sewhere
this region is devoid of reflectors and may comprise i gneous or
met amorphi c basement or steeply di ppi ng sediments.
Wi t h one exception, Beaudry & Moore (1985) illustrated their
discussion with oil industry seismic sections whi ch were of
22 CHAPTER 3
rather poor quality (at least in reproduction), and the boundaries
they recognised are sometimes difficult to identify on the better
quality sections obtained by the Scripps Institution of Oceano-
graphy (SIO) on cruise RAMA 6. In a more detailed analysis
based on the SIO profiles, Matson & Moore (1992) divided
the forearc sediments into eleven sequences, of which Sequences
10 and 11 were roughly equivalent to Unit 4 of Beaudry & Moore
(1985) and Sequences 8 and 9 to Unit 3. At deeper levels the
correlation between the two schemes is less clear.
As well as an increase in detail, Matson & Moore (1992) provided
a significant new insight into the stratigraphy of the forearc basin by
distinguishing between the histories of a ' Singkel' and a 'Pini' basin
east of Nias. Unfortunately, their use of the term Singkel Basin dif-
fered from that of earlier authors (e.g. Karig et al. 1980), who
applied it to a basin in the Singkel region of mainland Sumatra.
The term Banyak Basin is used here as a preferable alternative.
The Pini Basin was considered to be mainly filled with Upper
Miocene sediments but the Banyak Basin (shown in the inset to
Fig. 3.5) was interpreted as containing significant older section.
Both sedimentary basins are associated with present-day sea floor
depressions (Fig. 3.5), although the modern and palaeo-depocentres
do not coincide exactly. The division between the two basins is
marked by a gravity high offshore and by a residual gravity high
on Nias (Fig. 3.5).
On seismic sections, the most obvious feature of all the forearc
sedimentary basins is their extreme asymmetry (see Karig et al.
1980; Beaudry & Moore 1985; Matson & Moore 1992; Malod
& Kemal 1996). In the Banyak Basin (Fig. 3.5, inset), a Middle
Miocene shelf has been tilted seawards and is now buried under
younger sediments that increase in thickness up to the east coast
of Nias, where sediments as old as Oligocene are exposed
(Samuel & Harbury 1995). The sharp flexure at the western
edge of the basins can be identified with the Mentawai Fault
(see Chapter 2) and on the regional gravity map (Fig. 3.1) is
associated with a steep gravity gradient that is, in fact, rather
less pronounced near Nias than elsewhere. Where, SE of
Enggano, the fault moves away from the flank of the forearc
ridge and towards the centre of the forearc basin (Schltiter et al.
2002), this gradient largely disappears.
Despite the high gravity fields, both geological mapping (Samuel
& Harbury 1995) and gravity modelling (Kieckhefer et al. 1981)
indicate that the material forming the forearc ridge is of generally
low density (Fig. 3.6). The high fields are produced by the thin
crust and the high density subducted slab, and by the large density
contrast between even the lightest rocks and water. Onshore
mapping and offshore seismic reflection lines all suggest that large
volumes of sediments deposited in the forearc basin have been
incorporated into the forearc islands. Only on Simeulue, where a
small ophiolite is associated with a local gravity high (Fig. 3.2,
inset) is there evidence for the presence of coherent masses of
oceanic rocks beneath the ridge (Milsom et al. 1991).
Gravity provides few constraints on the nature of the crust
beneath the forearc basin. In one of the two alternative models
of Kieckhefer et al. (1981) the basin is underlain by m61ange
and in the other (reproduced here in slightly modified form as
Fig. 3.6) by continental crust. In both models the forearc ridge is
underlain by m61ange, and both produce acceptable fits with the
gravity profile along the modelled line. As far as the Mentawai
Fault is concerned, it is not the gravity data but the extreme
linearity that suggests its location has been determined by the
position of the former continental margin rather than by the
boundary between two belts of m61ange.
Seismic tomography and the long-wavelength
gravity field
Despite significant recent advances in the measurement of the
Earth' s gravity field, the long wavelength variations are still
reGal
1
-5O
Fig. 3.6. Interpretation of a gravity profile across the forearc basin and Sunda
Trench south of Nias, after Kieckhefer et al. (1981). White and black inverted
triangles show the locations of controls on depth provided by, respectively,
unreversed and reversed seismic refraction profiles. Densities on blocks in the
model are in Mg m -3. Unlabelled blocks are sediments or m61ange with densities
between 2.0 and 2.4 Mg m -3. The differences between the calculated and
observed curves are too small to be apparent at the scale of the figure. Profile
location shown as a yellow line on Figure 3.1.
most reliably estimated from perturbations of satellite orbits. A
number of models have now been produced that integrate the
results obtained by this method with results from conventional
surface gravity surveys and satellite altimetry to define global
gravity anomalies with half-wavelengths greater than about
400 km. The sources of these anomalies are likely to lie deep
within the mantle, because the isostatic equilibrium prevailing in
the Earth' s outermost layers implies approximate cancellation of
the gravity fields from shallower mass differences. Controversy
about the origin of mass anomalies within the mantle has existed
for decades. A rough correlation between geoidal highs and
plate convergence zones has long been recognized (cf. Hagar
1984) but has appeared unconvincing in detail. If, however,
using the same basic data, field strength (the differential of
potential) is contoured rather than potential itself, the longest
wavelengths are suppressed and the correlation with subduction
becomes very striking (Milsom & Rocchi 1998). Major highs
can be seen to the rear of almost all long-lived subduction
zones, and it is reasonable to suppose that the mass excesses
are associated with the subducting slabs. Since these slabs
are sinking through the less dense asthenosphere, isostatic
considerations do not apply.
One of the most widely used of the long-wavelength (400 km
gravity models is GEM-T3 (Lerch et al. 1994), which is complete
to spherical harmonics of degree and order 50. The GEM-T3
map of the Borneo-Sumat ra region (Fig. 3.1, inset) shows a
distribution of long-wavelength gravity highs consistent with
hypothesized patterns of past subduction. In eastern Borneo and
Sulawesi, geological mapping has defined former subduction
traces, marked by m~lange and ophiolites, that indicate that a
GRAVITY FIELD 23
part of the active margin of SE Asia lay in this area during the Late
Cretaceous and Palaeogene (e.g. Wilson & Moss 1999). From
southeastern Borneo the line of subduction then curved sharply
to pass through western Java and on to Sumatra. Subducted litho-
sphere associated with this phase of convergence can be expected
to have accumulated beneath Borneo and the Malacca Straits.
Moreover, many theories of the evolution of Borneo require
there to have been subduction beneath its northwestern margin
during the Late Cretaceous and Palaeogene, leading to the com-
plete destruction of a ' proto-South China Sea' and collision
between the Borneo block and attenuated continental crust rifted
from the South China margin (e.g. Milsom et al. 1997). The
extent of the long-wavelength gravity high suggests that it may
be recording effects from material subducted beneath Borneo
from the south, east and west (Milsom & Rocchi 1998).
In northwestern Sumatra, the margin of the long-wavelength
high curves to an almost northerly trend and peak values decrease
quite rapidly, suggesting that there is no significant deep sub-
ducted material beneath the Andaman Sea. This seems reasonable
since, although the plate boundary west of the Andaman and
Nicobar islands is marked by a (rather poorly defined) trench,
the local convergence vector is almost parallel to the trench axis.
Further light on the sources of the long wavelength gravity
anomalies has been provided by the improvements in, and
standardization of, seismic observatory instrumentation and the
dramatic increases in speed and memory of relatively cheap
computers. Thanks to these two developments it is now possible
to use observations of travel times for S and P waves from
remote earthquakes to model the variations of seismic wave
velocities in the mantle. This seismic tomography is providing
ever stronger evidence for the penetration of subducted lithosphere
through the discontinuity between the upper and lower mantle at
about 700 kin, below which it is not seismogenic. Because
Wadat i -Beni off seismic zones marking the sites of subducted
lithosphere in the upper mantle are invariably associated with
high seismic velocities, there is a strong circumstantial case for
attributing high velocity in the lower mantle to lithospheric
material that has sunk to aseismic depths. The close correlation
between high velocity in the lower mantle (Widiyantoro & van
der Hilst 1996, 1997) and high gravity field provides additional
support for this hypothesis.
Tomography also provides an explanation for the absence of
earthquake hypocentres at depths of more than 300 km beneath
Sumatra. There is no high-velocity material at these depths
(Widiyantoro & van der Hilst 1996) and hence, presumably, no
subducted slab. Taken together with the interpreted presence of
a large volume of dense and fast material below 700 kin, this
observation supports hypotheses that involve the rupturing of
slabs and the independent sinking of their detached lower portions
under gravity. Even stronger support comes from farther east,
north of Java, where the upper part of the detached slab protrudes
above the 700 km limit and is both seismically ' fast' and seismo-
genic (Widiyantoro & van der Hilst 1996).
The Sumatra region also conforms to the global pattern of lack
of correlation between high gravity and subducted lithosphere
within the seismogenic zone, i.e. at relatively shallow depths.
Hagar (1984), amongst others, has used this global observation
to support a model of dynamic flow that produces, at GEM-T3
wavelengths, close to perfect cancellation between the effects of
positive and negative density anomalies in the upper mantle.
Some doubt has, however, been thrown on this model by
Wheeler & White (2002), who used oil-industry borehole data to
argue that, at least in offshore SE Asia, dynamic topography
amounts to no more than 300 m. Predictable improvements in
data quality will undoubtedly lead to considerable refinements
in interpretation and resolution of this apparent discrepancy,
but it is sufficient to note that as far as the present review is con-
cerned, the GEM T-3 gravity field provides an excellent guide to
the extent of Palaeogene, but not Neogene, subduction beneath
Sundaland.
Chapter 4
Pre-Tertiary stratigraphy
A. J. BARBER & M. J. CROW
In the early days of mineral exploration on behalf of the
Netherlands East Indies Bureau of Mines and of petroleum
exploration by the oil companies it was recognized that Pre-
Tertiary rocks were extensively exposed in the Barisan Mountains
in the western part of Sumatra (Fig. 1.4). These rocks are variably
metamorphosed and were termed the ' Barisan-Schiefer' and the
' Old-Slates Formation' (Veerbeek 1883) in Central Sumatra, and
the ' Crystalline Schists' in the Lampung area (Westerveld
1941). Locally these rocks contain fossils, and it was recognized
that Carboniferous and Permian rocks occur within this Pre-
Tertiary basement. Some basement units were defined during the
mapping of Sumatra by the Netherlands Indies Geological
Survey between 1927 and 1931, but the definition of units accord-
ing to modern stratigraphic principles began in the early 1970s,
with the commencement of systematic mapping by the Indonesian
Geological Survey in collaboration with the United States
Geological Survey, in the Padang area of West Sumatra
(Kastowo & Leo 1973--Padang; Silitonga & Kastowo 1975--
Solok; Rosidi et al. 1976--Painan and Muarasiberut).
Mapping and the definition of further units was continued in
northern Sumatra by the Indonesian Directorate of Mineral
Resources/British Geological Survey (DMR/ BGS) between
1975 and 1980 as part of the Northern Sumatra Project and
was extended into southern Sumatra in the 1980s and 1990s by
the Indonesian Geological Research and Development Centre
(GRDC), DMR amd BGS. The results of these surveys, which
established the distribution of the basement units, are published
by GRDC as 1:250000 Geological Map Sheets coveting the
whole of Sumatra and adjacent islands (Fig.l.5). The lithologies
of each stratigraphic unit are briefly described in the keys to the
maps, and the units are described more fully in the accompanying
Explanatory Notes.
During these surveys the faunas from known fossil localities
were re-examined and new localities were found. Following the
survey the palaeontological evidence for the ages of stratigraphic
units in Sumatra has been reviewed by Fontaine & Gafoer (1989).
It has now been established that fossiliferous rock units in the Pre-
Tertiary basement of Sumatra range in age from Early Carbonifer-
ous through to mid-Cretaceous.
From the occurrence of tin granites in the eastern part of
Sumatra, extending into the ' Tin Islands' of Bangka and Billiton,
it is supposed that the whole of Sumatra is underlain by a highly
differentiated Pre-Carboniferous crystalline continental crust
with ages extending back into the Precambrian. Direct evidence
for a Pre-Carboniferous basement has been obtained by isotopic
dating of Silurian and Lower Carboniferous granitic rocks
encountered in boreholes beneath the Tertiary Basins towards
the northeastern side of the island (Eubank & Makki 1981).
The oldest rocks identified by their fossil content were also
encountered in boreholes in eastern Sumatra. These rocks
contain palynomorphs from near the Devonian-Carboniferous
boundary (Eubank & Makki 1981). Older rocks, possibly
ranging down into the Devonian, were reported by Adinegoro &
Hartoyo (1974) from a borehole in the Malacca Strait, but no
details are given in their report and a Devonian age for sediments
elsewhere in Sumatra has not been confirmed during subsequent
drilling or by field studies, although rocks of this age, and older
ages back to the Proterozoic, occur in the Langkawi Island off
NW Malaya, 300 km to the NE of Sumatra (Jones 1961).
It has proved very difficult to establish with certainty the strati-
graphic relationships between the various rock units which
make up the exposed Pre-Tertiary basement of Sumatra. This is
due to the generally fault-bounded contacts between rock units
and the poor biostratigraphic control on their ages; over large
areas the rocks are apparently devoid of fossils. The varying
metamorphic grade of the basement units makes even lithological
correlations difficult. As a result, formations have generally been
defined locally. When these local units have been extrapolated
over broader areas they are found to include a wide variety of
lithological types, so that correlation with the original units
becomes more and more uncertain.
The spate of new data on the geology of Sumatra generated
by the systematic geological survey of the whole island has stimu-
lated attempts at regional synthesis, e.g. Cameron et al. (1980) and
Pulunggono & Cameron (1984) in northern Sumatra and McCourt
et al. (1993) in southern Sumatra. These authors proposed a
stratigraphic scheme which distinguished a Carboniferous-
Permian Tapanuli Group, a Permo-Triassic Peusangan Group
and a Jurassic-Cretaceous Woyla Group (Fig. 4.1 ). This terminol-
ogy is used in the present account, although it is strictly applicable
only to northern Sumatra where the units were defined.
In this account the basement rocks of Sumatra are described
from northern, central and southern Sumatra, as far as possible
in terms of their stratigraphic age, although difficulties in
establishing these ages will be fully discussed. Five age units
are recognized: Pre-Carboniferous basement, Carboniferous-
?Early Permian, Mi d- Lat e Permian, Mi d- Lat e Triassic and
Jurassic -Mid-Cretaceous.
Pre-Carboniferous basement
Eubank & Makki (1981 ) record shales interbedded with quartzites
from the boreholes, Pusaka-l, 85 km NE of Pekanbaru, and
Rupat Island, in the Malacca Strait, which yielded palynomorphs
lu the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary, and used this
evidence to define an Upper Palaeozoic 'Quartzite Terrain' in
eastern Sumatra (Fig. 4.2). Some of these borehole records may
relate to quartz sandstones in the Triassic Kualu Formation and
its correlative Tembeling Sandstone of Bangka (Ko 1986).
However, Eubank & Makki (1981) also obtained Rb- Sr ages of
426 + 41.5 Ma (Silurian) and 335 + 43 Ma (Early Carboniferous)
from granites from boreholes put down into the basement beneath
the Central Sumatra Basin. Turner (1983) reports gneissose
rocks included as xenoliths in dykes intruding Carboniferous
slates near Rao, Central Sumatra. These xenoliths were presum-
ably derived from an underlying crystalline basement. A granitic
clast from pebbly mudstone encountered in a borehole, Cucut
No. l, gave an Rb- Sr age of 348 ___ 10 Ma, of Vis~an, Early
Carboniferous age (Koning & Darmono 1984).
The occurrence of intrusive granites, possibly as old as Silurian,
indicates that an older basement into which these granites were
intruded underlies eastern Sumatra. This is highly probable, as
Proterozoic and Lower Palaeozoic rocks occur in the Malaysian
Langkawi Islands only some 300 km to the NE of Sumatra
along the strike (Jones 1961). Indeed, Hutchison (1994) has
asserted that the buried Kluang Limestone south of Palembang,
24
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 25
CENOZOIC
CRETACEOUS
JURASSIC
TRIASSIC
PERMIAN
CARBONIFEROUS
DEVONIAN
LOWER
PALAEOZOIC
PRECAMBRIAN
BASEMENT
Fig. 4.1. Pre-Tertiary stratigraphic units in Sumatra as proposed by the DMR/
BGS Northern Sumatra Project (Cameron et al. 1980) and used on the geological
maps of northern Sumatra published by GRDC. These units were extended to
cover southern Sumatra by McCourt et al. (1993).
for which a Cretaceous age had been suggested (De Coster 1974)
resembles the Silurian Kuala Lumpur Limestone in Malaya and
may therefore be of Silurian age. It has also been supposed that
high grade metamorphic rocks in the western part of northern
Sumatra within the Alas and Kluet Formations, and the Ngaol For-
mation of Central Sumatra, which do not appear to be directly
related to contact metamorphic aureoles around intrusions, may
represent outcrops of this Pre-Carboniferous crystalline basement,
but nowhere has this supposition been confirmed by fossil finds or
by isotopic dating. Alternatively it has also been suggested that
these high grade gneisses are due to intrusion and synkinematic
deformation of granites and associated sedimentary rocks in
shear zones during the formation of active magmatic arcs during
Permian to Late Cretaceous times. This explanation has also
been suggested for the Gunungkasih Metamorphic Complex in
the Bandarlampung area of southern Sumatra (Barber 2000).
The high grade metamorphic rocks of Sumatra require systematic
investigation with these alternative possibilities in mind.
Tapanul i Group (Carboniferous- ?Ear l y Permian)
Rocks in northern Sumatra considered to be of Carboniferous-
?Early Permian age have been classified as the Tapanuli Group
(Cameron et al. 1980; Pulunggono & Cameron 1984). Three
formations are recognized: the Bohorok Formation, the Kluet
Formation and the Alas Formation (Figs 4. 1-4. 3). The Early
Permian was included in the original definition of the Tapanuli
Group on the supposition that the Alas Formation contained an
Early Permian fauna (Cameron et al . 1980). Subsequently this
fauna was shown to be of Early Carboniferous (Vis~an) age
(Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). However, the Pangururan Bryozoan
Bed which was mapped as part of the Kluet Formation also
contains a probable Early Permian fauna (Aldiss et al. 1983), so
that in this account the Tapanuli Group is considered to extend
into the Early Permian.
Bohor ok For mat i on. The Bohorok Formation is defined from its
type locality in the Bohorok River on the GRDC 1:250 000
Medan Sheet, about 65 km to the west of Medan (Cameron
et al . 1982a) (Fig. 4.3). Good exposures of this formation occur
for a distance of 100 m in the river section at Bukit Lawang,
near the Orang Utan Sanctuary and over 50 m in the Bekail
River, some 7 km to the south. No base is seen to the formation
and downstream the mudstones are faulted either against the
Permo-Triassic Batumilmil Limestone Formation, or the Tertiary
Bruksah and Bampo Formations. The Bohorok Formation has
been mapped along the eastern side of the Barisan Mountains
from near Langsa in the north to Lake Toba in the south
(Fig. 4.3). Even further south, comparable lithologies correlated
with the Bohorok Formation, are found in the Tigapuluh
Mountains, between Rengat and Jambi and are described below
as the Tigapuluh Group, and similar rocks also occur in the
Toboali District in the southern part of Bangka Island (Fig. 4.2).
The typical lithology of the Bohorok Formation is an unbedded
' pebbly mudstone' ; a poorly sorted breccia or conglomerate
composed of angular to subangular rock fragments, generally
0. 1-2. 0 cm in size, but ranging up to 10cm and even 75-
80 cm in east Aceh, and in the northeastern part of the Padangsi-
dempuan Sheet (Aspden et al . 1982b). The rock fragments
are enclosed in a fine-grained matrix of dark grey or dark brown
siltstone or mudstone. Pebbles include vein quartz, slate, chlorite
schist, phyllite, greenish calcsilicate rocks, limestone, marble,
quartzose arenites, quartzite, more rarely mica-schist and grani-
toid, sometimes with tourmaline, rare chert and rhyolite. Single
crystals of fresh microcline, forming small angular clasts, are
conspicuous in thin sections (Cameron et al. 1982a). The clasts
in the pebbly mudstones clearly indicate a continental provenance.
In the Berkail River, pebbly mudstone near the upper part of
the outcrop is interbedded with a few metres of light brown
weathering, coarse to very coarse sandstone (Tiltman 1985).
Cameron et al. (1982a) report that sandstone blocks found as
float within the Bohorok outcrop show graded beds and slump
structures.
Towards the west the poorly sorted pebbly mudstone units
become less common, the proportion and size of the clasts
decreases, and the Bohorok Formation is represented by conglom-
erates, sandstones, slates and rare limestone units, becoming
indistinguishable from the adjacent Kluet Formation or similar
lithologies within the Alas Formation, so that the distinction
between the units is arbitrary (Cameron et al. 1980).
The Bohorok Formation has generally been affected by low,
slate-grade, metamorphism. In the neighbourhood of igneous
intrusions argillaceous rocks, including the matrix of the pebbly
mudstones, are converted to schists or hornfels, often containing
cordierite and tourmaline.
Sediments within the Bohorok Formation are apparently devoid
of fossils. The only direct evidence of age comes from the Cucut
No. 1 well (Fig. 4.4) where Koning & Darmono (1984) report an
Early to Mid-Carboniferous microflora from the mud matrix of a
' pebbly mudstone' . However, a granite clast in the mudstone
from the same well yielded a K- Ar age of 348 + 10Ma
(Vis6an, Early Carboniferous) (Koning & Darmono 1984). This
juxtaposition is highly improbable. It may be that both the palyno-
morphs and the pebble were eroded from older units and derived
into the Triassic Kualu Formation which occurs in the same
area, or that the K- Ar age is unreliable.
The pebbly mudstones of the Bohorok Formation have been inter-
preted as diamictites formed in a glacio-marine environment
(Cameron et al. 1980). Pebbly mudstones similar to those of the
Bohorok Formation have been described form the Langkawi
Islands and the adjacent parts of the NW Malay Peninsula,
Peninsular Thailand, Burma and southwest China. The occurrence
of pebbly mudstones has been used to identify the Sibumasu
(Siam, B___uurma, Malaya, Sumatra) Terrane, a crustal block which
extends all the way from Sumatra to southern China (Metcalfe 1984).
26 CHAPTER 4
_8 ~
96 ~
I I I
102 ~ 104 ~ 106 ~
CARBONIFEROUS
Tapanuli Group
Bohorok Formation
_6 ~
_4 ~
_2 ~
_0 o
_2 ~
_4 ~
_6 ~
~3
BANDA ACEH
TAPAKTUAN~t
Kr eung Kl ue
( ~ SI DI K/
.%
LANGKAWI ~
; i naa For mat i on
Lake
x0
~A~
\
L
q;
Lake
Sinekar
Q
/
ubang ~,
=asu "k,,
,rmation-~"~7/._ [ 5 :~ 61
a %
Member
0 100 200 300 400 500km
96 ~ 98 ~ 100 ~ 102 ~
I I I I
Alas Formation
Kluet/Kuantan
Formation
'Quartzite Terrain'
mMUARABUNGO
9 . - ~: , . ~, ~#
Duabel as ~:~
NGKA
Tar ant am Form;
PALEMBANG II
i Gar ba Mount ai ns
T ra0 Forma,ion )
~Gunungka s i h
LZ~,',, ~ Compl ex
TA G' - - 0 ~, TANJ UNG
KO AGUNG ~. . . ~ARANG
",,3 " ' ~ ~6Lz
~o4o 11o6o
I I /
Fig. 4.2. Distribution of Carboniferous to ?Early Permian rocks in Sumatra from GRDC geological maps. Dense tones indicate outcrops, the filled circles indicate
Carboniferous rocks encountered in boreholes, paler tones indicate subcrop beneath Late Palaeozoic, Mesozoic, Tertiary and Quaternary sediments and volcanics.
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 27
" ' A' - CEH BANDA
I
96 ~
I
97 ~
I
98 ~
Major Faults
I
99 ~
Unit
LATE PERMIAN - LATE TRIASSIC | N
(Peusangan Group)
Uneun Unit, Tawar Lst Fro,
Situtup Lst Fm, Sembuang Lst Fm,
Ujeuen Lst Fm, Kaloi Lst Fm,
Batumilmil Lst Fm (mainly limestones)
Kualu Formation (cherts & clastics)
CARBONIFEROUS - ?EARLY PERMIAN
(Tapanuli Group) ~.
,U.:0 XkJ'~i
,:-,,C.e-. -.<-
9 -.,....,_
=_ i i lU... =.
Bohorok Formation
(pebbly mudstones)
Atas Formation (Vis6an)
limestone member
Tawar " ~
Formation
Alas Formation - clastic sediments \
('m'- metamorphosed) TA PAKTUAN
Kluet Formation
(turbidites with limestone %')
Ktuet Formation o
(metamorphosed)
96 < , 97 ~
1 I
,E~::~Ujeuen
Gnei
lOOk~
tion
@
Sor mat i on
9 LANGSA
Recent Volcanoes
Permo-Triassic Intrusions
Si mpang Ki r i
Kaloi
Formation
Bohorok
N al vvampu Toba
tumilmil Tufts
--.. (._~ Kualu
Formation
Toba
Tufts ~- ~ I~j
Fig. 4.3. The distribution of Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic stratigraphic units in northern Sumatra, showing rock types and critical fossil localities, together with
Late Permian to Early Triassic intrusions (after Stephenson & Aspden 1982, with additions from GRDC map sheets, Cameron et al. 1982a, b, 1983). Areas left blank are
occupied by Late Mesozoic to Quaternary sediments and volcanics.
Alas Formation. The Alas Formation was defined by Cameron
et al. (1982a) in the valley of the lower Alas River on the
Medan Sheet (Fig. 4.3). It is distinguished by its geographical
location, occupying a graben within the Sumatran Fault System,
between the outcrops of the Bohorok and Kluet formations,
and by a preponderance of limestones and meta-limestones.
Otherwise, in the remainder of the outcrop, shales, siltstones, sand-
stones, sometimes calcareous, quartz wackes and conglomerates,
are identical to those of the Bohorok Formation, without the
pebbly mudstones, and to the Kluet Formation as well. Cameron
et al. (1982a) also report the occurrence of possible green tufts.
The outcrop is much dissected by faults and the rocks are intensely
folded locally, intruded by granites and migmatised.
Limestones in the Alas Formation are sometimes oolitic, may
show cross-bedding and are locally fossiliferous with abundant
productid and spiriferid brachiopods and some corals. However,
the limestone is frequently metamorphosed to massive, coarsely
crystalline and sometimes graphitic marble with phlogopite,
and deformed to form calcareous schist. The marbles and calc-
schists are associated with slate, phyllite, mica schist, locally
containing garnets, biotite hornfels with cordierite and/ or chiasto-
lite, quartzite and more rarely gneiss, migmatites, mylonites and
cataclasites (Cameron et al. 1980). Much of this metamorphism
may be attributable to the contact effects of intrusive granites,
affected synchronously or subsequently by shearing, but not all
areas of metamorphic rocks are closely associated with igneous
intrusions and some, particularly where the rocks are garneti-
ferous, may be of regional metamorphic origin and may even
represent an earlier, Pre-Carboniferous, basement. The occurrence
of mylonites and cataclasites suggests that some of the rocks
included in the Alas Formation have undergone major shearing.
A fossiliferous limestone locality within the Alas Formation at
the junction of the Lau Pakam and the Sungai Alas north of
Laubaleng has yielded a rich fauna (Fig. 4.4). Cameron et al.
(11980) reported the coral Allotriophyllum chinense, known from
the Lower Permian Chiksa Limestone of southern China, but
this coral has been re-identified by Fontaine (1989) as the solitary
horn-shaped rugose coral Zaphrentites, indicative of a Carboniferous
age. Brachiopods, which include Cleiothyridina (?) and Margina-
tia, indicate a Vis6an age and Metcalfe (1983) obtained a conodont
fauna from this same locality which included Gnathodus girtyi
rhodesi Higgins, Gnathodus sp., Hindeodella sp., Spathognathodus
campbelli Rexroad and Spathognathodus scitulus (Hinde), con-
firming the Vis6an age of the limestones. The form Gnathodus
girtyi rhodesi, in particular, is restricted to the Bollandian Stage
of the Late Vis6an, defining the age of this outcrop of the Alas
Formation even more precisely (Metcalfe 1983).
Kluet Formation. The Kluet Formation was defined by Cameron
et al. (1982b) from outcrops along the Krueng Kluet in the
28 CHAPTER 4
\ I oL%~' ~ e, , - . I - : ' ~ . \ A as..~ LAk - 9 9 I- ~. . TobaTuf f s. . . . . . . . ( . . . . . . . . . . . I I
98 ~~%, 1, Formation Toba,~: : : u9 10~ 101 ~,
L\-'.b.b,~.'~'-,_"IP" Sl O/ KAL~NG- ' ~' ~} 4~. " . ~L. . . " . " . ". ". ". ? lc-~ '~ ~ Ma'or Faults
9 . ' . ' . ' . ". ozoaBed. . " . ' . " ' . ' . ' , "
9 ~ Recent Volcanoes
/..,~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _ _ ~ " 9 9 ~ Pangunjungan ~N, (".,~ Permo-Triassic
-,,-',,...z ~ ",'~\'N~N"~E.~%8. i" i'-".N~ki~,Sibagandidg ~" " "~--dq:~.~li~_Member - k,~ ~ Imrusions
- t " Pal~ka ." ".'-Limestone MemlSer'.
" ~~" ~%~aF~i r ' . ' . \ : . ' . ' . - . #/ ~i ! ~~I RANTAUPRAPAT ~ 4
~ue~-.'."~"A \ \ ' . ' . " %%" - ' . " - ~~~; ?" Z~ - ~' ~' ~ ~ ' ~
- 2'>N ~ -Formation_C~" ~ \%-v--:7 "~k 9 9 .'~i~q./'-,~./~/ ~Y.?N. N\~ " ~
e~aru 9 ." . . , . ' . 9 ". ". ". 2 ~
0 50 100km "~ ~'k~--~?~-~ \ ~ Bohorok Fm
........ ...' "':", _ encountered in
~'k ~' ~%' L~, ~DANG S[ DEN P UA a borehole
LATE PERMIAN-LATE TRIASSIC ~ ~ - ~ ' ~ ~
(Peusangan Group) \ ~' ~Mbr ~ ........
. . . . . . . . \ ~, ~'#~.~'~a-'~ PAffARSIBUHAN
__ rkualu r-m, bllungKang ~-m, 'i ~ I ' %Ui : : l l t l i : l . l l _ ~. .
Telukkido Fro, Cubadak Fm ~, kFg~,~t~_,~..n.~:~ Lst ~. 1 ~
Zuhur Formation \ ~ ~' ~N~. LS~r~"-,~_ I PASIRPENGARAYAN
CARBONIFEROUS-?EARLY PERMIAN L, \ ~' , ~. ' ~' Q"~ " ~, ~, " ' ~ _
(Tapanuli Group) ......... "% ~ " ~, , . " ~~ Pawan
, , [ ~4"2\ \ ~ . ~ \ \ ~. "% Member
L~.~:~;~:;~I BohorokFormati on ~ ' ~ a s i l ~ o n g i ~ " ~ \
[~i:~,~:~1 (Pebblymudstones) a ~ - o ~ . ~ ' - ~~ ",,>,..%,.x,,~,
~7, ~. ~ Alas Formation
(limestones)
Kluet/Kuantan Formati
Formation
Limestone Member (L
_ 98 o uhur
Equator I I ~ - - - ~ ~t~-~ . . ~\~.~.'~'~'~/'~0rma!!..~ r
Fig. 4.4. Distribution of Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic stratigraphic units in north central Sumatra from GRDC map sheets, showing rock types and critical fossil
localities, as well as Late Permian to Triassic intrusives. Areas left blank are covered by Late Mesozoic to Quaternary sediments and volcanics.
Barisan Mountains to the north of Tapaktuan. Outcrops of the
Kluet Formation on the 1:250 000 map sheets are shown lying
to the southwest of the outcrops of the Bohorok and Alas
formations and extend from Lake Tawar near Takengon in the
north to Sibolga in the south (Figs 4.2 & 4.3).
The formation consists predominantly of black slates, with
phyllites, quartzose arenites and conglomeratic metagreywackes,
the latter containing lithic clasts up to 40 cm in diameter. Poorly
sorted volcaniclastic wackes occur along the Sibolga to Tarutung
road. The size and proportion of clasts in the conglomerates
decreases across the outcrop from NE to SW. Locally there are
calcareous horizons and detrital limestones. More massive
meta-limestones occur at Rerebe, south of Takengon (Fig. 4.3).
The sandstones are generally massive and commonly devoid of
sedimentary structures, although in the type area of the Krueng
Kluet (Cameron et al. 1982b) and on the Sidikalang Sheet
(Aldiss et al. 1983), graded beds, mud clasts, slumped units,
load casts and dewatering structures, typical of deposition as
turbidites are reported. Rocks of the Kluet Formation have yet
to yield age-diagnostic fossils.
The rocks are metamorphosed, predominantly in the slate grade,
but show varying degrees of metamorphism. An extensive area of
highly metamorphosed rocks of the Kluet Formation is shown
occupying the southwestern side of the outcrop on the Tapaktuan
Sheet, including the type area of Krueng Kluet (Cameron et al.
1982b) (Fig. 4.3). The rocks are described as coarse muscovi t e-
biotite schists, sometimes garnetiferous, quartzo-feldspathic
gneisses and calc-silicate schists. In the Blangkejeren area in
the central part of northern Sumatra metamorphic rocks include
bi ot i t e-garnet -si l l i mani t e schists, staurolite schists and biotite-
andalusite hornfels, chiastolite slate, quartzite, scapolite-bearing
calc-silicates, marbles and amphibolites. Some of these rocks,
where they are associated with meta-limestones, are shown on
the Takengon Quadrangle Sheet as part of the Alas Formation
(Cameron et al. 1983a) (Fig. 4.3).
The surveyors attribute the metamorphism in the Kluet For-
mation to contact metamorphic effects (Cameron et al. 1982a).
This is clearly the case for the hornfelses and chiastolite slates,
but is less certain for garnet- and staurolite-bearing schists. An
obvious metamorphic aureole is developed around the Serbajadi
Granite on the Langsa Sheet (Bennett et al. 1981c) where the
rocks are altered to musovite-biotite hornfels and wollastonite,
diopside and phlogopite marbles and skarns. As the metamorphic
rocks in the Krueng Kluet are closely associated with concordant
granitoids, and at Blangkejeren enclose concordant bodies of
garnetiferous gneiss, interpreted as intrusions, these were also
attributed to contact metamorphism.
Pangururan Bryozoan Bed. On the western shore of Lake Toba
at Pangururan in the Sidikalang Quadrangle, fossiliferous, calcar-
eous, silty mudstones and limestones, with a rich shallow water
fauna are distinguished as the Pangururan Bryozoan Bed (Aldiss
et al. 1983) (Fig. 4.4). The limestones contain abundant shelly
debris, including brachiopods, fenestellid bryozoa and crinoid frag-
ments and some pelecypods. Decalcified, fan-shaped fenestellids up
to 10 cm long are conspicuous on weathered bedding surfaces. The
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 29
limestones have undergone deformation with the development of
alternating zones of high and low strain and the formation of press-
ure-solution cleavage, as illustrated by distortion of the bryozoan
networks. The limestones are interbedded with sandstones and
associated with slates of the Kluet Formation. Unfortunately,
when they were examined at the Natural History Museum the
bryozoa were found to be too decalcified, and the other fossils too
fragmentary, to provide a precise age determination for this unit.
The age range suggested for the fossil assemblage is from Late Car-
boniferous to Early Permian with the balance of opinion favouring
an Early Permian age (Aldiss et al. 1983). The collection of further
fossil and limestone samples from this unit are required for a more
precise age determination.
Kuant an Format i on. As the Kluet Formation was mapped south-
wards towards the equator it became obvious that it was the
same unit as the Kuantan Formation, previously defined on the
Solok Quadrangle Sheet in West Sumatra, from outcrops along
the Batang Kuantan by Silitonga & Kastowo (1975) (Fig. 4.5).
On the Padangsidempuan Quadrangle Sheet to the north, the
change from Kluet to Kuantan Formation was set arbitrarily
where there is a break in the outcrop at 99~ longitude (Aldiss
et al. 1983) (Fig. 4.4).
The outcrop of the Kuantan Formation extends along the core
of the Barisan Mountains from Padangsidempuan to the latitude
of Padang (Figs 4.4 & 4.5). Silitonga & Kastowo (1975) distin-
guished a Lower Member dominated by quartzites and quartz
sandstones, rarely conglomeratic, with interbedded shales,
usually metamorphosed to slates or phyllites. Finer-grained sand-
stone units may show graded beds, small-scale cross lamination,
ripples and slump structures. Subordinate components include
brown chert, chloritized tufts and volcanic rocks. The lower unit
was distinguished from an upper Phyllite and Shale Member in
which the argillaceous red brown shale and phyllite component
is dominant, with intercalations of quartzite, siltstone, dark grey
chert and andesitic to basaltic lava flows.
No systematic sedimentological study has been carried out on
the Kuantan Formation and outcrop details are not given in the
Explanatory Notes for the GRDC Quadrangle sheets. Descriptions
of the lithological features of the Kuantan Formation by Peter
Turner (Turner 1983) from three outcrops near Rao (Fig. 4.4)
are therefore particularly valuable. The first is on the Auk
Mangkais to the west of the Batang Sumpur, where massive
grey quartzite beds, 1-6 m are interbedded with blue-grey and
black phyllites and fine siltstones 10-80 cm thick. The quartzites
show both sharp tops and bases and the siltstones may show
cross-lamination. Tight folds of the slaty cleavage are seen in
loose blocks in the stream bed.
Steeply dipping (100~176 black slates outcrop in the
Sungai Nior to the east of the Batang Sumpur, showing isoclinal
folds to which the cleavage has an axial plane relationship
(Turner 1983). The slates are interbedded with rippled, laminated
siltstones containing ribbed plant stems of Cal ami t es type. The silt-
stones are sometimes deformed by slump folds. A section in the
fiver bank shows several lenses of matrix-supported conglomerate,
up to 1 m thick, with bases eroded into the underlying slate. Angular
to rounded clasts in the conglomerate include vein quartz, microgra-
nite, phyllite, greywacke, quartzite and chert. Siltstone clasts show
both cleavage and crenulation cleavage, indicating two earlier
phases of deformation These conglomerates are interpreted as
debris flows (Turner 1983). Further upstream, greywacke sandstone
beds 30 cm thick are folded into upright folds, 2- 3 m in amplitude.
These rocks have been identified as distal turbidites and are distin-
guished by Turner (1983) as the Nior Member.
Black, micaceous mudstones and slates in a small tributary
of the Auk Lajang to the NE of Ciranting contain ellipsoidal
' ~ "< 1 ~t .' :<-"-~Tuh ur
Equator J 100{~Ex_,r~ ~" ~, - i - ~ ~ ~ ~ Formati on
BUKIT
PAYAKUMBUH~
Tabir Formation -- " ~ '"*" ~ i i
PERMO-TRIASSIC \ %~ "'-~::!i!::iii!i:::
Triassic
Per mi an with \ )_~k ~
,. ~ volcanics ~
k
2 o C A R B O N I F E R O U S - ?EARLY PERMIAN
J 2
Mentulu Fm etc.with pebbly muds t
Kuantan Formation
Limestone Units L
100~'E 101 ~ (~
Certain
1[~2 ~
O RENGAT ~~~- - ~~
~_~r i ga pul uh
raO,c,
Major Faults
9 MUARABUNGO ~ Recent
Volcanoes
Patepat
Formati on
Permo-Triassic
Intrusions
Formation
Duabelas S Serpentinite
Mountains 2,"
0 50 100km
t ' I I I . . . .
103 ~
I
Fig. 4.5. Distribution of Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic stratigraphic units in central Sumatra from GRDC map sheets, showing lithologies and critical localities as
well as Late Permian to Early Triassic intrusives. Areas left blank are covered by Late Mesozoic to Quaternary sediments and volcanics.
30 CHAPTER 4
calcareous nodules up to 40 cm in size, around which the slaty
cleavage diverges as the result of compaction. Indeterminate
foraminifers were recognized in one nodule, and an insoluble
residue from another yielded abundant sponge spicules.
The associated mudstones contain leaf and fungal fragments.
These outcrops were distinguished by Turner (1983) as the Tua
Member. These records of plant fragments, foraminifers and
siliceous spicules indicate that the less deformed sediments
in the Kuantan Formation are very likely to yield age-diagnostic
fossils to a systematic search.
On the Pakanbaru Quadrangle Sheet, to the north of Solok,
Clarke et al. (1982b) distinguish the Pawan and Tanjung Puah
members of the Kuantan Formation (Figs 4.2 & 4.4). The
Pawan Member cropping out to the east of Lubuksikaping is
composed of intensely folded muscovite, tremolite, chlorite
and carbonate schist. The very similar Tanjung Puah Member to
the SW, also includes quartz schist. Both units show an early
phase of tight isoclinal folding on vertical or steep SW-dipping
axial planes and east -west or NW- SE axes, and are refolded
by later upright folds on NW- SE axes. The latter are probably
represented by the large-scale folds seen on aerial photographs
and indicated on the Pakanbaru Quandrangle Sheet (Clarke et al.
1982b). Again, these more highly metamorphosed rocks may
represent fragments of an earlier metamorphic basement, or,
where rock types include tremolite and chlorite schists, may
represent a hitherto unrecognized suture zone.
On the Solok Sheet Silitonga & Kastowo (1975) recognized
a Limestone Member within the Kuantan Formation (Fig. 4.5),
composed of massive, black, white, grey or reddish limestone,
locally containing irregularly-shaped chert nodules, with interbeds
of quartzite and siliceous shale. Detailed petrographic studies
of samples of limestone have been made by Vachard (1989a, b).
He recognized algal structures, including algal mats, oolites and
possible pisolites, and concluded that the limestones were depos-
ited in an intratidal to supratidal environment. From the fossils
collected during the mapping survey Silitonga & Kastowo
(1975) established that the limestones in the Kuantan Formation
range in age from Lower Carboniferous to Mid-Permian, although
the younger limestones are better considered as a separate
formation.
Subsequently the fossiliferous localities were re-examined
by Fontaine & Gafoer (1989). New collections were made and
macro- and microfossils studied to establish the ages of these
limestone occurrences more precisely. Important localities
containing Carboniferous fossils occur in the Again River and
the Batang Kuantan Gorge (Fig. 4.5). The limestone outcrops
to the east of Lake Singkarak (Guguk Bulat) which yielded
Permian fossils are considered by Fontaine & Gafoer (1989)
to be best classified with the Mid-Permian Silungkang
Formation, rather than, as shown on the map of the Solok
Quadrangle, with the Kuantan Formation (Silitonga & Kastowo
1975).
Limestone outcrops in the Again River near the bridge on the
road from Bukit Tinggi to Pakanbaru yielded the alga Konincko-
pora and the foraminifers Palaeotextularia, Eoendothyranopsis
and Archaediscus, indicating a Mid-Vis6an age. With additional
samples the age range was extended from the late Early or
early Mid-Vis6an to Late Vis6an (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). A
Mi d- Lat e Vis6an age was confirmed by the discovery of cono-
donts, including Gnathodus girO, i rhodesi Higgins, from
this locality (cf. the Alas Formation above) (Metcalfe 1983).
Limestones exposed in a scenic gorge along the Kuantan River
contain large colonies of the tabulate coral Syringopora, the fasci-
culate Tetracorallia Siphenodendron and the alga Koninckopora
inflata, indicating a Late Vis~an age (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989;
Vachard 1989a, b). These limestones containing the colonial
coral Syringopora and intratidal algal mats, were evidently
deposited in a sub-tropical to tropical, shallow, warm water
environment.
Tigapuluh Group
Pre-Tertiary rocks form the Tigapuluh Mountains, isolated as
an inlier 70 km long and 40 km wide among the surrounding
Tertiary sediments, east of the Barisan Mountains to the south
of Rengat (Fig. 4.5). Three formations have been identified: the
Mentulu, Pengabuhan and the Gangsal formations, interpreted as
different facies of the Tigapuluh Group. The distribution of
these units are shown on the Rengat and Muarabungo Quadrangle
Sheets (Suwarna et al. 1991; Simandjuntak et al. 1991) (Fig. 4.6).
Deformation increases in intensity from NE to SW and in the
aureoles of Triassic-Jurassic granitic intrusions the sediments
are converted to spotted slates or hornfels.
Mentulu Formation. The Mentulu Formation, defined from out-
crops in the upper part of the Mentulu River, occupies large
areas in the northern and eastern parts of the Tigapuluh Mountains
(Fig. 4.6). The formation is characterized by pebbly mudstones,
similar to those of the Bohorok Formation of northern Sumatra.
The mudstones are interbedded with greywacke sandstones
and shales, the latter generally occurring as slates, or as hornfels
adjacent to granite contacts. The mudstone matrix contains irregu-
larly distributed angular to rounded clasts of granite, silicified
basalt, vein quartz, slate, quartzite and feldspar. The clasts are
generally of pebble size, up to a few centimetres, but may reach
30 cm in diameter. The pebbly mudstone is usually deformed,
with the matrix altered to slate, and the clasts flattened and
elongated within the cleavage planes. Cordierite is commonly
developed where the pebbly mudstones have been converted to
spotted slates or hornfels within metamorphic aureoles.
The interbedded greywacke sandstones are massive, dense, grey
sandstones, sometimes conglomeratic, containing folded quartz
veins. The sandstones are poorly sorted and also contain irregu-
larly distributed clasts, of the same rock types as those found in
the mudstones. The conglomerates are polymict and are composed
of sub-angular to rounded clasts. Finer sandstone units show
parallel lamination and may be poorly graded. Shale or claystone
units are well bedded and parallel laminated and contain scattered
matrix-supported fragments of quartz and feldspar. Some of
the sandstone units are tuffaceous and andesitic and basaltic
tuf~ distinguish the Condong Member in Bukit Condong and
Gunung Endalang (Fig. 4.6).
The pebbly mudstones of the Mentulu Formation, like those
in the Bohorok Formation in northern Sumatra are considered to
be of glacio-marine origin, and the lithology of the clasts indicates
a continental provenance.
Pengabuhan Formation. The Pengabuhan Formation occurs in the
central part of the Tigapuluh Mountains where it is defined from
outcrops in the upper part of the Pengabuhan River (Simandjuntak
et al. 1991) (Fig. 4.6). The formation is composed principally
of lithic greywackes or sandstones, quartzites and siltstones.
These lithologies contain irregularly distributed clasts of granite,
vein quartz and quartzite, similar to those seen in the Mentulu
Formation. The quartzites are often feldspathic and are well-
sorted, being composed of well rounded grains of quartz and
feldspar. The siltstones also contain clasts of feldspar, quartz
and lithic fragments. The outcrop patterns in the northern part of
the Tigapuluh Mountains, as delineated by Suwarna et al.
(1991) (Fig. 4.6), show the Mentulu and Pengabuhan formations
interdigitating, suggesting that they are facies variants, distin-
guished only by the presence or absence of pebbly mudstone.
Alternatively the two units may have been imbricated by thrusting.
Gangsal Formation. The Gangsal Formation crops out in the
western part of the Tigapuluh Mountains, and was defined from
the upper part of the Gangsal River. The formation is also
shown occupying a small area between the Mentulu and
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 3 !
I
102~
45'
--I , " Ut / l l 1
Inliers of
Gangsal
Formation
in Limau I-
Formation;
I
30' 45'
I
103*00'
TIGAPULUH
MOUNTAINS
Triassic-Jurassic
Granites
TIGAPULUH GROUP
Condong (volcanic) Member
~' ~ Mentulu Formation
ld~:':~?:4 (pebbly mudstones)
[:~i::i::iiiii::i! t Pengabuhan Formation
~.,x,%..~
[~}x...'..s ] Gangsal Formation
45'
1 ooo's
: Gangsal
:Formation
.'.-.-\'.-.--.-.-...N~...2I~Mentulu
.~.N[," [ "15engabuhan ~ ~
~,'-.'.:,~ . . . . _. , - , %;
~\ . . . :. : . . . . . . . . . . . - 7. - - - .
15'
0 5 10 15 20kin
L
15' 30'
to Jambi
lO3~OO '
Fig. 4.6. Distribution of stratigraphic units in the Tigapuluh Hills (alter Suwama et al. 1991" Simandjuntak et al. 1991 ). Areas left blank are covered by Tertiary to Recent
sediments.
Pengabuhan formations in the southern part of the mountains
(Fig. 4.6). It is distinguished from the other Pre-Tertiary units in
this area by the predominance of argillacous material, usually as
dark grey or black slate, grey, white or green phyllite, by a
higher degree of deformation, and in the neighbourhood of intru-
sions, dark hornfels. The argillacous rocks are interbedded with
grey-green sandstones, composed of subangular to rounded
grains of quartz with lithic fragments, dark grey quartzites and
massive grey argillaceous limestones. All lithologies are exten-
sively veined by quartz.
Cor r e l at e d f or mat i ons in s out her n Sumat r a
An isolated outcrop of low-grade metamorphic rocks in the
Duabelas Mountains to the SE of Muarabungo (Figs 4.2 & 4.5)
consisting of quartzite, siltstone, claystone, marble and rare mica
schist, distinguished as the Tarantam Formation, has been
correlated with the Kuantan Formation (Simandjuntak et al. 1991).
The Garba Mountains form an inlier of Pre-Tertiary rocks to
the south of Baturaja (Fig. 4.7). Here the oldest unit, composed
of low grade metamorphic rocks, is distinguished as the Tarap
Formation from a type locality in the Tarap River (Gafoer et al.
1994). These metamorphic rocks crop out on both the eastern
and western sides of the inlier where they are in thrust contact
and imbricated with the unmetamorphosed Lower Cretaceous
Garba Formation. The metamorphic rocks, which include phyllite,
schist, slate, minor quartzite and marble metamorphosed in
the greenshist facies, are interpreted as the metamorphosed
Palaeozoic basement of Sumatra, and are correlated lithologically
with the Tarantam and Kuantan formations of Central Sumatra
(Gafoer et al. 1994) and with the Gunungkasih Complex to the
south near Bandarlampung (Amin et al. 1994b).
Metamorphic rocks of the Gunungkasih Complex, named
from a hill to the SE of Tanjungkarang, form scattered outcrops
among Cretaceous granites and Quaternary volcanics in South
Sumatra (Fig. 4.8). Rock types include graphitic, micaceous,
sericitic, chloritic, quartzose and calcareous schist, sericitic quart-
zite and marble of low- to medium-grade greenschist facies,
associated with migmatites, amphibolites and granitic gneisses
and intruded by granites. Ami n et al. (1994b) and Andi Mangga
et al. (1994a) suggest that these metamorphic rocks may be
correlated with the Kuantan and Kluet formations of central and
northern Sumatra. The boundaries of lithological units and the
foliation strike in a NW- SE direction, parallel to the Sumatran
trend. Schistosity strikes in the same direction, is folded about
east -west axes and is refolded by NW- SE trending upright
folds and by variably oriented kink bands. K- Ar ages of
125 +5 and 115 __ 6 Ma (mid-Cretaceous) obtained from rocks
of the complex are taken to indicate the age of granite intrusion
and metamorphism of the metasediments. In outcrops to the NE of
Kotaagung, and SW of Tanjungkarang, rocks of the Gunungkasih
Complex are thrust southwestwards over unmetamorphosed
sediments of the Early Cretaceous Menanga Formation.
32 CHAPTER 4
Qv
4o30 ,
Qs
I
104' ~00 '
Qv
9 , ...F . ,
o., ,,,.
, J- ' - : ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
,%
% % %, % %` %, % % % %, % % "-" .~ .., ..~ ,,,, ,,.. ,,.,. .,
% % "% % % % % % '% %
" %" - . " ' %" ' %~" " t ' ~ . . . . . . F
,/,' ...' Garba Pluton,",",,'%.'~ ,, ~,, ~ ~x@~.
% % % % % "% % "% "% % % % ~. -,,,,,..w, ' ~ "." "-" "-" ~. O. O, Or
.Y ." , ' ," , ' ." , ' , ' , ' , ' -" , ' . r dununq A
i : ~ } ~";"-"-"-"-"-~','.~-" ::: :: ~ " - "' , " - ' , " - ' , " , , . ' ~
. . . . Mm 9
Qs
Qs
Qs
I
Quaternary Sediments
QuaternaryVolcanics
Ptiocene
Late Miocene
Middle Miocene
Oligo-Miocene
Eocene
MARTAPURA~/-
,_~ F Faults
Late Cretaceous Granites
Mesozoic Units
(correlated with the Woyla Group)
~ Melange
Situlanglang (chert) Member
Garba (volcanic) Formation
0 5 10 t5 20km QS ~- " " - - - - __~J~Ev' / Tarap Formation
' ~ (metamorphosed ?Palaeozoics)
I I
Fig. 4.7. The distribution of the Pre-Tertiary units in the Garba Mountains, South Sumatra, after GRDC geological map of Baturaja (Gafoer et al. 1994). The
Metamorphosed Palaeozoics are correlated with the Tapanuli Group and the Garba and Situlanglang Formations are correlated with the Jurassic-Cretaceous Woyla Group
of northern Sumatra (see below).
Pemali Group, Bangka Island
Carboniferous-Permian rocks of the Pemali Group occur
on Bangka Island where they are imbricated with the Triassic
Tempilang Sandstones (Ko 1986) (Fig. 4.2). The Pemali Group
occurs in east -west trending, fault-bounded outcrops throughout
the island. Rock types include isoclinally folded pyritic shales
and limestones, the latter containing Permian fusulinids
(De Roever 1951), volcanics and bedded cherts, with radiolaria,
laminated mudstones and pebbly mudstones. According to the
description by Ko (1986) the pebbly mudstones from the
Toboali District in the southern part of the island resemble very
closely those already described from the Bohorok and Mentulu
formations, above, and contain clasts with a similar range of
sizes and lithologies, although previously these same outcrops
were described by De Roever (1951) as arkosic conglomerate.
Persing Complex, Singkep and the 'Quartzite Terrain'
The Persing Complex of the island of Singkep consists of
phyllite, slate, graphitic schists with quartz veins and bands of quart-
zite (Sutisna et al. 1994). The quartzites are compared lithologically
with those of the Tarantam Formation in the Duablas Mountains. The
Persing Complex lies along strike from the 'Quartzite Terrain' ident-
ified in oil company boreholes in the Pekanbaru area (Fig. 4.2).
Interpretation
Stratigraphy. Because of poor exposure, scattered outcrops and
the large numbers of faults which disrupt the sequence, it has
not yet proved possible to determine the stratigraphic relationships
of the units which make up the Tapanuli Group. The Vis~an
Alas Formation and Limestone Member of the Kuantan Formation
are the only units for which there is direct palaeontological
evidence of age. The Bohorok and Kluet/Kuantan formations
have also been regarded as of Carboniferous age because of their
close association with the Alas and Kuantan limestones in the
field, and because all three formations contain similar lithologies,
and in general show the same degree of deformation. The presence
of fossils indicating an age near the Devonian-Carboniferous
boundary in a borehole in the Malacca Strait (Eubank & Makki
1981), the identification of Late Carboniferous-Early Permian
fossils in the Pangururan Bryozoan Bed (AIdiss et al. 1983)
suggests that the Tapanuli Group may cover an age range from
Late Devonian to Early Permian.
The BGS/ DMR surveyors, who mapped the Tapanuli Group
as part of the North Sumatra Project, considered that all three
units were broadly contemporaneous. They observed that pebbly
mudstones, characteristic of the Bohorok Formation, are inter-
bedded with quartz sandstones and pelitic sediments of turbidite
facies. These turbiditic sediments, with variations in the pro-
portions of the components, are the dominant lithoiogies in the
Kluet and Kuantan formations and also in the Tigapuluh Group
of Central Sumatra. Cameron et al. (1982a) report that, apart
from the presence or absence of pebbly mudstones, the lithologies
of the Bohorok and Kluet formations are so similar that the bound-
ary between them on the Medan Sheet was drawn arbitrarily
because of the difficulty in distinguishing between the two units.
The outcrop of the Alas Formation is interposed between the
Bohorok and Kluet formations (Figs 4.2 & 4.3). As reported
above a Vis6an (Lower Carboniferous) age has been established
for the Alas Formation (Fontaine 1989; Metcalfe 1983). A
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 33
- 5o15 ,
!
104~
~45' 105~ ~ Recent'Volcanoes
Late Cretaceous Granites
mpung ~ , ~ ( mi d- Cr et aceous)
Menanga Formation
. ~" . . . " ~. ~- ~. ~%, - - ~. ~' <- ' ~ Ri ve r ~--~'~_~ ~- , ~
" <z;~ ~ ~ Gunungkasih Complex_
(Palaeozoic)
%
" \ \ ~o /~' ~. -"--~, BANDARLAMPUNG
\ %,~% ~ KOTAAGUNG
~s
atk
- 5~ ' \ 5~45 ' -
"~'~. Strike-slip Faults
" ~ Thrust Faults 0 ................... . ..................... 50km
104~ ' 104~ ' 105~ '
I ........................ l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I
Fig. 4.8. The distribution of the Pre-
Tertiary units of the Bandar Lampung area,
southern Sumatra after GRDC geological
map sheets of Kotaagung and
Tanjungkarang (Amin et al. 1994b; Andi
Mangga et al. 1994a). The Gunungkasih
Complex is correlated with the Palaeozoic
Tapanuli Group and the Menanga
Formation with the Jurassic-Cretaceous
Woyla Group of northern Sumatra (see
below). In areas left blank the older rocks
are covered by Tertiary and Quaternary
sediments and volcanics.
Vis~an age has also been established for the Limestone Member of
the Kuantan Formation (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989; Metcalfe 1983;
Vachard 1989a, b). The record by Turner (1983) of plant remains
in the Nior member of the Kuantan Formation is compatible with
this age attribution. Turbiditic sandstones and pelites, similar to
those of the Kluet and Bohorok formations, occur interbedded
with limestones characteristic of the Alas Formation, suggesting
to the surveyors that the Alas is part of the same sedimentary
sequence as the other units (Cameron et al. 1980). They therefore
considered that the Bohorok, Alas and Kluet/Kuantan formations
are lateral facies variants of a coherent sedimentary assemblage.
Clasts in the pebbly mudstones of the Bohorok, and conglomer-
ates in the Bohorok, Kluet and Kuantan formations and also in
the Tigapuluh Group of Central Sumatra, include the same range
of lithologies. Analysis of the composition of the clasts shows
that all these units were derived from a low-grade metamorphic
terrane composed of slates, phyllites, calc-silicate schists,
marbles and quartzites which were intruded by granitic rocks. A
K/ Ar age of 1029 Ma from a trondjemite clast from pebbly
mudstones in the Langkawi Islands (Hutchison 1989, p. 16) indi-
cates that the source area included rocks of Proterozoic age. Some
argillaceous clasts show evidence from slaty cleavage and crenu-
lation cleavages that they had already undergone multiple defor-
mation. Locally the metamorphic grade in the source region was
higher, indicated by clasts of mica schist and granitic gneiss.
The granitic gneisses may have been formed by synkinematic
deformation of granites intruded into an active shear zones. Rare
chert clasts, may indicate the presence of oceanic rocks incorpor-
ated in a collisional suture and rhyolite clasts indicate acid volcan-
ism. In fact, the palaeogeology of the area from which the
sediments of the Tapanuli and Tigapuluh groups were derived
resembles very closely the present-day geology of northern
Sumatra.
Cameron et al. (1980) report that, within the Bohorok
Formation, pebbly mudstones die out in a southwesterly direction.
With the loss of pebbly mudstones the Bohorok Formation
interdigitates with, and passes into the Kluet Formation; they
regarded the latter as the lateral equivalent of the Bohorok
Formation, representing a more distal turbidite facies. Similar
relationships are described from Central Sumatra between the for-
mations in the Tigapuluh Group (Fig. 4.6). Cameron et al. (1980)
also observed a systematic reduction in the size and proportion of
clasts towards the SW in the pebbly mudstones and in conglomer-
ates throughout the Bohorok and Kluet formations. The inference
from these observations is that the sedimentary provenance of
the Tapanuli/Tigapuluh Group lay to the NE of Sumatra
and that deposition occurred on a continental margin extending
out into an ocean lying to the SW, in present day coordinates.
As reported above, Cameron et al. (1980) suggested that the
Kluet and the Bohorok formations were related facies of
the same age. The erroneous identification of a fossil coral
from the Alas Formation led Cameron et al. (1980) to suppose
that the Alas Formation was of Early Permian age and was there-
fore preserved in a syncline, overlying the older Kluet and
Bohorok formations. Cameron et al. (1980) proposed a strati-
graphic scheme for the Tapanuli Group of northern Sumatra
based on an analogy with stratigraphic relationships seen near
Phuket in Peninsular Thailand (Garson et al. 1975) (Fig. 4.2). At
Phuket, pebbly mudstones of the Phuket Group, similar to those
of the Bohorok Formation of Sumatra, are underlain and inter-
bedded with a thick and extensive series of turbiditic sediments.
Fossils in the turbidites include the trilobite Cyr t os ymbol e ( wari -
bol e) perl i sensi s Kobayashi and Hamada (Mitchell et al. 1970)
of Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous age. The same fossil
occurs near the base of the pebbly mudstones and sandstones
forming the Sings Group, in Langkawi, a group of islands offshore
Peninsular Malaysia (Jones et al. 1966) (Fig. 4.2). In Phuket, the
pebbly mudstones are overlain by thin-bedded sandstones contain-
ing a fauna of bryozoa and brachiopods and then by a ' Bryozoan
Bed' considered to be of Early Permian age (Mitchell et al. 1970;
Garson et al. 1975). Cameron et al. (1980) drew an analogy
between the Pangururan Bryozoan Bed of northern Sumatra and
34 CHAPTER 4
the Early Permian Bryozoan Bed of Phuket. In Thailand the
Phuket Group is overlain by the Mi d- Lat e Permian Ratburi
Limestone, which Cameron et al. (1980) correlated with the
Alas Formation of Sumatra. Now that the age of the Alas
Formation is firmly established as Early Carboniferous, the latter
correlation is no longer valid.
The present situation is, that although it is possible that Tapanuli
Group and its correlatives, the Kuantan Formation and Tigapuluh
Group of Central Sumatra extend down into the Devonian, the
only age diagnostic fossils so far identified in Sumatra are of
Lower Carboniferous, Vis6an age. No Toumaisian or Upper
Carboniferous rocks have so far been recognized. The only rock
unit which could possibly be of Late Carboniferous age is the
Pangururan Bryozoan Bed from Lake Toba (Fig. 4.4). As already
reported above, fossils collected from this locality have been ident-
ified as of Late Carboniferous to Early Permian age, with the
balance of opinion in favour of the later age (Aldiss et al. 1983).
This age determination confirms the correlation with the Early
Permian Bryozoan Bed of Phuket proposed by Cameron et al.
(1980). The Pangururan Bryozoan Bed is interbedded with, and is
deformed, to the same extent as the associated sandstones and
slates of the Kluet (Bohorok?) Formation, which must also therefore
be partly of Early Permian age. No unconformities have so far been
recognized within the Tapanuli Group so that it is probable that the
group also includes rocks of Upper Carboniferous age.
As has been reported above interbedded quartzites and shales
were encountered beneath Tertiary sediments in boreholes to
the NE of Pekanbaru, in the Malacca Strait and in the Persing
Complex of Singkep Island. These occurrences were used by
Eubank & Makki (1981) to define a ' Quartzite Terrain'
(Fig. 4.2). Palynomorphs from the shales indicated an age near
the Devoni an-Carboni ferous boundary. Similar rock units
composed of quartz-rich sandstones with shales and mudstones
described as the Kubang Pasu and Kenny Hill formations occur
on the eastern side of the Malacca Strait (Fig. 4.2). The Kubang
Pasu Formation outcrops in eastern Perlis and NW Kedah
where it is dated by Devonian trilobite pygidia at the base and
Carboniferous goniatites and brachiopods higher in the sequence,
and passes upwards conformably into the Lower Permian Chuping
Limestone Formation. The Kenny Hill Formation which outcrops
near Kuala Lumpur contains only trace fossils and poorly
preserved body fossils which do not provide a reliable indication
of age. However, it is considered to be of Carboniferous age
because it is younger than the adjacent Silurian Kuala Lumpur
Limestone Formation, but is cut by Mesozoic granites and ore
bodies (Stauffer, in Gobbett & Hutchison 1973). These quartz-
rich units appear to have been derived from the east and are
considered to be stratigraphically equivalent to the Bohorok,
Kluet and Alas formations.
Pebbly mudstones. As noted above, pebbly mudstones similar to
those of the Bohorok Formation occur in the Langkawi Islands
and in Perlis in Peninsular Malaysia and at Phuket in Peninsular
Thailand. Similar deposits occur in the Mergui Series of the
Shah States of Myanmar and in the Salt Ranges of Pakistan.
Wherever they occur, there has been much discussion concerning
the origin of these pebbly mudstones.
Stauffer & Lee (1986), as part of their studies of the Singa
Formation in the Langkawi islands, described ' dropstone' struc-
tures beneath clasts in laminated mudstones, which they attribute
to the deposition of pebbles and boulders carried by floating ice.
They conclude that the pebbly mudstones were deposited in a
glacio-marine environment. Similar detailed sedimentological
studies of the pebbly mudstones and their associated deposits
are required in Sumatra. Following the studies of Stauffer & Lee
(1986) a glacial origin for pebbly mudstones throughout the
region has generally been accepted, although dissenting opinion
has interpreted the pebbly mudstones, fi-om their association
with turbidite deposits, as the product of debris flows, due to
submarine mass wasting on a continental slope (e.g. Mitchell
et al. 1970).
In Peninsular Thailand, NW Malaysia and Baoshan in SW
China (Wang et al. 2001) pebbly mudstones are interbedded
with sediments containing Early Permian fossils. In Australia
the occurrence of glacial deposits indicates that glaciation com-
menced in the Namurian, reached its peak in the Stephanian and
Sakmarian and had ceased by the Artinskian (Quilty 1984). it is
therefore possible that the Bohorok Formation with the diamictites
ranges in age from the Late Carboniferous to the Early Permian.
Palaeogeography. Cameron et al. (1980) suggest that the Tapanuli
Group represents a continental margin sequence deposited on a
rifted passive margin. The reduction in clast sizes in the mudstones
and conglomerates of the Bohorok and Kluet formations, with a
decrease in the frequency and grain size of sandstone units in a
southwesterly direction, suggest that in Carboniferous times an
open ocean lay in this direction. In this model turbiditic sandstones
and shales were deposited in rift basins, while limestones of the
Alas and Kuantan formations formed carbonate banks on horst
blocks of uplifted basement, perhaps represented by the high
grade metamorphic rocks associated with the Alas Formation in
the field.
Following Cameron et al. 1980, Fontaine & Gafoer (1989)
interpreted the Carboniferous rocks in the northern part of
Sumatra as a series of contemporaneous sedimentary facies
formed on a continental margin (Fig. 4.9). They suggest that the
Kubang Pasu and Kenny Hill formations in the western part of
the Malay Peninsula, and quartzites and quartz sandstones
encountered in oil company boreholes along the Malacca Straits
represent littoral and shelf facies sands in the east. The pebbly
0 250 500km
I I I
Fig. 4.9. Carboniferous palaeogeography of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula
(from Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). The description of the facies and the
palaeogeographic interpretation are given in the text.
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 35
mudstones of the Bohorok Formation represent deposits from a
melting floating ice-shelf or icebergs, which are interbedded
with turbiditic sands and shales, passing into distal turbidites
and deep water shales further offshore in the Kluet Formation.
The limestones of the Alas Formation, with oolites and current
bedding, as described in the foregoing account, represent
shallow water carbonates deposited on a ' high' in the continental
shelf environment.
Fontaine & Gafoer (1989) relate the fauna and algal flora of
the Visdan Alas limestones to those found elsewhere in the
Sibumasu Block, in western Peninsular Malaya, Thailand and
Burma. On the other hand, they relate the fauna and algal flora
of the limestones in the Visdan Kuantan Formation to those
of the eastern Peninsular Malaya and the Indochina Block in
Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
While the Alas limestones could have been deposited in a
cool environment, the fauna and flora of the Kuantan limestones
clearly indicate a tropical environment of deposition. Since the
Alas and Kuantan formations are contemporaneous, they must
have been deposited in different environments on separate
plates, and were only been brought together in Sumatra by post-
Carboniferous movements. This relationship is indicated on the
Fontaine & Gafoer' s (1989) Carboniferous palaeogeographic
reconstruction of Sumatra (Fig. 4.9) by an arbitrary WNW- ESE
boundary, separating the Kuantan Formation from the outcrops
of the Kluet, Alas and Bohorok formations to the north. This
line has no present structural expression.
Peusangan Group (Permo-Triassic)
During the North Sumatra Survey, Pre-Tertiary rock units lying to
the NW of the Sumatran Fault System, which were apparently
less deformed than the Tapanuli Group, were classified in the
Peusangan Group, named from the Peusangan River which flows
northwards from Lake Tawar to the Andaman Sea. Fossil evidence
showed that some of these units are of Permian and Triassic age
(Cameron et al. 1980). This terminology was subsequently
extended to all Permo-Triassic units throughout Sumatra
(McCourt et al. 1993). Because the outcrops of the Permo-Triassic
units are so scattered and correlations uncertain, each occurrence
has been given a separate formation name (Fig. 4.10). Many of
the units include limestones, some of which are fossiliferous
so that the age may be precisely determined, but others are so
recrystallized that fossils are unrecognizable. These units, with
discussion of the evidence for their ages, will be described in
order from north to south.
Uneun Unit (Fig. 4.3). The Uneun Unit composed of slates,
metamorphosed limestones and epidotized basic volcanics is
named from the Kreung Uneun in the Takengon Quadrangle
(Cameron et al. 1983), and extends northwards onto the adjacent
Lhokseumawe Quadrangle (Keats et al. 1981). No fossils have
been found in this unit. The Unuen Unit probably incorporates
rock units which should more appropriately have been included
in the Carboniferous Kluet Formation (slates) or the Jurassi c-
Cretaceous Woyla Group (epidotized basalts).
Situtup Limestone Formation (Fig. 4.3). Bedded or massive fossili-
ferous limestones and intermediate volcanics cropping out in
Gle Situtup, a mountain 40 km to the NW of Takengon, have
been designated the Situtup Limestone Formation (' Sitotop
Limestone Formation' on the Takengon Quadrangle Sheet)
(Cameron et al. 1983). Other limestone outcrops are shown
resting on thrust planes above Tertiary sediments, or on units of
the Jurassic-Cretaceous Woyla Group, which crops out exten-
sively to the west. On the map the volcanic rocks are shown
cropping out within the main limestone, and are described as
epidotized basaltic breccia and agglomerate, schistose locally
where they have been involved in thrust zones. From this descrip-
tion it is possible that these volcanics belong to the Woyla Group
and have been intercalated with the limestones by thrusting.
Fossils have been recovered from the limestones of the
Situtup Formation. They include the foraminifers, Agat hammi na/
Agat hami noi des sp., Planinvolutina cf. mesotriassica, Involutina
sp. ?sinuosa, Parafusulina sp., Pseudodoliolina sp., Neoschwa-
gerina sp. and a coral Thecosmilia sp. (Cameron et al. 1983).
Some of these fossils are of mid-Permian age (Parafusulina, Pseu-
dodoliolina and Neoschwagerina), while others are of Mi d- Lat e
Triassic age (lnvolutina, Planinvolutina cf. mesotriassica and
Thecosmilia) (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). From this fossil evidence
it is possible that the limestone constitutes a continuous deposi-
tional sequence extending from the mid-Permian to Late Triassic,
and that the absence of Late Permian and Early Triassic fossils
is due to the accident of collection. More probably, as elsewhere
in Sumatra, there is an important unconformity within the
outcrop, in which Upper Permian and Lower Triassic rocks
are absent. Unfortunately the relationship between Permian and
Triassic components of these outcrop are unknown. These
relationships should be the subject of future investigation.
Ujeuen Limestone Formation (Fig. 4.3). The Ujeuen Limestone
Formation outcrops as massive limestones to the south of
Lhokseumawe where they are relatively innaccessible and
poorly known. No fossils have been reported from these outcrops
(Cameron et al. 1983).
Tawar Formation (Fig. 4.3). Bedded to massive limestones with
minor phyllites cropping out on either side of Lake Tawar near
Takengon are designated the Tawar Formation (Cameron et al.
1983). Massive limestones, identified on the Takengon Quadran-
gle Sheet as a Reefal Member, occur along the northern side of
the lake. Phyllites and massive volcanics to the south of the lake
are identified as the Toweren Member. No fossils have been
found in any of these units. On the map they occur as thrust
slices imbricated with the slates and phyllites of the Carbonifer-
ous-Permi an Kluet Formation, the Jurassic-Cretaceous Woyla
Group and Tertiary sediments. Again, it is possible that the
phyllites and volcanies of the Toweren Member belong to the
Woyla Group.
Sembuang Formation (Fig. 4.3). Fifty kilometres to the east of Lake
Tawar is the outcrop of the Sembuang Formation composed of
massive recrystallized limestones overlying metamorphosed
quartz sandstones (Cameron et al. 1983). No fossils have been
reported.
Kaloi Limestone Formation (Fig. 4.3). The Kaloi Limestone
Formation crops out 40 km to the SSW of Langsa, where it is
described as massive reddish tuffaceous limestone and dolomite,
pock-marked by sink holes and flanked by fossiliferous shales,
limestones and sandstones (Bennett et al. 1981c). The massive
limestones have yielded the trilobite Phillipsia aft. sumatraensis
of Permian age (Tesch 1916). Forltaine (in Fontaine & Gafoer
1989) reports Halobia, and the shales have yielded Neoproetus
indicus and Fenestella retiformis indicating a Late Triassic age.
in confirmation of the age, Metcalfe (1989a) obtained a specimen
of a Triassic conodont, Epigondondolella postera Kozer and
Mostler, from limestones and mudstones of the Kaloi Formation
in the Sungai Kaloi, 5 km upstream from Kaloi. The relationship
between the Permian and Triassic components of this unit is
unknown.
Batumilmil Limestone Formation (Fig. 4.3). Fossiliferous ' reefal'
limestones and grey calcilutites with chert lenses of the
Batumilmil Limestone Formation outcrop in the eastern foothills
of the Barisan Mountains to the SW of Medan. Fossils include
36 CHAPTER 4
t 0 9~o 918 ~ 1~)0 ~ 14 Ch.uping. 1~2 o ~ 1~)4 o 1~6 o 1~)8 o
o g~ Limestone
;,I['BAN DA ACEH _^~ .-,
l ' ~ ~Uneuen LHOKSUMAWE PENANGF,_)[~ ~ ~ l ~l - - l " ) l ~, / l l AI kl ,,.,.,-,,.,I - r ' DI AOOI f "~
~. ~ L[nit(NF) . ' O~. . ~)~.~ r ~- nl vl l ~l , ~ et uu/ n~t - ~oo~u
. . . " e ~ Ujeuen (Lst) .~k..~ i
Situtup(Lst) ~ 9 Formation (NF) (~rj~~176
Formation Sembuan {,st Peusan g an Gr ou p
(M P, M=LT) ~,Tawa~r st)~ Formation (N F)
Formation e Kaloi Formation(Lst)(P LT) 9 9
-4~ ' ~ ~' ~ ~O LANGSA , r)~-" I~:....:....:iiii::l Tr,asslc chert & sandstone (Ch,CI)_
" k~" ~N~" Bat~umilmil(Lst) ~ Kodi ang 1" ~. . ~ Permian and Tr i assi c
"N k ~ ~ ~Formation (MP, T) k,,Llmestone ~ l l m, - , ef nnt ae / / e{ ~
"~ ~\ k~ ~ Kualu(Cl)Formation (M-L~ ~ - , .... ~, ~, ~, , ~ ~L--,a,/
' Permian (Volc)volcanic units
~ , Pangururan ~\' h '~ - K~al~(Ch.Ssl
" ' o Br yo~nBed' ~ ~.~Form~on~_LT~_ r ~ ~ Per mi an sedimentary units (CI)
_ 2 ~ v - ',~..~ \ ~ . . . . . . . . . . ~. : . : . : . . . . : . : . = 2 o_
~ \ ,~-%~ c-----. ~ , ~ (Ch= chert; CI= clastics)
~ [ Silungk.ang.(C~.~D\ Telukkido " ~1~ KUNDUR "
t-ormat on (M~') . apan Formation
__Cubadak(Ci)~%Formahon (LT-J) , ~Lr p~ (M-LT) ,-
Format o6 9 LUBUK~IKAPING ] %~% LINGGA 0 ~
- 0 ~ o ~ (M-LTI " \ %Tuhur Formation(CI) j . f ) \ , ~
, ~ " '~, \ (M-LT) ~ . , / q~" ~ ( M - LT)
s Silun g kan g (CI, Lst) Palepat(Volc). ' ~/
Formation (M~St)~,Palr~natlon (EP) - ~
PADANG ~ ,~\"~:.~,~. Barisan(CI)
(' \ Tuhur(CI)""~..'r Formation
~. ~ F~ ~B~i nOMUAR.ABUNG~JAMBI~. ~Bt mNGKA~sandst one
-, , . . , _r ' ' ~ \ /~'%-. ~a~epa~(vo~c) - ) ~-:.:.:.:-:-.~ p u
_ 2 ~ ,.~ ~ N,.,aoltCl~']~Formati0n (EP) ~ C::~r---::::::::::~ (M-LT) 2 ~ _
~ ~ Pemali Group(Ch Ss)
I:,~ s ~ Mengkarang(cI) J,.u....~v'"~:---:.i~ (MP~ ~',,,, TnN
" M LP " ' . . . . . . . . ~, ~ ' ~L ) ~, Formation ( EP) - I r ! ~ ~?MP)
" ~ ~' ~' ~k . PALEMBANG "":. o 'O
Buklt 'ALEMBAI~G %Q)
(LT-J) Late Triassic to Jurassic nendo~o(Lst) /)
(M-LT) Middle to Lat e Tr i assi c BENGKULU'~'~ ~. (MP) ) L
- 4~ ( MP) Middle Permian ~ ~. { 4~
(EP) Early Permian ~. ~
(NF) No age-diagnostic fossils found "- ~~
_60o 100 20o 300 4oo OOOkm 6 ~
98 ~ 100 ~ 102 ~
Fig. 4.10. Distribution of Permo-Triassic rocks in Sumatra.
fenestellids, echinoids, ?cephelapods and corals (Cameron et al.
1982a). Fontaine & Vachard (1984) report a fauna collected
from the Batumilmil Limestone at Laubuluh, a village 13 km to
the north of Tigabinanda with crinoids, bryozoa, productid
bracbiopods and rare foraminifers Nodasaria(?), Pachiploia
cukurkoyi and Multidiscus padangensis. This fauna indicates a
Murghabian to Dzhulfian ( mi d- Lat e Permian) age for the
Batumilmil Formation (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). Triassic cono-
donts (Hindeodella triassica Muller) were found by Metcalfe
(1986) in limestones of the Batumilmil Limestone Formation at
Sungai Wampu (Fig 4.3). This form ranges throughout the Triassic.
Pangururan Bryozoan Bed (Fig. 4.4). The Pangururan Bryozoan
Bed on Lake Toba has already been discussed in the review of
the Carboniferous formations in Sumatra. The fauna was con-
sidered to range from Late Carboniferous to Early Permian, with
the balance of opinion favouring an Early Permian age (Aldiss
et al. 1983). No other occurrences of rocks of either of these
ages have yet been found elsewhere in Sumatra. Unfortunately,
this fauna was not re-examined during the review of fossil
localities in Sumatra by Fontaine & Gafoer (1989).
Kualu Formation (Figs 4.3 & 4.4). The Kualu Formation crops out
as small isolated exposures among Toba Tufts to the south of
Medan (Cameron et al. 1982a) (Fig. 4.3) and over a much larger
area to the NW of Rantauprapat and to the south of Lake Toba
(Clarke et al. 1982a; Aldiss et al. 1983) (Fig. 4.4). Lithologies
typical of the Kualu Formation have also been encountered in
oil company boreholes to the SE of Rantauprapat, below Tertiary
sediments, and have been described under the name of the ' Mutus
Assemblage' (Eubank & Makki 1981). Similar rocks also occur in
the island of Kundur off the coast of east Sumatra where they are
called the Papan Formation (Cameron et al. 1982c) (Fig. 4.10).
At the type locality in the Sungai Kualu, the lithologies are thin-
bedded sandstones, wackes, siltstones and mudstones. The
mudstones are often carbonaceous and contain wood and plant
fragments. The upper part of the succession is more arenaceous,
with cross-beds, load and flute casts and slump structures in the
sandstone units. The Papan Formation on Kundur is more
conglomeratic.
The characteristic Mi d- Lat e Triassic bivalve Halobia sp.
occurs at many localities, including H. tobensis and H. kwaluana.
of Mi d-l at e Carnian and H. simaimaiensis of Norian age
(Fontaine & Gafoer 1989).
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 37
A Pangunjungan Member is distinguished in the river section of
the same name and is traced along the southwestern side of the
main outcrop (Fig. 4.4). This unit shows the same lithological
assemblage as described above, but the rocks are finer grained
and include thin bedded limestones and grey to pale brown
radiolarian cherts. The radiolaria from these rocks have not been
identified. Irregular disharmonic folds are interpreted as sedimen-
tary slumps (Clarke et al. 1982a).
To the east and south of Lake Toba a Sibaganding Limestone
Member has been distinguished (Fig. 4.4). The limestones are
pale to dark grey biocalcilutites and have yielded an ammonite
Alloclionites aft. timorensis (Early Norian--Ishibashi 1975),
corals, brachiopods, gastropods and conodonts; the latter include
the zonal form Met apol ygnat hus pol ygnat of ormi s (Late
Carnian). At the type locality in the road section along the
eastern side of Lake Toba 3 km to the north of Prapat, limestones
of the Sibaganding Member with Daonella and Halobia overlie
shales of the Kualu Formation (Metcalfe et al. 1979; Fontaine &
Gafoer, 1989, Fig. 22). The microfauna and flora from the
limestone outcrop has been identified and illustrated by Vachard
(1989c) and the microfacies have described by Beauvais et al.
(1989). Although the fossils include corals, calcisponges and
encrusting bryozoa, and other reef-building organisms, these are
scattered in a micritic matrix and do not form reef structures.
The environment of deposition is interpreted as a mud mound.
The rocks are moderately to tightly folded about NW- SE trending
sub-horizontal axes with easterly dipping axial planes (Aldiss
et al. 1983).
Cubadak Formation (Fig. 4.4). The Cubadak Formation is named
from the Air Cubadak on the western side of the Rao Graben to
the north of Lubuksikaping (Rock et al. 1983). It is composed of
dark grey, well-bedded mudstones with interbedded siltstone
laminae and volcaniclastic sandstones, frequently yielding the
pelecypod Halobia flattened on bedding surfaces. A section of
the Cubadak Formation in the Aek (Air) Cubadak to the south
of Limau Manis was described by Turner (1983). This section
contains limestones which were not mentioned in the description
of the formation given by Rock et al. (1983). About 100 m of
blue-grey calcareous mudstones are interbedded with cm thick
tuffaceous limestones, sometimes containing ooliths nucleated
around mineral grains. The oolitic limestones show cross lami-
nation. The sequence yielded Halobia sp. and several ammonites:
Trachyceras sp. ind. and ?Ceratites sp. This faunal assemblage
indicates that the sequence is of Ladinian age (Late Triassic).
Limau Manis Formation. Turner (1983) also defined the Limau
Manis Formation from outcrops in the Air Cubadak to the north
of Limau Manis. These outcrops were mapped as part of the
(Permian) Silungkang Formation by Rock et al. (1983). The lithol-
ogies include breccio-conglomerates with clasts of limestone and
acid and basic igneous material, followed by tuffaceous mud-
stones, cross-bedded volcaniclastic sandstones, the cross beds
indicating derivation from the NW, and bioclastic turbidites.
These calciturbidites are rich in reworked fusulinids and corals
of mi d- Lat e Permian age. The mudstones contain abundant
ammonites Acanthinites sp., Helictites sp., ?Tibetites sp. ind. indi-
cating a Ladinian, Carnian to Norian age ( Mi d- Lat e Triassic)
(Turner 1983).
Telukkido Formation (Fig. 4.4). Rock et al. (1983) defined the
Telukkido Formation cropping out between Pasirpengarayan and
Lubuksikaping from a stream of the same name. The rocks are
dark grey quartzose sandstones and shales with minor limestones
and thin coals. A Limestone Member composed of recrystallized
or argillaceous limestones is also recognized. In the type locality
these rocks yielded plant remains from pyritic quartzite, with
leaf impressions identified as Otozamites sp. (possibly Pterophyl-
lum) and Ptilophyllum sp. The flora is identified as of Late Triassic
to Early Jurassic age, most probably Jurassic. Although this unit is
included in the Permo-Triassic Peusangan Group by Rock et al.
(1983) they suggest that it might better be classified with the
Jurassic Rawas Formation of Central Sumatra which will be
discussed later.
Tuhur Formation (Figs 4.4 & 4.5). Silitonga & Kastowo (1975)
defined the Tuhur Formation forming extensive outcrops to the
SE of Lake Singkarak in the Solok Quadrangle. This outcrop
was later extended southwards into the Pai nan-Ti murl aut
Muarasiberut Quadrangle to the east of Lakes Dibawah and
Diatas (Rosidi et al. 1976). A further outcrop was mapped to the
NE of Payakumbuh and this outcrop was traced northwards,
using aerial photographic interpretation, across the equator into
the Pekanbaru Quadrangle (Clarke et al. 1982b). Silitonga &
Kastowo (1975) distinguished a Slate and Shale Member,
forming the greater part of the outcrop, composed of grey to
dark grey slate, black shales, and brown cherts with thin grey-
wacke sandstones, and a Limestone Member composed of
poorly bedded sandy limestone and massive fossiliferous
conglomeratic limestone, with thin intercalated shale and slate.
Limestone pebbles in the conglomerates contain fusulinid forami-
nifera of Permian age. Musper (1930) suggested that this
formation is of Triassic age. The Tuhur Formation may be
correlated with the Kualu Formation, described above.
Silungkang Formation (Figs 4.4 & 4.5). The type locality for the
Silungkang Formation (Klomp6 et al. 1961) is the road and river
sections around the village of Silungkang, between Solok and
Sawahlunto to the SE of Lake Singkarak. The formation also
crops out discontinuously along Lake Singkarak and northwest-
wards across the equator towards Muarasipongi. A lower Volcanic
Member is composed of hornblende and augite andesites with
intercalated tufts, limestones, shale and sandstone. An upper
Limestone Member is also recognized, composed of massive
grey limestone interbedded with shales, sandstones and tufts
(Silitonga & Kastowo 1975). The rocks are commonly highly
fossiliferous with large foraminifers: Doliolina lepida Schwager,
Pseudofusulina padangensis, Neoschwageri na multiseptata
Deprat and Fusulinella lantenoisi Deprat, at Silungkang (Katili
1969). Large fusulinacean foraminifers, Nankinella, Parafusulina
and Pseudodoliolina and the porcellaneous foraminifer Hemogor-
dius were also collected from an outcrop in the Aek Cubadak
near Rao (Rock et al. 1983); these fossils indicate an Artinskian
to Kazanian age for this outcrop. Waagenophyllid corals
(Pavastehphyllum sp.) occur in limestones intercalated with volca-
nics and shales at Silungkang and in limestones at Guguk Bulat
(Ipciphyllum and Wentzzelloides) where the Ombilin River flows
out of Lake Singkarak; the latter indicating a Murghabian age
(Fontaine 1982). The Guguk Bulat locality was classified with
the Kuantan Formation by Silitonga & Kastowo (1975) but
is more reasonably correlated with the Silungkang Formation
(Fontaine & Gafoer 1989).
Barisan Formation (Fig. 4.5). Rosidi et al. (1976) defined the
Barisan Formation from outcrops of phyllite, slate, arkosic sand-
stone, limestone and cherts south of Solok and NE of the Sumatran
Fault. The foliation in the phyllites and slates trends NNW- SSE,
parallel to the fault. Rosidi et al. (1976) also defined a Limestone
Member which forms linear outcrops trending in the same
direction. The limestones cropping out at Bukit Cermin have
yielded fusulinid foraminifers including Schwageri na sp. of
Early Permian age. In the eastern part of its outcrop the Barisan
Formation is equivalent to the Silungkang Formation, and
Fontaine & Gafoer (1989) recommend that its designation as a
separate formation should be discontinued.
Palepat Formation (Fig. 4.5). Rosidi et al. (1976) defined the
Palepat Formation composed of andesitic, basaltic and rhyolitic
38 CHAPTER 4
lavas and tufts interbedded with siltstones and crystalline
limestones, which they considered to be a volcanic member of
the Barisan Formation. It is also equivalent to the volcanic unit
forming lower part of the Silungkang Formation, described
above. The interbedded limestones are sometimes fossiliferous,
and fragmental brachiopods and crinoids occur in the tufts. The
foraminifer Fusulina sp. was identified from limestones in
the Sungai Tabir. A rich brachiopod fauna and the fusulinids
Veerbeekina and Sumatrina described by Meyer (1920) and
Tobler (1923) from the Sugai Selajau indicates a Lower Permian
age (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989).
Ngaol Formation (Fig. 4.5). The Ngaol Formation, defined
by Rosidi et al. (1976) in the southeastern part of the Painan
Quadrangle Sheet, includes a Limestone Member with Fusuli-
nella, Sumatrina and Siphoneae (Tobler 1922). High-grade meta-
morphic gneiss, schist and marble cropping out in the same area
were also inappropriately included in this unit (Rosidi et al.
1976). Fontaine & Gafoer (1989) report that limestones in the
Sungai Tabir downstream of Ngaol village are rich in Middle
Permian fossils, while upstream the rocks are of Jurassic age,
and recommend that the recognition of the Ngaol Formation as a
separate unit should be abandoned. Again, the Permian rocks in
this unit may be regarded as part of the Silungkang Formation.
Mengkarang Formation (Fig. 4.5). The Mengkarang Formation,
famous internationally for its ' Jambi Flora' , was defined by
Suwarna et al. (1994) from outcrops in the Mengkarang River
and adjacent river sections to the SW of Bangko. In earlier descrip-
tions this formation was divided into the Air Kuning, Salamuku
and Karing Beds (Zwierzijcki 1935), but these terms are now
considered to be obsolete (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). Rock types
in the Mengkarang Formation include conglomerate, sandstone,
siltstone, claystone, sometimes carbonaceous, limestone and thin
coals. The sandstones are poorly sorted and clasts in conglomer-
ates and sandstones include volcanics, quartzite and vein quartz
(Simandjuntak et al. 1991). Outcrops in the banks of the Batang
Tembesi at Pulau Bayer are composed of sandstone and polymict
conglomerates with wood fragments and with a siliceous cement.
The sandstones are folded into an anticline on an east -west axis,
overturned towards the north. Thin intervening shales have not
developed a slaty cleavage. These outcrops show imbrication of
thin sandstone beds, indicating westward-directed thrust move-
ments, prior to the folding. On the opposite side of the river,
vertically bedded grey limestones show algae, bryozoa and gaster-
opods weathering out on the surface. Numerous fossil localities in
the Mengkarang Formation which have yielded algae, fusulinid
foraminifera, brachiopods, gastropods, crinoids and corals are
indicated on maps by Fontaine & Gafoer (1989, Figs. 13 & 14).
The ' Jambi Flora' was originally described by Zwierzijcki
(1935), Jongmans (1937) and Marks (1956). The flora and fauna
have more recently been reviewed by Asama et al. (1975),
Vozenin-Serra (1989) and Fontaine & Gafoer (1989). Asama
et al. (1975) concluded that the flora, which is rich in lycophytes,
pteridophytes, pteridosperms, cordaites, and gymnosperms, is
composed entirely of Euramerican and north Cathaysian species
and includes no Gondwanan species. It is older than the typical
Cathaysian Gigantopteris flora and may represent an earlier
stage in its development (Asama 1976, 1984). Vozenin-Serra
(1989) reported the occurrence of Cordaites and coniferous
wood fragments collected by Fontaine. These wood fragments
do not show annual rings, which is taken to indicate that they
grew in a tropical or semi-tropical environment. After reviewing
the flora, Vozenin-Serra (1989) concluded that it corresponds
with the oldest horizon of the Cathaysian flora of northern China
and represents the southernmost record of this flora.
The plant-bearing horizons containing the Jambi Flora are inter-
bedded with limestones containing fusulinids, tabulate and
rugose corals, brachiopods and a rich tropical algal microflora
(Vachard 1989a, b). The fauna has affinities with the fauna of
the Lower Permian of China and Central Europe (Fontaine &
Gafoer 1989). Fusulinids indicate that the plant beds are of
Upper Asselian age, possibly extending into the Sakmarian (Fon-
taine & Gafoer 1989, footnote on p. 55).
Bukit Pendopo (Fig. 4.10). Limestone cropping out in Bukit
Pendopo in the core of a faulted anticline on the Lahat Quadrangle
Sheet (Gafoer et al. 1986b) has yielded abundant Permian fossils
including fusulinids, small foraminifera and algae. The fusulinids
include Arminina asiatica, Cancellina praeneoschwagerinoides
and Neoschwagerina simplex. These fossils indicate an Early
Murghabian age for this limestone outcrop (Tien 1989).
Pemali Group (?Carboni f erous-Earl y Permian) (Fig. 4.10)
As mentioned above, rocks of Carboniferous-Permian age on the
islands of Bangka and Billiton have been termed the Pemali
Group. The Pemali Group in the Taboali District on the southern
tip of Billiton includes ' pebbly mudstones' , identical to those of
the Bohorok and Mentulu formations of mainland Sumatra.
Permian fusulinids were found at Air Durin on the island of
Bangka by De Roever, in limestones forming part of the Pemali
Group (De Neve & De Roever 1947; De Roever 1951; Ko
1986). Early Permian fusulinids have also been found offshore
the north coast of the adjacent island of Billiton (Belitung)
(van Overeem 1960; Strimple & Yancey 1976). Other Permian
fossils recorded from Billiton include the ammonoid Agathiceras
sundaicum of latest Artinskian or earliest Kungurian age, found as
float in a tin placer (Archbold 1983). Archbold (1983) relates
this form, and also a Permian nautiloid Neorthoceras to the
Permian Bitauni fauna of Timor (Charlton et al. 2002). Strimple
& Yancey (1976) report the occurrence of the crinoid Moscovi-
crinus from Selumar of probable Early Permian, Sakmarian age
(Archbold 1983), and undescribed plant fragments of general
Permian age have been ascribed to the Cathaysian floral province
(van Overeem 1960).
Tempilang Sandstone ( Mi d- Lat e Triassic) (Fig. 4.10)
The Middle to Upper Triassic Tempilang Sandstone crops out
extensively in Bangka Island (Ko 1986). A limestone intercalated
with sandstones and shales in the Lumut Tin Mine yielded
Entrochus, Encrinus, Montlivaltia molukkana and Perodinella
which were attributed a Norian age (De Neve & De Roever
1947). The characteristic Late Triassic thin-shelled bivalve
Daonella has been reported from the island of Lingga to the
north of Bangka (Bothe 1925b).
Conclusions
As presently defined (Cameron et al. 1980; McCourt et al. 1993),
the Peusangan Group includes units of both Permian and Triassic
age. Permian rocks occur throughout the island of Sumatra from
Aceh in the north to Bukit Pendopo in the south as well as in
Bangka and Billiton. Triassic rocks are known only from the
northern part of the main island of Sumatra, to the north of the
equator, but also occur extensively in Bangka and Billiton
(Fig. 4.10). The palaeontological evidence for the age of the
Permo-Triassic units in Sumatra as determined by Fontaine &
Gafoer (1989) is illustrated in Figure 4.11.
The only possible representative of the Lower Permian in north-
ern Sumatra is the Pangururan Bryozoan Bed whose age, on
the basis of its fauna, has not been definitively established. In
southern Sumatra on the other hand Lower Permian rocks
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 39
STAGES
TETHYAN
STAGES
RHAETIAN
NORIAN
CARNIAN
LADINIAN
ANISIAN
SCYTHIAN
TATARIAN
KAZANIAN
UFIMIAN
KUNGURIA
ARTINSKIA
SAKMARI3
ASSELIAN
DORASHAMI AN
DZULFI AN
MI DI AN
MURGHABI AN
KUBEGANDI AN
BOLORI AN
YAHTASHI AN
SAKMARI AN
ASSELI AN
Fig. 4.11. Palaeontological evidencc for the ages of Permo-Triassic stratigraphic units in Sumatra (data from Fontaine & Gafoer 1989).
outcrop extensively in the Barisan Mountains southwards from
Muarasipongi and are also found in Bangka and Billiton.
Lower Permian formations in southern Sumatra include the
andesitic, basaltic and rhyolitic volcanics of the Palepat Formation
and the lower part of the Silungkang Formation. These volcanics
are frequently interbedded with limestones and clastic sediments,
and the limestones in particular, frequently contain large fusulinid
foraminifera and other fossils which have allowed precise age
determinations. Early Permian, Asselian to Kungurian ages,
have been established for the Barisan and Palepat formations,
and also for the Mengkarang Formation with its ' Jambi Flora'
(Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). Cameron et al. (1980) interpreted
these Lower Permian volcanics and the associated rocks as pro-
ducts of a Permian volcanic arc with its volcaniclastic sedimentary
apron and carbonate reefs.
Pulunggono & Cameron (1984) extended this interpretation into
northern Sumatra on the basis of the occurrence of volcanic rocks
in the Situtup Formation and volcanics of the Toweren Member
of the Tawar Formation. However, no fossils have yet been
found in the Tawar Formation so that its age is unknown, and fusu-
linids in the Situtup Formation have not been dated more precisely
than mid-Permian. As noted above, it is possible that the
epidotized basaltic rocks of the Situtup Formation and the
Toweren Member of the Tawar Formation, should more properly
be classified with the Jurassic-Cretaceous Woyla Group, cropping
out in the same area, which includes similar lithologies. On the
basis of the available evidence the case for the extension of the
Early Permian volcanic arc into northern Sumatra is unproven.
Geochemical studies and isotopic dating of the volcanic rocks
are required to resolve this problem.
Ages of deformation and metamorphism. During the Northern
Sumatra Survey a distinction was made between the
Carboni ferous-Permi an Tapanuli Group, which is invariably
affected by greenschist metamorphism, with the development of
slates and phyllites, and the Permo-Triassic Peusangan Group,
which is relatively undeformed and unmetamorphosed, except
where it occurs in metamorphic aureoles (Cameron et al. 1980;
Pulunggono & Cameron 1984). It was therefore proposed that
the major phase of deformation occurred between the deposition
of these two units. In order to establish the age of deformation
and metamorphism affecting the older unit, it is essential to deter-
mine the ages of the units in the Tapanuli and Peusangan groups
more precisely. The age of the Pangururan Bryozoan Bed is
critical in this respect. The Bryozoan Bed is interbedded with tur-
biditic rocks identified as part of the Kluet (Bohorok?) Formation
and is deformed with a slaty cleavage in exactly the same way as
the surrounding rocks (Aldiss et al. 1983). Deformation of the
Kluet/Kuantan, Alas and Bohorok formations therefore occurred
after the deposition of this unit. As has been reported above, the
fragmentary fauna obtained from the Pangururan Bryozoan Bed
indicates a Late Carboniferous to Early Permian age, although
the palaeontologists from the British Museum who made the deter-
minations favoured the later age. If this age determination is
accepted, the major deformation of the Tapanuli Group occurred
after the deposition of the Bryozoan Bed, while the mid-Permian
Situtup Limestone and Batumilmil Limestone formations of the
Peusangan Group are undeformed. The main deformation in north-
ern Sumatra therefore occurred in the late Early Permian or Early
Middle Permian as Cameron et al. (1980) proposed. Certainly the
main deformation of the Tapanuli Group in northern Sumatra
occurred before the Triassic, as the Sibaganding Member of the
Mi d- Lat e Triassic Kualu Formation, cropping out along the
shores of Lake Toba near the outcrop of the Bryozoan Bed,
shows open folding, but the associated argillaceous units do not
show a penetrative slaty cleavage.
40 CHAPTER 4
This conclusion can be extended throughout eastern Sumatra
where the Tapanuli Group, the Malarco or Malang Formation on
Kundur Island, the Persing Complex of Singkep Island and
the Pemali Group of northern Bangka were all deformed prior to
the mid-Triassic. However, it cannot be extended to central
Sumatra. Although the Kuantan Formation in central Sumatra
shows the same slaty cleavage with multiple deformation as the
Kluet Formation in the same area, the Permian Barisan, the
Triassic Tuhur and the Jurassic Rawas and Asai formations also
show slaty cleavage and multiple deformation. Evidently in
central Sumatra the major deformation event occurred after the
deposition of the Jurassic sediments.
Late Upper Permian and the earliest Lower Triassic deposits
have not yet been recognized anywhere in Sumatra (Fig. 4.11).
However, Mi d- Lat e Triassic rocks are extensively developed in
the northern part of Sumatra, from Aceh to West Sumatra and in
the islands of Bangka and Billiton. The period between Late
Permian and Middle Triassic was a period of regression and
erosion, as reworked mi d- Lat e Permian fusulinids are found
abundantly in clasts in the mi d- Lat e Triassic sediments of the
Tuhur and Limau Manis formations (Silitonga & Kastowo 1975;
Turner 1983). Therefore, the concept that the scattered outcrops
of Permo-Triassic formations throughout Sumatra constitute a
stratigraphic ' Group' is not valid. In future studies it would be sen-
sible to divide these formations into Permian and Triassic groups.
Triassic Correlation with West Peninsular Malaysia. A close corre-
lation can be made between the Triassic rocks of northern
Sumatra and those of Peninsular Malaysia. The Mi d- Lat e
Triassic age of part of the limestones of the Situtup Formation
has been established by foraminifers (Cameron et al. 1983); the
age of the Kaloi Formation, part of the Batumilmil Formation,
the Sibaganding Limestone Member of the Kualu Formation by
conodonts, and the Kualu Formation, the Cubadak and Limau
Manis formations by ammonites and the presence of abundant
Hal obi a. This whole assemblage of Triassic rocks in northern
Sumatra can be correlated directly with the Upper Triassic
Semanggol and Kodiang Limestone formations which crop out
in Kedah and Perak in NW Malaya, some 200- 250 km to the
east across the Malacca Strait (Metcalfe 2000).
The Semanggol Formation of Malaya has been divided into
three members: a lower Chert Member, a Rhythmite Member
and an upper Conglomerate Member (Burton 1973). The Chert
Member, as its name implies, contains chert beds interbedded
with shales and sandstones, the sandstones commonly showing
disharmonic folding as convolutions and slumps. The Chert
Member may be correlated directly with the Pangunjungan
Member of the Kualu Formation of northern Sumatra. The
Rhythmite Member, interpreted as a turbidite sequence with
graded bedding, cross lamination slump folds and sole marks
in the sandstones, and its fauna of thin-shelled bivalves, may be
correlated with the thin-bedded sandstones, siltstones and mud-
stones of the type section of the Kualu Formation in the Sungai
Kualu. The Conglomerate Member of the Semanggol Formation
has not been recognized in northern Sumatra, although sandstone
units become more common in the upper part of the Kualu
Formation. The Conglomerate Member may be represented by
the conglomeratic sandstones of the Papan Formation on Kudur
Island to the south of Singapore and the Tempilang Sandstone
of Bangka Island (Cameron et al. 1982c; Ko 1986).
The massive Kodiang Limestone in northern Kedah, Malaya,
has been identified as of Mi d- Lat e Triassic age from the presence
of conodonts (Ishii & Nogami 1966), and may be correlated
directly with the massive limestone units in northern Sumatra
described as Situtup, Kaloi, Batumilmil formations and the
Sibaganding Limestone Member of the Kualu formation, which
have all yielded Mi d- Lat e Triassic conodonts (Metcalfe 1989a).
Burton (1973) suggested that the lower part of the Semanggol
Formation, with black carbonaceous shales and mudstones and
an abundant necktonic-planktonic fauna, was deposited in a
basin of restricted circulation with anaerobic bottom conditions.
He suggests that the chert beds may have resulted from the
dissolution of volcanic glass in ash falls from volcanic activity
at some distance from the site of deposition, as no beds of ash
or pyroclastic deposits have been recognized in Malaya.
However, volcaniclastic sediments and tuffs are recorded in the
Cubadak and Tuhur formations of west central Sumatra (Rock
et al. 1983; Turner 1983).
In Malaya and in Bangka Island the increase in grain size and
frequency of the sandstone units towards the east, suggest that
the source area for the Semanggol sediments lay in this direction.
However, there are also indications in current directions within the
sandstones for derivation of sediments from local sources within
the basin. The pebbles in the Conglomerate Member are composed
mainly of vein quartz, quartzite and dark-coloured chert, which
could have been derived from Palaeozoic rocks in the central
part of the Malay Peninsula, which was evidently being uplifted
in latest Triassic times. The Conglomerate Member may pass
upwards into the Tembeling Formation of presumed Jurassic age
(Burton 1973), which corresponds in age with the Tabir, Asai,
Peneta and Rawas formations of central Sumatra (Rosidi et al.
1976; Kusnama et al. 1993b; Suwarna et al. 1994) to be described
later.
Mi d- Lat e Triassic sediments in the western Malay Peninsula
and northern Sumatra represent deposition on a broad continental
shelf which was undergoing extension, with the formation of
localized deep rift basins in which black shales and chert were
deposited and into which, from time to time, turbidity cun'ents
carried coarse clastic sediments. Carbonate was deposited on shal-
lower parts of the shelf to form the massive limestone units in both
northern Sumatra and western Malaya. In the basin, sandstone
units increase in thickness upwards through the sequence and
are replaced in Malaya by conglomerates, indicating uplift of
the eastern source area. According to Metcalfe (2000) this uplift
resulted from the collision between the Sibumasu (Sumatra) and
Indochina blocks (East Malaya) which was taking place at this
time. In his recent publications Metcalfe (2000) interprets the
tectonic environment in which the Semanggol Formation was
deposited as a foredeep basin, related to the collision.
Woyla Group (Jurassic-Cretaceous)
Woyl a Group in Ac e h
The Woyla Group was defined in Aceh, northern Sumatra, where
the rocks are extensively exposed, but Jurassic-Cretaceous units
correlated with the Woyla Group have been identified in the
Barisan Mountains throughout western Sumatra (Fig. 4.12).
In Aceh, areas of outcrop of the Woyla Group are shown on
the GRDC Banda Aceh, Calang, Tapaktuan and Takengon
1:250 000 Quadrangle Sheets (Bennett et al. 1981a, b; Cameron
et al. 1982b, 1983). The Woyla River, from which the Woyla
Group was named, is on the Takengon Sheet (Fig. 4.13).
The descriptions given below, except where specified, are taken
largely from the reports which accompany these maps. An
account of the lithological units which make up the Woyla
Group and a detailed discussion of their interpretation is given
by Barber (2000).
During the DMR/ BGS survey 13 lithostratigraphic units were
distinguished in the Woyla Group in Aceh, as well as a unit of
' undifferentiated Woyla' . Many of the mapping units distin-
guished in the Woyl a Group of Aceh during the DMR/ BGS
survey are made up of the same rock types, but in varying
proportions. It is clear that they represent geographical, rather
than genuine lithostratigraphical units. A different name was
given to each distinguishable unit on each map sheet. The outcrops
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 41
9;~ . 9;~ 1'00o
, !
A Act i ve Vol canoes
~ ; .~k~, : >,
Quat er nar y- Recent Vol cani cs
Tertiary sedi ment s and vol cani cs
Woyl a Group and correl at i ves
Pal aeozoi c Basement
22~ ~ '7:. 9 9 v v . . . . "",--... j__~ 2 ~
k ' \ . ~ Na t a I ] ~I ~) ~i i i i i i . O2 . "~-3" (7.
- " o ~ , i ~,.,,~ X; ~. Rawas- 9 . . . . . . . 7)
" ~ ~ . ":..:' \,; ~' ~,~' ~l ~,A~a~: : : : : : : : : .--. 7":.-,.
nUN A NI O X %.,. \;~ \ ~. [ L:~ ~.'-:-Gumai . . . . . . . . . . . .)
~,,~,_.L,t"~ ~ o k .,o., ~ -"._~ ?' ~b ~A,~ " . . . . . . . . .
,~5 \ .~',,~ -X~. - ~. ~\ : j v, ~ . . . . . . . . . . . /
~ ~ ~ '~,~ .'~'.~. >: ............ :~
/ / -"X "'~%. ..... Gar ba ..... ',
7cm/yr / X " >%~O~n! ma; ung
"~.~ ~.: ~ 6 ~
o?o o?~ , oo0 ,o,,0 ,ooo
Fig. 4.12. Simplified geological map of
Sumatra, showing the distribution of the
Woyla Group and correlated units, with
localities mentioned in the text.
of the actual lithologies within each formation are, on the whole,
too small to be represented on the scale of the map.
The stratigraphic units can be classified into three lithological
assemblages: an oceanic assemblage; a basaltic-andesitic arc
assemblage; and a limestone assemblage (Cameron et al.
1980). All of the units generally occur as fault-bounded lenses,
distributed on both the northeastern and southwestern sides of
the Sumatran Fault, and are elongated in a NW- SE direction,
parallel to the Sumatran trend. The oceanic assemblage in par-
ticular is broken by a large number of minor faults and thrusts
and has been interpreted as imbricated in an accretionary
complex formed above a subduction zone (Barber 2000). The
arc assemblage and the associated limestones are interpreted as
a volcanic arc with fringing reefs (Cameron et al. 1980). The
Woyla Group is affected by several large scale thrusts;
the Geumpang, Takengon and Kla lines, which also affect the
Miocene rocks in the area and are attributed to movements on
the Sumatran Fault System. The distribution of these units and
their relationships to the faults and thrusts are shown on
Figure 4.13.
Oceanic assemblage. The oceanic assemblage includes serpenti-
nites, gabbros, either massive or layered, and often altered
to amphibolite, basalts, often as pillows, hyaloclastic breccias,
volcaniclastic sandstones and siltstones, bedded cherts, black or
purple shales and minor bedded or massive limestones.
Serpentinite units occur as lenses along the Sumatran Fault and
along the Geumpang Line (Fig. 4.13). Several serpentinite bodies
are shown on the Takengon Sheet (Cameron et al. 1983), including
the largest of these lenses, the Tangse Serpentinite, which extends
discontinuously for 27 km to the NW of Tangse, the Cahop
Serpentinite and the Beatang Ultramafic Complex. These units
are composed of massive serpentinite, representing altered
harzburgite. Here and elsewhere, serpentinite is locally sheared,
schistose, twisted and contorted. Sheared serpentinite may also
form the matrix to m61ange, i.e. the Indrapuri Complex on the
Banda Aceh Sheet (Bennett et al. 1981a). The m61ange encloses
blocks of cumulate gabbro, basalt, red chert and limestones,
derived from other units in the Woyla Group. Fossils collected
from limestone blocks within the m61ange include: coral s--
Lat oceandra ramosa, St yl i na gi rodi ; f or ami ni f er s - - Ps eudocycl a-
mmi na sp.; st romat oporoi d- - St romat opora j aponi ca, indicating a
Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age. In the Takengon
Quadrangle large blocks of limestone enclosed in sheared serpen-
tinite along the Geumpang Line, contain Late Miocene fossils
(Cameron et al. 1983).
Other units of the oceanic assemblage include the Penarum
Formation, which outcrops to the northeast of the Sumatran
Fault south of Takengon (Cameron et al. 1983) (Fig. 4.13), and
consists of serpentinites, basalts, red cherts with radiolaria and
slates. Volcanic rocks in this unit are commonly altered to greens-
chists. The Geumpang Formation (Banda Aceh Sheet--Bennett
et al. 1981a; Tapaktuan Sheet --Cameron et al. 1982c) crops out
42 CHAPTER 4
BANDA
6 ~
Lamno
Bent ar o
Vol cani c~
5 ~ N
Geumpang
~ . Larn Mi net
Teunom~
CALANG
, Bat hol i t h
MEULABOH
4 ~ N
~. Faults
Thrusts
SFZ Sumatran Fault System
KL Kla Line
GL Geumpang Line
0 50
r
Cretaceous granites
WOYLA GROUP
~ Oceani c a s s e mbl a ge
Arc assemblage
Meukuk Gneiss
Undifferentiated
Peridotite/serpentinite 5 ~
Lke
Penar um
undifferentiated
Babahr ot
Meukuek
100km '~
9 TAPAKTUAN
96 ~ 97 ~
I I
Fig. 4.13. The distribution of the Woyla
Group in Aceh. Modified from Stephenson
& Aspden (1982), with data from Bennett
et al. (1981a, b) and Cameron el aI.
(1982, 1983).
to the SE of Banda Aceh on both sides of the Sumatran Fault. Rock
types include massive or schistose basic volcanics, pillow basalts,
volcaniclastic sandstones and tufts, commonly epidotized and
altered to greenschists or phyllites, and thin grey or black lime-
stones. The phyllites are usually lineated and crenulated,
indicating multiple delbrmation. The rocks of the Geumpang
Formation are considered to constitute the typical lithological
and structural assemblage of the Woyla Group. The Geumpang
Formation also includes a massive limestone member, frequently
occurring as marble. The very similar Babahrot Formation
cropping out to the NW of the Anu-Bat ee Fault towards
Tapaktuan (Cameron et al. 1982c) (Fig. 4. 13)i ncl udes serpenti-
nites and talc schists, as well as metagabbroic bodies metamor-
phosed in the greenschist facies and highly disrupted and
sheared into lenses.
The Lain Minet Formation (Banda Aceh Sheet--Bennett et al.
1981a) and the similar Gume Formation (Takengon Sheet--
Cameron et al. 1983) are composed of basaltic lavas, commonly
epidotized, basaltic conglomerates and breccias, with volcanic
and limestone clasts, but only rarely chert, graded volcaniclastic
wackes, radiolarian cherts with manganese oxide veining, rhodo-
nite, and calcareous, manganiferous and carbonaceous slates. A
clast of radiolarian chert, embedded in a volcanic conglomerate
with flattened clasts, was collected by Nick Cameron (pers.
comm. 1999) in the Kreung Baro, Aceh, from a landslip within
the outcrop of this formation. This occurrence indicates that volca-
nic rocks were erupted through ocean floor sediments, perhaps
during the formation of a seamount. The formation also includes
a recrystallized limestone member. The Jaleuem Formation crop-
ping out 100 km to the SE of Banda Aceh on both sides of the
Sumatran Fault, is composed largely of slates, but red cherts
occur in float and the unit also includes a limestone member. The
Bale Formation, composed of coloured slates, with minor wackes
and cherts, limestones and limestone breccias, is shown outcropping
to the NW of the Sumatran Fault, and SE of Takengon.
Arc assemblage. The basaltic-andesitic volcanics are interpreted
as an island arc assemblage (Cameron et al. 1980) (Fig. 4.27),
which is represented on the Banda Aceh Sheet (Bennett et al.
1981a) by the Bentaro Volcanic Formation, and on the Tapaktuan
Sheet (Cameron et al. 1982b) by the Tapaktuan Volcanic
Formation. The Bentaro Volcanic Formation is composed of
porphyritic basalts and andesitic basalts with agglomerates,
which are intruded by basic dykes. Basaltic vents, surrounded by
breccias, tufts and volcaniclastic sediments, have been identified
near Lain No and north of the Bentaro River on the Banda Aceh
Sheet. A chemical analysis of a xenolithic, porphyritic basalt
with pyroxene phenocrysts from this formation is given in Rock
et al. (1982). The Tapaktuan Volcanic Formation occurs in
fault-bounded lenses, within strands of the Anu-Bat ee Fault
Zone, parallel to the west coast of Aceh north of Tapaktuan
(Fig. 4.13). It consists of massive epidotized andesites and
basalts, commonly porphyritic, and intrusive dykes of a similar
composition. An analysis of hornblende microdiorite from this
formation is given in Rock et al. (1982). The formation also
includes agglomerates, breccias, tufts, red and purple volcaniclas-
tic sandstones and shales, the latter often as slates, and a limestone
member, composed of sparite and calcilutite, all as lenses and
much disrupted by faults.
Scattered outcrops of gneiss (Meukek Gneiss Complex) occur
within the Tapaktuan Volcanic Formation in the Barisan
Mountains to the north of Tapaktuan, between strands of the
Anu- Bat ee Fault (Fig. 4.13). They consist of concordant leuco-
granodioritic gneiss, with garnet-biotite amphibolite containing
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 43
garnets up to 8 cm in diameter, and biotite-hornblende-andesine
schist (Cameron et al. 1982b). The occurrence of high-grade
metamorphic rocks with garnets suggests that some of the units
of the Woyla Group were deeply buried and were subsequently
exhumed. These rocks warrant investigation to determine the
origin of the protolith and the environment of metamorphism.
Units containing a high proportion of volcaniclastic material are
associated with the island arc assemblage. These include the
Lho' nga Formation, which outcrops to the west of Banda Aceh,
composed of grey and coloured slates and phyllites, with inter-
bedded volcaniclastic sandstones, thin limestones and (?)radio-
larian-bearing siltstones and the Lhoong Formation, which forms
a large outcrop to the SW of the Sumatran Fault, and also occurs
as roof pendants in the Sikuleh Batholith (Bennett et al. 1981b).
The formation consists of basaltic lavas with cherts in the lower
part of the sequence, followed by conglomeratic wackes with
volcanic and limestone clasts, and subordinate sandstones,
siltstones and limestones.
Limestone units. Massive limestones, o/ten recrystallized, are also
associated with the island arc assemblage and are interpreted
as fringing reefs to volcanic islands. These units include the
Lho' nga and Raba Limestone formations which crop out along
the coast and in the Barisan Mountains to the south and west of
Banda Aceh (Bennett et al. 1981a) (Fig. 4.13) and consist of
massive calcarenite and calcilutite and dark thin-bedded cherty
limestones and shales. The massive limestone is designated a
' Reef Member' which is closely associated in the field with the
Bentaro Volcanic Formation. The Lamno Limestone Formation
also crops out along the west coast of Aceh, south of Banda
Aceh, and is also associated with outcrops of the Bentaro Volcanic
Formation. It consists of dark limestone, with a reef-like facies,
and contains volcanic clasts near the base. The limestone is com-
monly fossiliferous, with: corals--Actiastraea minima, S(vlosmi-
lia corallina; al gae--Cl ypei na sp., Permocalculus ampullacea,
Lithocodium, Bacinella sp., Boueina sp., Thaumatoporella porvo-
siculifera; f orami ni f ers--Pseudocycl ammi na lituus, indicating a
Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age (Bennett et al. 1981a).
The Teunom Limestone Formation crops out along the southwes-
tern margin of the Sikuleh Batholith. It is composed of massive
dark limestones, which are metamorphosed and recrystallized
along the contact with the granite. The Sise Limestone Formation
(Fig. 4.13) resembles the limestone units to the south of Banda
Aceh, but anomalously crops out to the NE of the Sumatran
Fault. Its present position may be due to some 200 km of dextral
displacement along the fault. The unit consists of massive or
bedded limestones, biocalcarenites and calcilutites with fossils:
coral s--Mont l i val t i a sp., Myriopora sp.; f orami ni f ers--Pseudocy-
clammina sp. indicating a Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age
(Cameron et al. 1983).
'Undifferentiated' Woyla (Fig. 4.13). On the geological map of the
Takengon Quadrangle a large area of ' Undifferentiated' Woyla
Group rocks is shown between the main strand of the Sumatran
Fault and the Anu Batee Fault. This area is poorly known, but
these rocks are described in the Explanatory Note as intermediate
to mafic metavolcanics, slates and chert. ' Undifferentiated' Woyla
is also shown in the Calang Quadrangle in the area to the south of
the Sikuleh Batholith in Gunung Paling and as roof pendants
within the outcrop of the batholith (Bennett et al. 1981b). These
rocks are said to resemble the Kluet Formation, which crops out
extensively to the NE of the Sumatran Fault, and should not be
considered as part of the Woyla Group.
Sikuleh Batholith. The Woyla Group in Aceh is intruded by grani-
toids. The largest of these is the Sikuleh Batholith shown on the
Banda Aceh and Calang sheets (Bennett et al. 1981a, b). It is an
elliptical body (c. 55 x 35 kin) elongated in a NW- SE direction
(Fig. 4.13). Around the margins of the batholith limestones of
the Teunom Formation and ' undifferentiated Woyla Group rocks
are altered by contact metamorphism. Lithologies resembling
those of the Lhoong Formation occur as roof pendants within
the batholith.
The Sikuleh Batholith is a complex intrusion composed of an
' older complex' of migmatised gabbros and diorites locally gneis-
sose and sheared and intensely veined. A ' younger complex' is
more homogeneous coarser grained and unfoliated biotite-
hornblende granodiorite. The younger complex has been dated,
from the mean of K- Ar analyses of two biotites and one horn-
blende, as 97.7 _+ 0.7 Ma (early Late Cretaceous).
Age of theWoyla Group in Aceh. Fossils from the Lamno Limestone
and Sise Formations indicate that the fringing reefs around the
volcanic arc were being formed during Late Jurassic to Early
Cretaceous times. The K- Ar ages of c. 97 Ma from the Sikuleh
Batholith which intrudes the limestones and the oceanic assem-
blage show that the lithological units which make up the Woyla
Group were in their present positions and had their present
structural relationships by the early Late Cretaceous.
Woyla Group in Nat al
Lithological units correlated with the Woyla Group of Aceh
were mapped over an extensive area inland from Natal in North
Sumatra during the Integrated Geological Survey of Northern
Sumatra as part of the Lubuksikaping 1:250 000 Quadrangle
Sheet (Rock et al. 1983) (Fig. 4.14). The outcrop is limited to
the NE by the Sumatran Fault System and is much dissected
internally by faults with a similar trend. The Woyla Group is
intruded by Late Cretaceous granites and overlain unconformably
by the Miocene Barus Group, by Miocene volcanic rocks, and by
the products of Quaternary volcanism from the volcanoes of Sorik
Merapi, Malintang and Talamau, as well as by recent alluvium.
Units within the Woyla Group strike NW- SE and are very well
exposed in the valley of the Batang Natal, both in the river
section and in the parallel road section, which both cut across
the strike (Fig. 4.15). The main outcrop of the Woyla Group is
separated from a smaller outcrop in the Pasaman inlier to the
south by Malintang Volcano (Fig. 4.14).
In the DMR/ BGS report of the Lubuksikaping Quadrangle
(Rock et al. 1983) lithological units in the Batang Natal
section were classified, from NE- SW, into three formations: the
Muarasoma, Belok Gadang and the Sikubu formations (Fig. 4.14).
Muarasoma Formation. The Muarasoma Formation outcrops in the
upstream part of the Batang Natal section and in its tributary, the
Aik Soma. Thicknesses of the rock units in this section were
measured perpendicular to the strike for a distance of 5.5 km
(Rock et al. 1983). The rock types in the measured section
include cleaved argillaceous units, shale or slate, which may
include calcareous concretions, laminated siltstones, and gritty
sandstones showing sedimentary structures, indicating younging
in a downstream direction, massive limestones, sometimes
forming karstic limestone pinnacles, epidotic volcanic breccias
and volcaniclastic sandstones, chloritic greenschists and musco-
vite-chlorite quartz schists. A 10 m ' conglomerate' (?m61ange)
at the upstream end of the section, with elongated clasts of greens-
chist in a chloritic matrix, is probably of tectonic origin, formed in
a fault or a shear zone (Rock et al. 1983).
Belok Gadang Formation. The Belok Gadang Formation crops out
in the central part of the Batang Natal section and is composed of
sandstones, sometimes calcareous, and argillaceous rocks, often
cleaved and containing bands and lenses of chert. The chert is
radiolarian, but no identifiable radiolaria have so far been recov-
ered which could be used to date the sequence. Outcrops in the
44 CHAPTER 4
I

00oe \
, 0\
Recent Volcanoes
Langsat Volcanics I~
Palaeogene granites
Late Cretaceous granites
WOYLA GROUP
~ Li mest ones
I~ ~' ~ M~langes
i i i !i i Muarasoma Formation
Belok Gadang Formatior
~ Sikubu Formation
Kanai kan Peridotite/serpentinite
Pasaman Ultramafic
Batang Natal
River Section,
- , - 9 - . .
- . . . - . - . -
Vlanunggal
Batholith
NATAL
'Sorik
9 Merapi
QKOTANOPAN
9 V L.~'~_ Complex
" ~) ~~( . Tal am au ~O LUBUKSIKAPING Air Bangi,~ ~-- ~ ~ l ~ ' ~ X
- O~ uator 0 50km ~176
99 ~ 100 ~
I I
Fig. 4.14. The distribution of the Woyla Group in the Natal area, North Sumatra. Modified from Rock et al. (1983). KFZ, Kanaikan Fault Zone; SGF, Simpang Gambir Fault.
type locality of Belok Gadang, a tributary of the Batang Natal,
show basaltic pillow lavas, with white clay interbeds and manga-
nese-rich horizons with braunite, resembling the ' umbers' ,
described from the Troodos Ophiolite of Cyprus (Robertson
1975). Analysis shows that the pillow basalts are spilites (Rock
et al. 1982, 1983). In the type locality basalts are overlain by
red, bedded cherts, but again no identifiable radiolaria have been
recovered.
Sikubu Formation. The Sikubu Formation, cropping out in the
lower part of the Batang Natal section, is composed of massive
volcaniclastic metagreywackes, with thin shale interbeds. The
sandstones show very well-developed sedimentary structures,
including graded bedding, flame structures and convolutions,
typical of turbidites. Massive porphyritic andesitic dykes and
lava flows, with distinctive pyroxene phenocrysts, are intruded
into, or interbedded with, the sediments in the lower part of the
section. Fragments of porphyritic andesite, identical in compo-
sition to the dykes and lavas, occur as clasts in the sandstones 9
Woyla Group rocks in the Pasaman area include m~langes and
massive and foliated peridotites (Rock et al. 1983) (Fig. 4.14).
Peridotites are well exposed in the Pasaman River where they
are composed mainly of harzburgite with minor dunite pods,
pyroxenite dykes, disseminated chromite and rare chromite
pods. Some of the peridotite is foliated, containing orthopyroxenes
enclosed in augen. Coarse plagioclase-hornblende rocks, found as
boulders in the float, represent metasomatised gabbro pegmatite
which formed dykes in the peridotite. The peridotite is variably
serpentinized, and in shear zones may be completely altered to
serpentine and talc. Smaller bodies of serpentinite, with chromite
pods, outcrop at the upper end of the Batang Natal section near
Muarasoma (Figs 4.14 & 4.15) where they form spectacular
serpentinite breccias faulted against slates and limestones of the
Muarasoma Formation. Serpentinite also occurs as xenoliths in
granite in the Aik Soma.
Intrusions and volcanics in the Nat al area. Several large granite
bodies are intruded into the rocks of the Woyla Group in the
Natal area. The largest of these is the Manunggal Batholith at
the northeastern end of the Batang Natal Section (Rock et al.
1983) (Fig. 4.14). This batholith is a composite body, some
230km 2 in extent, composed of leocogranite, granodiorite,
granite and pyroxene-quartz diorite, with contaminated syenitic
and monzonitic varieties, and appinites. The granitoid rocks are
intruded by vogesite lamprophyre dykes. The granitoid rocks
have been dated by the K- Ar method at 87 Ma (Late Cretaceous)
(Kanao et al. 1971, reported in Rock et al. 1983). In the Aik Soma,
near Muarasoma, large granitic boulders in the river bed enclose
serpentinite xenoliths, surrounded by reaction zones of amphibo-
lite. Limestones in the same area are converted to skarns near
the contact with the granite.
A second granitoid, the Kanaikan is intrude into the Woyla
Group in the Pasaman area (Fig. 4.14). This body is composed
of coarse granodiorite and leucogranite cut by microgranitic and
granophyric dykes. This intrusion lies within the Kanaikan Fault
Zone, a strand of the main Sumatran Fault, and is much dissected
by faults and deformed to form cataclasites along shear zones.
Granitic rocks outcrop in headlands near Air Bangis along the
coast to the south of Natal (Fig. 4.14). Rock et al. (1983)
speculated that these rocks might be of Late Cretaceous age and
analogous to the Sikuleh Batholith which intrudes the Woyla
Group in Aceh. Later age dating showed that these granites
were of Eocene-Oligocene age (Wajzer et al. 1991).
Age constraints f or the Woyla Group in the Nat al area are provided
by a limestone sample from the Batang Kanaikan in the Pasaman
inlier which yielded a colonial organism, closely resembling the
samples of Lov f e ni por a described and illustrated by Yancey &
Arif (1977) from the Indarung area, near Padang, and considered
to be of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age (IGS/British
Museum Sample No. TC/ J 1/ Rl l 01B- - Rock et al. 1983).
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 45
TH E BATA N G NATAL
RIVER SECTION
0 1 2 3km
I I l . . . . . . . . I
BNL
BNL
Jambor Baru : . ~
Formation . . .
. .,~: : : ' .
BNM
-.soma
" ' " ' - - -
Batu Nabontar
~, Limestone (BNL)
d~OMA
%,- -,,e %g %,- %,- v
v, Langsat , #, -
v, Volcanics v v
"e" %'* %" %" -,,e '~.#"%," %,,
Rantobi
Sandstone
Si Gala Gala ... :. :. :. :::
Schists ,~,~::: : :: : : :: : ::~
Parlampungan
Volcanics (PV)
Panglong
Melange
Nabana Volcanics .~
~,, BNL .,<,,^,,
. :::::::GAMBIR~
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lfi
: i : "'" ;fi : i : ! ~ ~~~; ~ "" ~' m :.N." Batang Natal
~. ' . . . . . . .~:.~ Megabreccia
. : : : : : : : : : : . (BNM)
: STF , ' 5"i i i i i i i i i : : ~
' ' i : i : i : i : ! :
~q: i i i i ! Simarobu
Turbidite
~ ~ i Formation
9 (STF) 44.8
~ Ranto Sore
Formation
9 . .
. . . , . .
~! ! Betok Gadang
Siltstone
Tambak Baru
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
; 4: : : : : : ~! : i : Turbi di t es: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : SI MPANG GAMBI R
v . . . . . . . v v.+ "S"vv iiii!i!i!i i : : : , , , , , , v .
PV
. . : \ . . . .
9 . : . : . . . . : . : . : . : . .
Muarasoma Turbidite "" :" :" :" :
Formation (MTF)
",,',~',, 87.0Ma , z,
MUARASOMA"
NATAL
~& Location of limestone block '
with Late Triassic foraminifera
_, ~, O Locations for K/Ar dates
0 10 20km
I I I I
v v v v ,r "r -, ".:::~ -... -,,~
!
%,* %~ %g %g %', %g %~- %, ' %, , ~ ~ ' "
vvvv, ~, vvvv" H" " "-:-:
~
%a %', ",~ o~*%p %e %'* %', %,, %', V
sat Vol cani c' "~ ~ }~Langj
~ , . , ~^r ~ . . . . . . . . .
%*~ ",P ".P %" -r -r o %" %," ",d' V %" %P V
t o" "o,r %." "v" %" "v" v "-,," ",~ %" %" %'* ~ %'. %'.
"~' "o,P %" %," %" ~g' ", / %~ ",d' %," %-" Nr ",r
~}~ %" ~" %" ",-" %" 'N e %*" V %" %" ~'r %"
%" %" %" %," %" ",e" %r %4 %y %p %r %r
%' 29. 7Ma- " v v v v ",r v v v v
Fig. 4.15. Geological map of the Batang Natal river section, North Sumatra. Inset shows isotopic dates, from Wajzer et al. (1991). S is serpentinite.
A minimum age for the Woyla Group is provided by the
Manunggal Batholith, dated at 87. 0Ma (Late Cretaceous)
(Kanao et al. 1971, quoted in Rock et al. 1983), which intrudes
limestones and serpentinites at the NW end of the Batang Natal
section.
St udy by Waj zer et al. (1991). The Batang Natal section was
mapped in detail by Marek Wajzer from the University of
London, in a follow-up study to the Northern Sumatra Survey,
in collaboration with BGS and with the assistance of Syarif
Hidayat and Suharsono of GRDC (Wajzer et al. 1991). The
mapping was supported by petrographic, geochemical and radio-
metric studies. Wajzer et al. (1991) found that each of the units
recognized by Rock et al. (1983) in the Woyla Group, was com-
posite, with the same lithologies repeated many times throughout
the section, apparently in a random fashion (Fig. 4.15). Wajzer
et al. (1991) distinguished 16 lithostratigraphical units in the
Natal section. Correlation of these units with the mapping with
those recognized by Rock et al. (1983) is shown in Table 4.1.
Detailed accounts of these lithological units are given in
Table 4.2. Many of the lithologies are similar to rock types
described from the Woyla Group in Aceh, and by Rock et al.
(1983), with the addition of several outcrops of m61ange,
composed of blocks in a fine grained matrix, decribed as
' megabreccia' in Table 4.2 and Figure 4.15. One important
feature of the clastic units in the Woyl a Group of the Natal
area is that they are ahnost completely devoid of quartz,
suggesting that they have an entirely oceanic, rather than a conti-
nental origin (Wajzer et al. 1991).
The study established several additional age constraints for the
Woyla Group, using fossil evidence and radiometric dating. A
further specimen of Lov f e ni por a was obtained from a limestone
block in the Simpang Gambir Megabreccia near the southwestern
end of the Batang Natal section, and a Late Triassic foraminifer
was found in a limestone clast in the Batang Natal Megabreccia
in the central part of the section. Diorite intruded into the
Jambor Baru and Batang Natal Megabreccia Formations at Batu
Madingding gave a K- At age of 84.7 4- 3.6 Ma and an andesite
in the Tambak Baru Volcanic unit, interpreted as a fragment of
a volcanic arc, gave 78.4 4-2. 5 Ma. Both these lavas and the
intrusions are of Late Cretaceous age. Andesite dykes intruded
into the Si Kumbu Turbidite Formation (i.e. Sikubu Formation
of Rock et al. 1983), and regarded as contemporaneous with sedi-
mentation of this unit, gave K- Ar ages of 40.1 4- 4.6 Ma and
37.6 _+ 1.3 Ma (Late Eocene) (Wajzer et al. 1991). Samples
collected from the Air Bangis granites and analysed by
Wajzer gave K- Ar ages of 29. 7_ 1.6 and 28.2 4- 1. 2Ma
(Late Oligocene) (Wajzer et al. 1991) showing that the Cretaceous
age for these granites suggested by Rock et al. (1983) was
incorrect.
46 CHAPTER 4
Table 4.1. Correlation of formations in the Woyla Group in the Natal area from
Rock et al. (1983) with the lithotectonic units defined by Wajzer et al. (1991)
Rocket et al. (1983) Wajer et al. (1991)*
1. Langsat Volcanic Formation
2. Sikubu Formation
3. Belok Gadang Formation
Volcanics in both the Belok
Gadang and Maurasoma
Formations
4. Maurasoma Formation
Schistose Member
Massive limestones in both the
Belok Gadang and
Maurasoma Formations
1. Langsat Volcanic Formation
2. Si Kumbu Turbidite Formation
3. Tambak Baru Volcanic Unit
4. Simpang Gambir Megabreccia Formation
5. Nabana Volcanic Unit
6. Belok Gadang Siltstone Formation
7. Panglong M61ange Formation
8. Ranto Sore Formation
9. Parlampungan Volcanic Unit
10. Si Gala Gala Schist Formation
11. Simarobu Turbidite Formation
12. Batang Natal Megabreccia Unit
13. Rantobi Sandstone Formation
14. Jambor Baru Formation
15. Maurasoma Turbidite Formation
16. Batu Nabontar Limestone Unit
*units are listed in approximate order upstream from Langsat with no age
relationship implied.
Units in cent ral Sumat ra correl at ed wi t h the Woyl a Group
Outcrops of rock units with similar lithologies to those of the
Woyla Group or which were formed within the same Jurassic-
Cretaceous age range have been mapped throughout western
Sumatra (Fig. 4. ! 2). Many of these outcrops have been correlated
by previous authors with units of the Woyla Group described from
northern Sumatra.
lndarung Formation. Small outcrops of the Mesozoic Indarung
Formation occur near Padang in West Sumatra. These rocks were
mapped and described by Yancey & Alif (1977) and were corre-
lated with the Woyla Group of Aceh by Cameron et al. (1980).
Outcrops occur 15 km east of Padang in road, river and quarry
sections near Indarung, where they are surrounded and overlain
by Neogene and Quaternary volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks
(Fig. 4.16). The area of outcrop is included on the Padang,
Solok and Painan Quadrangle Sheets (Kastowo & Leo 1973;
Silitonga & Kastowo 1975; Rosidi et al. 1976). These rocks
have been mapped more recently by McCarthy et al. (2001).
Yancey & Alif (1977) described rocks exposed in the Lubuk
Peraku River, the Ngalau Quarry, the Karang Putib Quarry and
adjacent river sections near lndarung. Rock types in these outcrops
are basic volcanics, which may include pillow lavas, volcanic
breccia, tuff, volcaniclastic sediments, radiolarian chert and
massive or bedded limestones. The basic rocks are sometimes
deformed and metamorphosed to form greenschists. On the
other hand, the limestones and cherts are essentially undeformed,
although disharmonic folding and small-scale thrusts in the chert
and gentle folds in the limestone are seen in the quarries, and
the limestones may be recrystallized (McCarthy et al. 2001).
A well-exposed section of limestone and tuff occurs in the
river section of the Lubuk Peraku and in the road above the
river (Yancey & Alif 1977; McCarthy et al. 2001). A measured
columnar section of these outcrops from McCarthy et al. (2001)
is given as Figure 4.17. The lower part of the section, described
as the Lubuk Peraku Limestone, is a limestone breccia, which
includes volcanic clasts near the base and is interbedded with
thin tuff bands near the top. The breccia is overlain by a few
metres of thin-bedded limestones and shelly marls and then by
thicker bedded and more massive limestones, some oolitic. Near
the top of the section a limestone conglomerate, eroded into the
underlying limestone with basal scours, provides clear evidence
of way-up. Above the limestone there is a break in outcrop, until
further downstream and in the road section above, the Golok
Tuff, a calcareous vitreous crystal tuff is exposed. Although
the contact between the breccia and the tuff is not seen, this
section is regarded as an essentially continuous stratigraphic
sequence McCarthy et al, (2001).
In the Ngalau Quarry, near Indarung, McCarthy et al. (2001)
collected samples from a 15 m section of bedded chert for radi-
olarian determination. In the Karang Putih Quarry, one kilometre
to the south of lndarung, lenses of chert are associated with
massive limestone. McCarthy et al. (2001) report that the lime-
stone in this quarry is completely recrystallized, possibly due to
the effects of a granitic intrusion which occurs a short distance
to the south (Fig. 4.16). An interpretative cross section shows
the cherts and limestones imbricated together along low angle
thrusts (McCarthy et al. 2001).
Rock units in the Indarung area are well dated from fossil
and radiometric age determinations. Radiolaria from chert in the
Ngalau Quarry belong to the Transhsuum hi sui koyense Zone,
of Aalenian, early Mid-Jurassic age (McCarthy et al. 2001).
Lithologies and fbssil content of the limestones in the Lubuk
Peraku section and in the Ngalau and Karang Putih quarries
were described by Yancey & Alif (1977). The limestones are
biosparites, with abundant bioclasts, oolitic calcarenites and
micrites. Molluscan shell fragments, pellets, calcareous algae,
stromatoporoids and scleractinian corals are common components
of the limestones. Among the fossils identified were the (?)
stromatoporoids Act ost roma and Lovf eni pora. The former is
considered to be restricted to the Late Jurassic, while the latter
is diagnostic of the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. A K- Ar
age date of 105 _+ 3 Ma (Albian, mid-Cretaceous) is reported
from the Golok Tuff in the Lubuk Peraku by Koning & Aulia
(1985) from a Caltex Pacific Indonesia internal report.
Pillow lavas and cherts of the Indarung Formation have been
equated with the oceanic assemblage of the Woyla Group of
Aceh and with the Belok Gadang Formation of the Natal area
(Cameron et al. 1980; Rock et al. 1983). Where these rocks are
imbricated, deformed and altered to greenschists they may be
interpreted, as is the case in Aceh and Natal, as materials accreted
from a subducted ocean floor. The recent recognition of Middle
Jurassic radiolaria in the cherts (McCarthy et al. 2001) shows
that part of this ocean floor was of Jurassic age. The volcanic brec-
cias tufts and volcaniclastic sandstones of the Indarung Formation
are interpreted as the products of seamount volcanism, and the
massive limestone with its Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous fossil
fauna is interpreted as part of a fringing reef formed around
the seamount (McCarthy et al. 2001). During subduction the
seamount with its carbonate cap collided with already accreted
ocean floor materials, and the whole assemblage was imbricated
to form the present complex.
Siguntur Formation. Mesozoic rocks of the Siguntur Formation are
exposed in the Sungai Siguntur, 15 km to the south of Indarung
(Fig. 4.16). The area of outcrop is shown on the Painan
Quadrangle Sheet and the lithology is described in the Explanatory
Note (Rosidi et al. 1976). Rock types are quartzites, siltstones
and shales, the latter sometimes altered to slates, and compact
limestones. The map shows that the strike of the beds is east -
west, transverse to the general Sumatran trend. In the report
the rocks are described as not intensely deformed or folded, but
quartzites interbedded with slates showing bedding-parallel clea-
vage, suggest that the rocks are more highly deformed than at
first appears. The limestones are reported to contain Lovf eni pora,
and are therefore of a similar age to the limestones at Indarung.
The ' quartzites' reported from Siguntur were taken to indicate
that these rocks had a continental origin (Barber 2000) but it
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 47
Table 4.2. Lithology, environmental setting, structure, metamorphic grade and age constraints f or units in the Batang Natal section (in order upstream from west to east,
see Fig. 4.4), from Wajzer et al. (1991
Unit* Lithology Environment Structure Metamorphism Age constraints
Langsat Volcanic Porphyritic basic Arc volcanics No ductile deformation Prehnite-
Unit volcanics pumpellyite
Si Kumbu
Turbidite
Formation
Volcaniclastic debris
flows, proximal and
distal turbidites
Tambak Baru Andesitic volcanics
Volcanic Unit
Simpang Gambit Volcanic breccia with
Megabreccia limestone megaclasts and
Formation greywacke sandstones
Nabana Volcanic Basic volcanics (sometimes
Unit pillowed) amygdaloidal
to east keratophyres,
dolerite dykes
Submarine fan--apron D2 large scale folds ( F2) Prehnite-
to volcanic arc on WNW-ESE axes pumpellyite
Fragments of volcanic Di weak foliation (Si); D, Prehnite-
arc and proximal pumpellyite/
volcaniclastics greenschist
Proximal sediments D i strong foliations ( $1) ; Prehnite-
derived from volcanic D? open folds and pumpellyite/
arc, with olistostromes crenulations (F:) greenschist
Ocean-floor basalts, No ductile deformation Prehnite-
seamount pumpellyite/
greenschist
Panglong Breccias with chert, Mn M61ange D~ tight to isoclinal folds (F~); Slate grade
M61ange sedim, limestones and (olistostrome) D2 open to close folds (F2)
Formation volcanic clasts in chert of ocean-floor fold F~ on NW- SE axes
siltstone matrix materials and
pelagic sediments
Belok Gadang Volcaniclastic siltstones Unconformable on Dipping beds with no ductile Prehnite-
Siltstone with few fine sandstones Panglong M61ange; deformation pumpellyite
Formation and rare conglomerates ?lower trench slope
basin fill
Ranto Sore Volcaniclastic Fluviatile intra-arc D2 open to close folds Unmetamorphosed
Formation cross-bedded and deposits (F2) on NNW-SSE
channelled sandstones axes
and unsorted
conglomerates (lahars)
Parlumpangan Porphyritic andesites Fragments of No ductile deformation Prehnite-
Volcanic volcanic arc pumpellyite/
Unit greenschist
Si Gala Gala Banded quartz, Metasediments D~ schistosity (S~) and Greenschist
Schist Unit muscovite, derived from rodding (LI); D2 open
chlorite schists acid-intermediate to close folds (F2) on
volcanic arc NW- SE axes
province
Simarobu Volcaniclastic turbidites Ocean-floor or Foliation (S~); D2 open to Greenschist
Turbidite with minor calcareous trench deposit closed folds (F2); D I tight
Formation siltstones to isoclinal folds (F]) axial
plane on NNE-SSE axes
Batang Natal Large clasts of limestone, Melange formed as D~ tight to isoclinal folds (Fl); Slate grade
Megabreccia rare clastic sediments olistostrome or as D 2 open to closed folds
Formation and igneous rocks in mud diapirs in deform S i about
slaty matrix accretionary NNE-SSW axes; D~
complex tight to isoclinal folds (Fi)
with axial plane foliation
(S j); D2 open to closed
folds (F2) detbrm Si on
NNW-SSE axes
Rantobi Thin bedded volcaniclastic Forearc basin Axial plane cleavage (S~); D~ Slate grade
Sandstone sandstones and deposits isoclinal folds (F~) with D2
Formation siltstone closed asymmetric folds
(F2) NW- SE axes
Jambor Baru Volcaniclastic conglomerate, Shallow marine and D I foliation (S~); Prehnite-
Formation sandstone, siltstone, deeper water D2 closed folds (F2) on pumpellyite/
limestone and tuff forearc basin deposits NW- SE axes greenschist
Muarasoma Thin bedded volcaniclastic Upper trench slope Di foliation (S0; D2 folds Prehnite-
Turbidite turbidites with a basin sediments (F2) on NW- SE axes pumpellyite/
Formation coarser-grained member greenschist
Batu Nabontar Massive recrystallized Open marine shelf Dl tight folds in Recrystallized
Limestone limestone, rare fossils limestone interbedded tufts (F1),
Unit fossils show strain
Possibly intruded by Air
Bangis Granites. K- Ar
28.2 Ma, 29.7 Ma
Intruded by andesite dykes
K- Ar 40.1 4.6 Ma
(NR45), 37.6 1.3 Ma
(NRI20)
Andesitic lava. K- Ar
78.4 _+ 2.5 Ma (BN 133)
?Lovfenipora sp. In limestone
block (Late Jurassic-Early
Cretaceous)
Older than Belok Gadang
siltstone
Younger than Panglong
M~lange Formation
?Younger than adjacent units
Cut by undeformed
microdiorite dyke. K- At
49.5 +_ 2 Ma (NR 7)
Included limestone clasts
contain Late Triassic
foraminifer. Intruded by
Batu Madingding Diorite.
K- Ar 84.7 ___3.6 Ma
Intruded by Batu
Mandingding Diorite.
K- Ar 84.7 + 3.6 Ma
Intruded by Batu Manunggal
Batholith. K- Ar 87.0 Ma
*All units are cut by numerous faults and thrusts. Vertical faults often show horizontal slickensides indicating wrench fault movements. *K- At age of Manunggal
Batholith from Kanao et al. (1971). All other K- Ar ages from Wajzer et al. (1991).
48 CHAPTER 4
PADANG
0
l~
C?
4
--lO15 '
o 5
~. i . ~q~- ~ J ~ ~ . ~ ~ 9 ~ . 100~ f ~ ~ 0 0 ~
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
TALANG
~A, 2579~
Dibawah
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : ~ Volcano
. . . . . . . . . . . : : : : : . : : Te rtia r~ i~st~ cs
~l _((" ! i F 1 U" ~ .~. "~ ~ ~/ ~. ~ " " " ~" Indarung Formation
~~nn/ ~' / ~/ ' - ' ~' ~. , ~, ~ ~ ~ SigunturFormation -
~ ~ / D '~ 1'oJ3o' 0~,,,-,. ~ ~ ~ ~ Permo-Carboniferous
Fig. 4.16. Distribution of outcrops of the
Indarung and Siguntur Formations in the
Padang area, West Sumatra. Based on GRDC
maps (Kastowo & Leo 1973; Silitonga &
Kastowo 1975; Rosidi et al. 1976).
may be that they are recrystallized cherts, analogous to those at
Indarung.
Siulak Formation. Further outcrops of Mesozoic sedimentary and
volcanic rocks occur at Siulak 150 km to the SE of Padang
(Fig. 4.12), in a fault block caught between strands of the Suma-
tran Fault (Rosidi et al. 1976). These sediments are calcareous silt-
stones, calcareous shales and limestones. The shales and siltstones
are carbonaceous and contain angular quartz clasts. The limestones
contain Loftulisa and Hydrocorallinae of Cretaceous age (Tobler
1922, reported in Rosidi et al. 1976). The volcanic rocks are
altered andesites, dacites and bedded tufts with clasts of augite,
hornblende, chlorite and glass. These rocks are the product of
Andean arc volcanism on the margin of Sundaland.
Tabir Formation. Sixty kilometres to the east of Siulak and to the
NE of the Sumatran Fault Zone, in the Batang Tabir, are
outcrops of red conglomerates, sandstones and tufts of the Tabir
Formation (Fig. 4.5). Clasts in the conglomerates include
quartzite, and andesitic fragments derived from the adjacent
Palaeozoic rocks. The presence of Ostrea is taken to indicate a
Mesozoic, possibly Jurassic age (Tobler 1922, reported in Rosidi
et al. 1976).
Asai, Peneta and Rawas Formations. Continuous with the outcrop
of the Tabir Formation and extending southeastwards to the
south of Bangko, and also lying to the NE of the Sumatran Fault
shown on the GRDC Sungaipenuh and Sarolangan map sheets,
are large outcrops of Mesozoic rocks of the Asai, Peneta and
Rawas formations (Kusnama et al. 1993b; Suwarna et al. 1994),
(Fig. 4.12). Rock types include quartz sandstones, siltstones,
shales and limestones tufts. The Rawas Formation also includes
andesite-basalt lava flows, tufts and volcaniclastic sandstones.
Clasts in conglomeratic units in these sediments are derived
from the local Palaeozoic basement. Sandstone units show turbi-
ditic characteristics. Argillaceous units have a slaty cleavage
striking NW- SE. Fossils, including corals and ammonites,
especially from the limestone members, show that these sediments
range in age from Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (Suwarna
et al. 1994).
From the presence of locally-derived clasts all these sediments,
although subject to later deformation, were evidently deposited
in situ on the Sundaland continental basement. Pulunggono &
Cameron (1984) suggested that these units were deposited in a
foreland basin, but a forearc basin, related to an Andean volcanic
arc represented by the volcanics lava flows and tufts in the Rawas
and Tabir Formation, is a more probable environment of depo-
sition. The presence of basaits, dolerites and sepentinites in the
Rawas and southern parts of the Peneta Formation suggests that
these sediments extended out onto oceanic crust.
Units in southern Sumatra correl at ed with the Woyla Group
The Pre-Tertiary basement rocks are very poorly exposed
in southern Sumatra, as the greater part of the area is covered by
Tertiary and Quaternary sediments and volcanics. The distribution
of Pre-Tertiary units correlated with the Woyla Group of northern
Sumatra has been determined from the occurrence of a few scat-
tered inliers in the Gumai Mountains, the Garba Mountains
and the Gunungkasih Complex and associated sedimentary units
around Bandar Lampung and from boreholes put down in the
search for oil in the Central and South Sumatra Basins
(Fig. 4.18). In the Gumai Mountains they are described as the
Saling, Lingsing and Sepingtiang formations (Fig. 4.19), in
the Garba Mountains as the Garba Formation (Fig. 4.7) and in
the Bandar Lampung area as the Menanga Formation (Fig. 4.8).
PRE- TERTl ARY STRATI GRAPHY 49
Gol ok Tuf f
Format i on
(schematic)
Lubuk Peraku
Formation
I I I I ~ I ~ I ~ I
I i i i I i i
Pc+~r162 + ~+';
i ul i i i i I I
+++~:+:C~++:~+o<)+:++~:+,+
No exposure
I l l I i i i i i i i i i,,, I
i i i i i i '
i I i i I ! i
i I i i i i i
g
C~slal luffs with sedimentary structures
(water lain) and occasional fine to medium
interbeds
Massive limestone (biosparite) with shell
and algae
Pale coloured volcanics overlain by massive
limestone
Conglomerate with I(X)% carbonate clasts in
sandy shelly carbonate matrix
Limestone conglomerate with basal scours
Massive limestone
Thinly-bedded limestone with dykes
Shelly oolite -heavily veined
Thinly interbedded with limestones and shelly
marls - boudinage~ marl flowage, veining
Thin pale tuff band in limestone conglomerate
Dark marls containing blocks of dark volcanics
and limestone conglomerate (?tectonic)
Nearly t00% carbonate clasts
Conglomerate ? breccia. Poorly sorted, sub-
rounded to sub-angular clasts fi'om mm to
several m in size. Carbonate clasts include
bedded sandy limestone with bivalves, algal
fragments and solotary scleractinian corals
Minor, but significant volcanic clast component
Fig. 4.17. Col unmar section through the Lubuk Peraku
Li mest one and the Gol ok Tuff, measured in the Lubuk Peraku
river section, from McCart hy et al. (2001).
Saling Formation. The Saling Formation, which forms the northern
part of the Gumai inlier, is composed of amygdaloidal and
porphyritic andesitic and basaltic lavas, breccias and tufts, associ-
ated in the field with serpentinites and cherts. On the basis of
chemical analyses and discriminant plots the lavas have been
interpreted as tholeiites of oceanic affinity and have therefore
been interpreted as ocean floor basalts (Gafoer et al. 1992c).
However, the presence of andesites, the amygdaloidal and
porphyritic textures, suggests that the Saling Formation includes
fragments of a volcanic arc. The lavas are cut by diorite
dykes, regarded as contemporaneous with the lavas, and dated
by K- Ar analysis at 116 + 3 Ma (Early Cretaceous) (Gafoer
et al. 1992c). The description of the Saling Formation closely
resembles that of the Bentaro Volcanic Formation of Aceh
(Bennett et al. 198 l a) and the Nabana Volcanic and Parlumpangan
units of the Batang Natal (Wajzer et al. 1991). The Early
Cretaceous age shows that the Saling Volcanic Arc was active
contemporaneously with the Bentaro Arc of Aceh.
Lingsing Formation. The Lingsing Formation in the southern part
of the Gumai inlier (Fig. 4.19), contains igneous rocks similar
to those of the Saling Formation, interbedded with claystone, silt-
stone, sandstone, calcilutite and chert. The Saling and Lingsing
formations are therefore considered to be contemporaneous.
Since tholeiitic basalts are associated with serpentinized ultrabasic
pyroxenites and cherts, this assemblage is regarded as an ophiolitic
sequence of ocean floor origin, together with fragments of a
volcanic arc. Although the rocks are highly deformed and
folded it is not clear from the descriptions whether they are imbri-
cated to form an accretionary complex (Gafoer et al. 1992c). The
strike of bedding and cleavage in the sediments is said to be
north-south. The mapped east -west contact between the Saling
and the Lingsing formations is therefore presumably tectonic
(Fig. 4.19).
The Lingsing Formation has been interpreted as deposited in a
bathyal environment (van Bemmelen 1949; Gafoer et al. 1992c).
The presence of lavas interbedded with clastic deposits, suggests
that the Lingsing Formation represents more distal flows, volcani-
clastic sediments and clastic carbonates derived from a volcanic
arc, extending out into the ocean floor environment, represented
by the bedded cherts. These rocks resemble clastic units in
the Lho' nga Formation of Aceh (Bennett et al. 1981a) and the
Belok Gadang Siltstone and Rantobi Sandstone formations of
Natal (Wajzer et al. 1991).
Sepintiang Limestone Formation. In the Gumai inlier the Saling and
Lingsing formations are overlain discordantly by the Sepingtiang
Limestone Formation (Fig. 4.19). This is composed of massive,
brecciated and bedded limestones, containing the coral Cal amo-
phyl l i opsi s crassa (Late Jurassic), the foraminifers Pseudot ext ur-
ariella, small Cuneol i na (Early Cretaceous) and Orbi t ol i na sp.
(mid-Cretaceous). The contact between the Sepingtiang
50 CHAPTER 4
PADANG
-1 ~
. . . . . . . . "o " ' " , ,
..N' .' .' .' .' .' 103._.~j ) 104 ~ ~ 105 ~
"Ti gapui uh~
Mountainsl i i i i...~L~ "
,i,i-i-i-i-i,i..--> .
9 . . . . . . . . _ . o. 7. 2\
9 . . . . . . . . . . . #1. o.
! B] (,bj,
i : : @: ; i : ~, ~ :" :" : . " . ;, O e? g/'}'rio0
} . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
.Mountain ~ i~'':':''';:-:':'i'~ ~ :::'~
Formation ~%'--"". ,_'",_'\"N ~.. "..~. ',:":':'i:":'i'::'s O: ' ' ' . . . j
0 50
I
106 ~
100km
I
BANGKA
,o \ au,ts
NIK N Thrusts
JURASSIC - MID-CRETACEOUS (Woyla Grot
~ Sepintiang, kingsing, Saling, Situlangang, i
Garba and Menanga Formations q
MID-JURASSIC - EARLY CRETACEOUS
~ Tabir, Rawas and Peneta Formations
PERMO-TRIASSIC
Pemali, Tempilang, Papan, Kualu,
Tuhur and Silungkang Formations
EARLY PERMIAN (PEUSANGAN GROUP)
[ ~ Palepat and Mengkarang Formations
CARBONIFEROUS - ?EARLY PERMIAN (TAPANULI GROUP)
Kuant an Format i on
Mentulu (Bohorok) Formation
Squares, circles and triangles indicate units encountered in boreholes
104~ ~i ~ 105~ ~ 106~
I - v\ I I
Taboali
Fig. 4.18. Distribution of the subcrop of the Pre-Tertiary stratigraphic units in southern Sumatra, including the Jurassic-Cretaceous Woyla Group. Borehole data is from
De Coster (1974). Boreholes marked 'L' bottomed in the 'Kluang Limestone' regarded as Cretaceous by De Coster (1974), but considered more likely to be part of the
Kuantan Formation in this account. The distribution of Permian (P) and Triassic (Tr) units on Bangka is from Ko (1986).
Li mest one and the underlying units is considered to be tectonic
(Gafoer et al. 1992c). The Sepingtiang Li mest one may be inter-
preted in the same way as the limestones in Aceh, as a fringing
reef surrounding a volcanic arc. Fossil evidence of the Late
Jurassic to mid-Cretaceous age of the Sepintiang Limestone
Format i on means that it can be correlated directly with the
Lamno, Teunom and Sise Li mest one formations of Aceh
(Bennett et al. 1981a; Cameron et al. 1983), the Batu Nabontar
limestones in the Batang Natal section (Wajzer et al. 1991)
and the Lubuk Peraku limestones at Indarung (Yancey & Al i f
1977).
Intrusions in the Gumai Inlier. The Jurassi c-Cret aceous units in
the Gumai Mount ai ns are cut by granitic intrusions, which by
anal ogy with similar dated granites further south in the Garba
Mountains, described below, are regarded as of Late Cretaceous
age (Gafoer et al. 1992c). The rocks of the inlier and the surround-
ing Tertiary rocks are also cut by NW- SE- t r endi ng faults, some
showing strike-slip displacements (Fig. 4.19), and are evidently
related to the Sumatran Fault System, the mai n strands of which
lie some 25 km to the SW.
Garba Formation. The Garba Formation in the Garba Mountains is
associated with met amorphi c rocks of the Tarap Formation
(Fig. 4.7). The Garba Formation is composed of (?)amygdaloidal
and porphyritic basaltic and andesitic lavas. The volcanic rocks
are associated with sheared serpentinite and lenses and intercala-
tions of radiolarian chert. A fault-bounded sliver on the eastern
side of the inlier, and a few other scattered outcrops where chert
is abundant, are mapped as the Situlanglang Member (Fig. 4.7).
An Insu Member is distinguished on the map, with a similar
lithological assemblage, but also containing interlayered lenticular
bodies of m~lange ( ' m' in Fig. 4.7), with boulders of basalt, ande-
site, radiolarian chert, claystone, siltstone, schist and massive
l i mest one in a scaly clay matrix (Gafoer et al. 1994). The lime-
stones found as blocks do not crop out elsewhere in the inlier,
but are presumed to be derived from an unexposed component
of the Garba Formation. Notably, met amorphi c rocks of the
Tarap Format i on have not been found as blocks in the melange.
The foliation in the scaly matrix and the elongation of the enclosed
blocks, which are cut by tension fractures normal to their long
axes, trends in a NW- SE direction (Gafoer et al. 1994). Two
fold phases are recogni zed in the Garba Formation, an earlier
phase of east - west folds and a later phase of NE- SW folds
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 51
Qv
I
103o00 '
Lm
Qv
103~ '
to Bengkul u 60km
9 ,
9 , .
, ,
- - 3o45 '
Q v
PI
Lm
9 , ,
Tom
Quat er nar y Vol cani cs
Pl i ocene
Lat e Mi ocene
Mi ddl e Mi ocene
Ol i go- Mi ocene
Eocene
-..,,
Qv
Lat e Cr et aceous Gr ani t es
Sepi ngt i ang Li mest one For mat i on
Li ngsi ng ( sedi ment ar y) For mat i on
Sal i ng (vol cani c) For mat i on
Pyr oxeni t e
103o00 '
I
9 , , . , , . , , , . , , , .
Qv
Qv
Qv
::
. . . . .
9 , 9 . . . . . . .
._.,_____-.- F
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
- ' - F ~ ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . %<. . : . .
~i i i l i l
Qv ~ . J
= - - - - - - - Faul t s 0 5 10 15 20km
|
I
103o15 '
I
Fig. 4.19. The distribution of the Saling, Lingsing and Sepintiang Formations, correlatives of the Woyla Group, in the Gumai Mountains, South Sumatra, after GRDC
map of Bengkulu (Gafoer et al. 1992c).
(Gafoer et al. 1994). Neither the cherts nor the limestones have so
far yielded age-diagnostic fossils.
The Garba Formation has been compared to the Woyla Group
of Natal (Gafoer et al. 1994) and certainly lithological descrip-
tions of this formation and its Insu and Situlanglang members,
correspond very well with those from Aceh and the Batang
Natal section. The basaltic and andesitic lavas of the Garba
Formation correspond with those of the Bentaro Arc, and may
similarly be interpreted as part of a volcanic arc sequence.
Limestone blocks within the m61ange may represent fragments
of fringing reefs or the collapsed carbonate cappings of seamounts,
the latter now represented by volcanics in the Garba Formation, as
has been suggested for the Natal and Indarung areas (Wajzer et al.
1991; McCarthy et al. 2001).
Descriptions of the m61anges of the Insu Member of the Garba
Formation (Gafoer et al. 1994) are identical to those from Natal
(Wajzer et al. 1991). The interlayering of the Insu Member with
lavas, chert and m61ange (Gafoer et al. 1994) suggests that these
rocks are deformed and imbricated in the same way as the
Woyla Group in the Batang Natal section, and similarly represent
an accretionary complex formed by subduction of an ocean floor.
It may be that some of the low-grade metamorphic schists mapped
within the Insu Member as Tarap Formation, are part of this accre-
tionary complex, as metamorphic rocks, up to greenschist facies,
are incorporated in the accretionary complex at Natal 9 Rock
units within the Garba inlier are cut and bounded by NW- SE-
trending faults. Although these faults are parallel to the Sumatran
Fault System they do not appear to affect significantly the Tertiary
rocks and must be largely of Pre-Tertiary age.
Intrusions in the Garba lnlier. Both the metamorphic Tarap and the
Garba formations are intruded by the Garba Pluton (Fig. 4.7), a
composite body in which an older component has been dated
by the K- At method at 115 and 102_3Ma (mid-
Cretaceous) and a younger component at 79 1.3 Ma and
89.3 + 1.7 Ma (Late Cretaceous) (Gafoer et al. 1994). Since the
Garba Pluton ( 115- 79 Ma) intrudes both the Tarap and the
Garba formations, the accretion of the Garba Formation to
the margin of Sundaland took place before the mid-Cretaceous.
The age of the younger component of the Garba Pluton is com-
parable to that of the Sikuleh Batholith in Aceh (98 Ma) and the
Manunggal Batholith (87 Ma) in Natal.
Menanga Format i on. The Menanga Formation occurs in scattered
outcrops between Bandar Lampung and Kotaagung to the SW of
the schists and gneisses of the Gunungkasih Complex (Fig. 4.8).
The Menanga Formation consists of tuffaceous and calcareous
claystones, sandstones and shales with intercalated radiolarian-
bearing cherts, manganese nodules and coral limestones and rare
porphyritic basalt. The sandstones contain clasts of glassy andesite
and lithic fragments of andesite, quartz-diorite and quartzite. The
cherts have not so far yielded diagnostic radiolaria, but Zwierzijcki
(1932, confirmed in Andi Mangga et al. 1994a), reports the occur-
rence of Orbi t ol i na sp. of Apt i an-Al bi an (mid-Cretaceous) age
fi'om limestones in the Menanga river section. The bedding
strikes NW- SE with dips of 35o-60 ~ to the NE. The rocks
are folded and cut by faults, with slickensides indicating reverse
movement.
52 CHAPTER 4
The contact between the Gunungkasih Complex and the
Menanga Formation in Gunung Kasih itself is obscured, due to
rice cultivation, and in Teluk Ratai is at present inaccessible
as it lies within a Naval Base (Fig. 4.8). However, the latter
contact in the Menanga River was described by Zwierzijcki
(1932) as occupied by a ' friction breccia' . On the GRDC maps
Ami n et al. (1994b) and Andi Mangga et al. (1994a) show both
these contacts as thrusts (Fig. 4.8).
The Menanga Formation is interpreted by Ami n et al. (1994b)
as a deep-water marine sequence with interbedded basalt lavas
and andesitic clastic fragments, derived from a volcanic arc, and
deposited in a trench or forearc environment. These sediments
were deformed during accretion to the Sumatran margin,
represented by the Gunungkasih Complex. K- Ar radiometric
ages, ranging from 125 to 108 Ma (mid-Cretaceous) from horn-
blende in an amphibolitic schist in the Menanga Formation, is
taken as the age of accretion (Andi Mangga et al. 1994a).
However, the presence of quartzite and quartz-diorite clasts
suggests that the Menanga Formation was, like the Rawas and
associated formations in central Sumatra, derived from an
Andean arc built on a continental basement, and was deposited
in a forearc environment. The Menanga Formation was overthrust
by the basement at a later stage.
Intrusions in the Bandarlampung area. Near Bandarlampung
the Gunungkasih Complex is intruded by the Sulan Pluton
(Fig. 4.8). The pluton is a composite body which includes
gabbro, dated by K- Ar radiometric analysis at 151 + 4Ma
(Late Jurassic), hornblende and biotite granites and granodiorite
intruded by late aplogranite dykes. Granite from the Sulan
Pluton gave an age of 113 ___3 Ma (mid-Cretaceous) (McCourt
et al. 1996).
To the north of Bandarlampung, spectacular exposures below
an irrigation dam on the Sekampung River show extensive
outcrops of granodioritic and dioritic gneiss, containing basic
xenoliths, and cut by concordant and discordant granitic and
pegmatitic veins. The granitic and granodioritic gneisses are cut
by basaltic dykes, several metres thick, which contain xenoliths
of gneiss. The gneiss xenoliths show evidence of melting, and
towards the margins of the dykes are drawn out into streaks,
which are sometimes isoclinally folded, parallel to the dyke
margins. The dykes and the foliation in the gneisses both trend
in a NW- SE direction. Fold structures in the dykes and the
curvature of foliation in the gneisses indicate that the dyke
margins have acted as strike-slip shear zones, with a sinistral
sense of movement. Sub-horizontal slickensides on foliation
surfaces within the gneiss indicate the same sense of movement.
Diorite from the Sekumpang exposure has been dated by the
K- Ar method at 89 _+ 3 Ma (late mid-Cretaceous) (McCourt
et al. 1996).
In the same area, in the Wai Triplek, greenschist facies white
mi ca-quart z schists are intruded by metadolerite dykes. The
margins of the dykes show compositional banding which is iso-
clinally folded, in a similar fashion to the dykes in the Sekampung
River. Further upstream the bed of the Wai Triplek exposes
streaky acid and basic gneisses cut by more homogeneous basic
dykes. Acid gneiss shows evidence of having been melted and
recrystallized along the dyke contacts, and quartz-feldspar veins
fill fractures in brecciated basic dyke material, in a process of
back injection.
Relics of dyke rocks occurring as basic xenoliths in gneiss, and
gneiss xenoliths enclosed in basalt dykes, indicate that
the intrusion of basaltic dykes and granitic bodies alternated
during the development of the gneiss complex at Sekampung.
Exposures in the Wai Triplek form part of the same gneiss
complex, but also contain fragments of the schistose continental
basement into which the igneous rocks were intruded. During
or shortly after intrusion, both granitic and basic rocks were
affected by sinistral shearing, which converted the granitic and
dioritic rocks into gneisses and deformed the basic dykes. The
alternation of acid and basic intrusion, with contemporaneous
deformation, are characteristic features of the basal parts of a
magmatic arc, where acid and basic magmas are intruded into
an active strike-slip fault zone. This situation is similar to that
which exists beneath Sumatra at the present day where the
modern volcanic arc is built on the active Sumatran Fault Zone.
However, the sense of movement along the present arc is
dextral, in the opposite sense to the sinistral movement along
the Cretaceous arc.
I nt erpret at i ons of the Woyl a Gr oup
On completion of the Integrated Geological Survey of Northern
Sumatra the DMR/ BGS mapping team published an interpretion
of the Woyla Group in Aceh (Cameron et al. 1980). It was
suggested than the oceanic assemblage represented an ocean
floor and its overlying pelagic sediments. The arc assemblage
was interpreted as a volcanic arc, and the associated limestones
as the surrounding carbonate reefs. It was suggested that the
volcanic arc had developed on a fragment of continental crust
which had separated from the margin of the Sundaland continent
along a transtensional transcurrent fault, similar to the present
Sumatran Fault System. Extension led to the formation of a
narrow short-lived marginal basin in a process similar to that
which is forming the Andaman Sea or the Gul f of California at
the present time (Cameron et al. 1980, Fig. 4a).
There is no direct evidence to support the suggestion that the arc
assemblage was constructed on continental crust, but a number
of circumstantial arguments have been put forward in support of
this interpretation: the arc assemblage is intruded by the Sikuleh
Batholith, which it is suggested was derived from the underlying
continental crust; quartz-rich rocks associated with the batholith
and shown as ' undifferentiated Woyla Group' rocks on the
Calang map sheet (Bennett et al. 1981a) are interpreted as roof
pendants, uplifted from the underlying basement; and tin, recorded
in stream sediment samples along the northern margin of the
batholith, is normally restricted to continental crust (Stephenson
et al. 1982). All of these arguments are open to objection and to
alternative explanation.
Unfortunately no detailed chemical analyses of the Sikuleh
Batholith are available. However, it is a composite body, compris-
ing an ' Older Complex' of variably deformed and contaminated
gabbroic and dioritic rocks, into which is intruded a ' Younger
Complex' of homogeneous, largely unfoliated, biotite-hornblende
granodiorite, with a K- Ar age of 97.7 _+ 7 Ma (Bennett et al.
1981b). The low values of stream sediment tin are associated
with the outcrop of the Younger Complex, which is likely to be
a mantle-derived I-type granitoid body. There is no detailed
field or geochemical evidence in favour of the suggestion that
roof pendants have been uplifted from an underlying basement;
they could equally well have subsided from an overlying thrust
sheet. It is possible that the tin in stream sediments in Aceh
were derived directly by erosion and transport from the area to
the east of the Sumatran Fault, or secondarily through Tertiary
sediments.
Although there is no direct palaeontological or isotopic
evidence for the age of the Woyla oceanic crust, and the age of
the volcanic arc is inferred only from the palaeontological
age of the fringing reefs, in the model proposed by Cameron
et al. (1980), the marginal sea is considered to have formed by
extension and rifting in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous.
In the Late Cretaceous, compression, related to subduction on
the outboard side of the Sikuleh microcontinental sliver, led to
the collapse of the marginal sea to form the imbricated oceanic
assemblage and the accretion of the microcontinental fragment,
with its overlying volcanic arc, against the continental margin of
Sundaland.
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 53
As the DMR/ BGS Survey extended southwards, the model
developed in Aceh was used to interpret the Jurassic-Cretaceous
rocks correlated with the Woyla Group in the Natal area (Rock
et al. 1983). The Muarasoma Formation at the northeastern
end of the Batang Natal section, with its turbidites and massive
limestones was interpreted as shelf sediments formed on the
continental margin of Sundaland. The Belok Gadang Formation,
with pillow lavas manganiferous sediments and cherts, was inter-
preted as the imbricated floor of the marginal basin, and the
Langsat Volcanics at the southwestern end of the section were
interpreted as the volcanic arc overlying a continental basement.
The underlying basement was inferred from the Air Bangis
granites which intrude the volcanics, analogous to the situation
at Sikuleh (Rock et al. 1983, Fig. 8). In the ' Tectonic Map of
Northern Sumatra' prepared by Aspden et al. (1982a) the conti-
nental fragments in Aceh and Natal were identified as the
Sikuleh and Natal Microcontinental Blocks. A further block, the
Bengkulu Microcontinental Block was subsequently proposed in
southern Sumatra. The concept of microcontinents was taken up
by Metcalfe (1996, Fig. 15) who suggested that these microconti-
nental fragments separated from the northern margin of Gondwana
in the Late Jurassic and were accreted to the Sumatran margin in
the mi d- Lat e Cretaceous.
The study by Wajzer et al. (1991) necessitated the re-interpret-
ation of the Batang Natal section and the reassessment of the mar-
ginal sea model. It was found that the turbidites of the Muarasoma
Formation were volcaniclastics, with no significant proportion
of quartz, and that the massive limestones did not contain
any material of continental derivation. The sediments of the
Muarasoma Formation are evidently of oceanic rather than of
continental margin origin. The bedded cherts and manganiferous
sediments in the Belok Gadang Formation were interpreted as
representing the floor of an extensive ocean, rather than the floor
of a restricted marginal sea. A limestone block in m61ange, inter-
preted as a collapsed carbonate capping to a sea mount, was found
to contain a foraminifer of late Triassic age. Evidently the ocean
floor accreted into the Woyla accretionary complex was already
in existence in the early Mesozoic. An earlier date for the origin
of the Woyla ocean floor has been confirmed by the discovery
of early Middle Jurassic radiolaria from cherts in the Indarung
Formation (correlated with the Woyla Group) near Padang
(McCarthy et al. 2001). At the southwestern end of the Batang
Natal section the Langsat Volcanics and the associated
volcanoclastics were dated isotopically as of Late Eocene to
Early Oligocene age (Wajzer et al. 1991). They are not, therefore,
a Late Jurassic-mid-Cretaceous arc analogous to the Bentaro
Volcanic arc of Aceh.
The concept of microcontinental blocks accreted to the margin
of Sundaland in the mi d- Lat e Cretaceous has not been proven.
The arc volcanics of the Bentaro Formation and the granitoids
of the Sikuleh Batholith require detailed geochemical study to
determine whether they represent arc volcanics extruded through
a continental basement. There is no evidence either at Natal or
Bengkulu for a microcontinental block, the Langsat Volcanics
and the Air Bangis granites have been shown to be part of an
Eocene to Early Oligocene volcanic arc emplaced against the
Natal section by late (Neogene or Quaternary?) strike-slip faulting
(Barber 2000).
Chapter 5
Granites
E. J. COBBING
Knowledge of the granites of Sumatra has been gathered mainly as
the result of systematic mapping programmes conducted with the
aim of identifying mineral resources and providing a geological
data base for more detailed studies. Mapping programmes were
conducted principally by Dutch and Indonesian geologists prior
to the second world war, mainly in southern Sumatra and the
Tin Islands. In the 1970s a combined Indonesian Directorate of
Mineral Resources (DMR)/British Geological Survey (BGS)
project was set up to map the geology of Sumatra to the north of
the Equator. On completion of this project in the mid-1980s geo-
logical and geochemical maps for the region were published at the
scale of 1:250000, together with descriptive sheet bulletins.
Another useful compilation which may be refered to is the
1:2.5 million scale geological map for the whole of the Indonesian
Archipelago which includes Sumatra (Clarke 1990).
Subsequently BGS undertook a similar but smaller project in
southern Sumatra in order to upgrade geological mapping and
mineral exploration programmes which were being conducted
by the Indonesian Geological Research and Development Centre
(GRDC) and DMR. As part of this programme a specific effort
was made to investigate the granites of this region. A combined
granite workshop/regional mapping programme resulted in the
identification of many granite units within batholiths such as
Lassi, Bungo and Garba, as well as numerous isolated plutons.
Full geochemical and isotopic analyses were provided for these
granites (McCourt & Cobbing 1993; McCourt et al. 1996).
Gasparon & Varne (1995) have provided further geological and
geochemical information from selected granites and volcanics
over the whole of Sumatra. Cobbing et al. (1986, 1992) had pre-
viously provided full geochemical and isotopic data for the gran-
ites of the Tin Islands as part of a comprehensive study of the
granites of much of SE Asia.
These combined studies confirmed earlier suggestions that the
granites of Sumatra could be classified into a group of older,
widely distributed tin-associated granites, and a group of
younger, geographically restricted, volcanic-arc granites with a
wide compositional range.
The older tin-associated granites crop out throughout the whole
of Sumatra, but are concentrated mainly to the east of the Barisan
Range and also within it, but in some areas granite outcrops extend
as far as the west coast. Granites of the volcanic arc suite are con-
fined to the Barisan Range.
At the present time it is difficult to provide a unified account for
the granites of Sumatra, because much of the earlier work
addressed different aspects of the geological, geochemical and iso-
topic relationships of the granites. This has resulted in difficulties
in interpreting the earlier studies. Consequently the following syn-
thesis is constrained by the different objectives and conditions
under which the earlier regional work was carried out.
Isotopic ages of Sumatran granites
Many of the published isotopic analyses from Sumatra are
unsupported by petrographic descriptions or whole-rock chemical
analyses. Moreover, in some cases isotopic ages determined for
particular plutons cover such a wide range that it is impossible
to establish their exact age of emplacement. In other cases the
available geochemistry is sufficiently anomalous to cast doubt
on the reliability of the reported isotopic age. This is the case
for the Ombilin Granite (Fig. 5.1), cropping out on the western
shore of Lake Singkarak, for which Silitonga & Kastowa (1975)
gave an Rb- Sr age of 256 _+ 6 Ma. This body has volcanic arc-
type geochemistry but is very strongly deformed, and shows
highly anomalous potassium and rubidium values (McCourt &
Cobbing 1993). These factors casts doubt on the reliability of
the reported age, which is at least 50 Ma older than all other gran-
ites of that affinity.
A further example of the difficulties in interpreting the isotopic
ages of the granites of Sumatra is provided by the Sibolga Batholith
in northwest Sumatra. This pluton has yielded a wide range of iso-
topic ages from 75 to 264 Ma. It is a very large body, and may well
be composite, comprising several distinct units of different ages. In
the hinterland of Sibolga the granite consists of biotite-hornblende
granite and granodiorite with pink K-feldspar megacrysts, mafic
enclaves and mafic dykes. These characteristics are typical of the
Eastern Province Granites of Peninsular Malaysia and the Tin
Islands, and distinguish these rocks from the tin-associated granites
in the same areas (Cobbing et al. 1986, 1992). The position of the
Sibolga Granite however, is completely anomalous, as it crops
out on the far west coast of Sumatra, 300 km away from the
Eastern Province Granites of Peninsular Malaysia.
The isotopic age of 264 Ma (Aspden et al. 1982b) may represent
the age of emplacement of the Sibolga Granite itself, but the 13
other ages recorded from this body, ranging from 75 to 264 Ma,
cannot represent an emplacement age for the Sibolga Pluton,
and may have been obtained from satellite plutons in the
Sibolga region.
Unlike the Sibolga Batholith there is no question of uncertain
provenance for the Lassi Batholith (Fig. 5.1) which has yielded
a much quoted Early Cretaceous age of 112 Ma (Katili 1974a).
However, this is incompatible with the K- Ar age of 56.3 Ma
reported by Sato (1991). The five K- Ar ages of 57, 55, 54, 53
and 53 Ma from different units of this batholith given in
McCourt et al. (1996) and the 4~ ages of 55 and 56 Ma
(Imtihanah 2000) confirm its Palaeocene age.
The Lassi examples suggests that many of the isotopic ages
reported from Sumatra do not reflect the age of emplacement,
but it is at present impossible to distinguish these from reliable
ages, unless complementary methods of isotopic dating have
been used, a requirement which substantially diminishes the
value of the currently available data set. For these reasons some
of the isotopic ages quoted in the following acount may be
subject to revision. Most of the granite ages considered in this
account are those for which there is supporting isotopic and
geochemical data.
Until recently the U- Pb zircon age of 264 Ma obtained by Liew &
McCulloch (1985) from the Kuantan Granite of the Eastern Province
of Peninsular Malaysia was the oldest recorded age for granites of
the region. This has now been extended to 275 Ma by Schwartz &
Askury (1990) who obtained K- Ar biotite ages from plutons in
the Kuantan-Dungun region ranging from 220 to 275 Ma. Ages
from the Main Range Province in Peninsular Malaysia are generally
younger, from 207 to 230 Ma (Cobbing et al. 1992). The peak of
magmatism for the Main Range Granites in Peninsular Malaysia
and the Tin Islands is 220 Ma, with granites ranging to older ages,
especially in the Tin Islands: e.g. Belinyu 251 _ 10 and Penangas
252 _ 8 (Cobbing et al. 1992) (Fig. 5.2).
54
GRANITES 55
I I
96OE 98 ,~
- 6<, N
~
BANDA ACEIt
~. ~""S i k u I e h.,._.._~
, ,{JL.~ Batholith ~
, \ q l o o
GeuXf i t ' ~eu~ ~ ~ _ ~ . .
Gr anodi or i t e\ ' ~ ;~ ?LSerbadjadl
4 o
Unga
Diorite ~ ....
2 c'
Sibolg,~
Batholith,
- - 0 < ( ~
\ X "}
.... i i
~\. L
i ~' HataPang' x~-N-' ~
,,[,u,on,
' Muarasipongi
~~
-~Rokan
L., " ~ \~X "? .... Siabu
Ombilill Sulit Ai r"[
G ran itel~.~J)te.~ ),,Sijunjung
I I I i
102 ~' 104"-' 106" t 08 ~
- 2~ VOLCANIC ARC PROVINCE
Biotite-hornblende diorites~,~
i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . tonalites, granodiorites and ~~
monzogranites of Volcanic
Arc affinity, l-Types
Age range 203-5 Ma
MAIN RANGE PROVINCE
-4' ~ Biotite monzogranites of
l ~,, J Post-collisional affinity S-Types
l "~ J Some tin-associated
Age range 247q43 Ma
EASTERN PROVINCE
Biotite and biotite-hornblende
_6 ~ [ - - ~
monzogranites of post-collisional
and crustal I-Types
Age range 264-216 Ma
~anjung ~; "~lsahanU~'\"-P'---~ -
,Gadang <,,,
\
_North O JAMB.]
I~IL Bungo Batholith ~:
~I'L~ South .
BENGKUI.U
%
0 100 200 300 400 500km
96" 98 ~ 100 ~ 102 ~
. . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l .......................... I
Kuantan-Dungun
MALAY
PENI NSULA
RIAU
ISLANDS
;ingkep
BANGKA
~.e Garba
"--. LIN Batholith
Padean oguru
rbamba * / Jat i bar u
Pluton ~ng~ "X>~.~'~ On~;~Sulan T~
104 ~
. . . . . . l . . . . . . . .
BILLITON
F
ranjong'
Pandang' - ~' - - - ' -
Pluton
4 ~ --
BANDAR LAMPUNG
v,/
tti
Fig. 5.1. The granites of Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and the Tin islands of Bangka and Billiton. Data from Beddoe-Stephens et al. (1987), Clarke & Beddoe-Stephens
(1987), Cobbing et al. (1986, 1992), Sato (1991), McCourt & Cobbing (1993), Gasparon & Varne (1995). Broken line shows the eastern limit of the Western Province
Granites in Sumatra.
In Peninsular Malaysia the Eastern Granite Province is separated
by the Bent ong-Raub Line from the Main Range Province, where
the ages of the granites are generally younger, ranging from 207 to
230 Ma (Late Triassic) (Figs 5.1 & 5.3) although some granites,
especially in the Tin Islands, have given Late Permian ages, e.g.
the Belinyu and Penangas quoted above (Cobbing et al. 1992).
Although a great deal of work has been done on the granites of
Sumatra only six studies have provided sufficient detail of their
geological, geochemical and isotopic features for useful compari-
son. These are the publications of Beddoe-Stephens et al . (1987)
for the Muarasipongi Batholith, Schwartz & Surjono (1990a)
for the Tiga Puluh region, Clarke & Beddoe-Stephens (1987) for
the Hatapang Granite, Sato (1991) for three I-type and S-type
plutons in central Sumatra, Gasparon & Varne (1995) for selected
plutons of mainly volcanic arc character from the whole island,
McCourt & Cobbing (1993) who provided a complete data set
of their collection for the southern half of Sumatra, and
McCourt e t al . (1996) giving selected data from that data set. It
is however useful to interpret the ages and affinities of other gran-
ites in Sumatra within the framework provided by these recent
studies, using the field and petrographic characteristics provided
by earlier studies.
56 CHAPTER 5
I
t 06 ~
I
t08,~ ,
AR~MUN ~
_ 0 o
Sungai
lsahan [~,~
-2os
Akat
NGAPORE
:am _La~. oi 226Ma
I~-~'~ ~ll BINTAN
5k,'~ ~ J East Bintan
-% \ - ~-j oBatholith
X~ Loban 229Ma
,~ Laut
Eastern Provi nce
(I-Type) Granites
" ~ ~~ ~ Main Range Province
%~ (S-Type) Granites
_ st Central
_ Paku ~-/SINGKEP
" ~- - " ~ BANGKA
\,~ Belinyu Kl abat Bathol i th
25~anj ong Layang
~ P e n a n g a s ~---: ' ~ ...... )\Tanjong Batu o ~
S U M A T R A M~e~nu~n~a. . l r - - 9 ~ 9 ~ ,. Tanjong Raya Z' -
200Ma 2- ..---<7"z~ ..... \
f _ j ~ % s Tanjong BILLITON
Pluton ~ ~ n n Man
~" 213Ma \ .......... ? f 216Ma( ~ / - ~" ~ u ~ g 4 p'' ) ' ' g
P ALEMBANG 0 L ~ / r . , 0 %27nong L egau
. Buki t Toboali ~,~"-5--- 2
Bat u 225Ma ~' -~
/
Nama Parangb~h gP Kelumpang
100 200 300km ( /
\
--~ IIIIIII III
104 '~ 106 ~ 108 ~;`
I / I I
Fig. 5.2. Main Range and Eastern
Province granites in the Indonesian Tin
Islands (after Cobbing et al. 1992).
Karimun is a Tin granite, but it does have
A-type affinities. Segal and Akat are both
l-types. Karimun has affinities with Dabo.
The grani te suites
The granites of Sumatra form two distinct groups. An older group
is widely distributed as isolated plutons and batholiths over the
whole island, but mainly in the area to the east of the Barisan
Range. Some of these granites are tin-associated and have a
narrow compositional range of SiO2 values, generally above
70%. These older granites are related to the Central (Main
Range) Province of the Southeast Asian Tin Belt of Peninsular
Malaysia and Thailand (Figs 5.1 & 5.3). A younger group of gran-
ites form the plutonic component of a volcanic arc suite. They are
confined to the Barisan Range, where they form small batholiths
and separated plutons with an extended compositional range
from gabbro to monzogranite.
The Ti n- as s oc i at e d sui t e
Tin-associated granites are of S-type affinity and are probably
mostly of Triassic age. They are widely distributed in Sumatra
but are poorly exposed. They are equivalent to the Main Range
granites of Peninsular Malaysia and of the Indonesian Tin
Islands. There is however, an almost complete lack of geochem-
ical and isotopic data for these granites. Schwartz (1987) and
Schwartz & Surjono (1990a) reported five major and trace
element analyses from greisens and K-feldspar megacrystic
biotite granites from the Sungei Isahan and adjacent areas in the
Tiga Puluh region of South Sumatra (Fig. 5.1). Three of the ana-
lyses are of greisens and are anomalous in their composition,
but two are from normal K-feldspar megacrystic monzogranites
with SiO2 values of 71.7 and 71.47% which correspond closely
with the geochemical signatures of granites from the Main
Range Province of Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand. K- Ar
ages of 197 2 Ma and 193 4- 2 Ma were obtained for muscovite
in greisens in the Sungei Isahan and an age of 198 4- 2 Ma from
biotite in K-feldspar megacrystic granite at Bukit Kayumambang
20 km east of Sungei Isahan.
The Sijunjung Batholith, which is located on the eastern flank of
the Barisan Range to the northeast of Padang (Fig. 5.1), is a very
large and inaccessible body, but a large sample was dated and
chemically analysed by Sato (1991). The K- Ar age is 247 Ma
and the geochemistry, with a SiO2 value of 72.71%, is similar
to that for the S-type granites of the Main Range Batholith of
Peninsular Malaysia and the Tin Islands (Sato 1991).
The Sungei Isahan and Sijunjung occurrences are at present the
only examples of the tin-associated granites of Main Range Type
in mainland Sumatra lbr which there is both geochronology and
geochemical analyses. Provisionally these two occurences may
be regarded as representative of the Tin-Associated Suite as a
whole. Although the database for the widespread Tin-Associated
Granites is small, where the writer has inspected them in the
field they were found to bear a striking resemblance to granites
of the Main Range (Central) Province in Peninsular Malaysia
and the Tin islands.
The Hatapang Granite, which is located to the south of Lake
Toba (Fig. 5.1) was discovered by the investigation of a tin
anomaly revealed by reconnaissance geochemical surveying.
The geochemical and isotopic study by Clarke & Beddoe-Ste-
phens (1987) established an Rb- Sr isochron age of 80 i 1 Ma
with an initial ratio of 0.7151, which indicates an S-type affinity.
They suggested on the basis of these results, that the pluton was
not representative of the tin-associated granites of Triassic age,
but was more likely to be one of the Western Province granites
of mainly Cretaceous-Tertiary age occurring along the Thai l and-
Burma border and the Shan Scarp region of Burma. Representa-
tives of this suite are present at Phuket in southern Thailand
north of the Ban Kram Fault Zone (Garson et al. 1975), and
GRANITES 57
Wunt ho
) L; 100 ~
,,, ",,
~ 0
~i ~i~'84184 ili~i~i!, ,~':.i~ '!:!~.~'
!~ iii~i ~ ~,ii i'~ ): :/:)~i
l&o
200 400 600
' L
I
110 ~
800 1000km
~ill i;:~:iii
~!.?#~e ~ , "',,_
i
C7
l g~
0
o o
[aub Compl ex
95OE 100 ~ 105 ~ ~ " ~- - . 110~
Fig. 5.3. Granitic provinces of Sumatra and adjacent areas (modified after
Cobbing et al. 1992 and McCourt et al. 1996).
Clarke & Beddoe Stephens (1987) suggested that this suite
continued southwards in central Sumatra, thus bringing stannifer-
ous granites of younger age into an area dominated by older tin
granites. The geochemical data from the Hatapang Granite
suggests that it may have some alkali affinity, since it falls
mostly within the ' Within Plate Granite' (WPG) field on Pearce
diagrams (Fig. 5.4a, b) and in or close to, the alkali feldspar
field on the QAP Le Maitre diagram (Clarke & Beddoe Stephens
1987) (Fig. 5.5). They also plot above the calc-alkali field of Kuno
(1969 fig. 6.7). Such an affinity is compatible with the compo-
sitional range present in the granites of the Western Province
(Cobbing et al. 1992).
The Vol c ani c Ar c Sui t e
It is however, the Volcanic Arc Suite (Fig. 5.1) that has provided the
main focus for granite studies in Sumatra. The volcanic-arc affinity
E
Q.
0.
Z
0
=J
1000
I O0
tt
WPG
o. ooOO:
syn-COLG Oo "~,~. ~/ "
9 . " . - - . . 2. . /
9 . . . . . t
9 ~Ol , ~lJll I I / / I I ,Ill i i I I ~l l t l
t 0 100 1000
Log Y ppm
#
o
. J
1000
100
-- b o -=_
= ~yo COLG oo~ ~176
_ 9 2
9 el DOO go //
9 "" ;'.'" / i
9 !
VAG 9
ORG z
o
10 100 1000
Log Y + Nb ppm
Fig. 5.4. (a) Nb/Y and (b) Rb/(Y + Nb) discfiminant diagrams for syn-collision
(syn-col), volcanic arc (VA), within plate (WP) and normal and anomalous ocean
ridge (OR) granites after Pearce et al. (1984). Volcanic Arc granites, South Sumatra
(filled circles; McCourt et al. 1996), the Hatapang granite (open circles; Clarke &
Beddoes-Stephens 1987) and Bukit Batu (squares; Gasparon & Vame 1987).
of these granites was established by McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
and McCourt et al. (1996). Most of the currently available geo-
chemical and isotopic data is from southern Sumatra, but Beddoe-
Stephens et al. (1987) published six whole-rock analyses from
the Muarasipongi Batholith in northern Sumatra (Fig. 5.1), with
62- 68% SiO2 and an Rb- Sr isochron age of 158 4-23 Ma,
which established its Jurassic age and volcanic arc affinity. Sato
(1991) provided whole-rock geochemistry and K- Ar ages for the
Padangpanjang and Lassi bodies located to the northeast of
Padang (Fig. 5.1). The isotopic data from these granites established
a Cretaceous age of 64 Ma for Padangpanjang and 56 Ma for Lassi,
and the geochemistry confirms their volcanic arc affinity.
These results are similar to those of McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
and McCourt et al. (1996) who provided chemical analyses and
K- At ages from 13 plutons and batholiths from southern
Sumatra which, while not being a comprehensive data set, can
be regarded provisionally as being representative of this group
for the region as a whole. That work established an age range of
203 to 5 Ma from rocks with SiO2 values ranging from 50.83 to
76.71%. The lithological range is from gabbro to monzogranite.
This range is similar to that for Volcanic Arc and Cordilleran
granitoids elsewhere and all other geochemical indices confirm
that affinity (McCourt & Cobbing 1993" McCourt et al. 1996).
58 CHAPTER 5
o . , :
8. +.
' Ov v 9ov O\ , 7x, , x 10 ~,
A/ 8, , / ' v 7 v v
Fig. 5.5. South Sumatran Volcanic Arc Granites (filled circles), Hatapang
Granite (open circles and Bukit Batu Granites (squares) plotted on the QAP
modal diagram of Le Maitre (1989).
They also plot within the volcanic arc field on Pearce diagrams
(McCourt & Cobbi ng 1993; McCourt et al. 1996) (Fig. 5.4) and
in the calc-alkali field in Figs 5.6 & 5.7.
At about the same time Gasparon & Varne (1995) published a
study of selected granites and volcanic rocks from widely dis-
persed localities from the whole of Sumatra. They provided 16
analyses of granitic rocks ranging from 50 to 77% SiO2. Eleven
of these analyses were from southern Sumatra and seven from
northern Sumatran granites, including the Sikuleh Batholith at
the northwestern tip of the Island (Fig. 5.1) from which two
samples were taken, a monzogranite and a granodiorite. This is
a large, compl ex and in part deformed and foliated batholith, for
which until now only been field observations have been available.
The data of Gasparon & Varne (1995) confirms the volcanic arc
nature of all these granitoids.
The majority of granitoids of the volcanic arc suite are unde-
formed, or only weakly foliated. Some however, are strongly
deformed and some show clear evidence for deformat i on during
crystallisation. During field work in 1992 five phases of synplu-
tonic deformation were recognised from the Aroguru Pluton in
southern Sumatra (Fig. 5.1). This body lies close to the present
trace of the West Sumatra Fault Zone, it is however older than
FeO*
Na=O+K20 MgO
Fig. 5.6. Compositions of the Volcanic Arc granites of southern Sumatra plotted
on the AFM diagram of Irvine & Baragar (1971).
o

o4
Z
I I
[]
[]
~ ~ ~
/ ~ 0 0
/ / 0 . . . . . . . . .
, -i eS~ [fi l l - - - - - ~' - -
/ 0 ~ J ' ~ ~ O0
I O . . ~, I
" ~ e i f i ~
0 t t ............
50 60 70 80
SiO2(Wt%)
Fig. 5.7. Compositions of the granites of southern Sumatra plotted on a total
alkalies vs. SiO2 diagram, dashed lines denote the calc-alkaline field of Kuno
(1979). Symbols as in Figure 5.5
the fault, which was initiated during the Miocene, and it is most
likely that the deformation devel oped as a result of empl acement
processes. Barber (2000, p. 732) has suggested that it was
empl aced in an active sinistral strike-slip shear zone. Elsewhere
along the West Sumatra Fault, particularly to the north of
Padang, strong cataclastic deformation has been observed from
plutons which were fully crystalline before the initiation of the
fault. This is particularly the case for some K-feldspar megacrystic
granites which are representative of the tin-associated granites.
Compari son of recent work
Clarke & Beddoe-Stephens (1987) provided 17 chemical analyses
from the Hatapang Pluton in North Sumatra (Figs 5.1, 5.5 & 5.7),
ten of these were of granites and seven from greisens and veins.
The pluton is an oval body of 6 x 4 km 2 located about 70 km to
the SE of Lake Toba. The granite is a coarse K-feldspar megacrys-
tic rock with a marginal zone of about 100 m width consisting of
microgranites, aplites, pegmatites and greisens, grading into
normal granite. The greisens are strongly mineralized with cassi-
terite, wolframite and other minerals, and there is a wide aureole
of several hundred metres containing microgranite and pegmatite
veins and dykes. Chemi cal analyses of the main porphyritic facies
have silica values ranging from 73 to 77% SiOz. The granite has a
Rb- Sr isochron age of 80 Ma and an initial ratio of 0.7151. The
authors established an S-type affinity for the granite, and
because of its age, suggested that it might be a representative of
the Western Granite Province established by Beckinsale (1979).
The nearest representatives of the Western Province are at
Phuket in Peninsular Thailand. Gasparon & Varne (1995) have
questioned this interpretation on the basis of the Rb- Sr initial
ratio, which they intimate is too low for a Western Province
granite. Cobbing et al. (1992), however, reported ages and
initial ratios from the Western Province in Burma which are com-
parable with that for Hatapang, supporting the interpretation of
Clarke & Beddoe-Stephens (1987).
Beddoe-Stephens et al. (1987) studied the Muarasipongi Batho-
lith in North Sumatra in connect i on with the skarn mineralization
devel oped in contact limestones of that region, and published six
chemi cal analyses with a silica range of 62- 68% SiO2 and a
Rb- Sr isochron age of 158 +_ 3 Ma which were interpreted as
GRANITES 59
indicators of an I-type affinity in the scheme of Chappell & White
(1974), and are similar in their composition to the Volcanic Arc
Suite of South Sumatra (McCourt et al. 1996).
Gasparon & Vame (1995) provided 20 chemical analyses from
both northern and southern Sumatra, all from the Volcanic Arc
Suite, with the possible exception of the Bukit Batu pluton
(Fig. 5.1). Eleven of these are from southern Sumatra with a
range of SiO2 from 49.36 to 77.23% and five from North Sumatra
with a more restricted, but essentially similar range of 51. 07-
76.81% SiO2. They also gave eight estimated Rb- Sr ages ranging
from 15-t-3 to 135 +_ 7 Ma, together with estimated initial
87Sr/86Sr ratios from 0.7038 to 0.7059. The extended compositional
range is similar to that from other regions of volcanic arc related
plutonism and the Rb- Sr ages, although estimated, suggest an
extended period of granite plutonism. This data is also in keeping
with field information recorded from both northern and southern
Sumatra, that the granites have a lithological range from gabbro
and diorite to monzogranite, similar to that in other Volcanic Arc
terrains.
However, the two samples from the Bukit Batu intrusion in SE
Sumatra, lying to the SW of the island of Bangka and SE of Palem-
bang (Fig. 5.1), have highly anomalous compositions with > 10%
combined soda and potash and ca. 60% SiO2. The isotopic data are
also markedly different, with estimated i ni ti al SVSr/86Sr ratios of
0.71564 and 0.71477 and an estimated age of 170 i 35 Ma. On
the Nb vs. Y (Fig. 5.4a) and Nb + Y (Fig. 5.4b) discriminant
plots of Pearce et al. (1984) the data from both samples fall in
the 'Within Plate' (WPG) field. They also have extremely high
values of Ce, La and Zr, and these strange rocks seem to have
an A-type affinity but are clearly quite different from the Hatapang
Granite. The low silica values and high content of CaO and Na20,
together with the presence of hornblende in one of the samples,
suggest a possible affinity with the volcanic arc granitoids.
However, the wide geographical separation between Bukit Batu
and the outcrop of the Volcanic Arc Suite, restricted to the
Bar Range, does not support this interpretation. Gasparon &
Varne (1995) considered these rocks to be of S-type affinity,
because of their high 87Sr/86Sr estimated initial ratios and esti-
mated age, but stated that 'they are unlike any other granitoids
in Southeast Asia'. It is, however, possible that they may be of
alkaline affinity. Three granites of this affinity are present in the
Tin Islands Suite (Fig. 5.2), of which Karimun and Dabo are tin
mineralized, and West Central Singkep is not (Cobb et al.
1986, 1992). However, none of these granites has such an
extreme composition as the Bukit Batu granite.
A field and geochemical/geochronological study of Sumatra south
of the equator was conducted in 1992 and reported in McCourt &
Cobbing (1993) and McCourt et al. (1996). The data consists of 54
whole rock chemical analyses and 40 K- Ar ages. Nineteen plutons
and batholiths were investigated. Material for geochemistry and geo-
chronology was collected from three main areas extending from the
latitude of Padang to the southeastern tip of Sumatra (Fig. 5.1). The
most northerly area to the east and northeast of Padang and Lake Sin-
karak included the Sulit Air suite, the Lass Batholith (Table 5.1 b)
and the Lolo Pluton (Table 5.1c). To the east the large Tanjung
Gadang pluton was sampled and geochemically analysed, but was
not dated because of the weathered condition of the rock. Ten
samples were taken from the Bungo Batholith which lies about
200 km to the SE and were geochemically analysed and six of
these were dated (Table 5.1d). The Garba Batholith about 300 km
further to the southeast is not well exposed, but was partially
sampled and dated (Table 5.1e). The remaining plutons of
Aroguru, Sulan, Padean, Jatibaru, Brant and Waybambang are
located close to the southeastern tip of Sumatra (Fig. 5.1) (Tables
5. 1f-i). Most of these plutons are simple, consisting of only one
granite unit, but some are more complex. Most of the plutons are
characterised by primary magmatic textures, but some are foliated,
sometimes strongly, and some, especially Aroguru, were affected
by polyphase deformation.
Table 5.1. %SiO: and isotopic ages,from Sumatran Granites
Pl uton/ Uni t Sample Si 02 Age (Ma)
no.
Geological age
(a) Sulit Air Granite Suite
Guguchina SSG8 63.28 142 + 5Bi
149 5H
Saloga SSG l 0 63.77
Belimbing SSG 12 65.09
Sulit Air SSG13 63.42
(b) l_ztssi Granite Batholith
Guguk Sara SSGl5 50.8
Lass Granite SSG20 75.3
Pianggu SSG21 57.7
Lass Granite SSG21 a 74.9
Leucogranodiorite SSG23 63.8
Hornblende Diorite SSG24 61.0
Gabbro SSG25 52.6
Sungai Durian SSG26 68.7
Bukit Bais Gabbro SSG31 52.9
(c) Lolo Granite Pluton
Granodiorite SSG36 65.6
Monzogranite SSG37 7 I. 14
(d) Bungo Granite Batholith
Bungo North
Bungo Granite SSG43 76.37
Rantaupandang SSG44 60.76
Rantaupandang SSG46 60.97
Muarabat SSG48 73.18
Bt Apit SSG52 75.61
Bungo South
Sungai Siwai SSG54 70.08
Dusunburu SSG55 60.39
Kalan SSG58 65.2
Dusunburu S SG59 64.15
Dusunburu SSG59a 64.18
(e) Garba Granite Batholith
Garba SSG70 71.46
Sungai Liki SSG72 69.46
(f) Aroguru Granite Complex
SSG82 65.6
(g) Padean Granite
SSG80 73.69
SSG80a 73.53
SSG80b 74.08
SSG80c 74.61
SSG80d 74,67
SSG81 75.15
138 +_ 4H
183 4H
203 + 6Bi
53 1.5
53 1.4
53 1.7
55 1.6
57 1.5
Cretaceous
Trias
Eocene
5 1.2 Miocene
l l + 1 Miocene
129 4Bi Lower Cretaceous
54 2 Eocene
148 4 Upper Jurassic
169 5Bi Jurassic
154 + 2Bi Jurassic
156 5H
86_+ 3 Bi Cretaceous
117 3Bi
89.2 Cretaceous
83 2Bi Cretaceous
82 2Bi Cretaceous
84 +_ 2 Cretaceous
(h) Way Sulan Gabbro
SSG87 55.3 151 + 4Hb Jurassic
(i) Sulan Tonal#e, and the Jatibaru, Wayambang
Sulan Tonalite SSG83 69.31 111
SSG85 69.2 113
SMO4 69.95
Jatibaru Pluton SSG88 75.6 55 1.5Bi Palaeocene
63 IBi
Waybambang Pluton Tcl 7A 70.3 20 i 1BiHb Miocene
Brant Pluton Sm79 70.62 86 3Bi Cretaceous
and Brantgranite plutons
_+ 3Bi Cretaceous
_+ 3Bi
H, hornblende; Bi, biotite.
On the basis of the new data these authors introduced concepts
which, while not new, had not formerly been recognized in
Sumatra. These were: (1) geographical persistence of granitic
source regions over lengthy periods of time; (2) occurrence of
60 CHAPTER 5
distinct plutonic episodes; (3) westward younging of the Miocene
and Pliocene plutons.
(1) Persistence of granitic source regions is indicated by the
Sulit Air Suite which consists of three small dioritic plutons of
similar lithology, located to the northeast of the Lassi Batholith.
Two of these, the Guguchina and Belimbing plutons are close in
age at 138 Ma and 141 Ma, but the Sulit Air Pluton gave K- Ar
ages of 203 ___6 and 183 + 13 Ma (Table 5.1a) and 192-193
Ma (4~ method, Imtihanah 2000). The suite was evidently
emplaced over a period of 55 million years. An even more
remarkable example is the Rantaupandang Unit of the Bungo
Batholith which shows identical lithological and petrographic
features in samples from two widely separated localities,
subsequently confirmed by identical major and trace element
analyses from the two samples. Biotite and hornblende K- Ar geo-
chronology provided ages of 148 ___4 Ma and 137 + 7 Ma for
SSG47 and 54 ___2Ma for SSG44a (Table 5.1d). Duplicate
analyses confirmed these results, which can only mean that the
source region remained unchanged for nearly 100 million years.
(2) The existence of distinct plutonic episodes is suggested by
breaks in the sequence of intrusion, with durations of between
20 and 34 Ma in the ages of plutons emplaced within the same plu-
tonic lineament. Four episodes were recognized 203- 130 Ma,
117-82 Ma, 60- 53 Ma and 20-11 Ma (McCourt et al. 1996).
Future work may modify these results, but with the present data
they appear to be real.
(3) Westward younging of the plutonic arc is indicated by a dis-
tinct line of small plutons of Miocene age, extending from Lake
Ranau to Padang (McCourt & Cobbing 1993).
Most of the plutons sampled are characterized by primary mag-
matic textures but some, lbr example Sungei Durian in the Lassi
Batholith and the Sulan Tonalite, are strongly foliated. In the
case of the Sulan Pluton this is clearly a magmatic foliation,
characterized by evenly deformed mafic enclaves and the align-
ment of mafic and felsic minerals. The most striking example of
deformation is seen in the Aroguru Diorite in South Sumatra to
the North of Bandar Lampung, where five phases of progressively
weaker deformation were recorded. These phases provide a record
of movement in the region during the emplacement of the pluton,
which has been dated at 89 2 Ma (McCourt & Cobbing 1993;
McCourt et al. 1996; Barber 2000).
The Lassi Batholith (Table 5. l b) comprises at least nine units,
five of which were dated. Most of these units are diorites and
gabbros of varying lithologies and texture, but a distinctive
coarse K-feldspar megacrystic granite is present in at least seven
small dyke-like intrusions. The foliated and poorly exposed
Sungai Durian granodiorite with an SiO2 content of 68.7%
forms a large outcrop in the southern part of the body. The
spread of ages from 203 to 55 Ma for the Sulit Air Suite and the
Lassi Batholith is noteworthy, since their field, petrographic and
geochemical characteristics are sufficiently similar for them to
have been initially considered as a consanguineous group
(McCourt & Cobbing 1993).
The Lolo Pluton (Table 5.1c) is one of the youngest granites
with a full geochemical analysis to have been dated, with an
40 39
intrusion age of 15 Ma ( At/~ Ar method. Imtihanah 2000). It
is of tonalitic composition and is a component of the belt of
very young plutons close to the southwest limit of the plutonic
arc (McCourt & Cobbing 1993; McCourt et al. 1996).
There is little doubt that both the Lassi and the Bungo batholiths
are more complex than at present appears to be the case. Most of
the other granites sampled are simple plutons, consisting of one
major rock type, but some plutons are zoned, having a compo-
sitional variation from diorite or tonalite to granodiorite or
monzogranite.
Table 5. 1(c-i ) show almost the whole compositional range of
the South Sumatra granites and is sufficient to show their essential
similarity to the data of Gasparon & Varne (1995) and, by analogy,
to the entire volcanic arc suite of Sumatra.
Granitoids with volcanic arc characteristics have been
recovered from oil exploration drilling programmes in NW Java
(Patmosukismo & Yayha 1974). These authors report the presence
of granitic rocks, described as quartz microdiorite, with a K20
content ranging from 1.29 to 4.04% and K- At ages ranging from
94 to 56 Ma, in three exploration wells. These granitoids can be
correlated provisonally with the Volcanic Arc Suite of Sumatra.
The relationship of Sumat ran granites to adj acent
areas of Sundal and
Sumatra, including the Tin Islands, the southwestern part of
Kalimantan, the Malay Peninsula, Thailand and Burma constitute
part of Sundaland. The tin-associated granites of Sumatra and the
stanniferous and non-stanniferrous granites of the Tin Islands can
be correlated with the Main Range and Eastern Granite Provinces
distinguished in those areas (Hutchison 1989, 1994) (Fig. 5.3).
Although there is a paucity of geochemical and isotopic data for
the tin-associated granites in Sumatra, that which is available,
together with their distinctive field characteristics, leaves little
doubt that these granites are an expression of the same phase of
plutonism as that developed in the Main Range (Central Belt) in
mainland SE Asia (Mitchell 1977; Beckinsale 1979; Hutchison
1989; Cobbing et al. 1986, 1992).
Similarly, the volcanic arc plutonism of the Barisan Range finds
a ready analogue in the Central Valley Province of Burma, where
the Wuntho Batholith and the Salingyi Complex show a range of
lithologies similar to those which are developed in Sumatra, but
which are restricted to the Cretaceous (Cobbing et al. 1992;
McCourt et al. 1996).
The Hatapang Granite of Cretaceous age is stanniferous, and
Clarke & Beddoe-Stephens (1987) have suggested that it may be
an outlying representative of the Western Belt, developed in
Peninsular Thailand and the Shah Scarp region of Burma (Mitchell
1977; Beckinsale 1979).
Most of the regional relationships of the granites of Sumatra
to the geology developed during the geological evolution of
Sundaland are straightforward, but some are not. Unfortunately,
the most intractable problems are located in the area between
Peninsular Malaysia, eastern Sumatra and the Tin Islands.
These problems centre around the southward extension of the
Bentong-Raub Line (Figs 5.1 & 5.3) which, in Peninsular Malaysia
and Thailand, divides stanniferrous S-type granites of the Main
Range (Central) Belt, from non-stanniferous and stanniferous gran-
ites of the Eastern Belt. This line is clearly marked in Peninsular
Malaysia by the sporadic occurrence of ophiolites. It can also be
followed northwards, across the Gulf of Thailand, as far as the
border with Laos. It cannot, however, easily be followed southwards.
Whereas some of the islands of the Indonesian Archipelago host
stanniferous S-types, most of the granites are non-stanniferous
I-types. There are also both stanniferous and non-stanniferous
A-type granites (Cobbing & Mallick 1984; Cobbing et al. 1992).
There is an extensive literature on this question which is summarised
by Hutchison (1994) who concludes that the Raub-Bentong Line
probably follows a course near the east coast of Sumatra and lies
somewhere in the neighbourhood of Bangka and Billiton.
Granites in most of the northern islands of the Riau Archipelago
are non-stanniferous I-types, but stanniferous S-types with Main
Range (Central Belt) characteristics are present on the island of
Kundur and at the southwest tip of Singkep (Fig. 5.2). The pro-
longation of this direction leads directly towards the islands of
Bangka and Billiton, and follows an arcuate form leading eastward
from Sumatra towards Kalimantan. Bangka and Billiton contain a
mixed population of stanniferous S-type granites and non stanni-
ferous I-type granites (Fig. 5.2, in which the S and I type granites
are mingled together and are not separated into distinctive belts).
There is also a suite of intermediate character containing both
GRANITES 61
I-type and stanniferrous S-type granites termed the Bebulu Suite
(Pitfield 1987; Cobbing et al. 1992). The only logical explanation
for the mixed granite population of these islands, especially of
Bangka and Billiton, is that the contrasted granitic suites have
different source regions. It may be that in the arcuate region to
the east of Sumatra the suture was imbricated into a m61ange of
deep crustal wedges derived from adjacent Gondwanan and Cath-
aysian blocks, providing a complex of compositionally contrasted
source regions for both S and I-type granites. These compositional
differences are reflected in the geochemical and isotopic character-
istics of the granites derived from them (Cobbing et al. 1992).
Pulunggono & Cameron (1984) proposed a similar interpret-
ation with the Bent ong-Raub Line running through Singkep and
Bangka, following the southern margin of the Klabat Batholith
(Fig. 5.2). They also commented that the suture zone is ' more
complex than shown and is occupied by lensoid fragments of
both microplates' . Similarly Gasparon & Varne (1995) considered
that ' the boundary between the Central and the Eastern Granite
Provinces may run through the Tin Islands' .
Within the stanniferous granites of the Tin Islands, the Tanjong
Pandang Pluton on the island of Billiton, is the only body in which
the tin has behaved as a decoupled element, in that the tin content
does not increase with magmatic differentiation (Lehman &
Harmanto 1990). In this respect it corresponds to granites belong-
ing to the Kuant an-Dungun stanniferous granites of the Eastern
Province of Peninsular Malaysia, where tin contents are low and
are similarly unrelated to differentiation, but increased during
the hydrothermal stage (Schwartz & Askury 1990).
The distribution of stanniferrous and non-stanniferous granites
on these islands suggests that the Bent ong-Raub Line, or perhaps
a strand of that structure, runs through or close to central Bangka
and northern Billiton. Moreover, the location of the Main Range
type S-type granites in the northern half of Bangka and the I-
types of the Bebulu Suite in the southern half (Cobbing et al.
1992) have a distribution which is the reverse of that in Peninsular
Malaysia and Thailand. This reversal of the normal pattern pro-
vides additional reason to support the concept of the nearby
location of a structurally complex Bent ong-Raub Line or Zone.
Host rocks for granites on the islands of Bangka and Billiton
include limited outcrops of pebbly mudstone facies and larger
occurrences of mainly terrigenous sedimentary rocks of Carbon-
i ferous-Permi an age, overlain by Triassic sandstones (Ko
1986). According to Priem et al. (1975) country rocks on both
these islands are low-grade meta-sedimentary rocks of Stephanian
to Norian age. These sequences are similar to those present in the
Eastern province of Peninsular Malaysia. The host rocks to the tin
granites of the Main Range Province in Peninsular Malaysia
consist mainly of Lower Palaeozoic formations of Ordovician to
Devonian age and consist mainly of pelitic rocks of low to moder-
ate metamorphic grade with subordinate limestones. The observed
sequences are essentially the cover to middle and lower crustal
material present at depth.
As noted above the composition of granites within the region is
not confined to S- and I-types but A-types are also sporadically
developed. These however, except in the Tin Islands, are not
common in Sumatra (Cobbing et al. 1992). Only the Hatapang
and Bukit Batu plutons can be viewed as approaching an A-type
composition and these may be very highly evolved examples of
S and I-type lineages, respectively. However, the isolated location
of the Bukit Batu Pluton in relation to the main outcrop of the Vol-
canic Arc Suite at the western margin of the island does not
support such an interpretation for that body.
Most of the granitic rocks of Sumatra can be accommodated
within the framework of granitic belts established in earlier
studies, e.g. Mitchell (1977), Hutchison & Taylor (1978),
Beckinsale (1979). McCourt et al. ( 1996) correlated the Volcanic
Arc Suite with the Central Valley Province of Burma, the
Tin-Associated Suite with the Main Range Province of Peninsular
Malaysia and Thailand, and the Tin islands with the Eastern
Province, with the granites of Bangka and Billiton being shown
as of mixed affinity. Most of these correlations have been followed
here, but there are some amendments, and some alternatives have
been suggested. Some of the boundaries are of tectonic origin
and are well defined, or at least give that impression, others are
not, or appear to be ' porous' in that granites of contrasting type
or age appear to be mingled together or are 'out of place' .
The only known representative of the Jurassic-Tertiary
Western Province on Sumatra is the Hatapang Granite (Clarke
& Beddoe-Stephens 1987). While more may yet be found, all
the other tin-associated granites for which there is data, are of
Triassic-Jurassic age and suggest that the Main Range (Central)
Province occupies virtually all of Sumatra to the east of the
Barisan Range. Granites of this affinity also occur as tectonic
slices within the range itself, and in the region of Sibolga,
biotite granites and sedimentary rocks of the the Kl uet -Kuant an
Formations of Upper Palaeozoic age extend as far as the west
coast of Sumatra (Clarke 1990), which suggests that the volcanic
arc was built, at least in part, upon older continental crust. On the
basis of the occurrence of the Hatapang granite, McCourt et al.
(1996) extended the Western Belt through the whole of Sumatra
as a narrow strip east of the Barisan Range. However, in the
light of the available evidence this may not be the case, perhaps
the Hatapang Granite is the sole representative of that belt
within Sumatra.
The status of the A-type Bukit Batu granitoids remains enig-
matic. A-type granites have also been identified in the Tin
Islands and the islands of Singkep and Karimun (Cobbing et al.
1986, 1992). The Bukit Batu granitoids are associated in the
field with stream sediments containing quartz and cassiterite, but
in view of their unusual composition it is highly unlikely that
they are stanniferous. The sediments may be of alluvial origin,
derived from the Tin Islands a short distance to the east (Katili
1974a; Pulunggono & Cameron 1984). The geochemical affinity
and high estimated 86Sr/87Sr ratios of the Bukit Batu granitoids
suggest correlation with the Tin Islands Suite. However, the esti-
mated age of 163 + 50 Ma is more compatible with the Volcanic
Arc Suite. If the Tin Islands affinity of these granitoids were to be
confirmed this would have implications for the position of the
Bent ong- Raub Line.
Conclusions
The granites of Sumatra have developed through two contrasting
geological cycles, a Carboni ferous-Permi an cycle of conver-
gence and collision followed by a younger Tri assi c-earl y Jurassic
cycle in which a new subduction zone was formed along the
southwestern margin of the new continent (Hutchison 1994;
McCourt et al. 1996). During the first, collisional cycle, the
different accreted terrains, distinguished by their stratigraphic
and faunal assemblages, were host rocks to granites which,
because of their contrasting geochemical and isotopic characters,
seemed to mirror the lower crustal regions from which they were
derived. These terrains are distinguished most clearly in
Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand as contrasting belts which are
additionally characterised by stanniferous S-type and generally
non-stanniferous I-type granites (Beckinsale 1979). The second
cycle generated granites having a wide compositional range
from diorite to monzogranite, associated with the development
of a late Tri assi c-earl y Jurassic volcanic arc along the southern
margin of Sundaland. McCourt et al. (1996) suggested that the
two cycles overlap in Sumatra.
The association of the Main Range Province granites with sedi-
mentary rocks of Gondwana affinity and the Eastern Province
granites with those containing Cathaysian floras provided a
further strand of evidence for the disparate geological histories
of those crustal segments which eventually formed the southern
borderlands of Eurasia during the Permo-Triassic (Hutchison
62 CHAPTER 5
1994). The generation of these syn- and post-collisional granites
took place over an extended period from about 275 to 190 Ma,
with the main peak of post-collisional plutonism from 220 to
200 Ma. It was during this period that most of the stannifeous
granites of Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia were emplaced.
At about 200 Ma this phase of crustal plutonism was superseded
by volcanic arc-related plutonism and vulcanism, generated as the
result of the formation of a subduction zone at the southern margin
of the new continent which now included Sumatra and Burma.
This resulted in the production of granitic and volcanic rocks
in a relatively narrow zone, with an extended compositional
range from diorite to monzogranite, similar to those of other
volcanic arc terrains, such as the Cordilleras of South and North
America. The granites of Sumatra differ from those regions in
that they do not form linear granitic batholiths of great size, but
for the most part are represented by numerous isolated plutons
and small batholiths, confined within a narrow belt along the
southwestern margin of the island. Most of these plutons
are characterised by holocrystalline plutonic textures, but
some are deformed, and more rarely, some have several phases
of polyphase deformation, perhaps resulting from a period of
emplacement coincident with episodic movement on major
structures. There has, however been strong cataclastic deformation
of earlier granites within the Sumatran Fault Zone which seems to
have particularly affected the tin-associated granites.
A notable feature of the Volcanic Arc granites is their extended
time range, from 203 to 5 Ma. This is in marked contrast to Cor-
dilleran batholiths which generally have a more restricted time
range. There are consequently both similarities and differences
between the volcanic arc granites of Sumatra and those of the
western Americas. The Sumatran granites have not yet been
found to have the same economic potential as similar granites in
other regions, but it is uncertain whether this opinion is correct,
having regard to the difficulties of the terrain. Perhaps the apparent
lack of mineralization is associated with the lengthy time scale and
the relatively small volume of granite produced.
An additional contrast with the Cordilleran situation is that
whereas the youngest and more evolved granites tend to be
present towards the back arc region, the situation in Sumatra is
the reverse, with younger granites located close to the coast, and
hence towards the subduction zone.
Chapter 6
Pre-Tertiary volcanic rocks
M. J. CROW
Volcanic activity and associated plutonism, ranging in age from the
Carboniferous to the Late Cretaceous, has made an important
contribution to the Pre-Tertiary geological evolution of Sumatra.
This chapter summarizes the known occurrences of Pre-Tertiary
volcanic rocks and their geological settings (Fig. 6.1 &
Table 6.1). There has been no systematic isotopic dating
programme directed at determining the ages of the volcanic
rocks, but dating of volcanic episodes in Sumatra has benefited
greatly from stratigraphic palaeontological studies on the associ-
ated sedimentary units, summarized by Fontaine & Gafoer
(1989). Unfortunately, little progress has been made in determining
the chemistry of the volcanic rocks of Sumatra, subsequent to the
6~
96OE :,
I. \ .
Tapakt uan
i S/BUMASU:.
.~i-'!~!"~i~i~iNi"~::::
EAST SU MATR, ~,
Si bol g
Muar asi pongl ~
\
0 ~ Pant i Fm
I NDOCHI NA BLOCK
( and I ndones i an I sl ands)
~ Bentong-Raub Suture Zone
Riau-Billiton Accretionary Complex
. . . f f ~. . Per mi an&Car boni f er ous
SI BUMASU - EAST SUMATRA BLOCK
Carboniferous-Early Permian
'Kluet' Formation
Bohorok Formation (Visean)
3 ~ ~ Alas Formation
Quartzite Terrain and Pcrsing Complex(Singkep)
Si l ungka
" . ' , ' , ' ,
~- . ' , ' , ' . -
~. 9 . .
' Bar i san'
Pakanbar u
WEST SUMATRA BLOCK
Carboniferous-M id-Permian
l Tanjung Puab & Pawan Formations
(tremolite and chlorite schists)
Permian Silungkang Formation (Calcareous Member)
Panti, 'Barisan' & Palapat formations
Kuantan Formation (Visean)
0
Kluet Formation
I
6 ~
99 ~ 102 ~
I I I
I I I I ' " '
i i i i l l i l
,, , , , i i ,io5,o i
I
i i i 6 ~
,, i i l l l l i ,
l l l l , , , , , l l
I I I I I
"4 I I I I I I I
I\ I I I I I I I I I I I
I ~l l l , 11111111
NDOCHI NA
~ I ~ T T T T I 1 I
l l J! i l l l l l l
: ~BLOCK I
, , \ , I i i i " I I I
l l l l l l l I I I
) l l l l l i l l
- I I I
I I ] I I I
I I I I I I\1 I I I
I I I I l l l I I I
.>1-.I I I I I I~ I I I
.~. r-4. i l_k4~ i l l
N\ %, .'Y~ I r l l~
9 .~'~--~'4-.2%k1-, ,x, 1 I I
9 9 "_'t~'~x"~'.'P I ]xJI I I
9 :. 2. O. . ' ~' N]Sugi l i l l I
. ~-' ~,.. t,~'%.'%51 I I I I
M4. . - ' > .".'t~'N.xlo1 ' ' ' ' b(
.-//,,, . . . ~) . . . . . ~- ~- N~[ Tt Li ngg a
~~--:..-.N~DI i i
" " ' " " " ' " " " i n( kep I
Jl uh( . ' - . - . ~lr,~-.b. ~,~.
~. c. . . " , . ~_- - . ' . . v_. . . , , ~. , ,
2, ond
~t I
[.' I
:1 ong..' :.." 9 ' . ". . I
~, Member ~' <. ~: . :. i i i i
-e~;,'ff, i"..".'.'.~.q.:. : i Bangka:
~2~ ~' ' ' ' ' - ' ' ~' ~' ~' k. ' . ~ .-.'~..;..~..~...-...k. ~ ~I I I I
"."~.J..~'-" "- " . " - " . ".~'-'-
=~'/____~,~r ,~,.,~,,,.~,.~,.,, .. ~"~ mi n e~-
~__(b~.~..~.~ i ~..~....
Hi ppogr i
t " - - "
300km
i
105 ~
6 ~
Fi g. 6.1. Si mpl i fi ed Pre-Tri assi c geol ogy of the West and East Sumat ra Bl ocks and the Indochi na Bl ock of Peni nsul ar Mal aysi a showi ng the principal Pal aeozoi c
vol cani c units and localities di scussed in the text.
63
64 CHAPTER 6
Table 6.1. Pre-Tertiar3, Volcanic and Vol cani c-Pl ut oni c Belts, Arcs and occurrences in Sumatra
Ma Duration Description
120- 75 Aptian-Campanian
Mid-Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous
Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous
Triassic onwards
169- 129 Mid-Jurassic-Early Cretaceous
Late Triassic-Early Jurassic
224-180 Late Triassic-Early Jurassic
Triassic
Mid-Permian-Mid-Triassic
270-255 Early-Middle Permian
c. 270 Early Permian
Carboniferous (Vis6an)
Devonian-Late Permian
Late Cretaceous Plutonic Arc*
Collision of Bentaro-Saling Oceanic Arcs with West Sumatra*
Intrusions in Bentaro-Saling Oceanic Arc*
Volcanism in Meso-Tethys forms Bentaro-Saling Oceanic Volcanic Arcs
Mid-Oceanic volcanism forms plateau in Meso-Tethys many of
which grow limestone caps
Jurassic-Cretaceous Plutonic Arc
Woyla Accretionary Complex forms behind subduction zone
West Sumatra Volcanic-Plutonic Arc
Pahang Volcanic Belt
Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone formed incorporating sediments and volcanics
Situtup Fm volcanics (in Miocene thrust zone) (West Sumatra Block)
West Sumatra Permian Plutonic-Volcanic Belt (West Sumatra Block)
East Sumatra Permian Plutonic-Volcanic Belt (Sibumasu)
Kuantan Formation volcanics (West Sumatra Block)
Accretionary Complex forms behind subduction zone beneath East Malaya and
Riau-Billiton sections of Indochina Block interface with Palaeo-Tethys
Ocean; accretion of volcanics of oceanic origin
*Associated volcanics not identified.
compilation of analyses reported by Rock et al. (1982), but
the initial results of a programme of detailed mapping studies by
the Geological Research and Development Centre, Bandung
promises an improved understanding of the geochemistry of both
volcanic and plutonic rocks in the island (Suwarna et al. 2000).
According to the tectonic synthesis which has been presented in
this volume (Chapter 14), in the late Palaeozoic (Fig. 6.2a) the
eastern half of Sumatra formed a segment of the margin of
the southern Gondwana Supercontinent facing the Palaeo-Tethys
ocean, off NW Australia, while Australia was undergoing glacia-
tion. On the other hand, the western half of Sumatra lay in tropical
latitudes, beyond the Greater Sula Spur of Eastern Indonesia, at
the junction zone between Gondwana and the Indochina Block
of the northern Cathaysian continent (Fig. 14. I1). Palaeo-Tethys
was subducted beneath the Indochina Block in the Late Palaeozoic
and Early Mesozoic, accumulating an accretionary complex from
buoyant oceanic detritus, including ophiolitic fragments, oceanic
volcanics and oceanic sediments at the margin of the Indochina
Block. The deformed remains of this accretionary complex form
the Bent ong-Raub Suture Zone (Metcalfe 2000) and continue
into the Tin Islands Archipelago. In the Early Permian Gondwana
began to move southwards (Fig. 6.2b), and this movement caused
extension along the Gondwana margin with Palaeo-Tethys,
accompanied by volcanism and plutonism within the Sumatra
blocks. The East Sumatra Block formed part of Sibumasu, a
continental fragment which detached from Gondwana in the
Early Permian (Sakmarian) and collided with the Indochina
Block later in the Permian or in the Early Triassic (Metcalfe 2000).
Following the collision of Sibumasu with the Indochina
Block, the West Sumatra Block became detached from the
Gondwana-Cat haysi a interface in the Triassic and was translated
by transcurrent faulting along the Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone
to be accreted along the outer margin of Sibumasu (East Sumatra
Block) (refer to Figs 14.11 - 14.14).
During the Triassic, after the collision between the Sibumasu
and Indochina blocks, the orogen collapsed, into a system of
horsts and grabens parallel to the orogen axis (Fig. 6.2c) and
granites of the Eastern and Main Range Provinces were intruded
into the collision zone. The Pahang volcanics in east Malaya
represent the volcanic carapaces to Eastern Province granites,
preserved along the faulted margins of the grabens. The Main
Range Granite Province with its extensive tin mineralization
extends into Sibumasu, but no volcanics are reported.
Between about 224 and 180 Ma (Late Triassic-Early Jurassic)
the Meso-Tethys commenced subduction along the margin of
the combined West Sumatra Block and Sibumasu continent and
a continental margin volcano-plutonic arc was formed, a small
amount of these volcanics are preserved. Accretion of oceanic
materials may have been associated with the formation of this
arc. Accretion between 169 and 129 Ma (Mid-Jurassic-Early
Cretaceous) is better documented in the Oceanic Assemblage of
the Woyla Group, composed of buoyant oceanic volcanics,
sediments, oceanic crust fragments which accumulated in the
Woyla accretionary complex. Accretion was associated with the
formation of a Jurassic-Cretaceous continent margin plutonic
arc with its associated volcanics (Fig. 6.2d). This phase of sub-
duction/accretion was brought to a close by the arrival at the
subduction zone of a large string of oceanic island arcs which
had originated within the Meso-Tethys Ocean. The arrival of
Bentaro and Saling Oceanic Island Arcs (Fig. 6.2e) terminated
subduction, thrust the Woyla Oceanic Assemblage and Volcanic
Arc over the margin of the West Sumatra Block in the Woyla
Nappe, and caused deformation which penetrated deep into the
Malay Peninsula. Subduction of the Meso-Tethys resumed late
in the Cretaceous on the oceanward side of the Bent aro-Sal i ng
Volcanic Arcs and a new plutonic arc was formed on the Woyla
Nappe and the margin of the West Sumatra Block.
Carboni f erous vol cani s m
Gafoer & Purbo-Hadiwidjoyo (1986) used the term ' Kuantan
Volcanism' for metavolcanics (Table 6.2) mapped by Silitonga
& Kastowo (1975, 1995) in the Lower and Phyllite and Slate
members of the Kuantan Formation in West Sumatra. The older
episode, within the quartzitic Lower Member, is represented by
intercalations of volcanic rock and chloritized tuff, which underlie
the Limestone Member, which has been dated as Early or Mid-
to Late Visdan (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). The younger episode
is represented by flows of andesite and basalt among the quartzites
and quartz sandstones of the Phyllite and Shale Member.
PRE-TERTIARY VOLCANIC ROCKS 65
(d) JURASSIC-EARLY CRETACEOUS
e ,
(e) LATE CRETACEOUS
~~A~ ona ~
(b) AUSTRALIA'S POLAR WANDERI NG PATH
oyla
(C) MIDDLE-LATE TRIASSIC
openir
Meso-
(a) EARLY PERMIAN PALAEOGEOGRAPHY
Fig. 6.2. Cartoons illustrating significant volcanic events in the geological evolution of Sumatra from its dispersal from Gondwana to the collision of the Bentaro-Saling
Oceanic Volcanic Arcs. (a) Gondwana Margin Break-up Volcanicity (V, volcanic localities) at the Gondwana-Cathaysia interface after the opening of Meso-Tethys in the
Early Permian. In this reconstruction the West Sumatra Block is still in position between Cathaysia and the Greater Sula Spur. Figure based on Figure 4.21 and Charlton
(2001). (b) The advances and retreats of Gondwana shown by the palaeomagnetic record for Australia (after Klootwijk 1996). Gondwana reconstruction by Charlton
(2001). (c) Palaeogeographic reconstruction of Sumatra and the Malay Penisula in the Mi d-Lat e Triassic (from Fig. 4.25). The Pahang Volcanic Belt (V, volcanic
localities) is shown in the Semantan Basin. (d) Sumatra in the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous showing the Plutonic Arc, the Woyla Foreland Assemblage, the Meso-Tethys
and the Bentaro-Saling Arc with the Woyla Accretionary Complex. (e) In the Late Cretaceous the Bentaro-Saling Oceanic Arc has collided with and has been overthrust
onto Sumarta as the Woyla Nappe. Collision was followed by the resumption of subduction in the Late Cretaceous.
66 CHAPTER 6
Table 6.2. Pal aeozoi c vol cani c units in the West Sumat ra Bl ock
Formation Unit with volcanies Age Description Reference
Kluet Probable Carboniferous-Early Green metavolcanics in phyllites in Cameron et al. (1983)
Kuantan
Hippogriffe rocks
Local
Phyllite and Shale Member
Lower Member
Permian the upper Jambo Aye and green
metatuffs in the upper Serbajadi
river among conglomeratic
metawackes, metaquartzites,
metalimestones, phyllites and
arenites
Porphyritic matic metavolcanics
associated with metasediments in
the Kr. Rancah (?2936 3939).
Diabase
Phyllites and schistose metatuffs
Flows of andesite and basalt among
quartzites and quartz sandstones
Vis~an Intercalations of volcanic rock and
chloritised tuff within quartzites,
sandstones and shales
Carboniferous-Early Permian
Cameron et al. (1982b)
Verbeek (1897)
Rock et al. (1983)
Silitonga & Kastowo (1975)
The metatuffs mapped by Rock et al. (1983) and the diabase
(Verbeek 1897) forming the Hippogriffe rocks, an islet south of
P. Bangka in the Java Sea (Fig. 6.1) also may be included in
this episode. The younger episode of Kuantan Volcanism has
not been dated, but is post-Vis~an, and may be of Permian age
(see later).
The green metavolcanics noted by Cameron et al. (1982a) in the
Alas Formation in the Medan Quadrangle may be of Vis6an age,
like the associated limestones, while metavolcanic localities in
the Kluet Formation in the north of Sumatra have not been
accurately dated, but may be of Carboniferous or Permian age.
East Sumatra Pl utoni c-Vol cani c Belt
( Per mi an vol cani sm)
The East Sumatra Plutonic-Volcanic Belt, the ' Permian mag-
matic arc' of Katili (1973), was defined on the basis of Rb- Sr
age determinations on feldspars obtained from cores drilled
in the concealed Setiti batholith (Setiti-4, brecciated granite,
298 + 30Ma and Setiti-5, sheared granite, 276 ___10Ma).
Suwarna et al. (1991) suggest that the volcanic Condong
Member of the Mentulu Formation (Table 6.3) in the nearby
Tigahpuluh Mountains (Simandjuntak et al. 1991) is also of
System Stage
Changsingian
uJ
9 ~ Wuchiapingian
_J
Capitanian
.......
._1
m
13_
Wordian
Roadian
Kungurian
..........
O0
8
i i
>5, Artinskian
<~ Sakmarian
ILl
Asselian
Gzhelian
Kusimovian
.........
Muscovian
.......,
Bashkirian
Serpukovian
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Visean
Tournaisian
WEST SUMATRA BLOCK EAST SUMATRA BLOCK INDOCHINA BLOCK
~L
C
o
,9
g
, . t
9
- r - r " - i - - r r
I I I I I I
I l i I I
| i 9 9 9
Guguk Bulat
Bukit Pendopo
?
I I I 9 l 1
t l I i ! I I
[ l l l l l l [ l l i I
I I 9 I I !
I I , l ~' , ~] J~ ~
I I I i 1 i I
I I I I I I
I l l ! I l l ! I l l
I
I l l l l l l l l l
?
Basalt
~ Calcareous Member
f,,...., it VolcanicMember ......
~i iii~ i~ii ~i~ (Palepat Formation)
fi!~i~i~i~i!~i~i:!l Mengkarang Formation
?
Pengabuhan
Formation
N
9
Kaloi,
Batumilmil Formations
Kluet Formation
Basalt
Condong Member
'Pebbly mudstone'
Bohorok and Metulu
Formations
Gangsal Formation
Limestone Member Alas Formation
iL:!~-!~ !:!i Lower Member
%, ~ " % "X. "*,.
I % % %-. % ~' %N
k. " , _%2" ~ ~. J,
Riau-Billiton
Accretionary
Complex
( shal es, si l t st one
basal t and
ser pent i ni t e)
Fig. 6.3. Simplified composite Carboniferous and Permian stratigraphies of the East and West Sumatra Blocks and the Indonesian islands in the Indochina Block.
PRE-TERTIARY VOLCANIC ROCKS 67
Table 6.3. Pal aeozoi c vol cani c uni t s in t he East Sumat ra Bl ock
Formation Unit with volcanies Age Description Reference
Probably Asselian-Artinskian Tufts beneath Tertiary sediments
Permian Stages
Mentulu Condong Member
Bohorok
Pebbly Mudstone Facies
?Asselian-Artinskian
Permian Stages
200-250 m of metatuff, tuffaceous claystone
and grey to brown, hard and porphyritic
andesitic to basaltic tuff
Crystal tufts and other tuffaceous rocks
Rhyolite clasts (unknown age)
Eubank & Makki ( 1981)
Simandjuntak et al. (1991) &
Suwarna et al. ( 1991)
Bennett et al. (1981c)
Cameron et al. (1980)
Permian age. In their reconstruction of the geology of the Pre-
Tertiary basement Eubank & Makki (1981) show an area of
tufts encountered in boreholes to the NW of Pakanburu that may
be related to a volcanic centre, and are similar to those of the
Condong Member.
In the Langsa Quadrangle Bennett et al. (1981 c) describe ' some
crystal tufts and other tuffaceous rocks' belonging to an unnamed
volcanic unit within the Bohorok Formation. Cameron et al.
(1980) recorded rhyolite clasts within the Pebbly Mudstone
Facies of the Bohorok Formation in Northern Sumatra, indicating
the presence of rhyolitic volcanics in the source region from
which the pebbles were derived. These rhyolites could be of any
age prior to the Permian.
West Sumatra Permian Plutonic-Volcanic Belt
(Early-Mid-Permian volcanism)
Lower-Mi ddl e Permian volcanics and sediments and several
associated granitic plutons crop out within the West Sumatra
Block, and form a discontinuous belt, much disrupted by
strike-slip movements along the Sumatra Fault Zone, parallel to
the west coast of Sumatra (Fig. 6.1). In Table 6.4 these volcanic
rocks are described from north to south, and their relationships
to the local stratigraphy are illustrated in Figure 6.4.
Katili (1969, 1973) described these plutonic-volcanic rocks
as a continental margin arc, on the basis of lithology, but the
non-genetic term ' belt' is used here. Two extensive but poorly
exposed formations are distinguished to the south of the equator.
The Silungkang Formation, named by Klomp6 et al. (1961),
which lies to the SE of Lake Singkarak, consists of Volcanic
and Calcareous Members. The petrology was described by Katili
(1969) and the geological setting by Silitonga & Kastowo
(1975). The other unit, the Palepat Formation (Rosidi et al.
1976), was previously known as the Air Kuning Beds (Zwierzijcki
1935). The main outcrop lies to the SW of Muarabungo. Earlier
this formation was mapped by Tobler (1922) as the ' Oudere
diabaasformatie' (Palaeodyas or Lower Permian age), overlain
by the ' Porfierformatie' (Neodyas or Upper Permian age).
Tobler (1917, 1922) shows outcrops of the Porfierformatie west
of the main Palepat Formation outcrop in the vicinity of the
System St age Ua
SIBOLGA SILUNGKANG FORMATION
Aspden et al. (1982b) Katili (1969); Fontaine & Gafoer (1989)
Silitonga & Kastowo (1975)
PALEPAT FORMATION KUANTAN FORMATION
Fontaine & Gafoer (1989) 1 .Silitonga & Kastowo (1975)
2. As used in present account
i UJ Chansingian
IWuchi piogian
~. Capitanian
W Wordian
s Roadian
uji~
n
o
8
<
O
Kungurian
l---
Artinskian
,~ Sakmarian
U.l
Asselian
Gzhelian
Kusimovian
Muscovian
Bashkirian
Serpukovian
Visean
Tournaisian
256.1
259.7
1268.8
i281.5
!290
Sibolga Granite
264+_6
. ~ 3_,j.,,..L~ Guguk Bulat 2.
Shale Bukit Pendopo -%~,4E~-.~--.
Tabir Formation ~' ~ ~' v V[
Basalt ...............
Silungkang Ngaol Formation {:::: : ]
~ Limestone l vv vv v vvl
Volcanic Member iv v v v v v v I Palepat Volcanics
Shale ii!iiiii~ii:iiii 1 Mengkarang Formation
Pawan & Tanjungpuah
Formations
Phyllite & shale
Member
~ ~ J ~ ~JLimestoneMember
Lower Member
Fig. 6.4. Stratigraphy of units within the West Sumatra Permian Plutonic-Volcanic Belt.
68 CHAPTER 6
Table 6.4. Vol cani c units' in the West Sumat ra Per mi an Pl ut oni c - Vol cani c Bel t
Formation Unit Area Age Thickness (m) Description Reference
Kluet (uncertain Sibolga Early Permian Poorly sorted volcanic Aspden et al. (1982b)
affinity) wackes in roof-pendants
Panti Volcanic Lubuksikaping Probable Permian
Silungkang Lubuksikaping Mid-Late Permian
(correlation)
Silungkang Calcareous SE Danau Sakmarian-Wordian
Member Singkarak stages of Permian
(type area)
Volcanic
Member
Silungkang Calcareous Outliers:
(formerly Member Near Tanjung
Kuantan) Gadang
Lubukkarak
?Roadian- Wordian
Tabir S. Tabir Mid Permian
Palepat B. Palepat Artinskian-Wordian
stages of Permian
B. Tabir
B. Tantan
Mengkarang B. Mengkarang Asselian Stage
c. 1500
of the Sibolga Granite
Complex
Varied greenschist facies
sheared metavolcanics and
non-foliated
volcaniclastics
Meta-limestones, porphyritic
metavolcanics, metatuffs,
volcaniclastic sandstones
and hornfelsed tufts
Sandy limestone, calcareous
sandstone, and clay shale
with a few intercalations of
agglomeratic tuff and
several flows of augite
andesite and basalt
Hornblende andesite, augite
andesite, meta-andesite
and meta-dacite with thin
intercalations of tuff,
limestone, shale and
sandstone mixed with
tuffaceous material
Hard, fractured, locally
vesicular, dark-grey to
green-grey basalt with a
trachytic texture and
composed of felsic and
mafic minerals set in a
microlilic groundmass;
diabase
Conglomerate and tuffaceous
sandstone with
intercalation of pisolitic
andesite tuff
Andesitic > acidic lavas and
tufts; randomly distributed
basalt and rhyolite. Also
siltstone, shale and
limestone
Volcaniclastic rocks, lithic
and crystalline tufts and
andesitic lava, locally
diabasic; local clastic
sediment interbeds
Andesitic-dacitic lavas, tufts,
diabase, and volcanic
breccias containing clasts
of andesite and dacite,
intercalated with shale,
siltstone, sandstone,
claystone and limestone;
commonly altered and
metamorphosed
Acid-basic tuff intercalations
in shallow-marine-
terrestial sediments
Rock et al. (1983)
Rock et al. (1983)
Silitonga & Kastowo
(1975)
Katili (1969)
Silitonga & Kastowo
(1975): age revised
by Gafoer et al.
(1992a)
150/450 Rosidi et al. (1976)
1100 Rosidi et al. (1976)
> 800 Simandjuntak et al.
(1991)
>200 Suwama et al. (1994)
?500 Suwarna et al. (1994)
Sumat r a Faul t Zone, but Zwi er zi j cki ( 1930a) subsequent l y attrib-
ut ed t hese out cr ops to t he Cr et aceous, so t hat t hey are cur r ent l y
consi der ed to be part of t he Woyl a Group.
In t he sout her n out crop, t he pr edomi nant l y vol cani c Pal epat
For mat i on ( Suwar na e t al . 1994) i nt erfi ngers wi t h t he l ower
parts of t he t errest ri al to shal l ow mar i ne Mengkar ang For mat i on
and can be dat ed pal aeont ol ogi cal l y. Andes i t i c- daci t i c vol cani s m
c omme nc e d in t he Assel i an and peaked in t he Ar t i nski an
( Font ai ne & Gaf oer 1989). The Tabi r For mat i on, pr evi ousl y
bel i eved to be of Jurassi c age ( Suwar na e t al . 2000), but now
known to be Per mi an, i nt erfi ngers wi t h, and overl i es t he Pal epat
and t he Ngaol f or mat i ons. The Ngaol For mat i on (obsol et e t erm)
PRE-TERTIARY VOLCANIC ROCKS 69
of Rosidi et al. (1976) is of Artinskian to Wordian (Murgabian)
age (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989) (see Fig. 4.11) and appears to be
a facies of the Palepat Formation beneath the Tabir Formation.
If so, the Tabir Formation could be younger than the Wordian.
In the Painan Quadrangle (Rosidi et al. 1976) the eastern part of
the Barisan Formation (obsolete term) includes discontinuous out-
crops of the Palepat Formation which link up with the Silungkang
Formation (Table 6.4 & Fig. 6.5a,b). The Silungkang Formation is
Sakmari an-Wordi an in age, although the upper age limit is
not well controlled (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). A K- Ar age of
248 _+ 10 Ma obtained from a volcanic rock from the Silungkang
Formation, reported by Nishimura et al. (1978), is in agreement
with the stratigraphic age range.
Anomalous younger K- Ar ages are reported by Suwarna et al.
(2000) from volcanic rocks from the Silungkang and Palepat
formations, with an andesite from the Silungkang Formation
dated at 140 _ 10 Ma, and an andesite from the Palepat Formation
outcrop dated at 75 + 1 Ma. Evidently younger volcanic rocks
have been mapped as part of the Palaeozoic outcrop, probably
because similar lithologies of different ages are intermixed in
discontinuous exposures. The volcanic rock from the Silungkang
Formation which gave a 140 + 10 Ma age may be associated
with the Lower Cretaceous andesites known to occur beneath
the Tertiary sediments in the nearby Ombilin Basin, and dated at
143 + 4Ma (Koning & Aulia 1985). As mentioned above,
Tobler (1922) also mapped Cretaceous volcanics as part of the
Palepat Formation.
Lithologies in the Silungkang Volcanic Member are similar
to those in the Palepat Formation (Table 6.4). Outliers of the
Calcareous Member of the Silungkang Formation intercalated
with basalts 4ki n NE of Tanjung Gadang, and diabase at
Lubukkarak (Gafoer et al. 1992a), were previously mapped as
part of the Phyllite and Shale Member of the Kuantan Formation
by Silitonga & Kastowo (1975). The results of the reappraisal of
age of the limestone outliers of the Kuantan Formation (Fontaine
& Gafoer 1989) suggests that a similar reappraisal is required for
the volcanics in the main outcrop of the Phyllite and Shale Member.
To the NW the large strike-slip duplex structure within the
Sumatra Fault Zone in the Lubuksikaping Quadrangle (Rock
et al. 1983) contains faulted outcrops of the Silungkang Formation
and the Panti Volcanic Formation, which are deformed lithologi-
cal correlatives, respectively, of the Volcanic and the Calcareous
members of the Silungkang Formation in the type area.
In the north of Sumatra, in the Takengon Quadrangle, the
Situtup Formation, contains metavolcanics and limestones.
Cameron et al. (1983) suggest that the metavolcanics are mainly
of Late Permian age. Fossils from the associated limestones
are of Mid-Permian (Artinskian-Capitanian) and Mi d- Lat e
Triassic (Ladi ni an-Nori an) age (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). The
outcrops are allochthonous and much disrupted by Miocene
thrusting. Hutchison (1994) following van Es (1919), included
the Situtup volcanics within the West Sumatra Permian
Plutonic-Volcanic Belt. If this correlation is correct and the
Situtup Volcanic Formation extends into the Triassic, it is the
youngest component of this belt. However the presence of the
Situtup Volcanic Formation in the belt may be a coincidence
as Barber (2000) has suggested that this formation is an allochtho-
nous component from the Woyla Accretionary Complex.
Geochemistry of the Silungkang and Palepat Formations
Chemical analyses of selected volcanics from the Silungkang and
Palepat Formations are presented by Suwarna et al. (2000) who
found that the compositions of the two formations are very
similar. The range of SiO2 in the Silungkang Formation is
(a) SILUNGKANG FORMATION l(b)
~ Li mest ones wi t h
t= i nt er cal at i ons of
sandst one & sl at e
Basal t i c ext r usi ves
o
L.~,~,.~,.,:~-,:t Tuf t s & aggl omer at es
___O I ."-" ."_. ."z ."- ."4
O
[i.ili![i][i[i~!ii[i[![ii!~i[iil Hor nbl ende andesi t es
(tufts) wi t h si l i ci fi ed
shal e i nt er cal at i ons
m Augi t e andesi t es
E
~ NNN
Met a- andesi t es
O
C
__o Met a- daci t es
I Silicified shales and
limestones
Plutonic Intrusions-Undifferentiated
I
100o45'E
Undi f f er ent i at ed
Lower Per mi an
l
~ m
~__ ___ .-.....-
I
.' .,
::
9 ..-. l i :
,':-. SI LUNGKANG
2kin
_ 100045 '
- - I
Fig. 6.5. (a) Lithologies and members in the Silungkang Formation. (b) Geological map of the Silungkang Formation (after Katili 1969).
70 CHAPTER 6
(a)
3
K20
(wt%) 2
BASALT BASALTIC ANDESITE
ANDESI TE
SHOSHONITIC SERIES
/
/ /
DACITE
HIGH K
CALC-ALKALINE
/
CALC-ALKALINE
45 53 57 63 68
Si20 (wt%)
Volcanics
9 Silungkang Formation
( b) FeO 9 Palepat Formation
LOW K SERIES
Na20+K20 MgO
Fig. 6.6. (a) Potassium-silica diagram for the Silungkang and Palepat
Formations. (b) AFM diagram for the Sih, ngkang and Palepat Formations.
Adapted from Suwarna et al. (2000).
48- 58%, with a rhyolite sample at 85%, and in the Palepat For-
mation is 47- 62%. The composition of the rock samples analysed
varied between basalt and andesite (Fig. 6.6a), showing both
tholeiitic and calc-alkaline differentiation trends (Fig. 6.6b).
K20 contents in the Palepat Formation are higher than those
in the Silungkang Formation and fall in the potassic alkaline
field, while K20 values in the Silungkang Formation are lower
and the rocks more calc-alkaline. The magnesium number
(Mg# = 100 Mg/ Mg + Fe 2+) for the Silungkang Formation was
calculated at 40- 56, while the range for the Palepat Formation
is 31-56, indicating that the basalts were out of equilibrium
with the mantle (Mg# -- 68- 75) due to the fractional crystalliza-
tion of olivine and pyroxene. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns
(Fig. 6.7a) for two samples from each formation have moderate
Eu anomalies, indicating some plagioclase fractionation. The
rock/chondrite normalization diagram (spidergram) (Fig. 6.7b)
shows that the range of values for the two formations overlap,
but the samples from the Silungkang Formation show a greater
range and fall between the normal and enriched values for
MORB. Suwarna et al . (2000) concluded that the analysed
samples showed evidence for fractionation, differentiation and
possibly contamination processes, and noted that the volcanics
had geochemical similarities with those from an island arc
setting, although a continental margin, fault-related, origin has
also been proposed.
(a)
100
10
-..@. ..... B ..... 0... ",.,. / 0 .....
. . . . . . . . ....~?? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I ~ I I I I I I I I I I I
La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu Gd Dy Er Yb
o ............. 9 SI LUNGKANG FORMATI ON
o o PALEPAT FORMATI ON
1000
LU
~- 100
m
nr-
a
Z
0
-i- 10-
o
o
O 1
n-
(b)
0.1
ID. O__O. - O . . . . . . O._ O
,0"
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
Ba Rb Th K Nb La Ce Sr Nd P Sm Zr Hf Tb
Fig. 6.7. (a) Chondrite-normalized REE patterns for the Silungkang and Palepat
Formations. (b) Chondrite-normalized spidergram for the Silungkang and
Palcpat Formations. Adapted from Suwarna et ell. (2000).
Me t avol c ani c s and s e r pe nt i ni t e s i n t he Me di al
Sumat r a Te c t oni c Zone
The Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone (' Line' of Hutchison 1994) is
a wide zone of deformed rocks which separates the West Sumatra
Block from Sibumasu (East Sumatra Block). The zone is best
known north of the equator where Rock et al . (1983) and Clarke
et al . (1982b) described the outcrops of the intensely deformed
Pawan and Tanjungpuah formations (Table 6.5). The Pawan
Member consists of fine-grained chloritic metavoicanics inter-
bedded within intensely folded muscovite, chlorite and tremolite
schists, often with carbonate. The tremolite schists are deformed
and metamorphosed ultrabasic rocks, and probably originated
as tectonic slivers of ophiolite. To the SE, to the west of the
Tigapuluh Mountains, Andi-Mangga et al . (2000) found serpenti-
nites within slates of the Ganggsal Formation. The Ganggsal
Formation (refer to Fig. 4.6) is intensely deformed compared to
the other rock units in the Tigapuluh Mountains (Simandjuntak
et al . 1991) and may be the SE continuation of the Medial
Sumatra Tectonic Zone.
Be nt ong- Bi l l i t on Ac c r e t i onar y Compl e x
The ' Bentong-Billiton Accretionary Complex' is an assemblage
of deformed and imbricated basic volcanics, ultrabasic rocks and
sediments in Peninsular Malaya and the Tin Islands of Indonesia,
occurring between the Sibumasu and the Indochina blocks
(Fig. 6.8). The complex includes the Bent ong-Raub Suture
(Line) in Peninsular Malaysia (Metcalfe 2000). The continuation
of the suture into Indonesia has been a source of speculation
(see Metcalfe 1996). However, Barber & Crow (2003) suggest
that the ' suture' is a broad zone of imbrication passing from the
PRE-TERTIARY VOLCANIC ROCKS 71
Table 6.5. Met avol cani cs and met a- ul t rabasi c rocks in t he Medi al Sumat ra Tect oni c Zone
Unit with volcanics Age Description Reference
Pawan Member
(Kuantan Fm)
Ganggsal
Alas Fm
Carboniferous-Early Permian
Carboniferous-Permian
Vis6an or younger
Intensely folded muscovite, chlorite, tremolite schists (derived from ultrabasic
rocks), often with carbonate. Interbedded fine-grained chloritic metavolcanics.
Serpentinites within slates
Rare ' possi bl e green met avol cani cs' among striped, slumped shales, siltstones,
cherts, sandstones, conglomerates and wackes
Clarke et al. (1982b)
Rock et al. (1983)
Andi-Mangga et al. (2000)
Cameron el al. (1982a)
10/o E- , ~. , ~ l ~ ~ g o ! ~
.---.._~ Malang Formation ._~_~.' ~=~", ",.. ~i i : : ~. . - - " - -
,,"' ~' . , KARI MUN di ~! RATAMi i . ~- - ) , " ~S[ t ;B)N.~A.N.~.. -ij
',, , ;i i i i i hk BESAR _~ ~ ~' ~ii:i~.~,[-{ ( ~: ~~- - - - ! ~
"~,~', ~', ', ', ,,'",- 'K"{ ~. ~_: ! : i : i : f ~ ,...~t ~ ~ " -~*~8~
", ...,..-,...~,~ ~ ~"- - - ~~- ' : CITILIM ~ centre ~~; ~
", L~,ur!,P,,Y,~ ',, ~ ~ k.iiiii..k, v c7
"-.. .... ., ,-, ','.~,, ~.
%~ 2) 0
I I I I I I I-b-,,.
s
SUMATRA "- ~ %
o
o Iiiiiiiii 0o_
Main Range Granites I ~ Eastern Province Granites
......... (S and A-type) (I-type) ~ ~ _ ~ I ~ ~,
TRIASSIC ~ Volcanics ~ ! ~ A ; i i ~
, ~ ~ "-" LI IN L.~ L~
Sediments
Riau-Billiton C~(E]2~ ~ J'~
I l l I I 9 \
FK@d l~iHi
Accretionary Complex ",',',', ;, \
Persing Complex and ,ii[i K
Tapanuli Group "":" '
Sl
50km
104 ~
I
PERMIAN
CARBONI FEROUS[]~]
SINGKEP
Fig. 6.8. Simplified geological map of the Riau and Lingga Archipelagos. Granite typology after Cobbing et al. (I 992).
72 CHAPTER 6
Table 6.6. Metavolcanics and meta-ultrabasic rocks in the Riau-Billiton Accretionary Complex in the Tin Islands Archipelagos
Island Litbological description Reference
Batam Grey and violet sericite-schist, quartz-sericite-talc phyllite and silicified, sericitized, kaolinised metavolcanics Van der Bold & Van der Sluis (I 942)
with altered former plagioclase phenocrysts
Sugi Radiolarian cherts and metavolcanics are recorded from the NW corner ?in situ
Pait Talc schist is present on Pait between Sugi and Combol lslands
Bangka Narrow zone of talc schists and mica-chlorite schists south of the Klabat Batholith on both sides of Klabat Bay
Serpentinites exposed in Belinyu No. 17 pit; 100 m of serpentinite encountered in a borehole at the
Permali Mine
Skarns at Pemali mine: idocrase-actinolite-diopside-epidote; diopside-wollastonite-calcite-quartz;
hornblende-quartz-muscovite; diopside-quartz-chlorite-plagioclase; hornbl ende-muscovi t e-quart z-
epidote-plagioclase
Permali Group: Volcanic Chert Facies with sills or stratified basic to intermediate volcanics, tufts, cherts & shales
Lenticular masses of ?original fayalite in the Seloemar lode
Nam Salu lithologies: metasandstone, metasiltstone, radiolarian chert, metavolcaniclastics and skarns
The Schachtader lode (currently inacessible) a 2- 3 m skarn composed of green amphibole (?actinolite),
pyroxene, andradite, ilvaite, iron sulphides and cassiterite overlain by + 10 m of radiolarite beneath shales.
Manganese-facies ironstone is reported in boreholes
Siantu Formation: Metabasalts, agglomerates and breccias at Cape Siantu
Billiton
Van Wessem (1942)
Westerveld ( 1937); Katili (1967)
Pulunggono & Cameron (1984);
Suryono & Clarke (1981)
Schwartz & Surjono (1991)
Ko (1986)
See Adam (1960, Fig. 26)
Schwartz and Surjono (1990b)
See Adam (1960, Fig. 24)
Bahruddin & Sidarto (1995)
Malay Peninsula through the Tin Islands and beneath the Triassic
graben on Bangka, rather than a discrete line as illustrated by
Pulonggono & Cameron (1984) (see Fig. 14.2).
The accretionary complex is well known in Malaya where it
consists of severely deformed sediments, volcanics and slivers
of ultrabasic rocks ranging in age between Devonian and
Upper Permian (Metcalfe 2000). In the Tin Islands, where
fossils are scarce, Bothe (1925a,b) distinguished Pre-Triassic
(?Carboniferous-Permian) volcanics and sediments, from
similar, but also deformed, Triassic volcanics and sediments, on
the basis of their more intense deformation and metamorphism,
their basic and ultrabasic (as opposed to acidic) composition,
and the absence of associated granitic plutons. One fossil locality
on Bangka yielded Permian fossils, and on Billiton, fossils span-
ning the Sakmarian to Kungurian stages have been identified
(Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). The Permian rocks in the Tin Islands
are considered to have a Cathaysian affinity (Indochina Block)
on the basis of the identification by Jongmans of poorly preserved
Gigantopteris plant fossils (van Overeem 1960; Hosking et al.
1977) and the occurrence of fusulinids (De Roever 1951;
Strimple & Yancey 1976).
Early geological studies in the Riau and Lingga archipelagos
are summarized by van Bemmelen (1949) and the scattered
occurrences of metavolcanics, ultrabasic rocks and their metamor-
phosed derivatives are compiled in Table 6.6 and the localities are
shown in Figure 6.8.
Ko (1986) identified poorly exposed pre-Triassic rocks
(Fig. 6.9) on Bangka Island as facies of the Pemali Group. The
Pebbly Mudstone Facies in the Toboali area in the south of the
island is correlated with the glaciogenic Late Carboniferous-
Early Permian Bohorok Formation of Sumatra and is included in
the Sibumasu Block (Barber & Crow 2003). The other Pemali
Group facies of Volcanic-Chert, Bedded Chert, Laminated
Mudstone and Pyritic black shal e-l i mest one are considered to
be components of the accrelionary complex and include Ear l y-
Mid-Permian rocks (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989).
i 105 ~ V~I h ,I.
. ~, ~, ~a, _ ~ l o6 ~
Cape
Penjabung
iii:iiii:iii ii:iii
" " ~ Thrusts ~ t
GRANITE PROVI NCE~_q ~
}]q:FF~ Main Range (S type)
~ Main Range (Stype) / i
Eastern Province (I-type)
- 3~ 0 50km
, 106 ~ j
I
107 ~
TRIASSIC ~ Tempilang
LOWER- Sandst one
MIDDLE ~ Oceanic Facies
PERMIAN
PERMIAN ~' ~ Undifferentiated
CARBONIFEROUS-EARLY PERMIAN
Pebbly mudstone
Facies
:::::::::::::::::::(
Bebulu Batholith
9 " " ' " ' ' " ' " ' " ' " " ' " ' " ' " ' " ' " " : ' 1
TOBOALI
@
3 ~ _
107 ~
Fig. 6.9. Simplified geological map of
P. Bangka. Geology compiled from Ko
(1986), Katili (1967), Osberger (1968) and
Verbeek (1897). Granite typology after
Cobbing et al. (1992).
PRE-TERTIARY VOLCANIC ROCKS 73
Ko (1986) described diabase sheets intruded into radiolarian
cherts and sediments at Cape Penjabung in the NW of Bangka
as part of the Vol cani c-Chert facies of the Pemali Group. These
diabases were previously mapped as volcanics by Zwierzijcki
(1933) and Verbeek (1897), but Westerveld (1936, 1937)
describes them as intrusive sills into folded rocks and suggested
that they were precursors of the adjacent granite. Cobbing et al.
(1992) consider that they are an early basic (dioritic) facies of
the Klabat Batholith.
Ko (1986) includes the lithologies described by De Roever
(1951) and Schwartz & Surjono (1991) in the Pyritic Black
Shal e-Li mest one Facies of the Pemali Group. According to
Schwartz & Surjono (1991) the lithologies exposed in the open
pit at the Pemali Mine are deformed hornfels and skarns derived
from metasediments. However, the mineralogy (Table 6.6) and
geological setting suggest that in addition to sediments, these
metasomatic rocks also were derived from volcanic and ultramafic
rocks described at this locality by Pulunggono & Cameron (1984)
and Suryono & Clarke (1981).
Similar skarns, encountered during mining, are present in the
Permian rocks on Billiton (Kelapakampit Formation of Bahruddin
& Sidarto 1995). Of interest are the are lenticular masses of
?original fayalite in the Seloemar lode (Adam 1960), and the
presence of fayalite as a minor constituent in the tin ores at Nam
Salu in the Klapa Kambit mine. Here, Schwartz & Surjono
(1990b) showed that Permian metavolcanics and metasediments
(Table 6.6) had been metasomatized and that tin ores had been
formed in association with Triassic granite intrusions, which
U
0.1
0.01
R H Y O L ~
] TRACHYANDES~
ANDESITE j / , .-/" .... " - , , , J
r
. . . . . . . . . . u- ' 77 9 " _ I
9 9 " , , ~ ; , i
ANDESITE/BASALT ~' _ 9 9 nn - I
, ' -
SUB-ALKALINE BASALT 9
o.ool A i
O.Ol o.1 1 lO
Nb/Y
Fig. 6.10. Zr / Ti O2- Nb/ Y discrimination diagram showing fields for volcanic
rocks based on immobile elements (after Winchester & Floyd 1977). Both
ratios are indices of alkalinity but only Zr/TiO2 ratio represents a differentiation
index. Small squares represent element ratios in the metasomatised Nam Salu
'phyllite'. Adapted from Schwartz & Surjono (1990b).
were the source of the tin. The Nam Salu ore body is a layer of
iron formation, corresponding to the silicate facies of Algoma
Type, mixed with tuff which was metasomatized into micaceous
phyllite. Schwartz & Surjono (1990b) concluded that the Nam
Salu phyllite was chemically a 1:1 mixture of basalt and
silicate-facies ironstone; the bulk of their analyses (Fig. 6.10)
correspond to the sub-alkaline basalt field of Winchester &
Floyd (1977) in a discrimination diagram using immobile
elements. The mineralogy of the Schachtader lode indicates it
is either a metabasalt or even a meta-serpentinite, although
Schwartz & Surjono (1990b) describe it as an altered volcaniclas-
tic rock.
West Sumatra Triassic Pl utoni c-Vol cani c Arc
Volcanic rocks associated with the West Sumatra Triassic Arc
are preserved in the Cubadak Formation (Rock et al. 1983), as
a sequence of dark green volcanic wackes interbedded with
mudstones and siltstones containing Hal obi a, faulted against,
and possibly part of the carapace of the early Jurassic
Muarasipongi Batholith, which has been dated at 197 ___2 Ma.
Pahang Volcanic Belt
There are abundant occurrences of volcanic rocks in the Triassic of
the eastern Malay Peninsula belonging to the Pahang Volcanic
Series (Hutchison 1973). These volcanics are invariably associ-
ated with IS and A-type plutons of the Eastern Granite Province
(Central Belt) (Cobbing, pers. comm.). This association in the
Semantan Basin (Fig. 14.11) and its continuation in the Riau
and Lingga archipelagoes (Fig. 6.8) is described here as the
Pahang Volcanic Belt (Table 6.7).
P. Karimun Besar is formed of a core of metaluminous granite
of IS or A-type (Cobbing et al. 1992) which is mantled by the
contact metamorphosed Malarco Formation (Cameron et al.
1982c). The presence of volcanic rocks within the graben
sediments strongly suggests that the pluton was intruded into its
carapace of surface volcanics in a resurgent caldera. The
Karimun Besar granite has not been dated radiometrically;
Cameron et al. (1982c) suggest a date of emplacement between
Mid- and Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian).
In the SE of Bintan the rhyolites and trachytes which abut
the East Bintan batholith, intruded around 230 _+ 12 Ma ( Rb- Sr
isochron, Cobbing et al. 1992), are likely to be relics of the
volcanic carapace of this batholith.
On Lingga the Lingga pluton is intruded into Triassic cherts
containing Daone l l a and volcanic rocks which appear to be associ-
ated with this biotite-hornblende two-phase granite (Cobbing
et al. 1992). The deformation noted by Bothe (1925a, b) may be
due in part to later intrusion of the pluton into its own volcanic
edifice.
Table 6.7. Volcanic lithologies in the Pahang Volcanic Belt in the Tin Islands Archipelagos
Island Formati on Description Reference
Karimun Besar Malarco Porphyritic rhyodacites and lithic tuft's, Cameron et al. (1982c)
hornfelsed shales, ?chert,
?conglomerate and limestone
Rhyolites and trachytes
Quartzporphyrites interfingered
with Triassic sediments
Rhyolites, dacites, porphyrites
and accompanying tufts
Bintan
Citilim
Lingga
Van Bemmelen (1949); Osberger (1968)
Van Wessem (1942)
Both6 (1925a,b)
74 CHAPTER6
Jurassi c- Cret aceous Pl ut oni c- Vol cani c Arcs
Volcanism and the associated plutonism in Sumatra has a a com-
plicated history during the Late Mesozoic. To a large extent this
is the history of the Late Jurassi c-Earl y Cretaceous Woyla
Group, as described by Cameron et al. (1980). The stratigraphy
and current understanding of the geological setting of the Woyl a
Group are discussed by Barber (2000) and by Barber & Crow
(Chapters 4 & 14). The distribution of the different assemblages
in the Woyla Group is shown in Figure 6.11 and the volcanics
present are described with reference to these assemblages in
Tables 6. 8-6. 10.
In central Sumatra Late Jurassi c-Earl y Cretaceous I-type
plutons (Fig. 6.11 ) form a continental margin Andean arc related
to subduction (McCourt et al. 1996). The plutons are better
known than their associated volcanics. Lower Cretaceous
andesites occur at Palanki in the Tertiary Ombilin Basin
(143 + 4Ma, Koning & Aulia 1985) and a new date of
I . ~DA ACEH
TA PAKTUAN
\
o
I I I
99~ 102 ~ 105 ~
Parlumpah!
NATA
%
Mani nj a
Indaru
WOYLA ASSEMBLAGES
~ Jurassic-Early Cretaceous
Oceanic Island Arc (Bentaro Arc)
Accretionary Complex
(ocean-floor material)
Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Foreland
t:::::::t sequences: Tembesi and Rawas Fms
~ Jurassic-Early Cretaceous
Plutono-Volcanic Arc
te Cretaceous Plutonic
Arc
n I
Kanai kan
&'~,
lanki
Lubukg~
Q
Kerinc
~ %%'"%
0o -
i","-.","' ,." ~
"~----,,--- Thrusts
Faults
0 100 200 300km
99 ~
I
Fig. 6.11. The distribution of the Woyla Group Assemblages in Sumatra.
102 ~
I
105~
I
PRE-TERTIARY VOLCANIC ROCKS 75
Table 6.8. Volcanic lithologies in the Oceanic Assembl age of the Woyla Group.
Formation Lithological description Reference
Aceh Province
Geumpang
Lam Minet
Penarum
Situtup
Undifferentiated
Woyla Group
Babahrot
Padang area
Indarung
Siguntur
Tembesi - Rawas Mount ai ns
Rawas
' Mesozoics with mafics'
-t-2000 m massive, green to grey, deformed mafic to intermediate volcanics,
frequently epidotized, uralized or silicified, some pyroclastics, amygdaloidal
basalts, minor phyllites and pods of siticified metalimestone
Calcareous, carbonaceous to manganiferous slates and meta-argillites, green
volcanic wackes and chert/basalt beds; the Bengga Limestone Member is
composed of metalimestones, coarse marbles and metavolcanics
Basalts, red cherts, argillites, metavolcanic wackes and greenschists
Partially epidotized basalt breccias & agglomerates; schistose metabasalts
Includes intermediate to marie metavolcanics, cherts and slates
Metavolcanics, metalimestones and serpentinites and metagabbro intrusions
Basic volcanics, including pillow lava, volcanic breccia, tufts, volcaniclastic
sediments, radiolarian chert and massive or bedded limestone
Quartzites, shales, siltstones, slates and volcaniclastics
Diabases and basalts, associated with turbidites and a large limestone body
Limestone, quartzite, slate, schist, tuff, igneous breccia, tuff breccia, metavolcanic,
diabase and serpentinite
Bennett et al. (1981a)
Bennet et al. (1981a)
Cameron el al.
Cameron et al.
Cameron et al.
1983)
1983); Barber(2000)
1983)
Cameron et al. 1982a)
Yancey & Alif (1977);
McCarthy et al. (2001)
Rosidi et al. (1976)
Suwarna et al. (1994)
De Coster (1974)
Lampung area
Menanga Tuffaceous and calcareous claystones, sandstones and shales with intercalated Barber (2000)
radiolarian-bearing cherts, manganese nodules, coral limestones and rare
porphyritic basalt. The sandstones contain clasts of glassy andesite and lithic
fragments of andesite, quartz-diorite and quartzite
See Table 6.9 for the Natal area.
Table 6.9. Volcanic units and volcaniclastic sediments of oceanic and continental affinity within the Woyla Group Accretionar~, Compl ex in the Nat al area
Formation Lithological description Environment Ref.
Tambak Baru Volcanic Unit Altered, purple, quite strongly sheared, porphyritic andesites and Volcanic centre & proximal volcaniclastics 1
andesite agglomerates and proximal debris flows
Dark green, foliated megabreccias with basic volcanic and limestone 1
megaclasts interbedded with poorly sorted conglomerates and
greywacke sandstones
Vesicular basic lavas, keratophyes and dolerite dykes
Breccias with basic volcanics, radiolarian cherts, limestones with Mn-
mineralisation
Volcaniclastic siltstones, fine siltstones and rare conglomerates
Volcaniclastic sandstones and unsorted conglomerates (lahars)
Undeformed porphyritic andesites with amygdales and altered matrices
and andesitic tufts
Greenschist facies banded quartz, muscovite, chlorite schists
Simpang Gambir Megabreccia
Nabana Volcanic Unit
Panglong Mdlange
Belok Gadang Siltstone
Ranto Sore
Parlumpangan Volcanic Unit
Si Gala Gala Schist Unit
Simarobu Turbidite
Batang Natal Megabreccia
Rantobi Sandstone
Jambor B aru
Muarosoma Turbidite
Mdlange Unit
Pasaman Ultramafic Complex
Igneous rocks in Batu
Nabontar Limestone
Undifferentiated
Volcaniclastic turbidites with minor calcareous siltstones
Large clasts of limestone, rare clastic sediments and igneous rocks in a
slaty matrix
Thin bedded volcaniclastic sandstones and siltstones
Volcaniclastic conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, limestone and tuff
Thin bedded volcaniclastic turbidites with noticeable quantities of
quartz clasts and less mafic and chlorite material
House & room sized fragments of greenstones, greenish wackes,
cleaved metatuffs, sheared fossiliferous limestones and 50% by
volume cherts; the blocks are disrupted by serpentinite and invaded
by dykes
Variably serpentinized, massive to foliated hartzburgite, with minor
dunite pods and stringers, and pyroxenite dykes
Serpentinized dunites and hartzburgites intruded by thin dykes, now
rodingites
Banded metavolcanics, slates and limestones in north of Lubuksikaping
Quadrangle
Proximal sediments and olistostromes derived
from volcanic centre
Ocean-floor basalts, Seamount
Mdlange ?olistostrome, of ocean-floor materials
and pelagic sediments
?lower trench slope basin fill
Fluviatile intra-arc deposits
Volcanic arc or local volcanic centre fragments
Metasediments derived from an acid-
intermediate arc or centre of continental type
Ocean-floor or trench deposit
Olistostome or mud diapirs in accretionary
complex
Forearc basin deposits
Shallow marine and deeper water forearc basin
deposits
Upper trench slope basin sediments
M61ange ?olistostrome of ocean-floor materials,
pelagic sediments & limestone
Ocean-floor volcanics and basement slices;
seamount
Slices of ocean-floor basement
?Accretionary complex
References: 1, Wajzer et al. (1991); 2, Rock et al. (1983).
76 CHAPTER 6
Table 6.10. Volcanic units in the Oceanic Volcanic Arc fragments of the Woyla Group
Formation Litbological description Ref.
Bentaro arc
Bentaro Volcanic
Lhoong
Tapaktuan Volcanic
Meukuek Gneiss
Complex
Sise
Kenyaran Volcanic
Saling
Saling
Lingsing
Garba
Insu Member
M~lange Complex
Porphyritic basalts and basalts and agglomerates with andesine, associated with mafic dykes, l
Basaltic vents surrounded by tufts, breccias and volcanic sediments were found near Lam No
and north of the Bentaro river
Volcanic wackes, subordinate sandstones and siltstones, mafic volcanics and limestones l
Massive, partly epidotised, frequently porphyritic andesites, subordinate basalts with 2, 3
feldsparphyric varieties and coeval dykes. Agglomerates, breccias and tufts are present in the
southeast. Subordinate shales and slates containing volcanic debris and purple to red tuffaceous
sandstones
Biotite-hornblende-andesine schists & biotite amphibolites interpreted as syntectonic deformed 2
Tapaktuan Volcanics associated with concordant gneissic leuco-granites
Epidotized intermediate to mafic lavas which are frequently amygdaloidal and porphyritic and
agglomerates
Chloritised and prophylitised andesitic and basaltic lavas, tufts and breccias with local limestone 4
intercalations
Basalts and andesites interbedded with claystone, siltstone, calcilutite and chert 4
(?) amygdaloidal and porphyritic lavas of basalt and andesite, crystal tufts, chert and rare 5
serpentinite
Basalt and andesite lavas with minor lenses or intercalations of chert 5
Boulders and clasts of limestone, chert, schist and andesite similar to the andesite lava in the Garba 5
Formation, all within a scaly matrix
2,3
References: l, Bennett et al. (1981a); 2, Cameron et al. (1982a); 3, Barber (2000); 4, Gafoer et al. (1992e); 5, Gafoer et al. (1994)
140-t- 10 Ma from the Silungkang Formation (Suwarna et al.
2000) indicates that Lower Cretaceous volcanic rocks are more
extensive than previously thought, but were previously included
with Permian volcanics.
The Siulak Formation, forming a limited outcrop within
the Sumatra Fault Zone near the southern margin of the Painan
Quadrangle (Rosidi et al. 1976), includes dacitic lavas and
tufts and a 500 m thick fossiliferous (Cretaceous) Limestone
Member. It is suggested that this formation represents forearc
sediments and cont i nent al l y-sourced andesites trapped by strike-
slip faulting within the fault zone.
Cont i nent al l y sourced voicaniclastic sediments which occur as
fault packets in the Woyl a Oceanic and Accretionary Compl ex
in the Batang Natal section (Wajzer et al. 1991) may have
been derived from erosion of the cont emporaneous Jurassi c-
Cretaceous Pl ut oni c- Vol cani c Arc.
Volcanics in the Woyla Accretionary Complex
Volcanic lithologies occur commonl y in the Woyl a Group,
where they are tectonically j uxt aposed as fault packets within
the Accretionary Compl ex (Tables 6.8 and 6.9). They are best
known from the Batang Natal section, where Wajzer (1986)
carried out detailed mapping and document ed the variety and
discussed the origin of oceanic and pelagic rock types (Wajzer
et al. 1991). Elsewhere in Sumatra the distribution of the major
lithological units within the Woyl a Accretionary Compl ex has
been established by reconnaissance mappi ng only.
Ac e h Pr ov i nc e ( ref er to Fi g. 4. 13)
The Geumpang, Lai n Mi net and Penarum formations in the Banda
Aceh and Takengon quadrangles include basaltic lavas, often
pillowed, basaltic breccias and conglomerates, tufts and volcanic
sandstones, imbricated with limestones, radiolarian chert and
argillites of the Woyl a Oceanic Assembl age (Bennett et al.
1981a; Cameron et al. 1983; Barber 2000). The more massive
limestones may represent the carbonate caps to seamounts
constructed on oceanic crust. Serpentinite is also imbricated into
these formations and sometimes occur as diapirs within the
Sumatran Fault Zone. The larger bodies of serpentinite (Tangse,
Cahop and Beatang Ultramafic Complexes) represent slices of
oceanic upper mantle harzburgite incorporated into the accretion-
ary complex. The volcanic rocks are often deformed and altered
to greenschists, and the ultramafic rocks to talc schists. Garnetifer-
ous amphibolites present in the Reunguet River are suggested
by Barber (2000) to have been subducted and met amorphosed at
high pressure before being tectonically exhumed. The large area
of undifferentiated Woyl a Group south of the Sumatra Fault
Zone includes intermediate to mafic metavolcanics, cherts and
slates, and may be considered, to be composed mainly of the
Woyl a Oceanic Assemblage.
The Upper Per mi an- Tr i assi c Situtup Formation in the
Takengon Quadrangle (Cameron et al. 1983) composed mai nl y
of limestones, also includes metavolcanics such as epidotised
basalts, basaltic breccias and agglomerates and schistose metaba-
salts. The adjacent Toweren Member also contains massive
metavolcanics. Barber (2000) points out that the descriptions of
the volcanic lithologies in the Situtup and Toweren formations
resemble those of the Woyl a Group and suggests that Woyl a
volcanics may have been tectonically imbricated within the
Situtup Formation.
Nat al area ( r ef er to Fi gs 4. 14 and 6. 12)
Oceanic rocks of the Woyl a Group in the Natal area were first
mapped by Rock et al. (1983) as part of the Lubuksikaping
Quadrangle. The rock units and their relationships were described
in detail from the Batang Natal river and road sections by Wajzer
(1986), with a more accessible summary in Waj zer et al. (1991).
The section shows imbricated slices of massive limestone, serpen-
tinite, volcaniclastic sandstone, sometimes turbiditic, pillow
basalt, radiolarian chert and m~lange, composed of blocks of
these lithologies in a clay matrix, arranged in an apparent
PRE-TERTIARY VOLCANIC ROCKS 77
random fashion (Fig. 6.12 & Table 6.9). Undifferentiated
Pre-Tertiary banded metavolcanics, slates and limestones, on the
northern margin of the Lubuksikaping Quadrangle (Rock et al.
1983 geological map) are shown as part of the Woyla Group in
the geological synthesis of Stephenson & Aspden (1982) and
Rock et al. (1983, fig. 4). Aspden et al. (1982b) extended
subcrop of the Woyla Group up to the Sibolga Fault. These
rocks are considered to belong to the Woyla Accretionary
Assemblage, even though no ultrabasic rocks were described.
Slivers of serpentinitized dunite and hartzburgites intruded
by thin basaltic dykes, are faulted within the Batu Nabontar Lime-
stone at the northeastern end of the Batang Natal section near
Muarasoma (Wajzer 1986). These slices may be related to the
Pasaman Ultramafic Complex which crops out to the SE. This
complex has a length of 75 km, an area in excess of 100 km 2
(Rock et al. 1983), and is the largest ophiolite slice in Sumatra,
although the thickness is not known. The complex is faulted
against an extensive limestone unit, the strike equivalent of the
Batu Nabontar Limestone and a mdlange unit, similar to the
Batang Natal Megabreccia in the Natal section. Wajzer et al.
(1991) reported a Late Triassic foraminifer from a limestone
block in the Batang Natal Megabreccia, indicating that oceanic
limestones, probably deposited on volcanic seamounts as old as
Late Triassic, are incorporated in the accretion complex, either
as an olistrosomes or as mud diapirs.
The depositional environment of the Muarasoma Turbidite For-
mation was probably in a small basin perched on the trench slope
of the accretion complex. The virtual absence of quartz in the
Jambor Baru Formation indicates an oceanic environment, while
absence of plutonic fragments and presence of (altered) andesitic
debris indicates that the volcanic source was nearby, perhaps
within the accretionary complex but Wajzer (1986) suggested
the source was a oceanic island arc in process of erosion. The
Jambor Baru Formation is bounded by strike-slip faults and a
sliver of Parlumpangan-type volcanic rock is faulted within the
outcrop.
The Simarobu Turbidite Formation is composed mostly of
volcaniclastic turbidites with minor calcareous siltstones, strongly
deformed and metamorphosed in the greenschist facies. The
calcareous siltstones may be recrystallized pelagic limestones,
while in the turbidites, the sparse quartz and K-feldspar and the
highly altered mafic volcanic clasts, suggest an intermediate
volcanic source and a trench or ocean-floor depositional environ-
ment (Wajzer 1986). The unit is affected by thrusts and later
strike-slip faults.
The Parlumpangan Volcanic Unit is of extrusive origin, prob-
ably representing different levels of a volcanic pile constructed
on the sea floor, which was emplaced and faulted within the
accretionary complex. The Si Gala Gala Schist encloses, and
is strike-slip faulted against the Parlumpangan Volcanic Unit.
Wajzer et al. (1991) interpret the Parlumpangan Volcanic Unit
as fragments of a non-specific volcanic arc, but stress that the
associated the Si Gala Gala Schists are derived from a con-
tinentally based aci d-i nt ermedi at e volcanic arc. A volcanic
centre within the accretionary complex broken up by faulting is
a likely source of these two units.
THE BATANG NATAL
RIVER SECTION
0 1 2 3km
I I I I
BNL
Jambor Baru
Formation
BNL BNM
i oma
SOMA
Batu Nabontar
Limestone (BNL)
\ ' , , .
Si Gala Gala
Schists
Parlampungan
Volcanics (PV)
Panglong
Melange
Nab~a Volcanics 4
BNL -~": "L'."
Sandstone
: :: i i i i i ! i! i i! ) i! : ~ .~ ~, ; ~i i i ~~. ,. :. :. : " ~ ~ i i i . . " MegabrecciaBatang(BNM)Natal ~.TI
' ~' : :!iii!ii!ii!ii! iiii.~:i~STF
SimaroOu
Formation
(STF)
~ Ranto Sore
Formation
9 . .
9 . .
: . : . .
-::: 9 Belok Gadang
~k : : Siltstone
i b;>
Tambak Baru
Volcanics
"" %'~..,..,.. %" %"%"~,~f ~i:.iiiiiiiiiiiii:.--:~i!iiii Si'l<um'lou'!i!i!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~
:Langsat ~!:!~::....:. ~:.--iiii::i::i::.T:ur:b!d:!!e.siiiiiii!i!i!i!i!i!!!!i!i!i!i:i::: S'"PANG GA,B,R
9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9. . . . . . - . . . . . . . . . . - . - . . . . . %. . . . - . . . . . .
- . Vol cani cs. . v %" 9 FAULT
- , - - , " --," , , " v v v %" %" %" %" %" " ' =' =' : . ' =' : ' ; - : - =' =- =- : ' . ' : " - : ' : - : ' " : - =' : ' : - =' ?: ' " : " "
" ,~LANGSA1
~..- , , . %" %" %" 4... %" %" ,...
PV
.:.. . ~. . : . : . : . : . : . :
: . . 9 9 . . : . : . =.
9 .
Muarasoma Turbidite
Formation (MTF)
" ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' N
" . : . : . : . : . : . .
- . ' . : . : . : , -
. %. . - . . . . . , . . . , %, %, . . . , 4/
-~L-L~z'J Manung al'x",,"
,." x"x ~ x Bath olitgh," x ~',, '
,"x"x"x 87.0Ma J'x"-,'
%, - , . ' %. . %. ,
NATAL
~30 %" %" " " %" %" " " " " " " " " " " . . .
"V" %" ", " %" %" %" ", " %" V V %"
%" %" ",~ %" %" V ". " ". " %" %" %"
~" "4
Jgcan,c . . . . . . .
9 v '..~ v v v --,." %.' %"
v %" --.-" v %" %" %" v
9 ,,." %" %" %" "v" "-,-' "-,." , , . ",,~ ~,-" %" "-.." "-.~ %" %" %" "-.-"
9 . . , ~5 ,.., %" .,... v -.,.' %" %" %" -,.. ".,~ %" %,' %" %" %" v %-"
2Ma, v v %"%"v -~, %"-~- v v v %"%"
Locat i on of l i mest one bl ....- v -.., %" ~., , . - %" v .4, 4, %" %" %" , , . %"
9~ wi t h Lat e Tr i assi c f or ami ni f e~ %' . . . . . .-~. v v v .~- . . . . 9 v
%" .... v %" .4....... v ..-
0 Locat i ons f or K/ Ar dat es } ~" " . 29. 7Ma" " %' , v %"
~5' %" ~," V ~," %" "I %" %" "~" V V "v'O ;~
-,.- -v- - 9 %" ~., %" %"
0 . . . . . . . . , ~ %"%"
i i ~ i AI R v v
Fig. 6.12. Simplified geological map of the Batang Natal river section. Adapted by Barber (2000) from Wajzer et al. (1991). S, serpentinite.
78 CHAPTER 6
The Nabana Volcanic Unit at the southwestern end of the
Batang Natal section (Fig. 6.12) is composed of vesicular spilitic
basic volcanics intruded by dolerite dykes. These vesicular pillow
lavas indicate submarine extrusion at less than abyssal depths. The
dolerites are metamorphosed at greenschist facies. The Nabana
Volcanic Unit is interpreted as a tilted slab of oceanic crust with
ocean-floor basalts and dolerite feeder dykes. Again, associated
limestones may be part of a seamount carbonate capping
(Wajzer et al. 1991). Two preliminary analyses of spilites from
the Nabana Volcanic Unit/Belok Gadang Formation are given
by Rock et al. (1983) (Table 6.11).
The Tambak Baru Volcanic Unit of andesites and andesite
agglomerates and the associated Simpang Gambir Megabreccia
are the faulted remains respectively of a volcanic centre and associ-
ated proximal volcaniclastic erosional debris. A sample of andesite
yielded a Campani an-Maast ri cht i an (Cretaceous) K- Ar age of
78.4 + 2.5 Ma (Wajzer et al. 1991) [N.B. this date should not
be given too much credence, as the rocks are affected by low-
grade metamorphism; Editor]. The unit was suggested by Wajzer
et al. (1991) to represent a collided volcanic arc, but the units are
not highly deformed as might be expected in a collision; a volcanic
centre intruded into the accretionary complex during the Late
Cretaceous is a more probable explanation.
Padang area (ref er to Fi gs 4. 16 and 6. 13)
In the Padang Quadrangle, to the north of the Danau Maninjau vol-
canic centre, the northern margin of the Woyla Accretionary
Complex is truncated by the Sumatra Fault Zone (Kastowo &
Leo 1973). Here a zone of serpentinite pods aligned along faults
has been emplaced in massive limestones, phyllites, metasand-
stones and metasiltstones, occasionally with mafic greenstones.
Jurassic fossils were collected from the limestones at Palembanjan
by Volz (19 ! 3).
To the east of Padang, McCarthy et al. (2001) recognized
thrusting in the volcanic-sedimentary sequence in the Indarung
Formation of Yancey & Alif (1977) and identified Mid-Jurassic
radiolaria in cherts, indicating that part of the accreted ocean
crust was of Jurassic age. The Golok Tuff Formation composed
of crystal tufts which lies above the Lubuk Peraku Limestone
(Upper Jurassi c-Lower Cretaceous, Yancey & Alif 1977) has
been dated using the K- Ar method at 105 _+ 3 Ma (Koning &
Aulia 1985). McCarthy et al. (2001) interpreted the massive
Lubuk Peraku Limestone as part of a fringing reef to a seamount
which collided during subduction with the Accretionary
Complex and was imbricated within it.
The Limestone Member of the Siguntur Formation, on strike
to the SE at Surian in the Painan Quadrangle, is described by
Rosidi et al. (1976) as similar to the Indarung Limestone and
possibly also capped a former seamount. The main outcrop of
the Siguntur Formation south of Padang includes quartzites
(McCarthy et al. 2001). Rosidi et al. (1976) remark on the
cherty nature of quartzites, which suggests that they may have
an oceanic origin. The diverse origins of sediments are typical
of the Oceanic and Accretion Complex, and this poorly exposed,
but extensive unit includes distal terrestrial, volcaniclastic,
pelagic and chemical oceanic sediments, probably juxtaposed by
thrusting and movement along strike-slip faults.
Danau Di at as to Gunung Keri nci
Between Danau Diatas and Gunung Kerinci to the east of the
Sumatra Fault Zone (Fig. 6.13) a ' serpentinite front' to the
Woyla Oceanic and Accretion Assemblage is marked by serpenti-
nite pods (Rosidi et al. 1976). Serpentinite and pyroxenite are also
present at Galagah (McCarthy et al. 2001). North of Lubukgadang
a large serpentinised hartzburgite body is associated with a lens
of megabreccia composed of blocks of metasediment and
serpentinite. The serpentinite body is thrust into a turbidite
sequence, probably equivalent to the Rawas Formation in the
Tembesi -Rawas Mountains, along strike to the SE.
Te mbe s i - Rawas Mount ai ns
In the Sarolangan Quadrangle the boundary of the Woyl a
Accretionary Complex is taken at the Rawas Thrust, marking
the approximate southern boundary of the Asai Formation.
Serpentinite pods are mapped along the thrust (Suwarna et al.
1994). Diabases and basalts are also present, associated with tur-
bidites and a large limestone body in a pelagic marine sequence,
which has been affected by thrusts and strike-slip faults. The
generalized description of the Rawas Formation is fairly typical
of the Oceanic and Accretion Complex elsewhere in Sumatra,
but the detail is lacking and it is described by Suwarna et al.
(1994) as interleaved within the non-volcanic, shallow marine,
Peneta Formation and perhaps represents a forearc basin deposit.
The Woyla Accretionary Complex is exposed in river sections
where tuffaceous shales alternate with meta-limestones to the
west of the Barisan Mountains, in the Sumatra Fault Zone, and
to the east of Danau Kerinci (Kusnama et al. 1993b).
Subcrop beneat h the Sout h Sumat ra Tert i ary Basi n
The subcrop of the Woyla Accretionary Assemblage beneath
Tertiary sediments between the Gumai and Garba Mountains
and Palembang has been reconstructed from oil company borehole
termination records (Fig. 6.13). These were studied by Adiwidjaja
& de Coster (1973) and de Coster (1974) who distinguished a belt
of ' Mesozoics with mafics' south of the ' Mesozoic Metamorphics'
of the Tembesi -Rawas area of the Woyla Foreland Assemblage.
Mesozoics with mafics were encountered in exploration drilling
of the Tertiary sediments north of Tebingtinggi beneath the
headwaters of the Sungai Musi (Ki ki m-Teras High) and east of
Baturaja (Lematang Sub-Basin). Lithologies encountered corre-
spond with those in the Foreland, Oceanic and Accretion
Complex Assemblages of the Woyla Group. The Foreland
Assemblage sediments are on strike with the Peneta and Asai For-
mations, and the Oceanic and Accretion Complex metavolcanics
beneath the Lemat Formation volcanics (Eocene), are recorded
in oil-well terminations as far north as the Sungai Musi.
De Coster (1974) reports a Mid-Cretaceous (?deformation)
K- Ar age of 121 _ 2 Ma from tuffaceous clastics at the base of
the Lemat-2 well, south of the Sungai Musi.
Lampung area (ref er to Fig. 4. 8)
Two Pre-Tertiary units, the Menanga Formation and the
Gunungkasih Complex (McCourt et al. 1993), were mapped in
the Kotaagung (Amin et al. 1994b) and Tanjungkarang
(Andi-Mangga et al. 1994a) Quadrangles. The Early Cretaceous
Menanga Formation, which is in thrust contact with the older
(Palaeozoic) Gunungkasih Complex, consists of a mixture of
lithologies ranging from shales with cherts, sandstones, siltsones
and claystones and rare porphyritic basalt. The claystones
are tuffaceous and the sandstones include andesite, glassy andesite
and quartz-diorite clasts. The sedimentary environment of the
Menanga Formation is interpreted as deep marine, related to a
volcanic arc, and is correlated with the Lingsing Formation of
the Gumai Mountains by Ami n et al. (1994b) and Andi-Mangga
et al. (1994a). According to Barber (2000) the depositional
environment was that of a forearc to an Andean-type volcanic
arc, built on continental basement, and he interprets the
sequence as part of the Foreland Assemblage of the Woyla
Group. The lithological mix suggests that the Menanga Formation
PRE-TERTIARY VOLCANIC ROCKS 79
m
o~
Z
~ d ~ . . . . . . .
0
' ~0oo~' , ~ ~ e , " ~ C ' . l ' . , ~
. . ~ - - o ~ m ~
d d ~ d ~ d d ~ o
. ~ . ~ ~
~ - ~ ~ ~
~ .
~ - ~ - - ~ k~
~-k
C~
%
cq
cq
oo
C~
.,-...,
%
0
>
Z
80 CHAPTER 6
100OE,.,
1os
Siguntu
I
101 ~
, Singkarak
I
102 ~
ah
~ukgadang
I
103 ~ %,/
I
105 ~
I
106 ~
50 100km
I
2 ~
~Tabi r
BANGKA
3 ~
Pendopo
9 PALEMBANG
Faults " "
Thrusts
BENGKL
WOYLA GROUPASSEMBLAGES
~ Oceani c Vol cani c Arc
- ~ Accreti onary Compl ex
(ocean-fl oor materi al )
Forel and assembl age
[ [ Pal aeozoi c basement
102 ~ 103 ~ 104 ~
121 +2Ma
BATURAJA
Lampung
High
JAVA
SEA
Fig. 6.13. The distribution of the Woyla Group Assemblages in Southern Sumatra and localities mentioned in text.
(Table 6.8) is a tectonic composite of oceanic and foreland
lithologies.
West Java Sea
To the east of Sumatra, in Java and the West Java Sea, the
Woyla Group is difficult to trace, but lithologies of the Woyla
Accretionary Complex have been recognized in oil well termin-
ations in the off-shore Sunda oil field, where serpentinite and
metasediments, together with Late Cretaceous granites, were
encountered beneath Tertiary sediments. In the southern part of
the Sunda Basin, in the East Java Sea, the Woyla Group is overlain
by Late Cretaceous sediments. Ben Avraham & Emery (1973)
found that the interpretation of magnetic intensity measurements
in the East Java Sea was problematic, but the magnetic anomalies
have large amplitudes (200-600 gamma) and the wavelengths
( 10- 30ki n) are shorter than, but resemble those of oceanic
crust. In the regional context these anomalies might represent
the subcrop of ophiolite from the Woyla Accretionary Complex.
Certain zones within the West Java Sea have the magnetic
signatures of large basic or ultrabasic bodies, one example, on
the SE margin of the Lampung High of SE Sumatra, has a
similar magnetic signature to the Pasaman Ophiolite Complex in
the Natal area.
Oceanic volcanic arc fragments
Oceanic island arcs, fragments of which are incorporated within
the Woyla Accretionary Complex, originated in Meso-Tethys
probably in the Early Jurassic. The volcanic arcs have been
suggested to have been constructed on continental basement
(Cameron et al. 1980), but Hamilton (1988) and Barber (2000),
with more detail, has thrown doubt on this idea, and also on the
suggestion that these arcs originated as fragments of Gondwana
(Metcalfe 1996). It would appear that the Woyla Oceanic Volcanic
Arcs originated within Meso-Tethys, although how many island
arc strings were created, and whether the strings were continuous
is not certain. In Aceh there are three large arc fragments, the
Bentaro, Tapaktuan and Sise (Fig. 4.13) of which the latter is poss-
ibly a different age to the other two, depending upon the nature of
the undifferentiated area of Woyla Group east of the Anu-Bat ee
Fault. In Southern Sumatra the Gumai -Garba Line (Fig. 6.13) of
McCourt et al. (1993) links a string of arc fragments (Saling Arc)
which appear to be of a similar age. Lithological details of the
Oceanic Volcanic Arc fragments are given in Table 6.10.
Aceh Province (refer to Fig. 4.13)
The Bentaro Island Arc (Barber 2000) is the largest of the oceanic
island arc fragments included in the Woyla Group. The Bentaro
PRE-TERTIARY VOLCANIC ROCKS 81
Island Arc is faulted, thrust and intruded by Late Cretaceous and
Tertiary granitoids. The component units of the Bentaro Arc are
described in the Banda Aceh and Calang Quadrangles by
Bennett et al. (1981a, b). Here the Bentaro Volcanic Formation
is overlain by reef limestones and dark limestones (Lamno
Formation) with Late Jurassi c-Earl y Cretaceous fossils, and is
faulted against and underlain by the Lhoong Formation. The
Raba Limestone Formation, composed of reef limestones and
thin bedded argillaceous and siliceous limestones is thrust over
the Lhoong Formation. Near the Sumatra Fault Zone the
Bentaro Arc is overthrust by the Geumpang Formation which
belongs to the Accretionary Complex. In the Calang Quadrangle
volcanics are not exposed, only reef limestones of the Teunom
Formation are seen.
Barber (2000) includes the Tapaktuan Volcanic Formation
which crops out in the coastal plain of the Tapaktuan Quadrangle
(Cameron et al. 1982b) within the Bentaro Arc. The Tapaktuan
Volcanic Formation crops out as fault lozenges in the Kluet
Fault Complex. In the NW of the main outcrop, the Tapaktuan
3
>-
_Q
z
2
0-10
Zr/ P205
0-20
4
o~
o4 3
0
I--
2
V
;2 ,~ 6 8 10
Y/ Nb
o
0 ' 0 ' 1 0 200 3 0 400
Zr ppm
Fig. 6.14. Geochemical discrimination diagrams for basaltic rocks after Floyd &
Winchester (1975) showing the affinity of the volcanics collected from the Saling
Formation, Gumai Mountains. Diagram after Gafoer et al. (1992c).
Formation is thrust over the oceanic Babahrot Formation, and in
the Meukek River volcanics are transformed into amphibolites
in the Meukek Gneiss Complex. Barber (2000) suggests these
garnet amphibolites represent rocks which were subducted,
metamorphosed and subsequently tectonically exhumed.
Barber (2000) places the Sise Limestone Formation (reef lime-
stones) and the Kenyaran Volcanic Formation (epidotized basalts)
of the Takengon Quadrangle (Cameron et al. 1983) within the
Island Arc Assemblage, from which it has been displaced by
movements of the Sumatra Fault Zone.
Gumai Mount ai ns (ref er to Fig. 4. 19)
The remote inlier of the Woyla Group in the Gumai Mountains
(Musper 1937; Gafoer et al. 1992c) includes the Early Cretaceous
Saling Formation (amygdaloidal and porphyritic andesite and
basalt), the Sepingtiang Limestone (reef limestone) and the Lings-
ing Formation (andesite and basalt with interbedded sediments).
Gafoer et al. (1992c) considered that these rocks constituted an
oceanic assemblage, but Barber (2000) has proposed that all the
units are components of the Oceanic Island Arc Assemblage,
with the Lingsing Formation originally occupying a more distal
location than the Saling Formation. Chemical analyses of volca-
nics from the Saling Formation in Table 6.11 are quoted from
Gafoer et al. (1992c), but sample localities were not given.
Using the discriminant plots of Floyd & Winchester (1975) the
analyses indicate that the Saling Island Arc volcanics are of
oceanic tholeiitic (MORB) affinity (Fig. 6.14).
Faunas from the Sepingtiang fringing reef range in age from
Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989)
and diorite dykes, dated at 116 _+ 3 Ma by the K- Ar method,
intruding the volcanics are interpreted by Gafoer et al. (1992c)
as feeders to the volcanics, indicating a younger, Aptian age for
at least part of the volcanic sequence. A basic rock collected
from one or other of the two large ultrabasic pods in the Lingsing
Formation was dated using the K- Ar method and gave an Early
Cretaceous age of 122 ___4 Ma.
Musper (1937) considered that the different facies in the Gumai
Mountains were thrust together, and van Bemmelen (1949)
suggested that the volcanic facies ' formed on the slope of a
volcanic range or row of islands' and slid over the bathyal deposits
as a result of gravitational tectogenesis. The rocks are highly
deformed and folded, tectonic fabrics and banding strike east -
west, but the sparse field data does not resolve the question of
whether these units are imbricated to form part of an accretionary
complex (Barber 2000).
Garba Mount ai ns (ref er to Fig. 4. 7)
In the Garba Mountains the Oceanic Volcanic Arc Assemblage is
present in NW-SE-st ri ki ng strips bounded by faults (Gafoer et al.
1994) and comprises the Garba Formation (amygdaloidal and
porphyritic basaltic and andesitic lavas) and the Insu Member
(m61ange). The limestone clasts are considered by Gafoer et al.
(1994), to be derived from a fringing reef limestone on the
continental foreland, but more likely were derived from a
limestone reef fringing the island arc. A thick (500 m) chert
unit (Situlanglang Member) is probably part of the oceanic
assemblage.
82 CHAPTER 6
Origins of the volcanic units and their environments
of formati on
Pal aeozoi c vol cani sm in Sumat ra and the break-up of
Gondwanal and
The andesite and basalt flows in the Lower Member of the
Kuantan Formation in the West Sumatra Block occur among
distal turbidites and debris flows indicative of deposition in a
deep-water environment, possibly in a forearc setting (Turner
1983). If these volcanics are contemporaneous with the sediments,
they are Vis6an (Lower Carboniferous) in age. Volcanic rocks of
this age are unusual in SE Asia and Australia (Veevers & Tewari
1995). The Kuantan Volcanism may be related to seafloor spread-
ing in Palaeo-Tethys and be a precursor of the break-up volcanism
along the margin of the Gondwana Supercontinent. Volcanics
from the Gondwana Break-up Sequence are known from the
dating of drill samples from the West Australian margin
(Veevers & Tewari 1995) and crop out in Timor where they are
stratigraphically well constrained (Charlton et al. 2002). These
dated West Australian volcanics form a reference sequence for
comparison with the Sumatran Permian volcanics (Fig. 6.15).
Rhyolite clasts in the Late Carboni ferous?-Earl y Permian
Pebbly Mudstone facies of the Bohorok Formation in Sibumasu
(East Sumatra Block) could be of any age, and plausibly were
eroded from the same land area from which granite clasts in the
mudstone also originated. A trondhjemite clast from the compar-
able Singa Formation on Langkawi Island, west of Peninsula
Malaysia, has been dated at 1029 Ma (Hutchison 1989) suggesting
a Proterozoic provenance. Volcanic rocks of the Condong Member
of the upper Mentulu Formation (Bohorok Formation equivalent)
and the Setiti plutons of the East Sumatra Plutonic-Volcanic Belt
(c. 298- 276 Ma) have a similar Permian Asselian-Sakmarian
age, coinciding with the volcanic episode related to the break-
up of the Sibumasu/Gondwana margin. The East Sumatra
Pl ut oni c-Vol cani c Belt is of regional extent, being represented
by volcanics in the Bohorok Formation of North Sumatra
(Bennett et al. 1982c), and again by volcanic tufts which are
widely distributed in the Mergui Series (comparable to the
Bohorok Formation) around Mergui and Tavoy (Chhibber 1934;
Pascoe 1959) and in islands offshore Peninsular Myamar. The
East Sumatra Pl ut oni c-Vol cani c Belt is related in time to the frag-
mentation of Sibumasu from Gondwana, but a great deal more
chemical and chronological data is required to amplify this
suggestion.
09 BASHKI RI AN
- 320 D
O
cc
LU SERPUKOVIAN
I J_
- 330
O
[ ]
-340 n- < VISEAN
O
WESTERN
STAGE AUSTRALIA SEA
Ma ~ boreholes ILEVEL TIMOR
_(2
-240~ ANI SI AN ~v.ll ........ L~'el ris.._.e
~_ SCYTHI AN ~
GHANGHSINGIAN V g
- 250 WUCHAIPINGIAN V
CApITANIAN V V
WORDIAN
ROADIAN V V V V
-260 z KUNGURIAN !
_ ARTI NSKI AN
-270 rr
i i i
a. SAKMARI AN /,,,,,'
1280 I
i
ABSELI AN " I ce ', - -
i - 290- - i VolJne i
GZELI AN "- '"
- 300 KASI MOVI AN i -
MUSCOVI AN
-310 i i
ii
, ,,
-350
-360
TOURNAISIAN
SI BUMASU
EAST SUMATRA BLOCK
WEST SUMATRA BLOCK
KLUET
VVVVV
FORMATION
con on
Member
BOHOROK
& MENTULU
PENGABUHA FORMATIONS
FORMATION 'Pebbly
Mudstones'
GANGSAL
FORMATION
i
(-9 z
<=o_
- VvV
~u. .
- ~O V V V
V V
VV
I Calcareous
Member
(Tabir
Formation)
Volcanic
, Member
(Palepat
! Formation)
Mengkarang
Formation
I Limestone
Member
Lower
V V V Member
. . . . . .
Gondwana Mar gi n Event s
II
Gondwana
' retreats to
Volcanicity accompanies south
Sea-floor spreading in I I
Meso-Tethys (Phase 2)
I Separation of
Sibumasu and Opening of
Baoshan Blocks Meso-Tethys
(Phase 1)
tk
Rift faulting and
volcanicity Gondwana
Glaciation of Sibumasu advances
and West Australian to north
Gondwana margin
'Namurian' uplift of Gondwana
margin
Kluet volcanism ?related to
sea-floor spreading in Palaeo-Tethys
Opening of Palaeo-Tethys
Fig. 6.15. The Permian sequence in Timor after Charlton et al. (2002) showing volcanic horizons related to the break-up of the Gondwana margin and seafloor spreading
in the Meso-Tethys Ocean. Sibumasu is understood to have broken from Gondwana at the close of the Sakmarian (Metcalfe 1996) and the West Sumatra Block in the
Triassic.
PRE-TERTIARY VOLCANIC ROCKS 83
West Sumatra Permi an Pl ut oni c- Vol cani c Belt
It has been established that the Permian volcanics in the
Mengkarang Formation in the West Sumatra Block, the Volcanic
Member of the Silungkang Formation, and the Palepat Formation
were erupted between the Asselian and the Artinskian and that
basaltic volcanics in the Calcareous Member of the Silungkang
Formation are probably Roadian. Radiometric dating suggests
that some of the volcanics (the andesite-rhyolite sequence in
the Volcanic Member of the Silungkang Formation and at
Sibolga) are the extrusive equivalents of plutonic intrusions.
The Ombilin granite is a foliated muscovite (?)S-type granite
(McCourt et al. 1996) with a K- Ar age of 287 3 Ma, corre-
sponding to the Asselian Stage, and a younger Rb- Sr age of
256 _+ 6 Ma. The oldest intrusive phase in the Sibolga Granite
Complex has a Rb- Sr isochron age of 264 6 Ma (Aspden
et al. 1982b) and may be associated with the volcanics in the
Kluet Formation.
Three geological settings for the West Sumatra Permian
Plutonic-Volcanic Belt have been proposed; an island arc, sub-
duction-related continental margin arc, or continental breakup.
The West Sumatra Permian Plutonic-Volcanic Belt is referred
to as the ' Palepat Terrane' by McCourt et al. (1996) who
discuss the suggestion by Wajzer et al. (1991) that the ' Palepat
Terrane' represents an allochthonous oceanic arc which collided
with Sumatra in the Late Permian or Early Triassic. This interpret-
ation was adopted by Metcalfe (2000). The Palepat Terrane/
allochthonous oceanic island arc hypothesis is rejected by
Barber (2000) on the grounds that oceanic volcanics and ophiolites
have not been identified, nor is the ' Palepat Terrane' bounded
along its eastern boundary by thrusts (Katili 1970), as had been
supposed previously (Tobler 1922; Zwierzijcki 1930a).
Cretaceous ophiolite outcrops shown within Early Permian
sediments in the Solok Quadrangle by Gafoer et al. (1992a) are,
according to Silitonga & Kastowo (1975), basaltic lavas inter-
bedded within phyllites and quartzites of the Phyllite and Shale
Member of the Kuantan Formation. These basalt outcrops are
now considered to be an outlier of the Calcareous Member of
the Silungkang Formation and are not associated with ultrabasic
rocks, so their ophiolitic association is not established.
Katili (1969, 1972, 1981) interpreted the Volcanic Member
of the Silungkang Formation, the Palepat Formation and the
associated granite suite, as relics of a continent margin magmatic
arc of subduction origin. This interpretation is supported by the
tholeiitic and calc-alkaline trends in these volcanics (Fig. 6.6)
(Suwarna et al. 2000). The location of this magmatic arc in the
palaeogeogeographic reconstruction (Fig. 14.11) would have
been on the southern margin of the Cathaysian supercontinent
(Fig. 6.2a), where it might have been related to a contemporary
Permian magmatic arc in the Indochina Block of East Peninsular
Malaysia described by Cobbing et al. (1992).
A third alternative proposed by Suparaka & Sukendar (1981), is
that the volcanics represent igneous activity associated with a
passive continent margin. Charlton (2001), on palaeogeographic
reasoning, has suggested that the West Sumatra Permian volcanics
were related to the break-up at the Gondwana-Cat haysi a inter-
face. In this hypothesis the volcanism was associated with the
thermal uplift of the Gondwana margin (Veevers & Tewari
1995) which coincided in the Asselian with the conclusion of
the Gondwana glaciation and the start of sea-floor spreading in
Meso-Tethys (Fig. 6.15). At this time the West Sumatra Block
lay well to the north of the glaciated area (Fig. 14.11), so that
the thermal uplift resulted in shallow-water deposition under
tropical marine conditions.
The geochemistry of the Silungkang and Palepat Formations
as shown in the rock/chondrite normalized REE plots and the
spidergrams of these volcanics (Suwarna et al. 2000) resembles
similar plots for the Gondwana break-up volcanics identified in
the Himalayas (Garzanti et al. 1989), and the REE pattern of the
dolerites and amphibolites from the Dili area of Timor (Berry &
Jenner 1982).
The timing and chemistry of the West Sumatra Permian
Plutonic-Volcanic Belt suggest that it was linked both with sub-
duction and continent margin faulting/seafloor spreading, but
the chemical data do not discriminate which process was dominant
at any particular time. This might be explained by the palaeogeo-
graphic setting of the West Sumatra Block between Cathaysia and
Gondwana, where the Cathaysian margin subduction regime
appears to have been affected by the break-up faulting of the
Gondwana margin. This palaeogeographic setting ended when
Sibumasu collided with the Indochina Block of Cathaysia in the
Changsingian and Scythian (Metcalfe 2000).
Bent ong- Bi l l i t on Accret i onary Compl ex
The basic and ultrabasic meta-igneous and volcanic lithologies in
the Ri au-Bi l l i t on Permian Volcanic belt in north P. Billiton
and P. Bangka, and those in west P. Batam and on P. Sugi are
on the strike continuation of the Bent ong-Raub collision zone.
These rocks are components of an Accretionary Complex on the
Palaeo-Tethys margin of the Indochina Block, derived from
detached slices of the Palaeo-Tethys ocean floor, volcanic rocks,
intrusions and sediments, all of which were deformed during the
collision with Sibumasu. Volcanics in the Tin Islands appear to
be Permian in age, but the complex as a whole contains sediments
ranging in age from Late Devonian to Late Permian (Metcalfe
2000).
The Gondwana excursions and the Gondwana Margi n
break-up volcanicity
Charlton (2001) has a novel explanation of the Gondwana margin
sequence of extension, uplift, associated magmatism, fragmenta-
tion and dispersal during the Permian, based on the study of the
palaeomagnetism of Australia and its vicinity by Klootwijk
(1996) (see Fig. 6.2b), Palaeomagnetic data indicate that eastern
Gondwana made a northward excursion commencing in the
Early Carboniferous, and reached low to moderate latitudes in
the mid-Carboniferous, before moving southwards again in the
later Carboniferous and Early Permian. The return phase of this
excursion coincides with the rift-faulting, crustal extension,
associated magmatism and fragmentation of Sibumasu from the
Gondwana (Fig. 6.2a,b & 6.15). In this scenario Sibumasu did
not drift away from Gondwana, as envisaged for example in the
reconstructions of Metcalfe (1996), but was abandoned during
the phase of crustal extension which accompanied the southward
return of the Gondwana Supercontinent. The detachment of the
West Sumatra Block from the area of contact between Cathaysia
and Gondwana occurred later in the Triassic. By this time
Sibumasu had collided with the East Malay Block resulting in
the deformation of the Ri au-Bi l l i t on Accretionary Complex.
This event was accompanied by a second northward excursion
of Gondwana in the Triassic, during which the West Sumatra
Block was translated along the Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone
to arrive in its present position alongside the Sibumasu Block.
Triassic Pl ut oni c- Vol cani c belts in post -col l i si on Sumat ra
Extensive igneous activity took place during the Triassic in
Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia in both of which axial uplifts,
resulting from successive collisions, were followed by extensional
collapse (cf. Dewey 1988). This collapse led to sedimentation in
faulted basins and grabens, beneath and between which, extensive
granitic plutonism of the Main Range and Eastern Provinces
84 CHAPTER 6
took place in Malaya and in the Tin Islands off Sumatra. The only
volcanic units related to this phase of plutonism which have sur-
vived, form the Pahang Volcanic Belt associated with the
Eastern Granite Province of Peninsular Malaya.
At the same time Meso-Tethys commenced subduction beneath
Western Sumatra creating the continental margin West Sumatra
Triassic Pl ut oni c-Vol cani c Arc. Some of these Triassic arc
plutons were intruded into the (formerly) extensive limestone
platform which formed at the Meso-Tethys ocean margin
but few associated volcanics have been recognized (Cubadak
Formation).
J ur as s i c - Cr e t ac e ous pl ut oni sm and vol cani sm
Towards the end of the Jurassic, before the accretionary margin of
western Sumatra was firmly established, the Mid-Jurassic-Early
Cretaceous was a time of extensive plutonism associated with vol-
canism of the continental margin Jurassic-Cretaceous Plutonic
Arc. This magmatic pulse in Sumatra coincides with the rapid
formation of the Pacific Plate (c, 175- 170Ma, Bartolini &
Larson 2001), which led to a world-wide flare-up of subduction
magmatism. The rapid growth of the Pacific Plate (15 cm a -I)
continued until the Oxfordian, when it reduced to 10 cm a - l . In
Sumatra the Mid-Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Plutonic Arc dates
from 169-129 Ma (McCourt et al. 1996) in the Meso-Tethyan
Ocean and the Woyla Accretionary Complex incorporated
oceanic seamounts dating from the Triassic and volcanic units
derived from oceanic and continental sources (Figs. 6.16 & 14.16).
Limited chemical data (Table 6.11) hints that on the basis
of separation into high ( > 1%) and low ( < 1%) TiO2 contents,
volcanic rocks from the Saling Formation of the Gumai Mountains
include examples from the oceanic crust (high-Ti contents) while
low-Ti samples represent volcanics of subduction origin, some
high in Si and another high in Mg. Analyses of the Nabana
Volcanics in the Batang Natal and from the Tapaktuan Formation
are high in Ti, confirming the field identification of ocean-floor
volcanics within these units (Fig. 6.14).
Other volcanic units in the Woyla Accretionary Complex are
suggested to be the remnants of volcanic arcs (Tambak Baru,
Parlumpangan) but the absence of collision deformation suggests
an alternative origin as volcanic centres intruded into the complex
which were subsequently broken up by faulting. A reconstruction
of the different depositional and volcanic environments within
the oceanic assemblage of the Woyl a Accretionary Complex is
attempted in Fig. 6.16. The environments of the sedimentary
units (Table 6.9) were appraised by Wajzer et al. (1991). Sub-
sequent oblique subduction beneath the Woyla Accretionary
Complex caused transcurrent faulting, which broke up and
dispersed the component sediment and volcanic units as described
by Wajzer et al. (1991).
The large serpentinite bodies are fragments of the basal harzbur-
gite layer of the ocean crust which have become detached from
their volcanic and dyke carapaces as a result of their emplacement
across the subduction complex and subsequent strike-slip faulting.
The majority of serpentinite bodies in the Aceh area are of this
type, but others, like the Pasaman Complex (Rock et al. 1983),
and the various serpentinites in the NW corner of the Takengon
Quadrangle (Cameron et al. 1983), are associated with large
limestone outcrops. Such serpentinites may be the remnants of
the foundations of uplifted oceanic plateaus with limestone caps
(Wajzer et al. 1991) which collided with the subduction zone
and were fragmented.
OCEANIC ACCRETIONARY COMPLEX To the margin of >
SUNDALAND - subducted ISLAND ARC
(arc assemblage)
Andesitic volcanics
and volcaniclastic
sediments
(Tambak Baru and
Parlumpangan
Volcanic Units)
(oceanic assemblage)
UPPER TRENCH
SLOPE BASIN
greywackes
(Muarasoma
Turbidite
Formation)
r ' . . . , . . . . 9
" ' ' " .
, ' v v v
FOREARC BASIN
volcaniclastic sediments
and reefs
(Rantobi Sandstone and
Jambu Baru Formations)
beneath the Woyla Nappe
in the mid-Cretaceous
LOWER TRENCH COLLAPSING
SLOPE BASI N SEAMOUNT
(Belok Gadang with olistostrome
Siltstone (Panglong
Formation) Melange
TRENCH Formation)
(Simarobu I
Turbidite ]
Forr~ation) $
/ (Triassic- mid-Cretaceous)
oceanic lithosphere, ocean floor
and pelagic sediments
(Nabana Volcanic Unit
Pasaman Ultramafic Complex)
Fig. 6.16, Cartoon reconstruction of environments of sediment and volcanic units within the Woyla Accretionary Complex of the Natal area. Sediment environments are
as interpreted by Wajzer et al. (1991) and in Table 6.9, but do not represent a specific time frame.
PRE-TERTIARY VOLCANIC ROCKS 85
Fossil evidence indicates that the Bentaro string of island arcs
began to grow within Meso-Tethys around the Jurassic Oxfordian
stage. Their origin is shrouded in uncertainty, but Barber
(2000) has suggested that they were generated along transform
faults. Their formation may have resembled the origin of the
I zu- Boni n- Mar i ana island arcs in the Eocene (Stern &
Bloomer 1992). In this model, displacement along translbrm
faults in the Pacific Plate juxtaposed oceanic crust and litho-
spheres of different ages, densities and thicknesses, which led to
instability relieved by subduction within the ocean. Subduction
led to volcanism and the growth of volcanoes, forming
an oceanic island arc, which upon emergence above sea-level
became surrounded by fringing reefs.
The presence of at least one generation of island arcs within
the Woyla Oceanic Volcanic Arc Assemblage has been deduced
in NW Sumatra. Other large contemporaneous Tethyan oceanic
island arcs include the Kohistan Arc of northern Pakistan
(Treloar et al. 1996) which grew in the Mid-Cretaceous and the
Spontang Ophiolite of the Ladakh Himalaya (Pedersen et al.
2001). The collision of the Bent aro-Sal i ng Arcs and the associ-
ated oceanic crust carrying the Oceanic Assemblage of the
Woyl a Group with the West Sumatra margin of Sundaland
had tectonic effects which reached into Peninsular Malaysia and
beyond. However the Bent aro-Sal i ng Arcs of Sumatra are
relatively small and have not been up-ended compared to the
contemporaneous giant Kohistan Arc of northern Pakistan which
represents a deformed crustal section perhaps 40km thick
(Hamilton 1988).
The debate concerning the nature of the basement of the Bentaro
Island Arc, whether continental (Cameron et al. 1980 and
Pulunggono & Cameron 1984) or oceanic (Wajzer et al. 1991;
Barber 2000), has already been alluded to. The Bentaro Arc was
deformed and metamorphosed at low temperatures as a result of
its forceful collision with the Sumatra margin. To date only a
I%w localities of garnet amphibolite are known believed to be
the exhumed products of subduction metamorphism (see Barber
2000 for details). The simplest explanation is that as a result of
the collision, the arc was detached from its oceanic basement,
ramped onto the Sumatra continent margin, and so overlies thin
continental lithosphere. This is demonstrated by the continent
margin-type mineralogy of the Late Cretaceous (97.7 0.7 Ma)
intrusion of the Younger Complex of the Sikuleh Batholith into
the Bentaro Arc and the subsequent (Late Tertiary?) molybdenum
mineralisation and drainage tin anomalies (Bennett et al. 1981b).
The debate over the oceanic or continental origins of arcs
is complicated by the discovery of a fragment of a continental
arc within the Woyla Oceanic and Accretion Assemblage. In the
Batang Natal section, severely deformed Si Gala Gala Schists
represent volcanics with a more acidic (continental) source than
the intermediate composition volcanics and volcanogenic sedi-
mentary units of oceanic origin in the assemblage. The intense
deformation in the Si Gala Gala Schists, compared to other
units, may have been the result of a collision of a continental
island arc with the accretionary margin (Wajzer 1986). Alterna-
tively, and believed to be more likely, the Si Gala Gala Schists
represent a relatively autochthonous fault-sliver of a local
Sumatran volcanic centre, deformed as a result of fault move-
ments. The intermediate composition Parlampungan Volcanic
Unit is adjacent, and may be related to the Si Gala Gala Schists,
but is not deformed. Wajzer (1986) suggested that it was a fault
sliver transported from the continent margin Sumatra Arc by
strike-slip faulting and became incorporated within the accretion-
ary complex, but alternatively it is a variably deformed local
volcanic centre with intermediate volcanics differentiated from
oceanic basalts.
In conclusion, the reconnaissance study of the Pre-Tertiary vol-
canics of Sumatra has already provided fascinating data assisting
the understanding of the geological evolution of Sumatra.
Further study of the volcanic rocks of Sumatra will lead to a
better understanding of the history of the break-up of Gondwana,
and the rearrangement of crustal blocks during collision and
accretion processes throughout the Permian and the Mesozoic,
with implications far outside Sumatra.
Chapter 7
Tertiary stratigraphy
M. E. M. DE SMET & A. J. BARBER
The purpose of this account is to review the complex terminology of
the Tertiary stratigraphic units in Sumatra and propose a revised and
a simplified terminology based on the significance of formations for
the tectono-stratigraphic development of the island. Formations are
classified in terms of Pre-Rift, Horst and Graben, Transgressive, and
Regressive tectono-stratigraphic stages.
The island of Sumatra lies along the southwestern margin of
the SE Asian continent (Sundaland) beneath which the Indian
Ocean Plate is currently being subducted at a rate of about
7 cm a-1 in the Sunda Trench (Fig. 7.1). The continental margin
of SE Asia is of Andean type, with active and inactive Quaternary
volcanoes rising to over 3000 m above a Pre-Tertiary basement,
exposed towards the west coast of the island in the Barisan
Mountains. Tertiary sedimentary basins occur both to the SW
and the NE of the mountains and small basins also occur within
the mountain range itself. These basins are described with relation-
ship to the present-day subduction system as forearc, backarc and
intra-arc or intramontane basins (Fig. 7.1 ). The Barisan Mountains
are transected by the Sumatran Fault System, a major dextral
transcurrent fault zone which extends along the length of the
island from the Sunda Strait to the Andaman Sea.
Stratigraphic research in the Tertiary sedimentary basins
commenced in the last decades of the nineteenth century when oil
was discovered in the Telaga Tiga (I 883) and Telaga Said (1885)
wells near Pangkalan Brandan in North Sumatra. Initially, wildcat
drills were sited near oil seeps until systematic surface mapping
commenced in the 1880s. Local stratigraphies in the oilfield areas
were compiled from field outcrops by geologists working for the
Bataafse Petroleum Maatschappij (BPM, now Shell) and the Neder-
landsche Koloniale Petroleum Maatschappij (NKPM, later Stanvac)
(van Bemmelen 1949). Five large and many small oilfields were
discovered in Sumatra before World War II. Since the 1970s
Sumatra has developed into a major oil and gas province. In the
post-war period petroleum exploration has been based largely on
borehole data and seismic reflection profiling. The seismo-strati-
graphic units have generally been correlated with the main strati-
graphic units which had been previously defined on the basis of
outcrop descriptions and borehole data.
A systematic compilation and correlation of the Tertiary strati-
graphic units throughout Sumatra became possible through
the mapping programmes of the Geological Survey of Indonesia
(GSI), by the Geological Research and Development Centre
(GRDC) and the Directorate of Mineral Resources (DMR), in
association with the United States Geological Survey (USGS)
and the British Geological Survey (BGS) carried out during the
1970s and 80s. These programmes were completed in the 1990s
with the publication of forty-one geological map sheets at the
scale of 1:250 000 covering the whole of Sumatra. The maps illus-
trate the distribution and extent of the outcrops of the Tertiary stra-
tigraphic units and each map is accompanied by a booklet giving
detailed lithological descriptions and age constraints for the units
shown on the map. This account is up-dated from a study under-
taken on behalf of the University of London Consortium for Geo-
logical Research in Southeast Asia (de Smet 1992).
Stratigraphic review
The review of the stratigraphic terminology which has been
used over the past hundred years for Tertiary sedimentary and
volcanic units in Sumatra is a formidable task. More than 200 stra-
tigraphic groups, formations and members have been described
and defined in the Tertiary of Sumatra; the majority of these
names have been introduced as the result of the GSI mapping
programme during the past few decades. Fortunately only about
15% of these names are in common use. Often, the regional
relations of these units are not fully clear due to poor outcrop
conditions and the difference in style of definitions used by the
various research and exploration groups. Many of the units have
been described only from localized areas and were never incor-
porated in the regional picture. A further problem is that names,
definitions and classifications have been continually altered or
revised as a result of subsequent work, and because of improve-
ments in biostratigraphic age dating. Some of the changes in
nomenclature and classification for the backarc, forearc and
intra-arc basins are illustrated in Figures 7. 2-7. 4. Particular pro-
blems have arisen where units, which were originally described
and defined from field outcrop, have been adopted by oil compa-
nies for t i me/ rock units, defined by reflectors in seismic sections.
During this process, facies variations that originally were regarded
as separate formations on the basis of lithological data in the
field outcrops, were incorporated within a single unit in seismo-
stratigraphy. The ages of the earliest Tertiary sediments in
Sumatra are generally poorly constrained, as the oldest units are
commonly terrestrial deposits in which body fossils are exceed-
ingly rare and palynological dating has often proved inconclusive.
The earliest sediments are generally considered to be of Oligocene
to earliest Miocene age, but in the absence of definitive fossil
evidence an Eocene age is not precluded, and has been suggested
in some areas.
During the proliferation of stratigraphic terms for the Tertiary
sediments of Sumatra, attempts have been made to simplify
and rationalize the classification by developing hierarchical strati-
graphic schemes. Oil companies use their own schemes of groups,
formations and members in their concession areas, but these are
rarely used consistently, and cannot be easily extended to cover
broader areas. A scheme of classifying formations into groups
and supergroups was developed during the GSI mapping pro-
gramme and is used on the published GRDC maps. The scheme
follows the recommendations of Hedberg (1976) and Whittaker
et al. (1991). Groups are defined in a vertical stratigraphic
sense, incorporating several successive formations, and are con-
fined to the area of a single basin, while Supergroups link together
units considered to belong to the same tectono-stratigraphic
stage throughout Sumatra. In principle this may be a sound
method of classification, but in practice the scheme was initially
poorly applied, as the Tertiary II Supergroup covers what could
be more sensibly classified as two distinct tectono-stratigraphic
stages, awkwardly designated Supergroups IIa and IIb. The
scheme has not proved sufficiently flexible to incorporate the
flood of new data and continually revised interpretations.
In the present account stratigraphic units are considered only
at the formation level using the stratigraphic terminology given
in Figures 7. 2-7. 5. Formations are described in terms of the
tectono-stratigraphic stage that they represent in the history of
the backarc, forearc or intra-arc basin in which they occur. Four
distinct tectono-stratigraphic stages have long been recognized
in the Tertiary sediments of the Sumatran backarc basins, and
this scheme may readily be extended to cover the intra-arc
basins within the Barisan Mountains. It may, however, only be
TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 87
I
~P 94 ~
~ ANDAMAN
"~ SEA
I I
96 ~ 98 ~
- 6 ~
Banda
" X
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... / ~ ..... / / /
[ NORTH . . . . . : ' : /
BASI N
SUMATRA 9
N
- - 4~
\
_2 ~
N
N "~
\
\
\ 0
\
\
_0 o
_ 2 ~ I NDI AN
OCEAN
_4 ~
A
_ 6 ~ ~.
, ~ N i A~
\
\
/
BATU
I SLAND
0
, <
IBERU~T ~\ s
L._
),N t~
%\ ~"
"5
k__.
Sumatran Tertiary basins outlins ~,
N
N
Sundaland continental crust
Volcanoes
Sumatran Fault System
Subducti on zone
M EN TA ~W-#~
I SLANDS
4,,
O
\ ~, a,
N
N
MALAY~"
\
" ~ ENGG2
\
\
\
M' B 1 L 1 N ~
B'A\S IN >= .... ,
0 100 200 300 400 500km
94 = 96 ~ 98 ~ 1 00 ~ 1 02 ~
I I I I I
\
I SLANDS
LI NGGA
I SLANDS
GULF
oF
Fig. 7.1. Structural sketch map of Sumatra showing the Tertiary backarc, forearc and intra-arc basins and localities mentioned in the text.
NA, TUN A"
I SLAND' S
NA TUNA
/ SEX ,
applied in modified form to the forearc basins, and is only appli-
cable in the most general way to the forearc islands. The strati-
graphic relations between this scheme and the most commonl y
recognized format i ons in Sumatra are shown in Figures 7. 6- 7. 8.
Pre-Rift stage (Eocene)
Sediments of the Pre-Rift stage are relatively poorly represented
in Sumatra, but are more common elsewhere in Sundaland.
Platform limestones that have been dated as Eocene occur uncon-
formable on pre-Tertiary basement in Java, Sulawesi and Borneo.
A comprehensi ve report on these limestones is presented in
Wi l son (2002). The units characteristically are distributed along
the margin of the Sundaland pre-Tertiary basement and they
clearly predate the subsequent format i on of horst and graben
structures.
In the earliest stages of sedi ment at i on on Sumatra, Tertiary
shallow-water continental margin sediments were deposited
directly on the eroded surface of the Sundal and pre-Tertiary base-
ment. Deposi t i on fol l owed a period of erosion considered to
extend from the latest Cretaceous into the early Tertiary. In the
backarc area these deposits, whi ch include the Tampur and
Meucampl i formations (Fig. 7.2), are restricted to the North
Sumatra Basin. In South Sumatra, Eocene Nummul i t i c limestones
occur on the margins of the Bengkul u Basin (Gafoer &
Purbo-Hadi wi dj oyo 1986). In Central Sumatra, no formations
are known from this stage, but their former presence is docu-
ment ed by reworked clasts of Nummul i t i c limestones in Early
Tertiary congl omerat es and melanges of the outer arc islands
(van Bemmel en 1949; Budhitrisna & Andi Mangga 1990;
Samuel et al. 1997).
The Tampur Li mest one of North Sumatra is described by
van Bemmel en (1949), Cameron et al. (1980, 1982a),
88 CHAPTER 7
NORTH SUMATRA BASIN, DEVELOPMENT OF STRATI GRAPHI C TERMI NOLOGY
APPROXI MATE
AGE
OPPENOORTH &
ZWIERZYCKI 1917,
VAN BEMMELEN 1949
QUATER- PLEISTO- I i : ' - -
NARY CENE I
6 - ~ e F m
~. tu Lignite Zone
Fossiliferous Marl and Sst
t,,
'~ Rotalia Sst Fm
~ ~ ~,
o ~ ~
z~O~
ILl
,,,,~
, , =,
- I
I1,1
e,
nl
Early GDRC
publications
MULHADIONO et al.
1978
CAMERON et al.
1980, 1983
Present report,
in part adapted from
KIRBY et al. 1989
Julu Rayeu Fm ~ J u l u Rayeu Fm Z
O
Seureula Seureula Seureula 'r Seureula
Formation Formation Formation D Formation
09
v
Keutapang Formation Keutapang Formation Keutapang Formation O Keutapang Formation
Upper Baong Shale Baong Formation [ Securai Shale
Middle Baong Sst I Seumpo Sst Mb I
Lower Baong Shale Baong Formation Baong Formation
Peunulin Sst Peunulin Sst a. Peunu|in Sst
~ O Peutu
Robulina Clay Baong Formation
Intervening Sst Seumpo Sst Mb I
Border Clay Baong Fm
Peunulin Sst Peunulin Sst
Bl ac k Muds t one
Peutu
~ ~ " = For mat i on/ ~ (.9 ~ Formation / .~ ~
Peutu Peutu ~' ~ = ~== "E UJ 2=~ J N~
Formation Formation ~ ~ % ~ ~ o = .- ~ = - _ = ~ ~ ~ ~- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Belumai :~ ~ E'~ ~ 0 ~ ~ ; z =
Formation "~ = - -
Mica m ~, < ~=
Sandstone
~ Parapat Parapat Bampo
Bampo Formation Formation
Formation Formation Bruksah Formation Bruksah Formation
Reefal Limestones ~ Formation ~ For mat i on "x...F.ormation ~ ~ ~ and Dolomite
Meucam.pli ~ Meucampli ~ Meucampl l "-~. D a:
Ne Meucamph ~"'~-- ~
Formation ~ Formation ~ Formation " ~ Formation
Fig. 7.2. The development of the stratigraphic terminology for the Tertiary of the North Sumatra Basin.
Bennett et al. (1981c) and Rusman Rory (1990). The formation
comprises massive recrystallized limestones and dolomites with
chert nodules. The unit has a basal limestone conglomerate and
includes biocalcarenites and biocalcilutites. Van Bemmelen
(1949) reports corals and coaly plant remains, and algal lami-
nations may be seen in outcrops in the gorge of the Tampur
River. These limestones were evidently deposited in a sub-littoral
to open marine environment. Due to the absence of age-diagnostic
fossils, the age of the Tampur Formation is poorly constrained, but
is assumed to be of Eocene-Earl y Oligocene age based on its stra-
tigraphic position and regional correlation (Bennett et al. 1981c).
The Meucampli Formation crops out extensively in the north-
western parts of North Sumatra at the northern end of the
Barisan Mountains, where it rests with major unconformity on
the pre-Tertiary basement. The deposits are described by
Bennett et al . (1981a), Cameron et al. (1980, 1983) and Keats
et al. (1981). They comprise interbedded sandstones, siltstones
and shales, with local intercalations of limestone and polymict
and volcanic conglomerates. The sandstones show channeling,
cross-beds and graded beds. The sediments were deposited in
fluvial, coastal and restricted marine environments. Again, the
age of the formation is poorly constrained, but is considered to
be Eocene to Early Oligocene, based on its stratigraphic position.
Equivalent formations are the Semelet and Kieme formations of
Cameron et al. (1980), and Bennett et al. (1981c) distinguish a
marine Meujeumpo Member, consisting of limestones, calcareous
sandstones and shales, defined from the Meujeumpo River.
From the Late Cretaceous to the Early Eocene the area of the
Barisan Mountains formed part of a stable basement, extending
northwards into the North Sumatra Basin and westwards into a
continental shelf in the area of the present forearc basins, with
the shelf margin near the present outer arc islands. Sedimentation
on the margins of Sundaland in the Eocene, including in Sumatra,
is a first indication that the basement was affected by some
regional change in tectonic regime after a long tectonically
stable period. At this time also volcanoes were active in the
Barisan Mountains, represented by the Breueh Volcanic For-
mation in the north (Cameron et al. 1980), and the ' Old Andesites'
and Kikim Tufts of van Bemmelen (1949) in the south. Again the
age of these volcanic rocks is poorly constrained.
Horst and Graben Stage (latest Eocene-Oligocene)
In the late Eocene, or earliest Oligocene, continental margin
sedimentation was brought to an end by the development of
horst and graben structures throughout Sundaland. A similar
sequence of events occurred not only in Sumatra, but also in
many other areas, including the Java Sea, the Gulf of Thailand
and the South China Sea (see e.g. Clure 1991 and Morley
2002b). The effect of this process on the landscape and sedimen-
tation patterns was dramatic. The former Sundaland peneplain
changed into a mountainous landscape with isolated deep, lake-
filled basins in which terrestrial, fluviatile and lacustrine
sediments, derived from the adjacent horsts, were deposited.
Analogous landscapes at the present time include the present
rift valley province in eastern Africa, as described by Morley
(2002a), or the canyonlands of southeast Utah, as described by
Trudgill (2002).
In northern Sumatra marine influences persisted, but elsewhere
the Horst and Graben Stage is represented stratigraphically by
scree, alluvial fans and fluvial sediments that pass laterally into
lake deposits. The sedimentation pattern was fault-controlled.
Alluvial fans and fluvial deposits are sedimentologically immature
and characteristically contain clasts of granite and metamorphic
TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 89
CENTRAL SUMATRA BASIN, DEVELOPMENT OF STRATIGRAPHIC TERMINOLOGY
APPROXIMATE
AGE
MUSPER 1937
VAN BEMMELEN
1949
DE COSTER 1974
(STANVAC)
MERTOSONO
& NAYOAN 1974
(PT CALTEX)
CAMERON etal .
1983
PRAPTONO etal .
1989
QUATER" PLEISTO" i I ! ! ~- ~J~" NARY CENE ~ , ~J~- - ~ i ! i ! ~
d J ~ p e r Nilo ~ Minas -~ Minas J Minas
Palembang Beds Formation Formation Formation Formation
w
,,, Middle Korinci
Palembang Beds Formation
w m Lower
m zm m Palembang Beds
Mica
Sandstone
m Formation
g ,,,
Breccia
Binio
Formation
Telisa
Formation
Petani Petani Petani
Formation Formation Formation
Telisa Telisa Telisa
Formation F o r m ~
~ Sihapas
~ i ~ ~ I Formation
Bangko Fm ! <
(restr. marine) ~ (with several ~ Transition Formation
- ~ ~ members) ~ Menggala
r Formation
Pematang Pematang Brown Shale/ PEMATANG
Formation Formation _Fro_ - / GROUP
i i I
Fig. 7.3. The development of the stratigraphic terminology for the Tertiary of the Central Sumatra Basin.
rock derived from the nearby basement. Lake sediments from this
stage reach thicknesses of several kilometers, often indicating
euxinic bottom conditions, and play a major role as source rocks
in the Sumatran petroleum province.
The age of sediments of the Horst and Graben stage is every-
where problematic as due to their terrestrial origin, age-diagnostic
fossils are exceedingly rare. Palynological schemes have been
used for stratigraphic correlation (e.g. Morley 1991) but due to
reworking, age-dating based on palynology has often proved
inconclusive. The age of the Horst and Graben sediments is
constrained at a regional scale by underlying Eocene marine
platform limestones and by overlying Early to Mid-Miocene
marine shales. Published stratigraphic schemes show a range in
age for the Horst and Graben deposits from Late Eocene to earliest
Miocene. Age interpretations are rarely supported by biostrati-
graphic data other than by the age of the overlying marine
shales. There may also be regional variation in the age of
formation of the grabens but, for reasons mentioned above, this
is difficult to prove. In the present account it is assumed that
graben formation in Sumatra commenced in the latest Eocene
and ceased in the Late Oligocene (Figs 7. 6-7. 8).
In the North Sumatra Basin the rift sediments comprise the
Bruksah and Bampo formations (Cameron et al. 1980) (Figs 7.2
& 7.6). Graben deposits from North Sumatra form an exception
to the rule that most sediments from the Horst and Graben Stage
are terrestrial in origin. Before the NW displacement of the
forearc area along the Sumatran Fault System, commencing in the
Mi d-Mi ocene, the northern Sumatra area lay along the margin of
Sundaland and subject to marine influences (see Chapter 14). The
Bruksah Formation rests unconformably on the Pre-Tertiary base-
ment and commences with thick basal breccio-conglomerates,
representing alluvial fans, followed by light to dark grey, micac-
eous, poorly sorted quartz sandstone, siltstone and mudstone, with
local green tuffaceous quartz arenite and coarse tuff. Sandstones
are commonly cross-bedded and may contain thin coal stringers
and mussel bands. The Bruksah Formation varies greatly in thick-
ness and is probably highly diachronous. It is interbedded with,
and overlain by the Bampo Formation, which consists of poorly
bedded, black, pyritic mudstone, locally interbedded with micac-
eous and carbonaceous sandstone and siltstone with a sparse
fauna. Limestone nodules are locally abundant and tuffaceous inter-
calations also occur. Environmental conditions were ftuviatile,
paralic and restricted marine. Pyritic mudstones indicate that
water circulation to the open ocean was restricted by a barrier
towards the west, allowing the development of euxenic conditions.
In Central Sumatra rift sediments are represented by the
Pematang and Kelesa formations. The Pematang Formation has
sometimes been regarded as a ' Group' and subdivided into for-
mations (e.g. Williams et al. 1985; Longley et al. 1990; Praptono
et al. 1991), and as a formation it has been divided into a series
of ' Members' (e.g. Lee 1982; Cameron et al. 1983). However
classified, the sediments include a variety of coarse red, green
grey and black breccias and conglomerates, with medium- to fine-
grained sandstones, claystones and shales, intercalated with coal
seams. Environments of deposition are mainly continental: scree,
alluvial fan, fluvial and lacustrine with locally euxenic conditions
and minor marine incursions. The euxinic shales have a high
organic content and include the Pematang Brown Shale, which is
considered to be a good petroleum source rock. Deposition was,
at least locally, interrupted by erosion, weathering and soil develop-
ment, giving several internal unconformities within the succession.
The Kelesa Formation was defined by De Coster (1974) and is used
in Stanvac publications for the southern lateral extension of the
Pematang Group. It includes a similar range of lithologies to the
Pematang Formation, with the addition of tuffaceous shales, and
in the Bengkalis Trough lacustrine shale with a high organic
90 CHAPTER 7
SOUTH SUMATRA BASIN, DEVELOPMENT OF STRATIGRAPHIC TERMINOLOGY
APPROXI MATE
AGE
MUSPER
1937
MARKS
1956
SPRUYT
1956
DE COSTER 1974
(STANVAC)
GAFOER et al. 1986
(GRDC)
PLEISTO- ! I I I I I ~ -
QMATER-NARY CENE " II ] I J ~ '
d .
0
m
I/A
o 8 g.
Upper N ~ Kasai Tuff ~ Kasai I
Palembang Beds Palembang Mb ~ Formation r~ Palembang Formation c~
Middle Middle ~ ~ Blue Mb ] ~ .~ ~ C~
Palembang Beds Palembang Mb ~ ~ ~ %
Middle
Muara Enim
Palembang Formation
x~ Brown Mb ~ ,~
9 ~ Air Benakat
Lower Lower % ~ Lower Air Benakat
Palembang Beds Palembang Mb e. Sand and Clay ~ Palembang Formation
Formation
Telisa Beds
J Limestone
Wood
Horizon
2E55EEEXEEE
Upper Kikim Tufts
Compl e ~
Lower Kikim Tufts |
~"i !i ! ;
i I i
i
i
I ii
. i i i i I ~i~
Upper Gumai Shale Telisa Gumai
Telisa Mb Fomaation Formation Formation
U Telisa
] WelisaMb N | Limestone ]Formation ] Lilnestone Fm
~ Transition Mb ~. ~ ~ 9
Lower .- Talangakar Talangakar
Telisa Mb [2- - - ~ "~ ~
~=~ Formation Formation
Gritsand Mb ~ ~ ~ m<
z
. . . . . . ~ Lemat
Tuff-breccia Formation Lahat
Formation
Fomaation . . . . . . ~ _ _
"Granite Wash"
i ijii I ~, 1 i :1i11: Iii
'I :I~ IKiki : i ] ] KikimTuffs
Fig. 7.4. The development of the straligraphic terminology for the Tertiary of the South Sumatra Basin.
content, containing fresh water gastropods and algae. Although lhe
ages of all these sediments are poorly constrained, most publications
suggest a Late Eocene to Early Oligocene age (e.g. Praptono et al.
1991; Heruyono & Villaroel 1989).
In the South Sumatra Basin, rift deposition is represented by
the Lahat and Lemat formations which have much in common
with the Pematang Formation of Central Sumatra. The name
Lahat (Series) was proposed by Musper (1937) and descrip-
tions are given by Spruyt (1956), De Coster (1974), Hutapea
(1981), Widianto & Muskin (1989), Hartanto et al. ( 1991) and
Simandjuntak et al. (1991). The deposits, which outcrop in the
foothills of the Tigapuluh and Duabelas mountains, include brec-
cias, conglomerates and well-bedded greenish-grey sandstones,
with volcanic intercalations along the basin margins. In the
central areas of the basin, siltstones with tuffaceous shares are
encountered in boreholes. The deposits rest unconformably on
the basement; conglomerates contain clasts of slate, phyllite,
metasandstone, marble, basalt, andesite and vein quartz derived
from the basement. Environments of deposition range from
scree, alluvial fan and fluviatile to fresh or brackish water lacus-
trine in the central parts of the basin. De Coster (1974) used
the Lemat Formation as a synonym of the Lahat Formation. He
distinguishes a coarse clastic member of breccias, conglomerates
and sandstones, and a fine grained Benakat Member, composed
of grey-brown shales, tuffaceous shakes, siltstones and sandstones
with occasional thin coals, irregular carbonate bands and
glauconitic units. Where beds of coarser grained material occur
within finer grained units they are described as ' granite wash' ,
the erosional product of nearby granites. They are sedimento-
logically so immature that outcrops of the transported product
can often hardly be distinguished from the weathered in si t u
granite basement. Finer-grained units occur towards the central
parts of the basin and in the upper part of the unit. The ages of
the Lahat and Lemat formations are given as late Mid-Eocene to
Late Oligocene ( NP16- NP24) by Sardjono & Sardjito (1989).
For an understanding of the regional stratigraphy it is important
to appreciate that at this stage the Barisan Mountains had not yet
been uplifted and there was no separation between sedimentation
in the backarc and forearc regions. Grabens of the Horst and
Graben Stage cut across the area where the mountains now
stand. The best studied example of one of these grabens is the
Ombilin Basin near Solok in central Sumatra, which was sub-
sequently uplifted and now forms an intramontane basin within
the Barisans (Fig. 7.1). The Ombilin Basin, now at an elevation
of 500- 1100 m above sea level, has a stratigraphy which is
directly comparable to that of grabens of the Central Sumatra
Basin to the East. In the Early to Middle Miocene, however, this
basin was still below sea level and receiving marine sediments
(Ombilin Formation). In the Late Miocene marine deposition
in the basin ceased, indicating that the uplift of the Barisan
Mountains had commenced.
Rift sediments in the Ombilin Basin are represented by the Brani
and Sangkarewang formations. The Brani Formation was defined by
De Haan (1942) from spectacular cliff exposures of red bmccias,
conglomerates and sandstones, to the north of the main Ombilin
Basin near Bukit Tinggi. A less well exposed hypo-stratotype,
showing similar lithologies, was later defined by Koesoemadinata
& Matasak (1981) in the Ombilin Basin. These authors distin-
guished two members: the Selo Member with sandstone turbidites
in lacustrine shales, and a Kulampi Member, composed of
upwards fining sequences. The Sangkarewang Formation was also
defined by Koesoemadinata & Matasak (1981) and described as
dark, grey, laminated shales, rich in plant debris, with fine- to
very coarse-grained intercalations of quartz sandstone. The deposits
commonly show convolute bedding and slumping on a large
scale. Again the environments of deposition of the Brani and
TERTI ARY STRATI GRAPHY 91
SUMATRAN FOREARC ISLANDS, STRATIGRAPHIC TERMINOLOGY BY ISLAND
PAGAI AND
APPROXIMATE SIPORA ISLANDS SIBERUT ISLAND I TELLO ISLAND NIAS ISLAND SIMEULUE ISLAND
AGE e.g. Budhitrisna & e.g. Andi Mangga & e.g. Nas & e.g. Djamal et al. 1994 e.g. Endharto & Sukido. 1994
Andi Mangga 1990 Burhan, 1994 Supanjono, 1994 Situmorang et al. , 1987
QUATER-NARY PLEI STO" ' ( =' I ' i CENE . i ' r i ' ' ~ ~ i = :~ i , I i i i I ' i ~ ~ I J I ~11 i i , J ! [ ~ ' ! lJj I I ' ' 'i ~ i i I I ~ I : ! I =! ~ j . . . . ~ l ~ i I ~1 : i ' I i I I i= " !1 i i l i I ' l :~
d .a Simatobat Formation unnamed Raparapa Formation Gunungsitoli Formation Sinabang Formation
O
o
z ,~
tll
z
8
w
o
ul
LII
Kaleo Formation Gunung Bala Formation
Batumonga
" '
Sagulubek
Saibi / Marepan Sipika Hilihego
~ Maonai Formation : Formation Formation Formation
Formation
-
Formation , I i i I I i
2.2
m i
l i Sigala Ultramafic
Complex and
Tarikan Tanahbalah
Melange Melange Metamorphic
with Ultramafics Complex
a omo
Formation / Dihit Layabaung
Sst Fm / Sorit Fm
~,~ Ai Manis
:4 / Sibigo Sigulai
Lelematua
Formation Z Limestone Formation
Pinang
Basal breccia? Conglomerate
X
Melange and ~ Baru / Umu Melange
Ophiolite 9 and Sibau Gabbro
Complex ~ Group
9
9
Fig. 7.5. Stratigraphic t ermi nol ogy for the Tertiary of the Sumatran Forearc Islands.
Sangkarewang Formations can be identified as scree, alluvial fan
and lacustrine. Palaeogeographic models for the development of
the basin were prepared by Whateley & Jordan (1989). The prove-
nance of the sediments in the basin and its origin and structural
development are discussed by Howells (1997a, b). Again, the
ages of the sediments are poorly constrained, in spite of the discov-
ery of fresh-water fishes in the Sangkarewang Formation; these
proved not to be age specific. Repeated attempts to assign an age
to these well-exposed and well-analysed Ombilin Basin sediments
using palynology have also proved to be inconclusive. However,
they are regarded as of Eocene to Oligocene age.
Sediments of the latest Eocene-Oligocene rift stage are poorly rep-
resented by outcrop in the forearc region of Sumatra. Where present
they are buried beneath deposits of the forearc basins, although the
deeper parts of seismic sections from Meulaboh in the north
(Beaudry & Moore 1985) and Bengkulu in the south (Mulhadiono
& Sukendar Asikin 1989), show a faulted basement, suggesting
that the forearc region was affected by the horst and graben stage
of development in the same way as the rest of the basement.
The deposition of the rift sediments was followed in the Late
Oligocene by a change in the regional tectonic regime in which
an area of predominant uplift, marked by the present Barisan
Mountains, became contrasted with areas of continued sedimen-
tation in the forearc and backarc basins. The change resulted in
local inversion of graben systems with folding and thrusting of
the rift sediments. Uplift and erosion resulted in a widespread
unconformity when sedimentation recommenced.
Transgressive stage (Late Oligocene-Mid-Miocene)
Following the change in tectonic regime in the Late Oligocene the
whole region underwent regional subsidence in a sag phase, the
effects of which extended well to the east of Sumatra into
Malaysia. At the same time the arc system of Sumatra started
developing and the area of the Barisan Mountains became an
important source of sediments for the forearc and backarc
basins. The rate of subsidence was greater in the backarc area
than in other areas. Initially sedimentation outpaced the rate of
subsidence, with sediments transported over greater distances, so
that the basins were filled with fluvial units which extended well
beyond the margins of the original rift basins to rest unconform-
ably on the basement horsts.
For the first time in the Tertiary, rivers formed regionally
interconnected systems that transported their sediment load to a
few broad basins. Deltas extending westwards from Malaysia,
and from the present Gulf of Thailand, controlled sedimentation
in Central Sumatra. In North and South Sumatra and close to the
present Barisan range the sources of sediments were more
locally derived, although these sediments also show transport
by river systems. Deltaic deposits may contain coals. Continued
regional subsidence with the reduction of the size of eroding
areas meant that subsidence outran sedimentation leading to
marine transgression. Deposition in Sumatra subsequently
changed to open marine with local deltas and characteristically
with the local growth of reefs. The open marine deposits
provide the oldest well age-dated units in the Tertiary of
Sumatra. Their ages range from late Early to early Mid-Miocene.
From the start of the transgressive stage in the latest Oligocene,
the Barisan Mountains acted as a sediment source. This may not
be obvious from wells drilled in the central parts of the backarc
basins, which mainly show shales for this period, but is reflected
in the fluvial deposits exposed in the foothills of the mountains.
These deposits are sedimentologically too immature to be
derived all the way fi'om Malaysia and they also contain tufts,
reflecting that volcanoes were active in the range. The axis of
92 CHAPTER 7
SUMATRAN BACKARC BASINS TECTONO-STRATI GRAPHI C SCHEME
AGE
REGIONAL
TECTONO-
STRATIGRAPHIC
STAGES
REG!
S
!merger
Mount~
~creasin
Ma
Tran~
RANS
S"
bmerge
untains
eld ~ead~
clas
Start of
tnd first~
betwe=
~4ountair
and ba(
pRST ,~
S"
NORTH
SUMATRA
BASI N
CENTRAL
SUMATRA
BASI N
SOUTH
SUMATRA
BASI N
Envi ronment of deposi ti on I lithology I
comment s
Terrestrial: Sandstones and shales with volcanics
Coastal: Sandstones with coals and volcanics
Marine: Clays with major intercalations of
sandstone
Marine: Clays with minor intercalations of ....--~
l Deltaic I .. Reefal
1 sandstones limestones
Terrestrial and deltaic: sheets of fluvial
sandstones with coals
Terrestdal: Allivial fans and lake deposits
tn North Sumatra Basin Area: restricted marine
Start (
PRE
:inal sta
ci
In North Sumatra Basin Area: Carbonate platform
and deltaic
Fig. 7.6. Generalized tectono-stratigraphy of {he Tertiary in the backarc basins of Sumatra. The diagram is highly simplified as most units interfinger and most boundaries
are diachronous.
the mountain range remained an eroding area in the latest
Oligocene, while the adjacent basinal areas were subsiding. It
demonstrates that the structural separation between forearc
basins, volcanic arc and backarc basins was in development.
The influence of the Barisan Range as a sediment source area to
the forearc and backarc basins was further reduced until the
Mid-Miocene and remained small until the Late Miocene. This
is because regional transgression initially outran the uplift of the
mountain range. In the Middle Miocene only some volcanic
peaks of the High Barisan were still above sea level while small
deltas and reefs accumulated in the adjacent forearc and backarc
areas (Figs 7.6 & 7.7).
In the North Sumatra Basin, the extensive fluvial sediments
from the early Transgressive Stage are represented by basal
members of the Peutu Formation, in the Central Sumatra Basin
by the Lower Sihapas and Menggala formations and in the
South Sumatra Basin by the Talangakar Formation (Fig. 7.6).
The marine sediments of the late Transgressive Stage are rep-
resented in the North Sumatra Basin by the Peutu Formation,
the Belumai Formation and various reefal limestone units, in the
Central Sumatra Basin by the Telisa Formation and the upper
Sihapas Formation, and in the South Sumatra Basin by the
Gumai Formation and Baturaja Limestones (Fig. 7.6).
The Peutu Formation, comprising a wide range of lithological
units of Early Miocene to earliest Middle Miocene age, was
defined by Cameron et al. (1980) in the North Sumatra Basin.
In the foothills of the Barisan Mountains the basal members
are thick sandstone units of fluvial or shallow marine origin,
while those in the upper part of the unit were deposited in a
coastal to open marine environment. Cameron et al. (1980) inter-
preted the basal sandstones as a marginal facies to the marine
members of the Peutu Formation. However, in this account the
basal units are taken to correspond to the extensive fluvial sands
of latest Oligocene age which form the oldest transgressive units
in the Central and South Sumatra Basins. The upper parts of
the Peutu Formation are described by Cameron et al. (1980) as
grey, calcareous and locally highly fossiliferous mudstones,
often carbonaceous, and occasionally intercalated with thin lime-
stones, turbiditic siltstones and fine sandstones. Several reefal
limestone members are incorporated in the Peutu Formation: the
Arun, Lho Sukon and Telaga Limestones. These limestones are
of Early to Mid-Miocene age and contain an abundant fauna of
corals and foraminifera and an algal flora. The limestones
formed as reef build-ups on a series of NW-SE-t rendi ng
en-echelon highs within the basin. Reef, near-reef and lagoonal
facies have been described (Abdullah & Jordan 1987). These
reefal limestones constitute the main gas reservoirs in northern
Sumatra. Where sandstones are predominant in the Peutu
Formation, Cameron et al. (1980) defined the sediments as the
Belumai Formation, consisting of fine- to medium-grained
sandstones, often glauconitic and sometimes carbonaceous, and
shales, intercalated with reefal limestones, calcarenites and
calcilutites which interfinger with the Peutu Formation and its
limestone members.
In the Central Sumatra Basin sediments of the Sihapas Group
were originally described from outcrops in the eastern foothills
of the Barisan Mountains where the group was divided into
several formations (see Fig. 7.3). The lower formations consist
of thick fluvial sandstones with varying amounts of intercalated
shales. They include the Lakat Formation (or Lower Sihapas),
which was defined by De Coster (1974) and the Menggala
Formation, defined by Mertosono & Nayoan (1974). The sedi-
ments are fine- to coarse-grained sandstones with pebble conglo-
merates, local tuffaceous and coal horizons and subordinate
TERTIARY STRATI GRAPHY 93
BARISAN MOUNTAINS TECTONO-STRATIGRAPHIC SCHEME
AGE
QUATER- PLEI:
NARY CE
PLEISTO-
CENE
d .a
o
t i t
LU
, , =,
8
uJ
8
REGI ONAL
TECTONO-
STRATIGRAPHIC
STAGES
REGRESSIVE
STAGE
Emergence of Baris;
Mountains leads tc
increasing clastic inl:
__
Maximum
Transgression
TRANSGRESSIV
STAGE
Submergence of Bari~
Mountains and of Mala
Shield leads to reductio
clastic input
Start of regional sa(
and first differentiatio
1 between 8arisan
Mountains and forear
and backarc basins
HORST AND GRAB
STAGE
Start of faulting
PRE-RIFT
Final stage of stable
craton
HI GH
BARI SAN
I NTRAMONTANE
OMBI LI N BASI N
Fig. 7.7. Generalized tectono-stratigraphy of the Tertiary in the Barisan Mountains.
E - BARI SAN
FOOTHI LLS
Envi ronment of deposition I lithology /
comments
Major volcanism in High Barisan,
Fast uplift and erosion
Upwards increasing influx from High Barisan
Major volcanism and first extensive emergence
of High Barisan
Marine clays deposition in most areas.
Only in the High Barisan small eroding islands
remain.
Slow subsidence and drowning. Local reef
growth.
Upwards decreasing influx from High Barisan.
Volcanism and erosion in High Barisan,
Fluvial sedimentation in wide basement
depressions,
Local graben fills with terrestrial sedimentation,
Erosion / non-deposition in most areas.
Erosion / non-deposition
shales of fluvial to deltaic origin. The upper part of the Sihapas
Group is dominated by marine sediments and is followed by
monotonous brownish-grey and calcareous shales, thin glauconitic
sandstones, siltstones and limestones of the Telisa Formation,
deposited in an open marine environment, marking the
maxi mum transgression (De Coster 1974; Cameron et al. 1983;
Praptono et al. 1991).
Seismic exploration in the centre of the Central Sumatra Basin
later revealed that the upper Sihapas Group represented a delta
and a braided river system. During this period the outlet towards
the northeast was blocked by the Asahan Arch (Fig. 7.1) so that
the area of the Central Sumatra Basin was occupied by the apex
of a braided river system which carried sediments from the
Malaysian Shield southwards across the Central Sumatra Basin
into the South Sumatra Basin (Mertosono & Nayoan 1974;
Wongsosantiko 1976; Heruyono & Villaroel 1989). Although
these sediments have a completely different source from those
of the type locality in the Barisan foothills, the stratigraphic
nomenclature established in the Barisans was imposed on the
remainder of the sediments of the Central Sumatra Basin. The
sandstones of the Sihapas Group form the main reservoir horizons
in the Central Sumatra Basin. The time equivalent Bangko For-
mation (Eubank & Makki 1981) is composed of marine shales.
Marine shales of the Early to early Mid-Miocene Telisa Formation
also overlie the Sihapas Group. This unit has a regional distri-
bution over the entire Central Sumatra Basin and represents
further marine transgression, with the reduction of the sedimentary
source areas.
In the South Sumatra Basin the Talangakar Formation corre-
sponds to the Sihapas Group. Here sandstone units are thinner
and finer grained, and alternate with claystones (Spruyt 1956).
The rocks are described as greyish-brown channel sandstones,
siltstones and shales, grading basinwards into light brown
carbonaceous shales with coal seams. The sandstones range
from conglomeratic to very fine, are compact, slightly micaceous
and include yellowish white tuffaceous layers. Pyrite, quantities of
silicified wood and molluscs occur at some horizons. ' Granite
washes' and sandstone turbidites, which provide good reservoirs
for oil and gas, are particular characteristic of the Talangakar
Formation. Environments of deposition range from fluvial and
lacustrine to lagoonal and shallow marine. The source areas for
these sediments lay in the Barisan, Tigapuluh and the Duabelas
mountains.
In the South Sumatra Basin the Talangakar Formation is fol-
lowed by the Gumai (Tobler 1906; Spruyt 1956) and Baturaja
(Musper 1937) formations. The Gumai Formation comprises a
monotonous series of foraminifer-bearing grey shales and silt-
stones with thin intercalations of fine grained glauconitic sand-
stone and siltstone, and lenses of tuft'. Glauconitic sandstones
and tufts become more important towards the Barisan Mountains.
The Baturaja Formation is a thick and extensive platform
limestone with local carbonate banks situated above basement
highs. The platform limestones are glauconitic packstones and
wackestones and contain thin shales. The carbonate build-ups
are composed of skeletal packstones and coral -al gal boundstones.
These limestones extend eastwards into Java and the oilfields of
the Java Sea. Distally the massive limestones pass into limestone
beds intercalated with open marine shales.
Within the Barisan Mountains, in the Ombilin Basin, the
fluvial units are the Sawahlunto and Sawahtambang formations
(Koesoemadinata & Matasak 1981). Breccio-conglomerates are
developed where these units rests directly on the basement. The
Sawahlunto Formation consists mainly of channeled sandstones,
siltstones and shales, with interbedded coal seams up to 16 m
thick. Environments of deposition range from alluvial fans,
to meandering rivers with coal swamps (Koning & Aulia 1985;
94 CHAPTER 7
SUMATRAN FOREARC AREA TECTONO- STRATI GRAPHI C SCHEME
AGE
QUATER-
NARY
W
REGI ONAL FOREARC BASI N
TECTONO- FOREARC OFFSHORE W - BARI SAN
STRATI GRAPHI C I SLANDS WEST SUMATRA FOOTHI LLS Envi r onment of deposi t i on 1 l i t hol ogy /
STAGES comment s
PLE1STO : ' ' .';"~, "=;.=z~,.;-=.'~,.'~..-~. . . . . . . . . . , , , , , , , , ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5 I REGRESSI VE 1UJ.LL-'eL~"':~'r~,',-z=-'""='='r f'~r';.~r'~'ie"t~'~aC ~ t heBar i sanUount ai ns I
a. [ ] STAGE ~ t s ~ / s it - ~' . . " - Lu: _q t ................ 7, "'''~-" /
Emer ence of Barisan ~ / d U I I l l LI I t ' f f t l
[ m ] M- Jgn~taino t . . . . . . :...-v::-=::...' 7::..-v::.-v::7..:.:,:.:,:,:.:.:.~:::~:~:.YC~,tabakli l t i l l I
incre:sh' l- c~la~t~c~n~,ut ,--~----;----=----'72-- -' :2;' ";::' ;" "~.~.--,,~.-- .I.' . / Le ma u I l l l l I
I I v' : ' s e que nc e s ~: : s e que nc e s ~Tur bi di t e }.}:" Shel fM : 4: ' 7": ' : ' 5, I l l t l l v Bathya!and shelfalse.q,ences. ]
f' I ""~;'". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . ~ N- " -*, 1", ' -' . ' . , . " tJ I I I 1 : [ I [ I [ [ cr y Oeep manne enwr onmems in some areas_ I
tu ~ ~ " " ~" ~" ' - " ~' " ' " . ' - ' . ' . ' , ' , ' . ' - ' , Wscouences ~. ' sequel l ces , ' 1", ' . ' , ' . ' . " "4 I I I [ t I t [ I
o f - I - - - I Transgressi on [ , . - - . . . - - . . - - t ~ - ~ - ~ : . . - - . - - . , ~ ~ ~ l l l t I I t l l l l l l I
m ] ~ I - - = & : : . ~ ~ - r, , v~. ~. _. Te l i s a / Guma i ] ] ]
I I ~ ~ . u 2 ~ ~..:::::::':::::::.:...-~. ~ro~ o,~on~e ~a.o~saod ~s
] TRANSGRESS VE , ' : . ~ . ~ . ~ ~ ~ , ~ 1=:. :-:. ' . ' . ' . ' *' , ' , ' . :. :, :. :, 1 during transgressive stage
I -- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "--"" nasu ~. . , . . . Sebl at / ' . ' . ' . ' -
STAGE =.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . .
] ~ , Submergence of Barisan " ' ~' : *' ~' / ~: ' : ' : ' : " Ba s a i C]astics":' :' :' :-' ~-":~:::::"-:' :' :" E ue n' -':::-'":::[
I ~ [ Mountains and of Malayan i I t t l l l l t t l l l l l l l l l l l : " : ' : ' : . . : . . . . : . . ' : : ' : ' : ' : ' : t . " : ' : ' . " : O: ' : ' : ' : bar us :':':':':1 I
I ,,', i Sh, el d l eads t o r educt i on of ] I I l t l l l l l l l l l l l l l l t r r t 1r Er osi on / non- deposi t i on in much of t he f or ear c ar ea, I
I I clastic input ' ' ' ',--' " ! ' ' ' , " ' I I I I I I I I I I ~ . / I t 111I I I FI ] hl ' ; . ~. ' . ' . ' . ' . ' - ' - ' . " 4 nf ux of c astics from proto-Bar san MOL ntains
I Ii v~,sio./ I IIIllllll, Lros~o~, I lllll ~r
I non de- p~itionllllllllll! non-depositio~: It111I ~.Seblat/t.oserXz~' ~
[ "/ lit i1[ llil[[ I[[[il "" . . . . . . . . . . . . :t
Start of regional sag ~ , f , , '., ' ' " v ,., ,., ~.,
~. [ I and first differentiat,on i It
I , ~ ~ ". I betweenBari san !------~,J... I I I I I l l l l l r TPr - r e_. 2. ql " ' " r - . ' . , ' ~ "." "." "- , ' 1 I Ememenceof }
Z [ [ ] Mount ai nsandf or ear c| i ~ - I ['1 | " ~" "-' 4L2. , [ forearc slands9 [
0 ,~ STAGE , 9 :::' :.;" :":":" [ I ' " '
I I .ro..,o,,; Metange formation in
' " [ ul trabasi c rocks I I ~:' /' :' :1111 , non-deposi t i on ] l l l forearc islands area
wm PRE RI FT ~ [ t ~ t ~ ~ I t : Tampur Lst / i Carbonate platform
tu - r " 9 , :; deposi t i on in f or ear c
o ~ ~ .r ~ | ~: Nummuh. t cs Est.'. ,
" u ~ . , basi n ar ea
0 Fi nal st age of st abl e ~ ~ . J _ ~ ~ ~1 ~ 1-1-r-tq-!3-~ / r -t- / Sl m0me t l Sst s'
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fig. 7. 8. Ge ne r a l i z e d t e c l ono- s t r a t i gr a phy of t he Te r t i a r y in t he f or e a r c a r e a of Suma t r a .
Whateley & Jordan 1989; Situmorang et al. 1991; Howells 1997a,
b). Sections in opencast coal pits show listric growth faults,
indicating that the area was undergoing extension during
deposition of this unit.
The overlying Sawahtambang Formation consists predomi-
nantly of thick sandstone units which are channelled and cross-
bedded on a large scale, with interbedded tufts and thin coal
seams. The deposits extend beyond the limits of deposition
of the underlying Sawahlunto Formation to rest directly on
Pre-Tertiary basement. Basal breccio-conglomerates are com-
posed of clasts of basement lithologies. Howells ( 1997a, b) recog-
nizes local mismatches between clasts in the basal breccias and
the immediately adjacent basement lithologies for the lower
units of the sequence, indicating that strike-slip movement along
strands of the Sumatran Fault System had occurred between
the deposition of the lower and upper units. These deposits are
interpreted as the products of a braided river system flowing
across the area from the west (Whateley & Jordan 1989). Contin-
ued transgression of the Barisan Mountains led to further reduction
of eroding areas and deposition of the monotonous open marine
shales of the Ombilin Formation. The shales are dark grey,
rich in foraminifers and contain thin intercalations of glauconitic
sandstone. Locally a reef limestone with corals and algae, some
150 m thick, is developed over an area of several kilometres.
The Ombilin Formation is dated as Early Miocene.
In the western foothills of the Barisan Mountains, the area of
the forearc basins and the outer arc islands, the Late Oligocene
to Early Miocene transgressive phase is represented by a variety
of formations composed of conglomerates and sandstones which
rest unconformably either on basement or on older Tertiary
deposits. These include the Loser and equivalent Sibolga for-
mations (Cameron et al. 1980) in the north, the Seblat Formation
(Kusnama et al. 1993b) in Bengkulu to the south, the Barus
Formation at Sibolga and the Kueh in the north, the ' Basal
Clastic Unit' in offshore boreholes (Rose 1983) and the Pinang
Conglomerate (Situmorang et al. 1987) in the outer arc island of
Simeulue. In the forearc basins and the forearc islands unnamed
turbidites and shelfal sequences, including several carbonate
units were deposited at the time of maximum transgression on
the mainland (Fig. 7.8).
Maximum transgression (Mid-Miocene)
The maximum transgression of Sumatra in the Mid-Miocene is
not distinguished here as a distinct tectono-stratigraphic stage,
but this term is often used to indicate formations of maximum
marine shale deposition and minimum clastic influx. In the
maximum transgressive phase, subsidence outpaced sedimen-
tation and the sea gained access to almost the whole area.
Source areas in the Malayan shield were much reduced in size
and relief and the Barisans were almost completely drowned,
with the development of coral reefs in the Ombilin Basin. Even-
tually, even the reefal build-ups of the Arun, basal Telisa and
Baturaja had been drowned and were sealed by marine shales of
the Peutu, Baong, Telisa and Gumai formations. Many of these
reels have become important reservoirs for oil and gas.
In the North Sumatra Basin the Peutu and Belumai formations
are overlain by the Baong Formation (Cameron et al. 1980;
Caughey & Wahyudi 1993). The Baong Formation, of Mi d-
Late Miocene age (N8-16), consists of a great thickness ( 700-
2500 m) of grey mudstones with thin muddy limestones, locally
fossiliferous, with sandstone intercalations. Along the western
margin of the basin the sands are derived from the Barisans.
TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 95
In the central part of the basin the Baong consists almost entirely
of shale with one significant sandstone incursion, from the
Malacca Platform to the east. This sandstone is of N12- 14
(Mid-Miocene) age and has been called the ' Middle Baong
Sand' in this area. In seismic sections it is tbllowed by a regional
unconformity. In the southern part of the North Sumatra Basin
sandstone intercalations have also been called the Middle Baong
Sandstones (Cameron et al. 1980). Here the sands fill incised
valleys and are considered to have been derived fi'om the south
(Syafrin 1995). In the subcrop of basinal areas the Baong shales
are frequently overpressured, and locally, in the crests of anticli-
nes, intrude the overlying Keutapang Formation diapirically,
and erupt at the surface as mud volcanoes. Keats et al. (1981)
estimated that a very rapid rate of deposition, of the order of
0.45 mm a-~, with the retention of fluids, was responsible for
the development of the overpressure. The Baong shales form a seal
to many of the oil and gas reservoirs in the North Sumatra Basin.
In North Sumatra the transition from marine transgression to
regression was originally interpreted to have occurred at a later
time than in other areas of Sumatra. In the account of Cameron
et al. (1980) the open marine Baong Formation was considered
to represent transgression into the Late Miocene. However,
Kirby et al. (1989) showed that the Middle Baong Sandstones
(or Seumpo Sandstones) can seismically be correlated with the
basal part of the Keutapang Formation at a more regional scale.
The Lower Baong of Cameron et al. (1980) is therefore time
equivalent to the upper parts of the Ombilin, Telisa and Gumai
formations of Central and South Sumatra. The Middle Baong
Sandstones and the Upper Baong Shale of Mulhadiono et al.
(1978, 1982), together with the Securai Shale of Kirby et al.
(1989) are all part of the Regressive Stage and for reasons of
regional stratigraphic consistency should be considered part of
the regressive Keutapang Formation. The amended stratigraphy
is shown in Figures 7.2 & 7.6. This interpretation is not universally
accepted, and may be appropriate only for the area studied by
Kirby et al. (1989).
Regressive stage (Mid-Miocene-Present)
in the Mid-Miocene, regional sag in Sumatra slowed down. While
the forearc and backarc basins continued to subside, the Barisan
Mountains emerged and became an important source of sediments.
In the backarc basins from the late Mid-Miocene onwards turbidi-
tic sandstones become an increasing component in the deep water
formations. These turbiditic formations include the Seumpo, the
Upper Baong and Keutapang of Cameron et al. (1980) in the
North Sumatra Basin, the Binio (De Coster 1974) and Lower
Petani (Mertosono & Nayoan 1974) in the Central Sumatra
Basin, the Airbenakat (Spruyt 1956) in the South Sumatra Basin
and unnamed turbidite sequences in the forearc area.
A provenance study using heavy mineral suites by Morton et al.
(1994) in the North Sumatra Basin shows that there was a major
change in the source of clastic sediments in the Mid-Miocene
from a granitic terrain to the east or SE in the area of the
Asahan Arch and the Malay Peninsula, to the area of the Barisans
to the west or SW, composed of pelitic rocks intruded by granites
and volcanics, which was undergoing tropical lateritic weathering
(diaspore). By the Mid-Miocene the Barisans had been uplifted
and were in a position to act as a sediment source for the North
Sumatra Basin.
By the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene these deposits had
passed upwards into shallow marine, sublittoral and deltaic sedi-
ments: the Seureula Formation (Cameron et al. 1980) in the
North Sumatra Basin, the Korinci (De Coster 1974) and Upper
Petani (Mertosono & Nayoan 1974) in the Central Sumatra
Basin and the Muaraenim Formation (Spruyt 1956) in the South
Sumatra Basin (Fig. 7.6). By Late Pliocene the dominant deposits
are terrestrial sands and clays with abundant volcanic debris:
the Julu Rayeu Formation (Cameron et al. 1980) in the North
Sumatra Basin, the Nilo (De Coster 1974) and the Minas
(Cameron et al. 1980) formations in the Central Sumatra Basin
and the Kasai (Spruyt 1956) in the South Sumatra Basin (Fig. 7.6).
The climax of uplift and erosion of the Barisans occurred in
the Late Pliocene and was accompanied by intense volcanism.
This event coincided with inversion tectonics in the backarc area
leading to the development of many structures which are now
oil-bearing. These vertical movements were associated with
small displacements along strike slip faults, parallel to the main
Sumatran Fault trend and locally transecting anticlinal crests and
displacing oil field structures (e.g. Minas and Petani Fields in
Central Sumat ra--Eubank & Makki 1981). Quaternary deposits
rest unconformably on the eroded surfaces of these structures
and consist of coarse conglomerates derived from the Barisan
Mountains with a high proportion of volcanic debris in the neigh-
bourhood of the Recent volcanoes, passing into fluvial deposits
away from the motmtains and swamp deposits to the east along
the shores of the Malacca Strait and the Java Sea.
Offshore in the forearc basins, subsidence has continued to the
present day, with deep sea clays and turbidites in the central
parts of the basins and prograding shelfal sequences, with abun-
dant volcanic debris, building out westwards into the basins
from the Sumatran mainland (Beaudry & Moore 1985). In the outer
arc islands deep water turbidite sequences, e.g. the Lelematua
Formation (Djamal et al. 1994) of Nias are followed by shallow
water deposits, often with carbonates, in the Late Miocene to
Early Pliocene, as in the Gomo Formation of the same island
(Djamal et al. 1994; Samuel et al. 1997). Deposition was followed
by deformation, inversion and emergence with erosion in the
Late Pliocene (Samuel et al. 1997). The Tertiary deposits as
well as the uplifted we-Tertiary basement are overlain unconform-
ably by uplifted Pleistocene coral reefs (e.g. Gunungsitoli
Formation of Nias). Successive reef terraces in some parts of the
outer arc islands contrast with drowned coastlines in other area
(e.g. the east coast of Siberut), indicating that both uplift and
subsidence are affecting the outer arc islands at the present day.
Summary
The pre-Tertiary basement of Sundaland extends to the west across
the present forearc as far as the outer arc islands to the west of
Smnatra as indicated by metamorphic rocks in Tanahbala (Nas
& Supandjono 1994). During the Late Cretaceous the whole of
the Sumatran basement was exposed to erosion. In the Eocene at
least parts of this basement was covered by shallow seas in
which platform carbonates were deposited, represented by the
Tampur Limestone in northern Sumatra, Nummulitic limestones
near Benkulu in southern Sumatra, and clasts of these limestones
in found in conglomerates in the outer arc islands.
In the Late Eocene to Early Oligocene the basement, as in much of
Sundaland, was subject to extension, forming a pattern of horst and
graben which controlled stratigraphic development, with
sedimentation in isolated rift basins derived from the erosion of
the intervening horsts. These rifts extended across the area of the
present Barisan Mountains (Ombilin Basin) into the forearc region
(e.g. Bengkulu). This same history is evident throughout much of
Southeast Asia with the development of rift basins in the Sunda
Shelf, Borneo, the Malay and Gulf of Thailand Basins (Longley
1997) and extending into northern Thailand (Polachan et al. 1991).
This regional extension coincided with the collision of India with
the southern margin of the Asian continent and has been attributed
to the extrusion and rotation of continental blocks to the southeast
of the site of collision (Tapponnier et al. 1982).
During the Horst and Graben Stage deposition in Sumatra
was characterised by sediment transport over short distances,
96 CHAPTER 7
while subsidence in the grabens was faster than sediment input,
leading to the accumulation of thick organic-rich lake deposits
with sedimentologically immature sediments along the lake shore-
lines. In Sumatra this localized distribution of the sediments in the
rift stage is reflected in a localized stratigraphic nomenclature.
Although the thick euxinic lake deposits and paralic deposits in
the grabens play an important role in the petroleum geology of
the backarc basins, the grabens themselves preceded the origin
of the basins as a whole.
In the latest Oligocene there was a major change in the regional
geography. Regional sediment source areas and broad deposi-
tional areas replaced the former horst and graben landscape. In
addition to the source area to the north, in the Malayan Shield,
the Barisans provided one of the sediment sources. The con-
clusion is supported by the significant amount of volcaniclastic
material in the latest Oligocene sediments and by the occurrence
of sedimentologically immature deposits of this age in the foot-
hills of the Barisan Mountains. The stratigraphy reflects the
development of wider basins that extended across both grabens
and horsts alike, and interconnected river systems that transported
sediments from larger and more distant source areas. The thick
overburden of younger sediments in the backarc basins induced
maturity in organic material in petroleum source rocks within
the grabens, and provided the sands and limestones which
constitute the main reservoir horizons for oil and gas. Again,
similar environments extended throughout Southeast Asia
(Longley 1997).
The conclusion that the Barisan Mountains commenced their
development as a major structural element in the latest Oligocene
is at variance with much of the literature emanating from the pet-
roleum industry. It is considered that the Mid-Miocene turbidite
formations represent the first significant influx of sediments
into the backarc basins from the Barisan Mountains, the major
influx occurring during the Pliocene. There is no contradiction,
however, between these two interpretations. In the Late Oligocene
the Barisan Mountains were still restricted in height and extent.
Following the transgression in the Early to Mid-Miocene the
emergent peaks became even more restricted. The major Mid-
Miocene to Pliocene sediment influx from the mountains into
the backarc basins was due to the further growth and re-emergence
of the Barisans during the regressive period, rather than to their
first appearance.
Transgression during the latest Oligocene and Early Miocene
was the consequence of regional sag, not only in the area of
Sumatra but throughout much of Sundaland (e.g. in the Gulf of
Thailand). In Sumatra the forearc and backarc basins deepened
and the early Barisan Mountains were almost submerged.
From the Mid-Miocene onwards uplift of the Barisan Mountains
and the forearc island area was faster than the continuing regional
sag which caused further subsidence along the axes of the backarc
and forearc basins and also in the Gulf of Thailand. These move-
ments coincide with the inversion of basin sediments during
the Miocene, and continue through the Plio-Pleistocene, with the
re-activation of faults, the folding of basin sediments and the
development of unconformities in the sequence. These movements
may be related to variations in the angle and rate of convergence in
the Sumatran subduction system, leading to extension or com-
pression in the backarc (Cameron et al. 1980). They also coincide
with activity of the Sumatran Fault System in the Miocene and
continued transtensional and transpressional movements along it
from then until the present day. Similar inversions in other parts
of SE Asia have been attributed to the rotation of Borneo (Hall
2002) or the far field effects of collisions in Eastern Indonesia.
The extent to which sedimentation in the Tertiary Basins of
Sumatra has been influenced by the development of Sumatran
Fault System is not fully understood. The Fault System is
connected to the spreading centre in the Andaman Sea to the
north, across which 460 km of displacement is considered to
have taken place (Curray et al. 1979), and to pull apart structures
in the Sunda Strait in the south, along which only minor displace-
ments of the order of 10 km have occurred (Malod et al. 1996).
Direct measurement of displacement across the fault in Sumatra
has proved difficult as most stratigraphic units trend parallel to
the fault trace. Possible offsets of 45 km on the basis of the dis-
placement of Permian granites (Hahn & Weber 1981a) and of
up to 100 km from displacement of Tertiary basins (Beaudry &
Moore 1985) have been postulated for various strands of the
fault. It is probable that movement along the fault system have
been taking place continuously at least since the Mid-Miocene
(14-11 Ma) when spreading in the Andaman Sea is considered
to have commenced (Curray et al. 1979). Presumably, movements
along various parts of the fault system have continued from the
time of initiation of the fault system until the present day.
Recent movements are shown by displacement of Recent
volcanics (Posavec et al. 1973), by the offset of stream courses
(Katili & Hehuwat 1967), by continued seismic activity, by displa-
cement of recent sediments along the fault trace (Sieh et al. 1994)
and by GPS measurements (McCaffrey 1996; Sieh & Natawidjaja
2000). The difference in relative displacement at either end of
the fault system shows that the forearc area was stretched over
time and not displaced as a rigid block. Displacement increases
progressively northwards and is considered to have occurred by
cumulative strike-slip movements along a fault system oriented
in a SSE- NNW direction throughout the forearc region (Curray
1989; McCaffrey 1996).
In this account it is presumed that the origin of the Sumatran
Fault Zone coincided with the development of Barisan Mountains
and the backarc and forearc basins in the Late Oligocene. All these
regional structures have a NNW- SSE trend and are overprinted
over horst and graben structures that have a more north-south
trend. The Barisan Mountains acted as a sediment source area
from the latest Oligocene onwards and therefore it is presumed
that transcurrent movements along the Sumatran Fault trend
started at about the same time. A latest Oligocene age for first
movements along the fault system does not conflict with a Mid-
Miocene age of spreading in the Andaman Sea as documented
by Curray et al. (1979) because extension with movement along
the fault traces in that area may have occurred long before the first
ocean floor spreading. The reconstruction suggests that the forearc
region has extended some 460 km northwestward, relative to the
rest of Sumatra, over the last 25 Ma and that the rate of extension
has been at a uniform rate of about 1.8 cm a-
There is an obvious anomaly in North Sumatra in that during
the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene the Barisans was an area of
eroding terranes and shallow water facies, while deep-water
marine facies prevailed in the central parts of the North Sumatra
Basin. It appears that there was no landmass immediately to the
SW of the North Sumatra Basin which could provide a source
area. Evidently the Barisan area was only moved into its present pos-
ition relative to the north Sumatra Basin to provide a sediment source
after the Middle Miocene. On the other hand thick Early Miocene
sandstones in the Central and South Sumatra Basins indicate that
at that time the Barisan source area lay much further south.
In their provenance study of the Keutapang Formation in the
North Sumatra Basin Morton et al. (1994) found that the sediments
were derived from the west or the SW. Evidently the Barisans
were uplifted and in a position to act as a source for the North
Sumatra Basin by Middle Miocene times. They also found that
chrome spinel was abundant in the lower part of the Keutapang
Formation, but rare in the upper Keutapang. This spinel must
have been derived from an ophiolitic terrain, but there is no
such terrain in a suitable position at the present time. The
Pasaman ophiolite is too far south, and the northern Aceh
ophiolites are too far north. Either the ophiolite which supplied
spinel to the lower Keutapang Formation has been removed com-
pletely by erosion, or it has been moved northwards since the
Middle Miocene by dextral movements of the order of 100 km
along the Sumatran Fault System (Morton et al. 1994).
TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 97
The removal of the displacement on the Sumatran Fault System
gives the southwestern continental margin of Sundaland a much
smoother outline in the Early Oligocene and Eocene. At that
time the North Sumatra Basin and its rifted grabens lay along
continental margin, rather than within the continent. With the
north Sumatra basin in this position it becomes clear why this
is the only backarc basin that contains Eocene shallow marine
continental margin deposits, including platform limestones.
Important conclusions derived from this stratigraphic analysis
are: the Sundaland pre-Tertiary basement extends across the
area of the forearc basins to the Sumatran offshore islands; the
Barisan Mountains first emerge as a structural element providing
a source area for clastic sediment in the latest Oligocene, and
not in the Middle Miocene as many authors have supposed.
Taking into account the dextral movements along the Sumatran
Fault System, replacing the displaced forearc and the southwestern
segment of the Barisans, simplifies the outline of the Sundaland
Margin and accounts for the occurrence of marine sediments in
the early stages of the development of the North Sumatra Basin
in their original positions (see Fig. 14.18a).
Chapter 8
Tertiary volcanicity
M. J. CROW
The Centenary of the Netherlands Indies Geological Survey was
commemorated by the publication of a synthesis of the geology
of Indonesia by van Bemmelen (1949). In his account of the
geology of Sumatra van Bemmelen (1949) described three
distinct, but continuous, cycles of volcanic activity during the
Tertiary and Quaternary: Old Neogene (Late Ol i gocene-Mi d-
Miocene); Young Neogene (Mi d-Mi ocene-earl y in the Quatern-
ary); and Young Quaternary. The first cycle began with the ' Old
Andesites' , and ended with the Mid-Miocene uplift of the
Barisan Mountains. The second cycle commenced with the erup-
tion of basic igneous products and concluded with an acidic
phase which coincided with a second episode of uplift of the
Barisan Mountains.
Subsequently, knowledge of the Tertiary volcanic rocks in
Sumatra has been refined as the result of programmes of geolo-
gical mapping in the early 1970s by the Geological Survey of
Indonesia and the United States Geological Survey, and between
1975 and the mid-1990s by the Geological Research and Develop-
ment Centre, the Directorate of Mineral Resources and the British
Geological Survey. Exploration by oil and mineral companies has
also provided data concerning the distribution of Tertiary plutonic
rocks in the Pre-Tertiary basement and in the Tertiary sedimentary
basins, of volcanic units interbedded with sediments. Further con-
tributions to the understanding of Tertiary volcanicity in Sumatra
and its forearc islands have been made by academic researchers
and post-graduate students from the Institute of Technology,
Bandung and the University of London, in collaboration with
the Geological Research and Development Centre, LIPI and
LEMIGAS, and the British Geological Survey.
Most of the Tertiary volcanic and volcaniclastic formations
in Sumatra are identified on the Geological Maps published
by the Geological Research and Development Centre and are
described in tables in the Explanatory Notes which accompany
the maps. A summary of the volcanic units in Northern Sumatra,
with brief descriptions, were given by Cameron et al. (1980),
while Rock et al. (1982) described their petrology and chemistry.
McCourt et al. (1993) and Kusnama et al. (1993a) summarized
the stratigraphy of Southern Sumatra, including the volcanic units.
Rock et al. (1982) distinguished at least four climaxes of volcan-
ism in the Tertiary of Northern Sumatra: Palaeogene (possibly
Eo-Oligocene); Late Ol i gocene-Earl y Miocene; Early Mid-
Miocene; and Mi d- Lat e Miocene. In the present account Tertiary
volcanic episodes and phases recognized in the whole of Sumatra
occurred during the Palaeocene; Late Mid-Eocene; Late Eocene-
Late Oligocene (Late Eocene-Early Oligocene and Late Oligocene-
Early Miocene phases); Late Early Mi ocene-Mi d-Mi ocene (Late
Early Miocene and Mid-Miocene phases); and Late Mi ocene-
Pliocene. The relationship between volcanic episodes and phases
and the stratigraphic succession in Sumatra is illustrated in
Figure 8.1, which is based on the stratigraphy and terminology
proposed by De Smet & Barber in Chapter 7.
Radiometric dating of volcanism and plutonism
in Sumatra
Bellon et al. (2004) report nearly 80 4~176 age dates of the
volcanics and associated intrusives, for the period 65- 0 Ma.
Their, and earlier, K- Ar age determinations are listed in Table
8.1 and ages dates of plutons, dykes and volcanics are compiled
in Table A.4 (Appendix).
Mineral ages from fresh samples give ages younger than the
time of intrusion, but give useful information on the cooling of
igneous rocks through the c. 500 ~ (hornblende) and the
c. 400 ~'C (biotite) isotherms. These age data are also helpful
in distinguishing the effects of thermal and tectonic alteration.
Macpherson & Hall (1999, 2002) have drawn attention to the
problems of the interpretion of K- Ar isotope data. The limitations
of the K- Ar dating method are due to problems of tectonic and
thermal alteration and to tropical weathering, as these processes
may reset the K- Ar clock to yield misleading younger ages, or
add potassium and 4~ to give spurious older ages (Dickin
1995). In her study of the timing of the alteration of intrusions con-
nected to movement of the Sumatra Fault Zone in southern
Sumatra, Imtihanah (2000) used the 4~ age dating
method, which can identify K and Ar mobility in altered rocks.
Tertiary volcanic stratigraphy
Pal ae oc e ne vol cani c epi s ode ( Tabl e 8. 2 and Fi g. 8. 2)
The informal term Kikim Volcanics (McCourt et al. 1993) is used
here for the Palaeocene volcanics and volcaniclastics which occur
in southern Sumatra. Previously Gafoer et al. (1992c, 1994), and
the 1"1000 000 geological maps of Southern Sumatra (Gafoer
et al. 1992a, b), used the term ' Kikim Formation' for all volcanic
rocks of Palaeocene to Oligocene age in southern Sumatra.
De Coster (1974) suggested that the Kikim Tuffs were of Upper
Cretaceous to Palaeocene age, but no Cretaceous ages have been
obtained from these rocks. The Kikim Tufts, comprising
tuffaceous sandstones, conglomerates, breccias and clays, were
encountered in boreholes at the base of the Tertiary succession
in the South Sumatra Basin (Lemat-1, Lemat-2 and Tamiang-2
wells), in the Laru wells on the Musi Platform and cropping out
in the Gumai Mountains. The volcanic rocks in the Tamiang-2
well were dated at 55 Ma (Palaeocene) by the K- Ar method,
but details of the analysis are not available. McCourt et al.
(1993) report that in the Gumai Mountains Gafoer et al. (1992c)
found a transition, rather than an unconformity, between
the Kikim Formation and the overlying volcaniclastic Lahat
Formation. This underlying unit is now considered to be part of
the Lahat Formation, confirming the stratigraphic scheme in the
Gumai Mountains originally proposed by Musper (1937).
A K- At age date of 63.3 + 1.9 Ma (Palaeocene) was obtained
from an andesitic lava in the Kikim Volcanic Formation ( < 300 m
of andesites, volcanic breccia and tuft) at Gunung Dempu in
the Kotaagung Quadrangle (Amin et al. 1994b). A K- Ar age of
60.3 Ma has been obtained from a basalt (location uncertain,
oral communication by Pulunggono in 1985, reported in Gafoer
et al. 1992c) in the Kikim Volcanics to the east of the Garba
Mountains which are described by Gafoer et al. (1994) as ' often
being highly tectonized' . In the Garba Mountains the Ki ki m
Volcanics include volcanic breccias, welded tufts and andesitic
to basaltic lavas with sedimentary intercalations (Gafoer et al.
1994).
98
TERTIARY VOLCANICITY 99
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100 CHAPTER 8
Table 8.1. Ter t i ar y vol cani c epi s odes and r adi omet r i c ages f r om vol cani c r ocks in Sumat r a
Volcanic Type Dating method Age (Ma) Reference
PALAEOCENE VOLCANIC EPISODE (65-c.50 Ma)
Basalt tufT, Bentaro Volcanic Formation (LM 116A)
Basalt dyke in Lhoong Formation (LM 124)
Basalt flow, south-west of Banda Aceh (LM 118)
Basalt dyke in Bentaro Volcanic Formation
Basalt dyke, Natal area (SU 49)
Andesite dyke in Woyla Group, Batang Natal (NL 41)
Basalt dyke, Tambak Baru Volcanics (NL 40)
LK 4~176 51.3 1.5 Bellon et al. (2004)
MK 4~176 55.5 1.5 Bellon et al. (2004)
MK 4~176 57.9 1.4 Bellon et al, (2004)
4~176 63.1 1.5 Bellon et al. (2004),
Sutanto (1997)
SH 4~176 52.1 1.2 Bellon et al. (2004)
HK 4~176 59.6 _ 1.4 Bellon et al. (2004)
MK 4~176 62.5 ___1.4 Bellon et al. (2004)
Gabbro dyke in Silungkang Formation (RDC 1 l)
Basalt flow, Silungkang Formation (RDC 13A2)
Basalt flow, Silungkang Formation (RDC 13A1)
MK 4~176 62.9 1.5 Bellon et al. (2004)
LK 4~176 63.1 1.5 Bellon et al. (2004)
LK 4~176 63.7 1,5 Bellon et al. (2004)
Andesite, Gunung Dempu
Basalt, Garba Mountains
Tuff, Tamiang 2-well
K-Ar, whole rock? 63.3 1.9 Amin et al. (1994b)
K-Ar, whole rock'? 60.3 Gafoer et al, (1994)
K-Ar, whole rock? 55 De Coster (1974)
LATE MIDDLE EOCENE VOLCANIC EPISODE (c.46-40 Ma)
Andesite dyke, Langsat Volcanic Formation (NL 36) MK
Basalt dyke, Indarung Calcareous Formation (RDC 20) SH
Shoshonite dyke, Tanjungkarang area (PCE 13) SH
4~176 41.1 0.9 Bellon et al. (2004)
4~176 45.8 _+ 1.1 Bellon et al. (2004)
4~176 43.5 1 Bellon et al. (2004)
LATE EOCENE-LATE OLIGOCENE VOLCANIC EPISODE (c.38-24 Ma)
Late Eocene-Early Oligocene Volcanic Phase (c. 38-30 Ma)
Basaltic andesite dyke, Blang Pidie, Tapaktuan (TT 148) MK
Basalt dyke, Langsat village, Natal area (NL 37) SH
Basalt dyke in Silungkang Formation (RDC 13) LK
4~176 31.6 _+0.85 Bellon et al. (2004)
4~176 37.4 0.9 Bellon et al. (2004)
4~176 37.3 [ Bellon et al. (2004)
Late Oligocene-Early Miocene Volcanic Phase (c. 30-24 Ma)
Basalt dyke in Woyla Group north of Tapaktuan (TT 144)
Basalt flow, Painan Formation (PN 26)
MK 4~176
SH 4~176
MK 4~176
MK 4~176
Andesite dyke in Painan Formation (TP 34)
Dacite dyke in Painan Formation (TP 33)
LATE EARLY MIOCENE-MIDDLE MIOCENE VOLCANIC EPISODE
Late Early Miocene Volcanic Phase (c. 22-14 Ma)
Basalt block in Indrapuri melange, Banda Aceh (IP 113) LK
Basalt dyke in Lhoong Formation (LM 126) LK
4o K _ 4t~A r
4OK_ZOAr
Basalt flow, in Calang Volcanic Formation (CL 140)
Andesite dyke, Calang area (CL 135C)
Andes dyke, Calang area (GB 15)
Basalt dyke in Tangla Formation (CL 135B)
Basalt flow in Calang Volcanic Formation (CL 141A)
Andesite dyke in Calang Volcanic Formation (CL 132)
Basalt, Sayeung Volcanic Formation
Andesite dyke in Tangla Formation (CL 136)
Basalt, Sayeung Volcanic Formation
Basalt dyke, Sayeung Volcanic Formation
Basalt, Sayeung Volcanic Formation
Basalt dyke, Sayeung Volcanic Formation
Basaltic andesite dyke in
Calang Volcanic Formation (CL 131 )
Basalt, Sayeung Volcanic Formation.
Andesite dyke in Barus Formation, Sibolga (SB 27B)
Andesite flow in Angkola Volcanic Formation (SB 85)
MK 4~176
MK 4~176
M K 4~176
MK 4~176
MK 4~176
MK 4~176
K-At, whole rock
MK 4"K-4~
K-Ar, whole rock
K-At, whole rock
K-At, whole rock
K-At, whole rock
MK 4~176
K-Ar, whole rock
MK 4~176
MK 4~176
Andesite dyke in Angkola Volcanic Formation (SB 84)
Andesite dyke in Angkola Volcanic Formation (SB 83)
Andesite, P. Musala
MK 4~176
MK 4~176
K-At, whole rock
Basalt meta-tuff, Simpang Gambir, Natal area (NL 42)
Absarokite in Sikarara Volcanic Formation (NL 34)
MK 4~176
SH 4~176
26.9 0.72 Bellon et al. (2004)
23.7 0.55 Bellon et al. (2004)
24.3 0.60 Bellon et al. (2004)
25.5 0.59 Bellon et al. (2004)
18.8 0.49 Bellon et al. (2004)
14.5 1.17 Bellon e t al . (2004)
21.4 0.59 Bellon et al. (2004)
21. l _+0.60 Beilon et al. (2004)
18.7 0.44 Bellon et al. (2004)
18.8 0.59 Bellon et al. (2004)
[ 8.8 0.45 Bellon et al. (2004)
18.3 + 0.44 Bellon et al. (2004)
17.7 + 0.7 Kallagher (1990)
17.5 _+0.42 Bellon et al. (2004)
17.1 + 0.9 Kallagher (1990)
16.4 0.6 Kallagher (1990)
16. I 3.9 Kallagher (1990)
15.9 1.0 Kallagher (1990)
15.0 _+0.38 Bellon et al. (2004)
13.7 _+2.7 Kallagher (1990)
19.6 0.58 Bellon et al. (2004)
18.2 0.45 Bellon et al. (2004)
16.8 0.47 Belion et al. (2004)
16.8 0.39 Bellon et al. (2004)
17.2 5 Aspden et al. (1982b)
19.7 0.48 Bellon et al. (2004)
18.2 0.44 Bellon et al. (2004)
( c ont i nue d)
TERTIARY VOLCANICITY 101
Table 8.1 Continued
Volcanic Type Dating method Age (Ma) Reference
Andes Sarik Lawas
Andesite flow in Painan Formation (PN 31)
Andesite flow in Painan Formation (PN 22)
Basalt flow in Painan Formation (PN 24)
Basalt lava or tuff?, well N Pekanbaru
Andesite flow in Painan Formation (TP 32)
Andes flow, Bukit Sulap, Bengkulu (BSU 170)
Andesite in Hulusimpang Formation (MN 116)
Rhyolite dyke in Hulusimpang Formation (MN 118)
Basaltic andesite dyke in Hulusimpang Formation (MN 117)
Rhyolite tuff in (?)Tarahan Formation (TR 33)
Basalt dyke in Sulan batholith (WS 5)
Andesite dyke in Hulusimpang Formation (SMK 40)
Basalt dyke in Hulusimpang Formation (SMK 39)
Dacite flow in Sabu Formation (PCE 9A)
Middle Miocene Volcanic Phase (c. 12- 8 Ma)
Basalt, Alem Formation
Basalt, Alem Formation.
Basalt dyke, Alem Formation
Basalt dyke in Hulusimpang Formation (SMK 37)
LATE MI OCENE- PLI OCENE (6-1.6 Ma)
Andesite flow, Lam Teuba Volcanics (UB 110)
Diorite dyke in Bohorok Formation (PR 61)
near Parapat, Lake Toba
Andesite flow in Haranggoal Formation (PR 70)
Andesite flow in Sibayak Complex (BR 104)
Basalt dyke in Sipiso-piso lava dome (PR 101B)
Andesite flow in Angkola Formation, Sibolga (SB 28)
Andesite, Suliki
Basaltic andesite flow, Merapi volcano area (PY 82)
Andesite flow, north border of Lake Maninjau (MNJ 55)
Basaltic andesite flow, south of Padang (PLN 103)
Basalt flow in Bal Formation east of Bengkulu (BN 111)
Basalt dyke, boulder in Gumai mountains (LH 173)
Basaltic andesite flow in Pliocene volcanic
Formation, northwest of Curup (CR 145)
Andesite dyke in Air Benekat Formation (LH 178)
Basaltic andesite dyke in Lemau Formation (BS 129)
Andesite, Gunung Batu
K-Ar, ? 22 _+ 1.5 Koning & Aulia (1985)
MK 4~176 19.2 ___0.54 Bellon et al. (2004)
HK 4~176 19.1 + 0.45 Bellon et al. (2004)
HK 4~176 19.0 0.45 Bellon et al. (2004)
?K-Ar 17.5 Eubank & Makki ( 1981 )
MK 4~176 14.3 _+0.34 Bellon et al. (2004)
MK 4~176 16.5 0.38 Bellon et al. (2004)
MK 4~176 13.2 0.43 Bellon et al. (2004)
MK 4~176 12.8 0.31 Bellon et al. (2004)
MK 4~176 12.8 _ 0.38 Bellon et al. (2004)
MK 4~176 19.7 0.47 Bellon et al. (2004)
MK 4~176 17.1 0.44 Bellon et al. (2004)
MK 4~176 16.9 0.44 Bellon et al. (2004)
LK 4~176 15.1 0.38 Bellon et al. (2004)
HK 4~176 14.4 + 0.35 Bellon et al. (2004)
K-Ar, whole rock 11.2 -+- 0.7 Kallagher (1990)
K-Ar, whole rock 10.3 0.4 Kallagher (1990)
K-At , whole rock 8.74 _+ 0.82 Kallagher (1990)
MK 4~176 10.9 0.43 Bellon et al. (2004)
MK 4~176 1.76 + 0.06
HK 4~176 5.66 _+0.14
HK 4~176 2.88 0.07
HK 4~176 2.09 0.29
MK 4~176 1.89 + 0,23
MK 4~176 5.35 +_ 0.23
K-Ar, ? 5.4 0.3
MK 4~176 2.99 0.08
MK 4~176 1.76 + 0.05
HK 4~176 1.35 0.1
LK 4~176 6.45 + 0.2
4~176 5.47 _ 0.14
LK 4~176 5.21 0.5
MK 4~176 4.23 + 0.15
HK 4~176 2.91 0.09
MK 4~176 2.41 + 0.08
K-Ar 4.76 0.32
Bellon et al. 2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. 2004)
Bellon et al. 2004)
Bellon et al. 2004)
Bellon et al. 2004)
Koning & Aulia (1985)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Gafoer et al. (1992c)
Andesite flow in ?Lakitan Formation (PC 16) HK 4~176 4.93 -+_0.13 Bellon et al. (2004)
Petrographic types: LK, = Iow-K calc-alkaline; MK, = medium-K calc-alkaline; HK, = high-K calc-alkaline; SH, = shoshonitic (see Bellon et al. 2004 for analytical
details)
Bel l on e t al . ( 2004) dat ed dykes bet ween 62. 5 and 52 Ma i n
t he Nat al area, basal t fl ows and a dykes at c. 63 Ma in t he Sol ok
area and SW of Aceh a basal t i c dyke, fl ow and t uf f bet ween
63 and 51 Ma.
The K- Ar ages of pl ut ons associ at ed wi t h t he Pal aeocene mag-
mat i c epi sode are mos t l y younge r t han t he ages of t he vol cani c
r ocks and muc h of t he dat a rel at e to t he cool i ng of pl ut ons.
The Lass bat hol i t h in Wes t Sumat r a was e mpl a c e d c. 56 Ma
( I mt i hanah 2000) , but t he ear l i est intrusion:, e xpos e d i n t he
Guguk quar r y on t he wes t er n mar gi n of t he bat hol i t h, is a f ol i at ed
megacr ys t i c met adi or i t e, t oo weat her ed to dat e. The f ol i at ed
megacr ys t i c met adi or i t e was e mpl a c e d in a shear zone ( per sonal
obser vat i on) t hat is a cont i nuat i on of t he Mus i ba s e me nt f aul t i n
t he Sout h Sumat r a Backar c Basi n ( Pul unggono e t al . 1992). By
r ever si ng t he pos t - Mi oc e ne move me nt s al ong t he Sumat r a Faul t
Zone, t he Mus i Faul t l i nks wi t h t he Si pakpahi Faul t ( Al di ss
102 CHAPTER 8
et al. 1983) and the Kluet Fault (Cameron et al. 1982b) to the west
of the Sumatran Fault Zone. Several plutons and volcanic outcrops
are associated with the Kl uet -Musi Fault (Fig. 8.2) which was
active in the Early Eocene, but the amount and sense of displace-
ment (probably dextral) is not known.
Lat e Mi d- Lat e Eoc e ne v ol c ani c e pi s ode
( Tabl e 8. 3 and Fi g. 8. 3)
Volcanic rocks and volcaniclastic sediments have not been recog-
nised within the Palaeogene units which occur beneath Miocene
sediments in boreholes and imaged on seismic profiles in the
forearc Meulaboh and Singkel basins (Karig et al. 1980).
Nor have they been recognized in the 'Parallel Bedded facies'
which occurs beneath the graben sequence in the Bengkulu
Basin (Hall et al. 1993), or within the newly recognized
Palaeogene Accretionary Wedge (Schluter et al. 2002) in the
Outer Arc High to the SE of Enggano.
Late Mi d- Lat e Eocene volcanic rocks are found along the west
coast of Sumatra, palaeogeographically reconstructed in
Figure 8.3. The Breueh Volcanic Formation on Pulau Breueh to
the NW of Aceh, consists of bedded subaerial pyroclastics
and massive scoriaceous, feldsparphyric and epidotised basaltic
lavas. Volcanic clasts at the base of the Peunasu Formation
(Late Ol i gocene-Earl y Miocene), dated as Late Mid-Eocene,
were derived from the Breueh Volcanic Formation (Bennett
et al. 1981a). A NNE- SSW dyke swarm, which appears to
emanate from the Raya Diorite and cuts both the Breueh Volcanic
and the Peunasu Formations, has yielded a K- Ar hornblende
age of 18.9 _+ 1.2 Ma (Early Miocene). According to Rock et al.
(1982), the Raya stock is a sub-volcanic intrusion and these
dykes were intruded into hot plastic lavas. It is therefore probable
that the Breueh Volcanic Formation also includes a Miocene
volcanic unit.
Volcanic rocks occur in the ?late Mi d-Eocene-Earl y Oligocene
Meucampali Formation (Bennett et al. 1981a; Cameron et al.
1983) exposed in the Barisan Mountains to the SE of Aceh.
Local volcanic horizons with amygdaloidal, intermediate to
mafic lavas occur within paralic-fluviatile sediments. Altered
andesites occur within the Kieme and Semelit formations in
the Takengon Quadrangle (Cameron et al. 1983). Cameron et al.
(1980) interpreted the Kieme and Semelit formations as arc and
back-arc basin sequences, associated with faulting. Porphyritic
andesites in the Sitaban Formation off Tapanuli Bay also probably
belong to this phase. A microdiorite within these lavas is thought
to be a subvolcanic intrusion and has provided a zircon fission
track age of 43 -t- 3.2 Ma (Mid-Eocene) (Aspden et al. 1982b).
Bellon et al. (2004) have dated a basalt dyke in the Solok area at
46 + i Ma and an andesite dyke in the Natal area at 41 +_ i Ma.
Table 8.2. Litholo;,ies in the Kikim Volcanic Unit of'the Palaeocene volcanic
el~isode
Location Lithologies
G. Dempu j
Garba Mrs 2
Lahat, Lemat
1 & 2 and
Tamiang 2 wells 3
Andesite-basalt lava, tuff & volcanic breccia; sulphides
with gold.
>250 m andesitic to basaltic composition lavas,
restricted to the base, welded tuff with flow structure,
volcanic breccia with angular fragments of andesite-
basalt material in a tuffaceous matrix, sandstone and
siltstone.
Tuffaceous sandstones, conglomerates, breccias and
clays. K-Ar age date of 55 Ma reported from
Tamiang-2 well.
References: IAmin et al. (1994b), 2Gafoer et al. (1994), 3De Coster (1974).
In the Natal area the bathyal Si Kumbu Turbidite Formation
(Rock et al. 1983; Wajzer 1986; Wajzer et al. 1991) crops out
between the Simpang Gambit Fault and the younger Langsat
volcanics. The Si Kumbu Turbidite Formation is composed of vol-
caniclastic debris flows and proximal and distal turbidites, with
negligible contents of quartz and K-feldspar. The Si Kumbu
Turbidite Formation is weakly deformed by large-scale open
folds and is slightly metamorphosed (prehnite-pumpellyite
facies) with pervasive epidote veining in places. The Si Kumbu
Formation is intruded by andesite dykes, two of which were
dated using the whole-rock K- Ar method, giving minimum
ages of 40.1 ___ 1.6 Ma and 37.6 + 1.3 Ma, which are probably
cooling ages. The andesite dykes are identical in composition
to andesite clasts in the volcaniclastic breccias within the
Si Kumbu Formation and are therefore considered to have been
intruded contemporaneously. If the inferred syn-depositional age
of the dated andesite intrusions is correct, the Si Kumbu turbidites
are mostly of late Mid-Eocene age.
The Si Kumbu Turbidite Formation is interpreted by Wajzer
et al. (1991) to represent a fault-bounded allochthonous, and
possibly rotated, submarine-fan deposit derived from the apron
of an oceanic volcanic arc which lay to the west. There is no
evidence of an oceanic volcanic arc to the west at this time so
that the volcaniclastic debris may have been derived from a
coastal volcanic centre.
Rashid et al. (1998) and Netherwood (2000) consider the vol-
caniclastic sequence in the Gumai Mountains as ' about' Middle
Eocene (47-42 Ma) in age. This is a further estimate for the age
of these undated volcaniclastics which, following McCourt et al.
(1993), are here correlated with the Lahat Formation (Oligocene).
A shoshonite dyke in the Tanjungkarang area has been dated by
Bellon et al. (2004) at 43.5 _+ 1 Ma.
At Ciletuh Bay in the western part of the Java, bathyal volcanic
rocks and submarine fan deposits of the Ciletuh Formation
(Late Mi d-Eocene-Earl y Oligocene) (Schiller et al. 1991) rest
unconformable upon the components of an Upper Cretaceous
Oceanic Accretionary Complex (Citirem Formation, the Pasir
Luhur Schist and the Gunung Beas Ultrabasics) that has similar
iithologies and a similar age to the Bangkaru Ophiolite Complex
of the Sumatran forearc islands (Samuel et al. 1997). In the
Ciletuh Formation volcanic debris is mingled with a submarine
fan; turbidite deposits formed when clastic sediments of continen-
tal origin poured over a narrow continental shelf bounded by the
Cimandiri Fault onto a continental slope. The volcaniclastics
were deposited in half grabens and were derived from ashfalls
and massive undersea pyroclastic flows. Schiller et al. (1991)
suggest that some of the volcaniclastics were derived from the
erosion of a nearby undersea volcano or volcanic island. The
description of the Ciletuh Formation is not detailed enough to
demonstrate that a subaquous caldera was present at that time,
although such structures have been shown to occur elsewhere
(White et al. 2004). An alternative source for the volcaniclastics
is the contemporaneous Lower Old Andesites (LOA of Sukarna
et al. 1993) in the Bayah area to the north.
Lat e Eoc e ne - Ear l y Mi oc e ne v ol c ani c e pi s ode
Two phases are distinguished in this lengthy episode of volcanism:
1. Late Eocene-mi d-Lat e Oligocene volcanism in Southern
Sumatra.
2. Late Ol i gocene-Earl y Miocene volcanic arc in western
Sumatra within the present Barisan Mountains.
A complete sequence representing this volcanic episode was
recorded in an offshore oil exploration well in the Bengkulu
Forearc Basin (Hall et al. 1993). Elsewhere in Sumatra different
TERTIARY VOLCANICITY 103
k,
-\,. )
" N~, b ~ ............. Offshore boreholes il
N~'6"~, ..... LaKe '~
,\
\
\\
\
,<'
/
PALAEOCENE
V <.N,
\
M~
X
\
\
Volcanic rocks
Piutons
\ xToba
\
{
\i
z
k
\
\,
}Seukeun '~>' ' \' .... " ............ '~'\
\ f - . ' x ,,
' -, , '%,, .... /N/
~,\
_ 6Si bubung
u& \ ........... :, --
v2.,, \
ssi "-'I
N. Batang Nata ~ Bungo } ;.,,,,.-.~
x- - - - ' . . . . "......... '
~:~ " UL T v Tamian
\ Bukit Raja /
,,~, \~"N~>,~_,~ v /
Lemat 1 &2 (
!" -'"\~)N"-, ( Laru
N. {
\.. ...... !
"-.% [
Od0~\.. ~"\- V Gunung Dempu
v)~p. ~ ~ Jatibaru
%. o4\ " , , . . . . . . . ,.... ......... , .
% =\.
\ - , \ . ~ f
" . 1
0 200km "~ /"J "- /
"% ' ~ ~J ' - ~" " " \ L
Fig. 8.2. Distribution of volcanics and
plutons associated with the Palaeocene
volcanic episode. Palaeogeographic outline
of Sumatra adapted from Figure 14.18a
which compensates for the dextral
displacement along the Sumatra Fault Zone
and extension within the Forearc. Volcanic
units listed in Table 8.2.
components of the episode can be pieced together from the
volcanic formations and units identified and described during
regional mapping and oil exploration.
Late Eocene to mid-Late Oligocene Volcanic Phase (Table 8.4 and
Fig. 8.4). In northern Sumatra, a dyke in the Calang area has
been dated at 32 4-1 Ma ( K- Ar method) by Bellon et al.
(2004). Extrusive volcanic rocks are well developed in the Natal
area of the forearc, where Bellon et al. (2004) dated both andesite
and basalt dykes between 41 and 37 Ma.
Tufts, assigned to the Lahat Formation (McCourt et al. 1993),
are exposed in the Tigapuluh and Gumai Mountains, where they
constitute the regional Late Eocene-earl y Late Oligocene sedi-
mentary formation in Southern Sumatra. De Coster (1974)
placed equivalent tufts, found in boreholes drilled during explora-
tion of the South Sumatra Basin, in the Lemat Formation. The age-
equivalent Lemat and Lahat Formations are considered by De
Coster (1974) to be basal Eocene to Upper Oligocene in age,
revised by De Smet & Barber (see Chapter 7) to Late Eocene to
early Late Oligocene. Alternatively Netherwood (2000), following
Rashid et al. (1998) places the Lahat Formation in the Middle
Eocene and the Lemat Formation in the Upper Eocene-Upper
Oligocene. In this account these tufts are described as part of
the Lahat Formation.
The Langsat Volcanic Formation (Wajzer et al. 1991) at the
western end of the Natal River section is composed of poorly
exposed and deeply weathered porphyritic basic lavas and
agglomerates with an elevated alkali content. The estimated age
of the Langsat Volcanic Formation is between Early and Late Oli-
gocene. The Langsat Volcanic Formation is thought to have been
intruded by the Late Oligocene Air Bangis granite suite (c. 28-
29 Ma), but due to poor outcrop and a covering of younger
rocks this is not certain. Rock et al. (1983) noted sedimentary
xenoliths in the Banjalarang adamellite at Air Bangis and
mapped undifferentiated sediments on the shore, but no volcanic
xenoliths were seen. The outcrop of the Langsat Volcanic For-
mation is fault-bounded, but the rocks are not internally deformed.
The lavas are highly porphyritic, clinopyroxene-rich with minor
plagioclase. Rock et al. (1982, 1983) noted that the Langsat
Volcanic Formation differs from the other Tertiary basic lavas
in Sumatra and Java in the absence of hypersthene, the rarity of
plagioclase, the presence of orthoclase and sometimes of olivine
at low silica percentages, and by high clinopyroxene contents,
leading to elevated values of Mg, Ca, Cr, Ni and to a lesser
extent of Co (Table 8.9). Rock et al. (1982) concluded that the
Langsat Volcanics were abnormal mafic basaltic rocks, with
affinities to basic shoshonite or absarokite (see Fig. 8.8a).
Wajzer (1986) found pumpellyite in amygdales and in the
groundmass of lavas in the Langsat Volcanic Formation. His
chemical analyses confirmed the high K contents and the low
levels of Zr, Nb, Y and depleted P and Ti values, usually high
in alkali-rich basic rocks. Wajzer (1986) suggested that the
initial alkali content was low, and that the high alkali levels
were the result of prehnite-pumpellyite facies metamorphism.
104 CHAPTER 8
Table 8.3. Lithologies in Late Mi d- Eocene- Lat e Eocene volcanic formations
and units
Vol cani c Li t hol ogi es
Fm or Uni t
Breueh j
Meucampli I - 3
Kieme 3
Semclit 3
Sitaban 4
Sibolga 4
Sikumbu 5
Lower Old
Andesites 6
Ciletuh 7
Bedded pile of subaerial massive to scoriaceous
pyroclastics, feldsparphyric, epidotized, vesicular &
amygaloidal basaltic lavas which were hot and plastic
at the time of intrusion by basalt, andesite and
microdiorite dykes with Breueh VF clasts. Clasts of
the Breueh Volcanic Formation are present in the
base of the Peunasu Formation (Late Oligocene-
Early Miocene). The Raya Diorite (18.9 _+ 1.2 Ma)
may be a subvolcanic intrusion.
Local amygdaloidal intermediate to marie volcanics
within the siltstones & mudstones.
Arkoses, carbonaceous & pebbly mudstones, volcanic
wackes & breccio-conglomerates & sandstones;
prophylitised andesites.
Arkoses, carbonaceous & pebbly mudstones, volcanic
wackes & breccio-conglomerates & sandstones;
prophylitised andesites.
Porphyritic andesites and subvolcanic microdiorites.
Microdiorite dated at 43 + 3.2 Ma (fission track
method).
Amygdaloidal andesite interbedded with paralic-
fluviatile sediments near Barus.
Volcaniclastic debris flows and proximal and distal
turbidites with negligible contents of quartz and
K-feldspar; represents a submarine fan deposit
derived from the apron of a volcano.
Basalts and andesitic basalts; interfingers with the
Cipageur Member.
Bathyal volcaniclastics banked against fault scarp
derived from ashfalls and massive undersea
pyroclastic flows over a narrow continental shelf. The
volcaniclastics may have originated from the Lower
Old Andesites and the presence of seafloor volcanoes
has been suggested.
References: i Bennett et al. ( 1981 a), 2Keats et al. ( 1982), 3Cameron et a/. (1983),
4Aspden et al. (1982b), 5Wajzer et al. (1991), 6Sukarna et al. (1993),
7Schiller et al. ( 1991 ).
Waj zer et al. (1991) considered that the Langsat Volcanic
Format i on represent primitive tholeiitic volcanics of island arc,
or possibly mid-oceanic ridge affinity, although the results given
by tectonic-setting diagrams were ambiguous. It is concl uded
here that in spite of the low-grade met amorphi sm of some
samples, the Langsat Volcanic Formation are primitive submarine
tholeiitic volcanics erupted in a forearc setting, and resemble the
high-Ti variety shoshonites of the Eocene Kamchat ka Arc of
Siberia (Kepezhinskas 1995).
To the NE the outcrop of the Langsat Format i on is bounded by a
fault parallel to the Si mpang Gambi r Fault (Wajzer et al. 1991)
which, by reversing the post -Mi ocene movement s of the
Sumatra Fault Zone (Fig. 8.4), links the Langsat area with the
cont emporary fault-bounded igneous centre of the Bandan For-
mation. The Bandan Formation, composed of ignimbrites and
tufts, is up to 500 m thick and outcrops for a distance of 26 km
along the strike (Rosidi et al. 1976; Kusnama et al . 1993b). The
pyroclastic rocks are intruded by a graphic granite and Rosidi
et al. (1976) suggested that there was evi dence of fault-fissure
volcanism. The Bandan volcanic centre appears to represent
the eroded roots of a caldera complex, and is associated with a
fault zone which extends southeastwards into the Lemat ang
Fault (Pul unggono 1986), an important l i nk between the graben
fault troughs and highs whi ch make up the South Sumatra
Basin (see Chapter 13). Tuffaceous horizons in the Lahat For-
mat i on in the South Sumatra Basin (Table 8.4) are distributed in
a wide arc around the Bandan volcanic centre and it seems
likely that the Bandan caldera structure was a major source for
these tufts.
The most northerly reported volcaniclastic sediments of Middle
Eocene to Upper Ol i gocene age occur in the lacustrine and basin
margin facies of the Upper Eocene Sangkarewang Formation in
the i nt ramont ane Ombi l i n Basin (Howells 1997b). Koesoemadinta
& Mat asak (1981) used the term ' Brani Format i on' for the basal
unit of the Sangkarewang Formation in whi ch they described
mi nor quantities of vol cani c debris within pol ymi ct conglomer-
ates, but did not recognize any tuffs.
To the east in the Central Sumatra Basin De Coster (1974)
has described volcaniclastics in the basal Kelesa Format i on
( Ol i gocene- Ear l y Miocene), now termed the Pematang Group
(Upper Eocene- Upper Oligocene, see Chapter 7). The Kelesa
Format i on has a localised distribution, formi ng the initial sedi-
mentary fill in troughs and grabens and contains tufts in the
northern Ti gapul uh Mount ai ns (Si munj unt ak et al. 1991). Wai n
& Jackson (1995) also recognized ruffs in the Brown Shale
Facies of the Pematang Group in the Kampur Uplift, NW of
the Ti gapul uh Mountains, near the southwestern margin of the
Central Basin.
The tufts and volcaniclastic sediments of the Lahat Formation
are the most widely distributed Upper Eocene- Ol i gocene
volcanic rocks in Southern Sumatra and Northwest Java.
The Lahat Formation includes terrestial and lacustrine sediments
and volcaniclastics (N.B. De Coster 1974 placed these in
the Lemat Formation) deposited initially on an uneven
topographic surface and later in (listric?) half grabens
trending nor t h- sout h and NE-SW, linked by NW- SE- t r endi ng
transfer faults.
The basal Lahat Formation is exposed on the southeastern
slopes of the Tigapuluh Mountains uplift and contains tufts and
volcanic debris (Suwarna et al. 1991). In the type area of the
Lahat format i on in the Gumai Mountains (Musper 1937; Gafoer
et al. 1992c, McCourt et al. 1993) finely laminated tufts occur
below the Cawang Member (Lower Kikim Formation of Gafoer
et al. 1992c, pp. 66- 67) , and andesitic lavas, tufts and tuffaceous
claystones occur above the Cawang Member (the Upper Kikim
Formation of Gal ber et al. 1994), which also contains volcanic
debris. De Coster (1974) described the Lahat Formation resting
on ' Upper Cr et aceous- Pal aeogene' volcaniclastics (his Ki ki m
Tufts) below the mi d-Ol i gocene unconformi t y to the east of
the Gumai Mountains, in the Kikim, Lemu, Laru, Lahat and
Tami ang wells. The Lahat Formation is not represented in
the Garba Mountains where the volcanic breccias, welded tufts,
andesitic to basaltic lavas with sedimentary intercalations were
assigned to the older Ki ki m Volcanics by Gafoer et al. (1994).
De Coster (1974) described how, towards the end of the Eocene
in the South Sumatra sub-basins, the uneven topography of
basement ridges and hills was deeply eroded to expose granite
plutons. The granite wash derived from these plutons was buried
beneath fluviatile continental sediments of the Lahat Format i on
and included tuff, derived partly from intermittent volcanism,
but also recycled from earlier tuff deposits.
In the South Pal embang Sub-basin Pannetier (1994) figures
volcaniclastic sediments of the basal Lahat Formation banked up
against fault scarps. In the South Pal embang Sub-basin, towards
the top of the Lahat Formation, the Benekat Member was depos-
ited in the Benakat Gully graben against the Lematang Fault
(Pul unggono 1986), a NW-t rendi ng transfer fault that had been
active during the Mesozoic (Pulunggono et al. 1992). The lacus-
trine Benekat Member is composed of grey-brown shales with
some beds of tuffaceous shale, siltstone, sandstone and thin coal
beds. It was dated as late Eocene- Ear l y Oligocene on spore-
pollen and K- Ar age dates by De Coster (1974), but is currently
considered to be of Late Oligocene age.
TERTIARY VOLCANICITY 105
Me
I vI
I o
MERGUI \ LATE MIDDLE EOCENE
BASIN " ~ ~ ,
,~, Semelit ( ,
"-V',Kierne
Breueh~' ~. ~" ~ . . . . ~ ~ ~ "~
Ts ~and- ~~ ~ ~ ~ \
eucamZ" X
MEULABOH~ X
\ k BASIN X X -- f'-)
" , ^ S/NGKELQ \ /~
"C..,Oe," BASIN ~V~..Sibolcla (,.
p ul au~, . ~. +~ Sitaban "9~ ~v'~'"
Simeulue \ ."*o A \ \
",% ~\
~.~z~V Sikumt
:
~-'/" ", ~ Sungei Toboh
Too\. BENGKULU
Volcanic rocks " \ BASIN ~
Pulau" %
Plutons Enggano ~
Old Andes es V
0 200km ~ "" I
~ [ ~ "- ~ ~ Ciletuh V,
Fig. 8.3. Distribution of volcanics and
plutons associated with the Late Middle
Eocene Volcanic Episode. Palaeogeographic
outline of Sumatra adapted from Figure
14.18a. Volcanic units listed in Table 8.4.
Southeast of the Garba Mountains, in the Bandar Jaya Basin,
shales of the Lahat Formation, with a high volcaniclastic
component ( 220- 900m) , were deposited in grabens within
cyclic fluvial and lacustrine environments, rich in algae (Williams
et al. 1995).
On the western side of Teluk Lampung the Palaeogene volcanic
outcrop may not be as extensive as shown on the geological map of
Tanjungkarang (Andi Mangga et al. 1994a), as according to
Gasparon & Varne (1995) the volcanic rocks here belong to the
Pliocene-Pleistocene Lampung Formation. West of Teluk
Lampung fluvial breccias and tufts of the Sabu Formation rest
unconformably on the Menanga Formation (Cretaceous). On the
eastern side of Lampung Bay tufts occur in the lower part of
the marine turbiditic Campang Formation. These formations,
distributed around Telukbetung and Tanjungkarang, consist of
tufts and breccias with tuffite intercalations deposited in a conti-
nental environment. The Sabu and Campang formations are corre-
lated by Andi Mangga et al. ( 1994a) with the Tarahan Formation,
which consists of tufts and breccias with tuffite intercalations
deposited in a continental environment, and is distributed around
Telukbetung and Tanjungkarang.
On the NW coast of Java oil and gas are produced from
fractured tufts in the Late Eocene-Earl y Oligocene Jatibarang
Volcanic Formation (Arpandi & Patmosukisma 1975) which
forms a basal infill in half grabens, over an iixegular topography.
The greatest thickness of volcanic rocks occurs in a large offshore
syn-rift graben, with a westerly dipping listric master fault
(Adnan et al. 1991). This occurrence probably represents a distinct
volcanic centre.
In boreholes in the Bengkulu Forearc Basin (South Manna
Sub-basin) an unconformity separates Palaeogene ' Parallel
Bedded facies' from Upper Eocene-Upper Oligocene graben-fill
sediments and volcaniclastics (Hall et al. 1993). At the bottom of
the Arwana- 1 well, at the base of Megasequence I, a 60 m sequence
of (?Upper Eocene-Lower Oligocene) massive volcaniclastic sedi-
ments is interbedded with tuffaceous clays and organic clays. These
volcaniclastic rocks were deposited in a complex mosaic of seg-
mented half-graben depocentres. Megasequence I is imaged on
seismic profiles as a c. 2 km thick parallel-bedded sequence, depos-
ited as a syn-rift unit within a system of NE-trending half graben,
which were probably segmented by NW-trending transfer faults.
The mid-Oligocene unconformity at the top of Megasequence I is
106 CHAPTER 8
Tabl e 8.4. Lithologies in Late Eoce,e-Mid-Oligocene volcanic formations and units
Vol cani c Fm or Uni t Li t hol ogi es
Langsat Volcanic j'2
Sangkarawang 3
Kelesa 4
Bandan ~,9
Lahat
Megasequence I & 2 ]-~
Campang 14
Sabu H
Tarahan j4
Jatibarang 15
Purple to blue-black highly porphyryritic volcanics with clinopyroxene phenocrysts, minor plagioclase, and occasional feldspar-phyric red-
purple xenoliths. The groundmass is unusually potassic and consists mainly of orthoclase, but has a sodic rock composition. Chlorite
pseudomorpbs are probably after olivine, and the quantity and alteration of feldspar phenocrysts is variable. The basic lavas and
agglomerates show onion-skin weathering and are occasionally net-veined with quartz and/or epidote, perhaps related to small explosion
vents. Tuffs are present, but are uncommon.
Polymict conglomerates with granitic, metamorphic & minor volcanic clasts.
Continental environment conglomerates, sands, shales, coals, tuffaceous material. 8 Kampar Uplift 5 Brown Shale facies: Lacustrine
mudstones with clusters of lithic & crystal tufts.
North Tigapuluh Mountains("7: Polymict conglomerates, gravely and pebbly tuffaceous sandstone and tuffaceous siltstone; with
intercalations of fluvio-lacustrine sediments.
Monotonous sequence 400-500 m thick of acidic ignimbrites & hybrid tufts intruded by graphic granite body. Outcrop has strike of 26 km
and subcrop is obscured by the Quaternary sediments associated with the D. Kerinci graben. Compacted tuff, volcanic breccia &
conglomeratic tuff composed of fragments of andesite, basaltic tuff & welded tuff and of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic rocks. Prophylitised &
chloritized with sulphide mineralization. Inferred fissure eruption along fault zone which is interpreted as the eroded root of a giant
caldera.
Gumai Mts formerly Kikim Formation (see main text), m Finely laminated tufts below (Lower Kikim Formation of Gafoer et al. 1992c), and
andesitic tufts and lavas and tuffaceous ctaystones above the Cawang Member.
Near Baturaja I I: violet, massive tuff with abundant milky plagioclase and sanidine phenocrysts and rare tiny laths of dark brown altered
mafics.
South Tigapuluh Mountains: 7 Fluvio-lacustrine sediments with clasts of basalt, andesite, slate, metasediment, marble and quartz. Somewhat
tuffaceous siltstones and claystones.
South Sumatra Basin: 4 Sandstones, clays, rock fragments, breccias, 'granite wash', occasional thin coal beds and tuffs.
Bandar Jaya Basin ~-: basal shales have a high volcaniclastic component (220-900 m thick).
Bengkuht Basin, South Manna Sub-Basin: Volcanic litharenites with clasts of ignimbrite, volcanics & vitriclasts, clay tuff & claystones.
Laml)tmg Basin: 1000-1500 m tuff, breccia, conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, clay & shale.
Fluvial deposits of ruff, clay-tuff, conglomeratic breccia, sandslonc & claystone (c. 750 m).
Relatively massives luffs, poorly sorted breccia with clasts of andesite lava & sediments and tufliles with pymclaslic and detrital material.
Unfossiliferous, varicoloured & mottled tuff s, porphyritic andesite, basalt and red claystone (0-1200 m).
References: J Wajzer et al. ( 1991 ), 2Rock et al. ( 1982, 1983), " Koesoemadmata & Matasak ( 1981 ), 4De Coster ( 1974), 5Wain & Jackson (1995), 6Suwarna et al. ( 1991),
8 " " ' ) t J a r oc r ( , I ( i 7Simandjuntaketal. (1991), Rosl dl et al . (1976), Kusnamaet al . (1993h), ioo ,. a/. 1992c), IGasparon&Varne(1995). l eWi l l i amset al . (1995), ]3Hall
et al. (1993). HAndi Mangga et al. (1994a), 15Arpandi & Patmosukismo (1975).
i nt erpret ed as mar ki ng a change in t he basi n- f or mi ng mechani s m
f r om ext ensi on in the Pal aeogene, to pul l -apart , associ at ed wi t h
obl i que slip, in the Neogene. Vol cani cl ast i c rocks occur in Megase-
quence II in t he Upper Ol i gocene in the Ar wana- ! wel l and it
appears that vol cani ci t y was cont i nuous into t he Lat e Ol i goc e ne -
Ear l y Mi ocene Vol cani c Phase.
Lat e Ol i gocene- Ear l y Mi ocene Vol cani c Phase (Tabl e 8.5 and
Fig. 8.5). The rise of t he pr ot o- Bar i san Mount ai ns at c. 28 Ma
mar ks a maj or t ect oni c event in Sumat ra, causi ng t he separat i on
of the For ear c and Backar c Basins. Vol cani c and vol cani cl ast i c
rocks f or med dur i ng t he Lat e Ol i goc e ne - Ea r l y Mi ocene Vol cani c
Phase are f ound most l y in West Sumat r a on t he ri si ng prot o-
Bari san l and mass and al ong its west er n margi ns, but also in
t he For ear c Isl ands and to a l esser ext ent in t he back arc area
(Fig. 8.5). In Sout her n Sumat r a vol cani sm st art ed in t he Lat e
Ol i gocene, based on fossils in l i mest one i nt ercal at i ons in tuffac-
eous sandst ones in t he l ower part of t he Sebl at For mat i on whi ch
i nt erfi ngers wi t h t he Hul us i mpang For mat i on ( Gaf oer et al.
1992c).
The ' Ol der Andesi t es' to t he SE of Padang (van Be mme l e n
1949), now known as t he Pai nan For mat i on (Rosi di et al. 1976),
mar k t he mai n out cr op of the Lat e Ol i goc e ne - Ea r l y Mi ocene
Vol cani c Arc and t hei r cont i nuat i on to t he SE is descr i bed as
t he Hul usi mpang For mat i on. These vol cani c units are compos ed
pr edomi nant l y of andesi t e, basalt, andesi t i c basalt and rarer
daci l e lavas and pyrocl ast i cs. The ori gi nal vol cani c cent res are
not known, al t hough Earl y Mi ocene subw) l cani c di ori t i c intru-
si ons may mar k t he f or mer vol cani c cent res.
The Pai nan For mat i on i ncl udes shal l ow wat er sedi ment s, and to
t he SW of Bengkul u the Sebl at For mat i on represent s the r emnant s
of a mar i ne vol cani cl ast i c apron whi ch i nt ert i ngers wi t h t he l avas
of the Hul us i mpang For mat i on. Pr opyl i t i c al t erat i on of t he l avas is
wi despr ead, and chl ori t i c al t erat i on, sul phi des and quart z vei nl et s
are report ed. These vol cani cs host several i mpor t ant Quat er nar y
epi t her mal gol d deposi t s. A basal t flow in t he Padang area has
been dat ed at 24 __+0.6 Ma and dykes west of Sungei per uh
bet ween 26 and 24 Ma by Bel l on et al. (2004).
In the i nt r amont ane Ombi l i n Basi n vol cani c clasts first appear in
t he Rasau Me mbe r of the Sawahl unt o For mat i on, i ncreasi ng in
pr opor t i on upwar ds t hr ough t he Upper Ol i gocene Sawat ambang
For mat i on ( Howel l s 1997b); a source area in the emer gent
Bar i san Mount ai ns to t he west of t he basi n is probabl e.
Fur t her nort h a l i near vol cani c out cr op ext ends sout hwest war ds
f r om Si bol ga, but i ndi vi dual vol cani c cent res have not been recog-
ni zed. Pyr ocl ast i c vol cani cs and tufts are c ommon all al ong
t he west er n mar gi n of the Nor t h Sumat r a Basi n. The vol cani c
mat er i al s occur at t he base of Upper Ol i goc e ne - Mi oc e ne sedi-
ment ar y units, and are oft en r epor t ed to be banked agai nst
TERTIARY VOLCANICITY 107
OLIGOCENE
\
~-~ \~Bg~ii~XdanV S~ Tigapuluh " ~
X ' ~ G u m~' B~ :r:i!aSUm at ra /
~ V andarJay '
rocks
~ Volcanic and
volcaniclastic
- ~ Pluton
~V
Basi n
~~.~ Bengkulu
~, ~S_abu~q' Campang
"6~'~,. Basin V
200km ~ / JatibarangV
I "~' . . ~ . ~. . - , . .
Fig. 8.4. Distribution of Late
Eocene-Middle Oligocene volcanic
formations and units and dated plutons.
Palaeogcographic outline of Sumatra after
Figure 14.t8a. Volcanic units listed in
Table 8.4.
faults. In the Central Sumatra Basin volcaniclastic sandstones in
the Cubadak Member of the Sihapas Formation were deposited
in a deltaic environment (Rock et al. 1983).
During the late Early Miocene volcanicity continued locally and
reworked volcanic debris is reported in the Kompas Volcanic
Member of the Loser Formation (Cameron et al. 1982a). In the
Tapaktuan Quadrangle (Cameron et al. 1982b) the Rampong
Formation is interbedded with the Akul Volcanic Formation, in
which the eroded peaks of three volcanic centres can still be dis-
tinguished. On the west coast, adjacent to the Sikuleh Batholith,
the paralic to fluviatile Tangla Formation contains localised inter-
mediate volcanic and amygdaloidal basalts and volcaniclastics
especially in the SE part of the outcrop. Bennett et al. (1981b)
suggest that the volcanic rocks in the Tangla Formation, and
numerous felsic and mafic dykes in the southwestern part of the
Sikuleh Batholith, mark a line of former volcanoes. These
volcanoes may have been the source of distal Lower Miocene
tuffaceous volcaniclastic sediments found in the lbrearc islands,
on Nias (Gawo Formation, N4 foram zone) and possibly also on
Siberut (Samuel et al. 1997).
In the Calang area, a basalt dyke has been date at 32 4- 1 Ma by
Bellon et al. (2004).
In the Backarc areas volcanic rocks of this phase have been
not reported within the Central Sumatra Basin. In the South
Palembang Sub-Basin of the South Sumatra Backarc Basin a
horizon with volcanic fragments is present in the Upper
Ol i gocene-Lower Miocene Talangakar Formation (Pannetier
1994), presumably representing volcanic debris washed into the
basin from the volcanic arc.
Late Earl y Mi ocene- Mi d- Mi ocene volcanic epi sode
(Table 8.6 and Fig. 8.6)
A late Early Miocene Phase of volcanism is distinguished in the
Meulaboh area of Northern Sumatra where Kallagher (1989,
1990) mapped volcanic rocks forming two age clusters, the first
around the Lower to Middle Miocene boundary and the second
around the Middle to Upper Miocene boundary. Additional age
data from the Calang are for this volcanic episode are provided
by Bellon et al. (2004) and summarized in Table 8.1. Kallagher
(1990) states that the commencement of volcanic activity
coincided with the uplift of the Barisan Mountains and the
cessation of sedimentation along the margin of the Meulaboh
Basin. Lower-Mi ddl e Miocene sediments show evidence of
only minor contemporaneous volcanic activity, but are faulted
against volcanic rocks of the same age, indicating subsequent
fault movements, while Middle Miocene and younger sediments
contain abundant volcanic clasts eroded from the volcanic belt.
In northern Sumatra numerous volcanic formations belonging
to the late Early Mi ocene-Mi d-Mi ocene Volcanic Episode have
been mapped. South of Lake Toba outcrops of volcanic rocks
t 08 CHAPTER 8
Table 8.5. Lithologies of the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene volcanic phase
Vol cani c Fm or Uni t Li t hol ogi es
Gawo i
Tangla 2
Smeten 3,4
Sapi -3,4
Brawan 3,4
Akul 3,4
Kompas Volcanic
Member 5
Sihapas ~
Sawahtambang v
Painan 8
Hulusimpangg- ~5
Seblat 9- ~5
Tuffaceous volcanic member on Nias and ? Siberut.
Volcanic facies of Tangla Formation with volcanic and
conglomeratic sediments and localised intermediate
volcanics & anaygdaloidal basalts. Minor
intermediate volcanics in the Ligan Member.
Felsic, intermediate pyroclastics. Flow banded welded
tuff in Langsa quadrangle.
Felsic, intermediate and marie lavas & pyroclastics;
dykes.
Massive hornblende andesites, agglomerates & lapilli
aggregates with propylitization and subvolcanic
microdiorites.
Andesites, basalts, agglomerates & volcaniclastic
sediments; propylitization. Interbedded with
Rampong Fm.
Andesites & pyroclastics; minor reworked pyroclastics;
thickness 200-500 m. Part of Loser Formation.
Cubadak Member contains volcaniclastic sandstones
interbedded with limestones above mudstones &
pebbly sandstones.
Increase upwards in quantity of volcanic clasts, relative
to clastic& metamorphic clasts in fluviatile
conglomerates & conglomeratic sandstones.
Andesitic-dacitic lavas, tufts, ignimbrites, tuff breccia,
breccia, & minor sediments including arkose,
bituminous shale, shaly coal, andesitic tuff,
tuffaceous shale & sandstone.
Andesite & basalt or andesite-basalt, rarely dacitic lavas,
volcanic breccias & tufts. Often chloritised and
propylitised and with sulphides and quartz veinlets
(c. 700 m).
Lower part lenses of conglomerate and carbonaceous
sandstone. Middle part tuffaceous shale intercalated
with limestone. Upper part tuffaceous siltstone &
calcareous claystone & glauconitic sandstone.
References: JSamuel et al. (t997), 2Bennett et al. (1981b), 3Cameron et al.
(1982a), 4Cameron et al. (1983), 5Cameron et al. (1982b), 6Rock et al.
(1983), 7Howells (1997b), SRosidi et al. (1976), 9Kusnama et al. 1993b),
t~ et al. (1994), IIGafoer et al. (1992c), leAmin et al. (1994a),
13Gafoer et al. (1994), J4Amin et al. (1994b), 15Andi Mangga et al. (1994a).
become more extensive, with lavas and volcaniclastics forming a
discontinuous linear outcrop, mapped as a few aerially extensive
formations (Table 8.6 & Fig. 8.6). Dykes and flows (Table 9.1)
in the Sibologa area have been dated between 20 and 17 Ma; in
the Kengkulu area between 17 and 13 Ma and between 20 and
14 Ma in the Tanj ungkarang area (Bellon et al. 2004). Ashes
derived from the volcanic arc occur in the forearc islands of
Nias and Siberut, and probabl y also on Enggano, where the tuffac-
eous Kemiki Formation (Upper Middle Mi ocene- Pl i ocene) was
deposited in a terrestrial envi ronment (Ami n et al. 1994a).
Acidic volcanic rocks occur in the Cal ang Volcanic Formation
(rhyodacites) of northern Sumatra and in the extensive Bal
Formation (dacites) of southern Sumatra. Otherwise the volcanic
rocks are reported most l y to be andesites, with some basalts.
Rock et al. (1983) describe volcanic rocks of intermediate compo-
sition from the equatorial sector.
Sub-volcanic and other intrusions are observed to be associated
in the field with several of the Mi ddl e Mi ocene volcanic
fortnations (e.g. Cal ang and Saliguro Formations), and have
been dated by Bel l on et al. (2004) (Table 8.1). The Raya Diorite
with a K- Ar hornblende age of 18.9 _+ 1.2 Ma (average of six ana-
lyses) was empl aced within the Breueh Vol cani c Formation (Late
Mi ddl e- Lat e Eocene) on Pulau Breueh NW of Banda Aceh. The
diorite stock is associated with dykes whi ch are described as
havi ng been intruded into hot and plastic lavas (Bennett et al.
1981a). According to Rock et al. (1982) the Raya Stock may be
the subvolcanic equi val ent of the lavas, suggesting that late
Early Mi ocene lavas are present wi t hi n the Breueh Vol cani c
Formation, whi ch may therefore be a composite unit.
Hi gh- K Seri es vol cani sm in the backarc. Eubank & Makki (1981)
described volcanic rocks encountered in seven oil exploration
wells in the Central Sumatra Basin. These wells penetrated
small sills, dykes, lavas and tufts of Mi ddl e Mi ocene age in the
Coastal Plains Bl ock along the Mal acca Strait. Rock types
include gabbro, micro-gabbro, olivine trachyte tuff and basalt.
The extrusive rocks are crystal-lithic, vitric tufts that originated
from the explosive chi l l i ng of gas-rich, partially chilled magma,
The extrusives appear to have been deposited on an eroded
surface, and possible pyroclastic cones were identified on
seismic profiles. Upl i ft and erosion are known to have occurred
in the Coastal Plains area during the Mid-Miocene. Submarine
basalt flows encountered in the Merak-1 well are interbedded
with marine sediments of N8 age ( 16- 17 Ma) and yi el ded
radiometric ages bet ween 17. 5- 12 Ma (no analytical details are
available). Some of the shallower intrusions showed contami-
nation by sediment, but there was no significant assimilation of
wall rock. The chemi st ry of these rocks indicates that they are
K-rich shoshonites, typical of a hi gh-K alkaline backarc associ-
ation, but no chemical analyses were quoted. A seismic profile
across the Buantan Intrusive Centre i maged a laccolith, about
4 km in diameter empl aced along the boundary between the
Telisa and Bekasnap Formations, occupyi ng a faulted arch in the
overl yi ng Telisa and Petani Formations (Heidrick & Aul i a
1993). Hi gh-K series volcanics are present in the Natal area,
where Bellon et al. (2004) have dated an absarokite flow at
18.2 + 0.4 Ma
Andesitic intrusives and extrusives with radiometric ages
between 18 and 14 Ma (no analytical data given), were penetrated
in the Capang-1 and Abung-1 wells in the Terbanggi and Negara
Batin Grabens of the Bandar Jaya Basin of Southern Sumatra
(Wi l l i ams et al. 1995).
Lat e Mi oc e ne t hr ough Pl i oc e ne v ol c ani c e pi s ode
( Tabl e 8. 7 and Fi g. 8. 7)
Stratigraphic dating of volcanic rocks and volcaniclastic sedi-
ments indicate that the final episode of the Neogene volcanic
activity continued into the Quaternary, represented in southern
Sumatra by the volcaniclastic Kasai Formation. In Northern and
Central Sumatra the distribution of Pliocene volcaniclastics
is obscured by the extensive, younger Toba Tufts; Pliocene
volcaniclastics have been recognized east of Aceh, where a flow
of andesite is dated at 1.76 Ma by Bellon et al. (2004). The
Haranggoal Volcanic Format i on ( ?Mi ddl e- Upper Miocene;
Aldiss et al. 1982) at Lake Toba has been dated at 1.2 Ma, and
now is interpreted as an early volcanic phase related to the Toba
Caldera Compl ex (Chesner & Rose 1991). Older a~176
dates for an andesite flow of 2 _ 0.3 Ma and a basalt dyke of
1.9 + 0.2 are reported by Bellon et al. (2004) from the Toba area.
Pliocene volcanic centres around Lake Toba crop out as inliers
within the Toba Tufts. These centres are set back slightly from the
continuation of the trend of the volcanic arc in southern Sumatra.
Thei r position and rhyolitic composition suggests a similar origin
to the Toba Caldera system; a relationship to the subduction of the
Investigator Fracture Zone (Fauzi et al. 1996) during the Pliocene
is likely.
Pliocene volcanics are recogni zed in equatorial Sumatra (Rock
et al. 1983) and an undated linear outcrop of volcanic rocks occurs
in the Painan Quadrangle (Rosidi et al. 1976), which includes vol-
canics of the episode (Bellon et al. 2004). In SW Sumatra volcanic
centres with a rhyolite association (Pasumah and Ranau) have
TERTIARY VOLCANICITY 109
N
/ \
N
\
LATE OLI GOCENE - EARLY MI OCENE
r,.Brawan X
S~ 'T, Smeten
, Lake
v\ \
O~. \ Tangla
, sj U,s
"%00~ X ihapa I
\ awatamb
\ "-4
?Gawo ~,,~ ~~ai nan /
" - ' , ~. I , Axial fault of )
v~ !
I Tufts and volcaniclastic
\
T sediments simpan
\
Volcanic rocks with \ --~
lava flows \ ~ .
Plutons 0 200km %
Fig. 8.5. Distribution of Late
Oligocene-Early Miocene volcanic units.
Palaeogeographic outline of Sumatra after
Figure 14.18b. Volcanic units listed in
Table 8.5.
been recognized and volcanics dated between 5.5 and 2.4 Ma in
the Bengkulu area by Bellon et al. (2004) (see Table 8.1). In the
extreme south of Sumatra (Andi Mangga et al. 1994a) volcanic
centres of andesitic lavas in the Sunda Strait at Pulau Sebuku
and Gunung Durianpajung are early manifestations of the
volcanicity in the Sunda Strait which climaxed during the
Quaternary (see Chapter 9).
Major and trace element geochemistry of the Tertiary
volcanic rocks
There is more chemical data for the Neogene than for the Palaeogene
volcanic rocks of Sumatra, but the majority of analyses are of major
elements only; these have been discussed by Rock et al. (1982).
Analyses of samples for major and minor elements from selected
volcanic occurrences are given by Wajzer (1986), Kallagher
(1989), Gasparon & Varne (1995) and Bellon et al. (2004).
Samples from the Langsat, Lahat and Tarahan formations,
forming the Late Eocene-Late Oligocene Volcanic Episode
(Tables 8.8 & 8.9), are shoshonitic, and other Langsat Formation
analyses fall in the medium and high-K fields (Fig. 8.8a). The bulk
of the major element analyses (Tables 8.9 & 8.10) are of rocks
belonging to the Mi d-Lat e Miocene Volcanic Episode (Fig. 8.8b
and see Bellon et al. 2004, fig. 3) which fall in the medium-K and
high-K fields of Gill (1981).
There is only sparse trace element data for Tertiary volcanic
rocks from Sumatra. In Figure 8.9(a, b) selected analyses are
normalized with respect to MORB, using the values given by
Pearce (1982). The elements are placed in their ' Coryel l -
Matsuda order' , as recommended by McCulloch & Gamble
(1991), which takes into account the low mobility of Nb and rela-
tively high mobility of St. Coryell and Matsuda spider diagrams
give similar patterns for selected analyses for the Late Eocene-
Early Miocene and Mid-Miocene Volcanic Episodes. In volcanic
rocks from both episodes high field strength elements (Nb, Zr,
Ti, Y, Sc and Cr) are depleted relative to the large ion lithophile
elements (Rb, Ba, K, Th and Sr), although in some analyses Nb,
Zr and Cr show a varied behaviour, presumably due to fractionation
and other magmatic effects during their passage through the crust.
There is some evidence from the Sumatra dataset for the incor-
poration of subducted sediment in melts. In Figure 8.10, MgO is
plotted against the ratio of Zr/ Nb, which Macpherson & Hall
(1999) consider is relatively sensitive to the recognition of
sediment-derived melts that have been added to mantle wedge
melts derived from N-MORB. Some volcanic rocks from the
Late Eocene-Earl y Miocene and from the Mid-Miocene episodes
have Zr/ Nb ratios equal to, or greater than, that of N-MORB,
which suggests that the lavas were derived from the mantle
wedge beneath Sumatra, which was variably depleted with
respect to N-MORB. The chemistry of the the Mid-Miocene vol-
canics of the Sayeung, Mirah and Calang formations of Northern
110 CHAPTER 8
Table 8.6. Lithologies of the Late Early Miocene-Mid-Miocene volcanic episode comprising the Late Early Miocene and Mid-Miocene volcanic phases
Volcanic Fro/Unit Lithology
Lahomie j
Salibi 2
Kemiki j6
Calang 3,4
Woyla -s
Sayeung 5
Tripa 5
Mirah 5
Alem 5
Muereubo -s
Kotabakti 5
Auran 6
Trumon 7
Pinapan 7
Toru 7
Musala s
Angkola s
Nabirong s
Petani s
Telisa 9
Saligaro I~
Areas ~o
Sikakara l~
Airbangisl~
Lubuksikaping area Ic~
'Andesite' ~T
Lemau 12
Balt3-17
C Sumatra Back-arc Basin Is
Bandar Jaya I~
Nias, Banyak, Pini; Facies Ll. Tuff Marker Horizon 5 m. Outer neritic tufts.
Siberut; tufts, claystone & siltstone.
Enggano: Tuff, sandy tuff, tuffaceous sandstone & tuffaceous siltstone.
Porphyritic, epidotised andesitic lavas with associated feeder dykes & subvolcanic intrusions. Subordinate basalts, microgabbroids,
breccias & agglomerates. Thin sediment interbeds include coals. Unga Diorite possible subvolcanic centre, lnterbedded
rhyodacites, pyroxene andesites & basalts. Some prophylitization.
Eastern unit of Calang Fm. named by Kallagher (1989). Rhyolites, andesites & basalts, volcanogenic conglomerates & lithic tufts.
Basalts, lahars, tufts & dykes; 14-16 Ma.
Basalts, andesites, Jithic tufts, lahars and pyroclastics.
Porphyritic & aphyric basalt & lahars.
Basalts, 12-8 Ma.
Porphyritic basalts.
Base local massive tuffaceous sandstones but predominantly argillaceous and usually calcareous. Top predominantly arenaceous.
Partly propylitised hornblende andesites & pyroclastics. Clasts of dacite & basalt in Agglomerates. Cut by subvolcanic intrusion
dated at 12 Ma.
Andesitic volcanics, agglomerates & tufts with associated hypabyssal microdiorite & microgranite. Wackes, tuffaceous wackes,
mudstones & calcareous sandstones.
Andesite, dacite & basaltic andesite lavas & pyroclastics also 'rhyolite' & 'trachyandesite'. Associated hypabyssal rocks include
diopside vogesite dykes.
Andesitic agglomerates; analysed andesite has shoshonitic affinity.
Andesites, hornblende andesites, andesitic intrusives, possible subvolcanic diorites with K-Ar age date: 17.2 _+5 Ma.
Hornblende & plagioclase phyric andesites, ?basalts, volcanic breccias & agglomerates. Volcanics often prophylitized,
Intermediate volcanics, lavas, agglomerates and breccias.
Sajurmatinggi Member Abundant volcanic debris in paralic mudstones, siltstones, sandstones & conglomerates.
Sigama Volcanic Member Basal Telisa Formation volcanic unit composed of 300 m of tufts.
Andesitic lavas and breccias with sediment intercalations of Telisa Formation.
Mostly intermediate volcaniclastics, lavas & minor intrusives & sediments. Hydrothermal alteration/mineralisation in Mangani
area.
Aphyric, somewhat brecciated andesites and porphyritic andesites.
Lithic crystal tufts, feldspar- & pyroxene phyric andesites & minor sediments.
Various outcrops of varied lavas (dacites, andesites & basalts), agglomerates, breccias & tufts considered to range between
Mid-Miocene-Plioccne or Pleistocene.
Andesite (basaltic)microbreccia (age from Gafoer et al. 1992a).
Volcaniclastic breccia, dacitic-tuffaceous sandstone, luffs & clays.
Dacitic tufts unconformable on Hulusimpang Formation. T3pe area. Dacitic epiclastic breccia with sandstone intercalations & tuff.
Subcrop of crystal-lithic, vitric tuff s, olivine trachyte tuff, basalt gabbro & micro-gabbro. Basalt tlows in the Merak-1 well are
embedded in marine sediments of N8 age (16-17 Ma) and yielded radiometric ages between 17.5-12 Ma.
Andesitic inlrusives and extrusives (14-18 Ma), in Capang-1 and Abung-1 wells.
References: ISamuel et al. (1987), -~Andi Mangga et al. (1994b). ~Bennett et al. (1981a, b), 4Cameron et al. (1983), 5Kallagher (1989), r~Cameron et al. (1982a), :Aldiss
et al. (1983), 8Aspdcn eta/. (1982b), ~Cameron (1983), I~ et al. (1983), J IKastowo & Leo ( 1973), 12Kusnama et al. (1993b), 13Suwarna et al. (1994), HGafoer
et al. (1992c), 15Amin et al. (1994a), I(~Gafoer et al. (1994), 17Amin et al. (1994b), 18Eubank & Makki (1981), I'~Williams et al. (1995).
Sumat r a wi t h Zr / Nb ratios l ower t han N- MORB, may reflect the
i ncor por at i on of subduct ed sedi ment . Thi s subduct ed sedi ment
coul d have been pel agi c sedi ment s ri di ng on t he oceani c slab, sedi-
ment s der i ved f r om the uplift of t he Bari san Mount ai ns and
was hed across t he forearc into t he t rench, or distal t urbi di t es
der i ved f r om er osi on of the Hi mal ayas ( Cur r ay & Moor e 1974).
Schl ut er et al. (2002) dat e t he i ni t i at i on of Accr et i onar y Wedge
II as Mi d- Mi ocene in Sout her n Sumat ra, but t he t i me of arrival
in t he Sunda Tr ench of sedi ment s of t he Ni cobar Fan, der i ved
from t he uplift and erosi on of t he Hi mal ayas has been revi sed to
Lat e Mi ocene by Cur r ay (1994).
Bel l on et al. (2004) di d not i dent i fy spatial or t empor al geo-
chemi cal t rends wi t hi n t hei r Sumat r a anal yt i cal data, and attribu-
t ed this to t he compl ex i gneous pet r ogenesi s i nvol vi ng
cont r i but i ons f r om t he cont i nent al crust, mant l e wedge and t he
subduct ed slab. ' Nor mal ' cal cal kal i ne ma gma t ypes pr edomi nat e,
but Na- r i ch vari ant s wi t h Si O2 > 56% and ver y l ow heavy rare
eart h el ement ( HREE) and Y cont ent s, known as adaki t es, al so
are present . Bel l on et al. (2004) i dent i fi ed adaki t es wi t hi n t he
Lassi bat hol i t h ( i nt r uded at c. 56 Ma, I mt i hanah 2000). Exampl es
of Neogene pl ut oni c adaki t es in Sumat r a i ncl ude t he Lol o bat ho-
lith ( i nt r uded at c. 15 Ma, I mt i hanah 2000), t he Wa y Bangbang
grani t e near Kot aagung ( i nt r uded at c. 20 Ma) and in t he Anai
pl ut on, NE of Padang, t aken f r om the anal yses in McCour t &
Cobbi ng (1993). Pi ut oni c and vol cani c adaki t es are under st ood
to be der i ved f r om magmas ri ch in resi dual garnet ; the mel t i ng
of subduct ed oceani c met a- cr ust is a pot ent i al source (Jut eau &
Maur y 1999), and Bel l on et al. (2004) not ed t he pot ent i al cont ri -
but i on of gar net i f er ous met amor phi c rocks in t he crust beneat h
Sumat ra, speci fi cal l y in the Toba area.
Volcanism, plutonism and subduction beneath Sumatra
during the Tertiary: summary of Tertiary volcanism
and tectonic overview
The or i ent at i on of Sumat r a dur i ng t he Pal ae oge ne
and rot at i on hi s t or y dur i ng t he Tert i ary
Ni nkovi ch (1976) pr oposed t hat t he l ong axis of Sumat r a rot at ed
cl ockwi s e f r om an e a s t - we s t ori ent at i on to NW- SE duri ng t he
Tert i ary, cent r ed on t he Sunda Strait. It is now conf i r med by
mar i ne geophysi cal surveys t hat ext ensi on in t he Sunda Strait
was faci l i t at ed by movement s bet ween over st eppi ng strike-slip
faults ( Huchon & Le Pi chon 1984; Lel gemann et al. 2000) wi t h
TERTIARY VOLCANICITY 111
) \...
" ~ LATE EARLY- MIDDLE MIOCENE
~ K ~ Offshore bore holes ~ ' ~
Calang -~V vy.l~yla ,^_ ~'~ "4" + r ) (
Saye ~. . ' ~, ' , ~L, , h,~ Q. \ J
" -,-.7-^ V- Meureubo ~ )
~ ~ i ~ O k ~ o ~ Z ~.... ~ ' l M~ r a : ~ " ur a n~ ~ ~
- , , . , .usa.M:N,: .a0i oo/ .\
L.~a,~rn,e ~ ) \ ... \,- ;: ,, ,elisa Centffl/sSumatr a (~
~o\ ~ Sikakara\~XVSalig arc ~ Q~
N~ ~ '"-V Lubuksikaping uantan~'X_.
~O. ~ ' ""x' xx
b~ / %Air Bangis~ .... ~,:V:: Ames ~ ~ {'---..
% , \ j~ "Andesite';'"\ ~ ~ e/~ ~'~'~
SIBERUThT \ \ ~-
~ Salibi ~ x ~.~ . ~
ni cl ast i c~ '- " L ~
[__T___} Zuffs and voice ~ Lemau L; : :2IT .........
I ' I sediments ~ ~ (~Bal (
Volcaniclavas \ ~.i-~Lemau ~ B~2dgr f
~ Plutons ~ ~~al , [
]" "1" l in outcrop and in boreholes ~ ENGGAN~~ I /
o
Fig. 8.6. Distribution of Lower-Middle Miocene
volcanic units in Sumatra. Volcanic units listed in
Table 8.6. SFZ, Sumatra Fault Zone.
no evidence for the sphenochasm proposed by Ninkovich (1976).
The problem of the rotation of Sumatra during the Tertiary is dis-
cussed in detail in Chapter 14 where it is concluded that palaeo-
magnetic data from Borneo (Fuller et el. 1999) and Malaysia
(Richter et el. 1999) demonstrate the anticlockwise rotation of
the whole of the Sunda Microplate, so that Sumatra, together
with Malaysia, has rotated c. 15 ~ anticlockwise since the Mid-
Miocene. If this c. 15 ~ anticlockwise rotation is reversed, the
long axis of Sumatra was oriented approximately north-south
during the Palaeogene, as proposed by Davies (1984) and mod-
elled by Hall (1996, 1998, 2002) in his reconstrucuons of
Tertiary plate movement and palaeogeography of SE Asia.
Tertiary volcanism in Sumatra, extrusion tectonics and the
collision of India with the Eurasian Plate
In this account, following Davies (1984) and Hall (2002), it is
proposed that Sumatra, forming the western margin of the Sunda
Microplate, was orientated north-south during the Palaeogene,
at the time when Greater India, on the western side of the
Ninety East Transform Fault, passed the latitudes of Sumatra on
its northwards course towards its collision with the southern
margin of Eurasia (Patriat & Achache 1984) (Fig. 8.11). Pre-
viously it has been suggested by Daly et el. (1991), Hutchison
(1992) and Packham (1993, 1996) among others, that the exten-
sion which formed the Sumatran backarc grabens could be
explained in terms of the tectonic extrusion model of Tapponnier
et al. (1986). However, backarc extension, and the associated Late
Eocene-Earl y Oligocene phase of volcanism, occurred before the
collision of Greater India with Eurasia, rather than after this event.
The extrusion model, like the lithospheric thickening model of
Dewey et el. (1989), assumes that Sumatra was aligned east -
west prior to the collision of Greater india, and predicts the clock-
wise rotation of Sumatra in response to the impact. The subsequent
anticlockwise rotation of Sumatra, together with the rest of the
Sunda Microplate, cannot be due the extrusion of crustal blocks
in response to the collision of India.
Subduction, volcanism and plutonism, continuous or episodic?
Van Bemmelen (1949) suggested that volcanism occurred con-
tinuously in Sumatra during the Neogene. Subsequent study has
established time ranges for distinct Tertiary volcanic episodes
and volcanic phases. It is evident that volcanicity and the accom-
panying plutonism waxed and waned several times during the Ter-
tiary. It is probable that subduction was taking place continuously
beneath Sumatra during the Tertiary, but that subduction did not
always lead to volcanism and plutonism. It has been suggested
that volcanic activity is most intense during subduction roll-back
(cf. Hamilton 1995). This was the situation in Sumatra for most
of the Neogene (Macpherson & Hall 2002). The process of sub-
duction roll-back ensures that fresh mantle material is continu-
ously brought into contact with the subducting ocean slab,
facilitating magmatism.
Palaeocene volcanic episode (Kikim Volcanics) ( 65- 50 Me)
The Kikim Volcanics and contemporaneous plutons form a mag-
matic arc in Southern Sumatra, the Java Sea (Hamilton 1979)
and in Southern Sulawesi (Langi Volcanics of Wilson &
Bosence 1996) (Fig. 8.11). Evidently a volcanic arc was active
along the southern margin of the Sunda Microplate in the Palaeo-
cene. In northern Sumatra there is evidence of a second inner arc
112 CHAPTER 8
Table 8.7. Li t hol ogi es in t he Lat e Mi oc e ne - Pl i oc e ne vol cani c epi sode
Formation/Centre Lithology
Siap ~
Seureula 2
Takur-Takur 3
Simbolon 3,4
Surungan 5
Sihabuhabu 5
Mangani 6
Undifferentiated 7'8
Rhyo_andesites 9 i i
Lakitan io- J4
Kasai]O.~ ~,J3-~5
Pasumah I 1,12
Ranau 12-15
Lampung ~ 4,15
Andesite lava 15
In part volcanic pebble to cobble conglomerates, sandstones & minor mudstones.
Upwards-fining soft andesitic sandstones & conglomerates; also calcareous mudstones.
Variably propylitised andesites, dacites and pyroclastic hb andesites and dykes. Local rhyolite. Andesitic to dacitic pumaceous pyroclastics
and lahars.
Andesitic lavas and pyroclastics, three possibly four flanking plugs of subvolcanic porphyritic hornblendic andesites. Subvolcanic intrusions
of Mendem Microdiorite.
Plagioclase and hornblende-phyric andesites, often agglomeritic and propylitised. More acid types present and hypabyssal equivalents
noted.
Acid to basic lavas including basalts and andesites, volcaniclastics and associated minor intrusives.
Rhyolitic, dacitic and andesitic tuff, breccia and lava; welded, hybrid, lithic and pumiceous tuff with breccia and lava.
Rhyolitic, dacitic & andesitic lavas, wclded tuff, hybrid tuff, pumiceous lithic tuff & volcanic breccia.
Conglomeratic breccia alternating with tuffaceous sandstone & tuffaceous clay.
Tuff & pumiceous tuff with intercalations of tuffaceous claystones & tuffaceous sandstones. Manna Dacitic lava (20 m) in breccia unit.
Horizontally bedded welded tuffs with columnar jointing.
Rhyolitic-andesitic pumiceous volcanic breccias and tuffs.
Pumiceous tuff, tuffaceous sandstone locally with tuffite intercalations.
Andesite lavas with sheeted jointing.
References: tBennett et al. (1981a), 2Keats et al. (1981), 3Cameron et al. (1982a), 4AIdiss et al. (1983), 5Clarke et al. (1982a), 6Rock et al. (1983), 7Kastowo & Leo
(1973), SRosidi et al. (1976), 9Kusnama et al. 1993b), I~ et al. (1994), I IGafoer et al. (1992c), 12Amin et al. (1994a), ~3Gafoer et al. (1994), 14Amin
et al. (1994b), 15Andi Mangga et al. (1994a).
ANDAAC'EH \ \
a- ~ LATE MIOCENE - PLIOCENE
~~~-~o~Ta k~. r'~aku'
~ ~ Simbolon ~ /
i ' La'ke "'~- L ~, .
"~' VSurungah~ ~ ~.
~Sihabuhabu"~
| , ,
I I
r I I
". ; ' A
0 , 9 ....
~ R~aan a ~ A i ~ t l ~
-~Tuffs and
volcaniclastic rocks
~ Volcanic lavas
R Rhyolite
# Dacite
A Andesite
B Basalt
200km
I
Fig. 8.7. Distribution of Upper Miocene-
Pliocene volcanic units and dated plutons in
Sumatra. Volcanic units listed in Table 8.7.
TERTIARY VOLCANICITY 113
Table 8.8. Major and trace element analyses of'Langsat Formation volcanics
No. R6029 R6030 R2785 R2786 R6028" NR125A NR128 NTI98 NT217
Ref. 1 2 2 2 l &2 3 3 3 3
Lithology Pyroxene- Pyroxene Pyroxene- Pyroxene- Average 3 scans Porphyritic Porphyritic Porphyritic Porphyritic
rich fragment plagioclase plagioclase ground mass clinopyroxene clinopyroxene basalt basalt
basalt in 6029 absarokitic transitional R6028 basalt basalt
basalt Alkali basalt
Location 5287 0630 5287 0630 5276 0626 5263 0634 B. Natal B. Natal B. Natal Batu Gajah
SiO2 47.9 52.16 46.7 49.99 46.6 51.74 52.62 49.8 50.26
TiO2 0.49 0.44 0.84 0.84 0.86 0.71 0.88 0.84 0.65
AI203 10.4 8.6 12.88 14.37 10.9 15.8 16.27 14.31 11.96
Fe203 11.6 9.85 12.34 10.43 11.9 8.93 9.92 10.69 10.69
MnO 0.17 0.29 0.22 0.34 0.17 0.19 0.2 0.19
MgO 13.2 7.44 9.48 6.87 13.8 7.81 6.85 8.77 10.54
CaO 8.24 12.97 11.72 10.2 11.7 8.75 7.32 10.73 8.94
Na20 2.85 3.6 1.9 3.92 0.82 1.15 1.65 2.16 0.78
K20 0.6 0.44 1.68 1.13 2.53 4.91 4.6 3.57 3.67
P205 0.39 0.13 0.2 0.2 0.87 0.35 0.26 0.33 0.37
CO2 0.02
N20 4.73
Total 100.59 98.92 101.36 100.79 99.98 100.11 100.56 100.92 98.05
Rb 25 35 51 14
Sr 312 623 587 260
Zr 78 82 58 57
Y 21 29 18 22
Nb 1 2 1 <1
Th
V 150 150 225 225 150
Cr 400 370 140 80 400
Co 73 15 32 28 73
Ni 175 47 30 23 175
Cu 170 30 125 85 170
Zn 90 50 90 100 90
References: l, Rock et al. (1983); 2, Rock et al. (1982); 3, Wajzer (1984).
beneat h what later became the North Sumatra Backarc Basin. In
Sumatra the maj ori t y of the plutons associated with the Palaeocene
Vol cani c Episode had solidified by c. 50 Ma (Table 8.2) and the
youngest volcanics have been dated at c. 55 Ma (Table 8.1).
The 50- 46 Ma non- vol cani c i nt erval
Thi s interval coincides in part with the Chron 24 ( 59- 56 Ma) plate
reorganization event, whi ch led to the formation of the combi ned
I ndi an- Aust r al i an Plate and the commmencement of spreading
along the I ndi a- Ant ar ct i c Ridge. Vol cani sm resumed at
c. 46 Ma, but Davies (1984) has questioned whet her subduction
was active beneat h Sumatra between 55 and 44 Ma, and has
suggested that at this time the continental margi n of Sumatra
was a transcurrent fault zone facilitating the northward passage
of Greater India past Sumatra during that period (Patriat &
Achache 1984). Al t ernat i vel y when subduction was not operating
beneat h Sumatra the Ni net y-East Ri dge transform fault became
t emporal l y the western margin of the Sunda Microplate (A.
J. Barber pers. comm. ) and exerted an ant i cl ockwi se couple on
the Sunda Microplate.
According to Marshak & Karig (1977) during the Early to Mid-
Eocene the Whart on Spreading Axis lay in the latitude of Sumatra,
formi ng a triple j unct i on with the Sunda Trench (Fig. 8.12). The
difficulty of subducting young, hot, buoyant ocean-ridge crust
(Cloos 1993) provides an alternative expl anat i on for the pause
in vol cani sm in Sumatra at this time.
The Bangkaru Ophiolite Compl ex in the Outer Arc Islands
(Samuel et al. 1997) contains igneous component s formed at an
ocean-spreadi ng ridge and from oceanic fracture zones containing
shear fabrics, low temperature hydrot hermal met amorphi sm (pre-
hni t e- act i nol i t e facies) in metagabbros and metadolerites and
later brittle deformation and brecciation. Rare volcanic rocks on
the Banyak Islands and in m61anges were interpreted by Samuel
(1994) as bei ng derived from oceanic islands and seamounts.
The Bangkaru Ophiolite Compl ex represents component s of
Indian Ocean crust accreted into the accretionary compl ex at the
subduction zone.
It may be that the component s of the Bangkaru Ophiolite
Compl ex are the product of a short-lived ' hot accretion' episode,
in whi ch ridge crust was incorporated into the accretionary
complex, because it was too hot and buoyant to be subducted,
while arc vol cani sm was suppressed, because the subducted
lithospheric mant l e was not sufficiently hydrat ed to generate
melts in the overl yi ng mantle wedge.
Lat e Mi d- Eoc e ne vol cani c epi s ode
Vol cani c rocks of late Mi d-Eocene age are distributed in an arc
parallel to the west coast of Sumatra, showi ng that subduction,
with the generation of melts, was qui ckl y re-established along
II 4 CHAPTER 8
t
I
2
ka
~p
~9
5
E
<
~ _ ~ - ~ - _ ~ - ~ ~ . . . . . .
0 M:) P'-
Cq Gh w
. . ~ . . . . ~ ~ . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . - - . ~- . . . . ~ O. . r ~ n ~ . . . .
~ ~: 9 ~ cq ~
O4 ~ ~ ~ . .
~ .-, ~ - o, Z ~ . -,
- - ~ o, - - - - ,~- , ~ eq oq. ~ ,q. ~ eq. - - ~
~ ~ ~ ~ - ~ ~
t' ~l 9- : . . . . . . . . . . ~ ~"-, cq rm, ~;',, eq r".- ~ ~ o~ . . c,~.
oo oo
~ ~ ~ m. --. ~. ~ ~. ~., --. ~. --. ~. --. - - c!. ~ "
~ , - o ~ ~ , ~ ~ _ o ~ ~, ~ ~- ~
cJ
C~
9
<
=<
dl
%)
u~
t ;
em
04
<h
Ol _:
" - <2
cJ
~ o =
- - r r ~ f l - -
m o~ o' -, oo
9 . - . . - . . ~ . . . .
~ ~ Cq o~
6~6, d~o o o
TERTIARY VOLCANICITY 115
9 0
9 Shosho
4- ($
HighiK @
" 2
~ [ ] Hulusimpang Formation
~ (~) .Ta hah aFnorFm~ ra~ a ~i ~
1 ~" - 9 9 Langsat Volcanic For mat i on~
(a) 50 60 si02 70 80
3
9
2.
(b)
9 Sayeung Formation . . . . . .
9 Mirah Formation bnosnonl [ I C/
/~ Alem Formation
V Calang Formation J Hiah-K
[ ] Tangla Formation / Hlgn-I~
9 Brawan Formation J ~--,
* Sikaraka Formation ~ V
+ Sanduduk Formation / /
Q Pinapan Formation / , __, /
X Toru Formation /~ / / V-
O Angkola Formation/.~ X
~ Medium-K
v
Low-K
L I I
50 60 70 80
SiO2
Fig. 8.8. Diagrams of SiO 2 (wt%) versus K20 (wt%) for low-K to shoshonitic
Tertiary volcanic rocks from Sumatra. The classification scheme is by Gill (1981)
and the analyses by Rock et al. (1982), Wajzer (1986), Kallagher (1989) and
Gasparon & Varne (1995) are given in Tables 8.9, 8.10 & 8.1 I. (a) Upper
Eocene-Lower Miocene volcanics; (b) Middle-Upper Miocene volcanic
formations.
the full length of the subduction zone at this time. Volcanic rocks
in the Aceh area may represent back-arc volcanism (Cameron
et al. 1980). Marshak & Karig (1977) suggest that volcanic
rocks in the Tapanuli area, offshore Sibolga, were due to subduc-
tion of the Wharton Spreading Centre, inactive by this stage and
sufficiently hydrated to induce magmatism in the mantle wedge.
Uplift of the whole of the forearc occurred in the Late Eocene
producing a regional unconformity (Samuel et al. 1997). This
phase of uplift coincides with the age of 40 ___3 Ma obtained
from the Bangkuru Ophiolite Complex in Simuelue (Harbury &
Kallagher 1991), which Kallagher (1990) attributes to deformation
of warm oceanic crust during accretion.
Late Eocene- Ear l y Mi ocene vol cani c episode
Late Eocene-Early Oligocene volcanic phase (c. 37- 30 Ma). Over a
short period the linear volcanic arc contracted to a few centres of
volcanism, the most important of which were in the Natal area of
the forearc (Fig. 8.12). Contraction in the extent of volcanism was
accompanied by faulting and a regional unconformity throughout
the forearc. In the Natal area K-rich primitive basaltic, tholeiitic
and shoshonitic lavas and agglomerates of the Langsat Volcanic
Formation were extruded and the Air Bangis granites were
intruded (c. 30- 27 Ma Wajzer et al. 1991). This magmatism
was anomalously close to the Palaeogene trench.
Reconstruction of the palaeogeography of Sumatra in the Late
Eocene-Earl y Oligocene, by reversing the movements along the
Sumatran Fault (Fig. 8.4), places the Bandan Formation caldera
complex close to the outcrop of the Langsat Volcanic
Formation. This caldera was an important centre of explosive
acidic volcanism, and appears to be the source of the ashes
which are interbedded with the sediments in the southern part of
the Central Sumatra backarc basin, the Tigahpuluh Mountains
and the South Sumatra Basin, an area of dispersal comparable to
that of the tufts of the Toba Caldera Complex in the Quaternary
(see Chapter 9). The association of uplift, volcanism and pluton-
ism in the forearc close to the trench, and faulting and explosive
volcanism inland, are features consistent with the concept of
' slab window volcanism' suggested by Thorkelsen (1996). A
' slab window' occurs where an active, or recently inactive, spread-
ing ridge passes down a subduction zone, the crustal part of the
ridge is removed by accretion at the trench while the underlying
asthenosphere is subducted in direct contact with the base of
the mantle wedge. In Sumatra the slab window was due to the
subduction of the Wharton Spreading Centre.
According to Liu et al. (1983) the Wharton Spreading Ridge
was actively spreading at a rate of 30 mm a-1 shortly before it
expired at c. 45.6 Ma in the late Eocene. The pattern of magnetic
anomalies in the Indian Ocean crust indicate that the Wharton
Spreading Ridge lay offshore Sumatra and was orientated at
about 90 -~ to the Sumatran margin at this time (Fig. 8.12).
Davies (1984) suggested that the Wharton Spreading Centre was
dextrally transcurrently faulted along the continental margin of
Sumatra during the Oligocene, instead of being subducted.
However, Clure (1991) has suggested that a segment of the
Wharton Spreading axis which lay to the east of the Investigator
Fracture Zone was subducted at 50- 45 Ma beneath the south of
Sumatra, which he shows orientated east - west during this
period. The concentration of Oligocene igneous activity in the
Sumatran Forearc (c. 38 Ma), anomalously close to the presumed
position of the subduction trench at that time, strongly suggests
that the spreading axis was subducted beneath Sumatra in this
period, as proposed previously by Marshak & Karig (1977).
Other volcanic centres related to a linear volcanic arc are
marked by outcrops of Oligocene lavas in the Gumai Mountains,
possibly in the Garba Mountains and in west Java.
The waning of this volcanic phase in the Early Oligocene
coincided with the change in motion of the Indi an-Aust ral i an
Plate from northerly to north-northeasterly, which Davies (1984)
suggested was responsible for the anticlockwise rotation of the
Sunda Microplate relative to the Indi an-Aust ral i an Plate with
the formation of wrench faults parallel to the coast of Sumatra.
Palaeomagnetic evidence for the Palaeogene anticlockwise
rotation of the Sunda Microplate has been documented in
Borneo (Fuller et al. 1999), but not yet in Sumatra, although
wrench faulting has been identified during this period. A transition
from extension to pull-apart and wrench modified-rifts in the
Ombilin Basin was dated as mid-Oligocene by Howells (1997b),
at c. 33 Ma in the Central Sumatra Basin by Packham (1993)
and at 34Ma in the Bengkulu Basin by Hall et al. (1993).
Davies (1984) related the formation of grabens and highs in the
North Sumatra Back-arc Basin to zones of tension and com-
pression between right and left stepping wrench faults (see
Chapter 14). This phase of transcurrent fault movement most
likely reflects the change in the direction of motion of the
Indi an-Aust ral i an Plate relative to the continental margin.
Late Oligocene-Early Miocene volcanic phase (30-24 Ma). A late
Oligocene tectonic event caused fault inversions and unconformi-
ties in all the Sumatra backarc basins between c. 28 and 26 Ma
116 CHAPTER 8
~
I
,..1
I
l a
1o
eo
. , ~
r.
". =. ~
y.
1 " - - ~ : 3 ~ t " ~ : 2 ~ ' ~ t " - O ' ~ - ~ r162 ~
TERTIARY VOLCANICITY 117
o
8
r
1.o
(a)0lRb Ba
100-
Hulusimpang Formation (2)
, O~ Lahat gormatior~ (2)
76247
I i I i I i i i ' 75246
K Th Sr Nb Zr Ti Y Sc Cr
1 oo
w Woyla Unit, Calang Formation
,_~ Alem Formation
\ / ~ ~ Mirah Formation
O Sayeung Formation
~: ~ / >CUT45
O
{
8
rr <
1.0 <2z
0. 1 I I I I I 'dl t I ',1 '~
(b) Rb Ba K Th Sr Ce Nb Zr Ti Y Sc Cr
Fig. 8.9. MORB-normalized trace elements for selected Sumatra Tertiary
volcanics. Normalising factors by Pearce (1982) and trace elements plotted in the
order recommended by Coryell & Matsuda (Elburg & Foden 1998). (a) Upper
Eocene-Lower Miocene volcanics. Analyses by (1) Wajzer (1986) and (2)
Gasparon & Varne (1995). (b) Middle Miocene volcanics. Analyses by
Kallagher (1989).
80
60
40
20
X alang Formati on
Alem Formati on
9 Mirah Formati on
Sayeung Formati on
[ ] Hul usi mpang Formati on
~ Lahat Formation
kangsat Volcanic Formation
O
E~
V
<>
i I I i I I I I I
00 2 4 6 8 10
MgO (wt%)
0
I
T
N- MORB
_L
Fig. 8.10. Plot of MgO (wt%) against Zr/Nb for selected analyses of Upper
Eocene-Middle Miocene volcanics from Sumatra. The Zr/Nb ratios higher than
the range for N-MORB infer derivation from the mantle wedge, while Zr/Nb
ratios lower than the range for N-MORB imply dilution of mantle wedge magma,
probably by subducted sediment. The low Zr/Nb ratios coincide with the Middle
Miocene Volcanic Phase but the source of the suspected subducted sediment is
not certain. Range for N-MORB from Sun & McDonagh (1989).
(see Chapter 7). This event has been attributed to the effect of
collision of fragments derived from Australia with the Sunda
Microplate, as marked by the accretion of ophiolite bodies in the
East Arm of Sulawesi (Hall 1996). At the same time, folding of
the Meureudu Group in northern Sumatra was accompanied
by limited plutonism (Cameron et al. 1983). In the Sumatran
Forearc sedimentation continued in the Bengkulu Basin (Hall
et al. 1993), accompanied by volcanism which extended into the
Late Oligocene-Early Miocene Volcanic Phase.
PALAEOCENE PALAEOGEOGRAPHY
EURASI AN PLATE ~ /
AGj ~V~ N~i~'l~G%N. ~/ ~ __
/
!
PASSIVE MARG ~4
GREATER
INDIA /
/ /
j /
/
/
PROTO-SOUTH
\ CHI NA SEA
\
\
\
SUND~ /
v Volcanic rocks
9 Plutonic rocks
Fig. 8.11. Reconstruction of the Palaeocene
volcanic arc along the margin of the Sunda
Microplate between Sumatra, the Java Sea
(Hamilton 1979) and West Sulawesi (Wilson &
Bosence 1996). Adapted from Hall (1998), Clure
(1991) and Figure 14.18a.
1 18 CHAPTER 8
LATE EOCENE-
EARLY OLIGOCEN
WHARTON
RIDGE
LANGSAT
FORMATION
BANGI~
J
/'
Trt }'
:.~': :"!': SUMATRACENTRALBAsIN' /.~"~'' ' ::':~:~
,
io: :,:
SO'UTH N
f \SUMATRA
~BASI b - -
IMA,\ ~)I~
%
i va "--
(~) Tufts and volcanoclastic rocks '"~7o~ i ~, ''' ~ /'
Volcanic rocks ~ '.,.; ) ~. ~t , ~ / _ ,, ~
(lavas) \ "",,"N \ \ - \~..-~' .... '-. ".~
00 Plutons ~ ' " - . . ~ ,,~7/'" - ,i"~.
I I Marine and lacustrine " ~ r " ~--~".~'/q~'%./~.)
I I environments ~ N . ; ' ~ .&~.~ATIBARANG
Eroding landmass ~ "' ,,~' .~ /
v v
~NNNNi , 200km
Ridge and Slab Window' ~
/
Fig. 8.12. The subduction of the Wharton
Ridge, the short-lived Natal Slab Window
and other volcanic centres in southern
Sumatra during the Late Eocene-Early
Oligocene Volcanic Phase. Palaeogeography
adapted from Figure 14.18a.
Following the fault inversion event the rate of oblique subduc-
tion beneath Sumatra accelerated to 5 cm a -1, with the formation
of an uplifted volcanic arc. Lavas and ashes were voluminously
erupted in a linear arc parallel to the west coast of Sumatra,
with tufts and volcaniclastics being deposited to the east in the
backarc basins. Lavas were accompanied by sub-volcanic intru-
sions such as the Way Bambang Granite pluton which solidified
at c. 20 Ma, and was intruded co-magmatically into volcanics of
the Hulusimpang Formation (Amin et al. 1994b). This granite
was intruded into into a fault zone parallel to, but predating the
Semangko Segment of the Sumatra Fault Zone. A fault of
similar age and orientation also probably occurs in the southern
part of the outcrop of the Painan Formation where Rosidi et al.
(1976) show several elongated granitoid intrusions. The amount
of displacement along this dextral fault zone is not known. The
Raya diorite and the associated dyke swarm on Pulau Breueh,
off northern Sumatra, are also associated with this intrusion phase.
In the mid-Oligocene uplift and erosion in the Outer Arc Islands
was reversed, subsidence led to the resumption of sedimentation
above an unconformity (Samuel et al. 1997). In the Sumatran
TERTIARY VOLCANICITY 119
backarc basins the formation of the rift grabens was followed by a
Sag Phase marked by a marine transgression. In the Central
Sumatra Backarc Basin sedimentation was accompanied by
wrench-fault tectonism which continued until c. 21 Ma (Kelsch
et al. 1998).
Late Ear l y- Mi d- Mi ocene volcanic epi sode
The late Early to Mid-Miocene volcanic episode is composed of
two phases. A linear elevated volcanic arc was formed parallel
to the west coast, and there was magmatism in the Central
Sumatra Backarc Basin, where high-K and shoshonitic igneous
rocks were intruded and extruded. Similar igneous activity
occurred in the South Sumatra Backarc Basin between 17 and
12 Ma.
Several plutons were emplaced into the volcanic a r c . 4~
ages obtained by Imtihanah (2000) from the Lolo Batholith show
that the Sumatra Fault Zone was active during the latter part of the
Late Earl y-Mi d-Mi ocene volcanic phase (Fig. 8.6). The Lolo
Granite was previously thought to be a composite intrusion
(McCourt et al. 1996) within the Sumatra Fault Zone, emplaced
at c. 9Ma ( K- Ar on hornblende) and c. 6Ma ( K- Ar on
biotite). The new 4~ age data (Table 8.1) shows that the
Lolo Granite was emplaced within the fault zone at c. 15 Ma,
the K- Ar mineral ages are considered to indicate that differential
uplift occurred close to the fault zone (imtihanah 2000). The
15 Ma intrusion date for the Lolo Granite indicates that this
sector of the Sumatra Fault Zone is older than previously esti-
mated, and provides information on the rate of uplift of the
Barisan Mountains. The K- Ar mineral ages (van Leeuwen et al.
1987) for the Tangse stock (Table 8.2) indicate that uplift in north-
ern Sumatra preceded that in southern Sumatra, but the time of
intrusion of the Tangse stock is not known sufficiently accurately
to date the fault movement.
Lat e Mi ocene t hrough Pl i ocene vol cani c
epi sode ( 6- 1. 6 Ma)
Oblique subduction of the Indi an-Aust ral i an oceanic plate beneath
the Sumatran arc resulted in extension and the commencement of
sea-floor spreading in the Andaman Sea at c. 13 Ma. The develop-
ment of transform faults from the Andaman Spreading Centre, par-
ticularly affecting northern Sumatra and the Forearc (see Chapter
13), and caused displacement along segments of the Sumatra
Fault Zone in the Mid-Miocene. In northern Sumatra volcaniclastic
rocks occur close to the present day coastline and were derived
from buried Pliocene volcanic centres, which probably occupied
a similar position to the Quaternary volcanoes. It has been
suggested that the Quaternary volcanoes adjacent to the north
coast of Sumatra are related to the southward subduction of
Andaman Sea oceanic crust (Rock et al. 1982; Chapter 9).
However, Sieh & Natiwidjaya (2000) have shown that in the north-
ern part of the volcanic arc, the subducted Indi an-Aust ral i an ocean
slab has a shallow angle of dip, so that the 100 and 200 km contours
are deflected eastwards beneath the volcanoes of northern Sumatra.
Serpentinite diapirs emplaced in strike-slip fault zones in north-
ern Sumatra have been considered previously to have been derived
from ophiolite bodies in the Woyla Group, and this may be the
case (Cameron et al. 1980; Cameron et al. 1983--Takengon geo-
logical map). However, it is possible that some of these bodies rep-
resent ' push-up blocks' and slivers of serpentinised mantle wedge
intruded into releasing bends in the deep crustal Sumatran strike-
slip fault and thrust complex, due to disturbance of the mantle,
caused by distortion of the oceanic slab (Karig 1979; Mann &
Gordon 1996).
Late Mi ocene-Pl i ocene volcanicity was particularly active in
southern Sumatra, and the development of the volcanic arc was
contemporaneous with inversion of the backarc basins c. 5 Ma
which caused ' Sunda-style' , NW- SE folds and associated faulting
(Eubank & Makki 198 l). At the same time the Barisan Mountains
reached their maximum elevation due to the combination of
magmatism and tectonics. In the Forearc region the redistribution
of mass in the accretionary wedge (Matson & Moore 1992)
resulted in uplift of the outer arc ridge and a phase of fault inver-
sion on the outer arc islands (Samuel et al. 1995). Intrusive
m61ange diapirs, carrying blocks of the Bangkaru Ophiolite
Complex, Tertiary sediments and samples of the continental
crust buried beneath the Forearc, were initiated in the Pliocene
and continue to the present day represented by mud volcanoes
on Nias (Samuel et al. 1997).
Page et al. (1979) suggested, and Fauzi et al. (1996) using
seismic data have confirmed, that subduction of the Investi-
gator Fracture Zone beneath Sumatra was the trigger for the
development of the Quaternary Toba Caldera System (Chesner
& Rose 1991). How far back in time volcanicity in the Toba
area can be attributed to the subduction of the fracture zone
is debatable. The Mid-Late Miocene Pinapan Formation
contains acidic volcanics, the Toru Formation is intruded by alka-
line and High-K hypabyssal bodies (Table 8.6) and the Nabirong
Formation contains intermediate volcanics. These occurrences
suggest that the influence of the subduction of the Investigator
Fracture Zone may extend back into the Mid-Miocene.
In the Backarc the Asahan Arch, which separates the North and
Central Sumatra Backarc basins is parallel to the Investigator
Fracture Zone and may be related to its subduction. De Smet &
Barber (Chapter 7) report that the Asahan Arch formed a topo-
graphic feature from earliest Miocene times.
The Investigator Fracture Zone is not the only transform fault in
the ocean plate subducted beneath Sumatra. Unnamed fracture
zones in the northwestern Wharton Basin to the south of Pulau
Enggano (Liu et al. 1983) impact with a gentle restraining bend
in the subduction trench, and project northwards beneath southern
Sumatra and intersect the Sumatran Fault Zone. Shallow earth-
quake epicentres (Nishimura et al. 1986) and the Pliocene
High-K Ranau and Pasumah Tuff fields lie along the northward
projections of these fracture zones. These alignments may be
coincidence; these occurrences of the rhyolitic tufts may have
other explanations, related to the complex tectonics and
Quaternary volcanicity in the Sunda Strait to the southeast, as
discussed by Gasparon in Chapter 9.
Chapter 9
Quaternary volcanicity
MASSI MO GASPARON
The Quaternary volcanoes along the Sunda and Banda arcs of
Indonesia are a well-known example of subduction-related volcan-
ism. Subduction zones are the major sites of crustal recycling
on the Earth, and it is the recycling of crustal material into the
mantle that contributes to the continuing chemical differentiation
of the planet.
Relatively primitive subduction-related magmas that might be
melts of material beneath the volcanic arc, unmodified by post-
melting processes, are rare, so that much attention has been
dedicated in the last two decades to the study of the isotopic
systematics of the most mafic volcanics as a means of identifying
their source materials. These suggest that sedi ment s--or fluids
derived from the sediments--subducted along the Sunda Trench
might have an effect on the composition of the Sunda- Banda
arc volcanics. Gasparon & Varne (1998), however, argued that
the isotopic signature of mafic volcanics in some sectors of
the arc resembles that of Indian Ocean basalts, and that along-
arc variations in magma types cannot be accounted for by
crustal contamination in the mantle source. Indeed, Gasparon &
Varne (1995, 1998) suggested that late-stage (post-melt gener-
ation) crustal contamination is the main process responsible for
the wide array of volcanics in the Quaternary Sunda arc.
The first detailed and comprehensive synthesis of the geology of
Indonesia was published by van Bemmelen (1949), and an
IAVCEI catalogue of the active volcanoes followed in 1951, com-
piled by Neumann van Padang (1951). This was later revised
and updated by Kusumadinata (1979). These two fundamental
publications, rich in information and bibliographic material,
mainly describe the geology (i.e. stratigraphy and palaeontology)
and, as far as the volcanoes are concerned, the morphology and
type of activity of the volcanic structures. Other early works
include a summary and review of the Sumatran volcanism by
Westerveld (1952a), and a discussion of the relationship
between tectonic setting and magmatic activity by Rittman
(1953), which anticipated aspects of the ' K- h' relationship formu-
lated by Dickinson & Hatherton (1967).
The work of van Bemmelen (1949) is essentially based on pre-
plate tectonics ideas, and a plate-tectonic synthesis of the geody-
namic evolution of the Sunda- Banda arc did not appear until
the late 1970s, when Hamilton (1979) integrated the previous
knowledge of the geology of Indonesia with a wealth of modern
geophysical and geological data and observations, and interpreted
them within the paradigm of modern plate tectonics, producing
a detailed geo-tectonic map of the Indonesian region and a work
that is a fundamental reference for any study of the Indonesian
volcanism.
Since Hamilton' s work, the Quaternary volcanoes of the Banda
arc and of the eastern portion of the Sunda arc (east of Sumatra)
have attracted the attention of many researchers. These include
Whitford et al. (1979, and references therein), Whitford & Jezek
(1979), Morris & Hart (1980), Hutchison (1981), Nishimura
et al. (1981), Whitford et al. (1981), Whitford & Jezek (1982),
Foden & Varne (1981a, b), Foden (1983), Varne (1985), Varne
& Foden (1986), Wheller et al. (1987), van Bergen et al. (1989),
Varekamp et al. (1989). Volcanic centres with ' unusual' compo-
sition, such as Muriah in east Java, have been the subject of a
number of works (e.g. Ferrara et al. 1981; Calanchi et al. 1983;
Nicholls & Whitford 1983; Edwards et al. 1991). More recently,
O, U- Th, He, Be, Sr, Nd and Pb isotope signatures have been
investigated to characterize mantle sources (e.g. Gerbe et al.
1992; Harmon & Gerbe 1992; Poreda & Craig 1989; Hilton
et al. 1992; Gasparon et al. 1994; Poorter et al. 1991; Edwards
et al. 1993; Gasparon & Varne 1998).
With a few notable exceptions, the Quaternary volcanism of
Sumatra has been neglected by the scientific community. Rainfall
and temperature in Sumatra are higher than in the other islands
of the arc, and the rate of weathering is often spectacular, even
in extremely young samples. Most of the active volcanoes in
Sumatra have produced only very small amounts of consolidated
juvenile material in recent times, and fresh basaltic lavas are extre-
mely rare. The other problem of Sumatra is its accessibility. The
Trans-Sumatra Highway, a relatively good road, running from
south to north parallel to the volcanic arc, was completed only
in 1989, and air, road, and river transport to some of the most
sparsely populated and remote areas, where most of the volcanic
centres are situated, can still be a risky and time-consuming
(albeit exciting and extremely rewarding) activity.
Quaternary volcanic arc and its relationship with main
tectonic features of Sumatra
The island of Sumatra, the sixth largest in the world, runs parallel
to the westernmost section of the Sunda Trench, from which
is separated by a well-developed forearc (Mentawai Islands)
and an outer-arc basin, from about 6~S 105~E to 6~ 95~
(Fig. 9.1). The Aust ral i an-Indi an Ocean Plate is currently being
subducted under SE Asia at a rate of 6 to 7 cm a -~, in a N3~
direction (McCaffrey 1991). Therefore, the direction of con-
vergence varies from about 0 ~ off Java (i.e. perpendicular to the
trench), to N25"E off south Sumatra, to N31'>E off north
Sumatra (Newcomb & McCann 1987).
There is evidence for subduction along the SW margin of
Sundaland since at least the Permian (Cameron et al. 1980), and
the age of the subducted Indian Ocean crust (based on palaeomag-
netic anomalies) varies from about 80 Ma in the Sunda Strait to
less than 60 Ma in north Sumatra (Liu et al. 1983). An important
consequence of the different angle of subduction is the difference
in intensity and depth of earthquakes in Sumatra and Java. Large
interplate earthquakes are common off Sumatra, and define a
Benioff zone dipping at low angles. In contrast, foci of earth-
quakes in Java reach a maximum depth of about 650 kin, and
define a much steeper Benioff zone (Hamilton 1979; Newcomb
& McCann 1987).
The main tectonic feature of mainland Sumatra is the Sumatra
Fault System (or Semangko Fault), a strike-slip dextral fault
system that extends for the whole length of the island from the
Sunda Strait to the Andaman Sea, where it links with a series of
transform faults which continue further north. In the southern
part of Sumatra the Semangko Fault splays into a complex geome-
try of sections (Fig. 9.2) and pull-apart basins (Bellier & Sebrier
1994), and terminates in the Sunda Strait against a north-south-
trending fracture zone (Nishimura et al. 1986) that may mark
the southeastern boundary of the SIBUMASU terrane (Gasparon
& Varne 1995), and the transition from a direction of subduction
perpendicular to the arc in Java to oblique subduction off Sumatra
(Fig. 9.3). There is general agreement in considering this fault
120
QUATERNARY VOLCANICITY 121
; N
, 0, 01
..... ,, t i ~l ' !
-./ ~- L. MEDAN
/
"~N
('" ~-"x
,_..,)
Volcanic Geology of Sumatra
"~s
" F
TOBA TUFFS
(Lake Toba)
9 Quat ernary Erupti on Si te
Sumat ra Faul t Syst em and ot her maj or fault zones
, ~1~1~ Pre-Tert i ary Format i ons
Quat ernary Tuf f
Area occupi ed by Mi ocene Sunda Or ogen
Mi ocene Di ori tes to Granodi ori t es
i
4S
"-.~ / BUKI T TELOR
10 > ! ':~ ii
<'_% , "" "- ~, : ; - - _ __.
"--, 111 " 131 " ~
;t '~ '~ _) ....... t ' . . )> W~- - , ..... ",, '1
, " " - . , ! ", l Z l ~, "- ........... " "~:7 '-~.:;, . s"b "
~, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , "- u. ~. - - : . <~- \ Ic, L . ~"
M ENTAWAI ". ................ " ......... " ~"."-";
.................... " ' ...... r -.--'z '~ 71\ i {,
PADANG TUFFS
(Lake Maniniau)
",r \ ' m Ii ii i" t '" ~--" i
....................... ! ~ " . . . . . . . . . "7 ............. ~- ............ i LpALEMBANG ......... '\.~,:~ i , /
, . , / / " J* " x ....... -" 7 i L
'2 ~2, 2 23 : ;i 7
/ I , \, /
" ~ ./Bukit Mapas
1 "
I NDI AN OCEAN
RANAU TUFFS ~ - ~ N i " ' ,~t LAMPUNG TUFFS
;:E~ (Lake Ranau) 2 6 ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
0 125 250 28 ~ 9
s ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . kilometres:::: ..................................... ' ooo SUNDA STRAI T
. 96 E . 98 E , 100 E , 102 E 104 E , 106 E
Fig. 9.1. Simplified geological map of Sumatra (modified from van Bemmelen 1949), showing the main volcanic and tectonic units, and the location of identified
Quaternary centres. Numbers refer to the centres listed in Table 9.1, e.g. 01 is volcano number 0601-01 (Pulau Weh).
system as a consequence of the oblique subduction, with estimates
of the SE- NW offset ranging from about 100 km (Posavec et al.
1973) to up to 500 km since the Oligocene (Wajzer et al. 1991).
More recently, McCarthy & Elders (1997) established an offset
of 150 kin for the central part of Sumatra. This variability is
related to the complexity of the forearc, as it is not clear how
much of the strain is accommodated by the forearc itself.
The Semangko Fault is a very important tectonic and basement
boundary, as it marks the western margin of the SIBUMASU
terrane (Gasparon & Varne 1995; see Fig. 9.3).
North of Lake Toba the Semangko Fault separates older, mainly
Tertiary, volcanic and plutonic units to the south from Quaternary
volcanoes to the north. Page et al. (1979) suggested that the offset
of the active volcanic arc to the north of the Semangko Fault is
the result of a change of the angle of subduction corresponding
with the point where the Investigator Ridge intersects the trench
(Fig. 9.3). In south and central Sumatra all the Quaternary
volcanic centres are situated within 50 km of the fault. As in
Java (Hamilton 1979), Tertiary volcanics lie slightly closer to
the SW coast, suggesting that the Tertiary volcanic axis was
closer to the Sunda Trench than the Quaternary one (Rock et al.
1982).
Curray et al. (1982), however, proposed the existence of a
SSE-dipping subduction zone, active since the Pleistocene,
located 20- 25km off the coast of north Sumatra (Aceh
Province), which may be a consequence of the opening of the
Andaman Sea. According to Rock et al. (1982) and Gasparon
(1994), the Quaternary volcanoes situated north of Lake Toba
could actually be related to this younger subduction rather than
to the subduction along the Sunda Trench.
The other main tectonic feature controlling the distribution of
seismic and volcanic activity is the Investigator Ridge, an oceanic
dextral fracture zone parallel to the 90~ Ridge and extending
into the fore-arc and underneath the continental margin
(Newcomb & McCann 1987). The Toba caldera is situated on the
continuation of this ridge, and activity in the Toba area might be
122 CHAPTER 9
SUMATRA
s ~~..~. Alluvium
~ Lampung tufts
/ Sumatran Fault System (Semangko Fault)
Q Bouguer anomaly low
SUMATRA
Ranau tufts
Sukadana basalts ~1 ~
Quaternary basaltic to dacitic volcanics
Basement and Tertiary volcanics
JAVA
............. Alluvium
~ Quaternary volcanics
Basement and Tertiary volcanics
104 E I I 105 E I
Mt Rajabasa
Sebesi ~\ ~
SUI
Panaita
Fig. 9.2. Simplified geological map of the Sunda Strait
(modified from Nishimura et al. 1986) showing the
main tectonic and volcanic features and localities in the
Sunda Slrail menlioned in the text.
more closely related to the Investigator Ridge than to the Sumatran
Fault System, which runs west of the caldera. Also, the distribution
of the Quaternary volcanic centres changes dramatically north of
the intersection of the extrapolated ridge crest with the island (see
Fig. 9.3), and the ridge acted as an effective barrier to the sediments
from the Ganges-Brahmaputra fluvial system.
The Sunda Strait marks the transition from a frontal to an
oblique subduction, and is interpreted as an area of extension
resulting from the northwestward motion of the forearc slivers
situated between the trench and the Sumatra Fault System
(Huchon & Le Pichon 1984). The area is tectonicaily and topogra-
phically very complex, and according to Ninkovich (1976) the
opening of the strait is the result of ' a clockwise rotation of
Sumatra of about 20 c' about an axis located in or near the Sunda
Strait' since the Late Miocene. Nishimura et al. (1986) also
proposed a clockwise rotation of Sumatra in relation to Java of
about 5 ~~to l O Ma-Z since at least 2 Ma. More detailed recent
studies (Harjono et al. 1991) supported the early conclusions
by Huchon & Le Pichon (1984), and confirmed that the Sunda
Strait is an area of extensional regime.
An important consequence of such extensional regime may
have been the eruption in recent times of large volumes of acid
pyroclastic rocks and subordinate andesites and basalts within
and at the margins of the strait. Nishimura et al . (1986) identified
two large low gravity anomalies in south Sumatra, and an even
larger one just off the coast of Java (Fig. 9.2), and suggested
that these may be the sources of the thick Quaternary ignimbrites
that cover large areas in south Sumatra (Lampung and Tarahan
Formations, and pyroclastic deposits of the Semangko Valley)
and west Java (Malingping and Banten Tufts). According to
their calculations, the large low gravity anomaly off west Java
is consistent with the existence of a caldera with a diameter of
about 26 kin, that erupted over 45 km 3 of material in the last
0.1 Ma. Their estimates were based on a calculated (from
gravity anomaly data) crustal density of about 2. 4gc m -3
(similar to the density of Tertiary sediments) in west Java, com-
pared with a higher density of 2.6 g cm --~ (consistent with the
existence of Palaeozoic gneisses and granites) in south Sumatra.
Both Nishimura et al. (1986) and Harjono et al. (1991)
suggested that a N35 E-trending fracture zone runs from Panaitan
Island to Krakatau and on to Sebesi and Sebuku Islands, to Mt
Rajabasa in mainland Sumatra, and to the Sukadana Plateau
(Fig. 9.2). However, there is as yet no evidence that volcanism
evolved in time and composition along this fracture, as suggested
by Nishimura et al. (1986) and Harjono et al. (1991), who based
their interpretation only on the location of these volcanic
centres. The available age (Soeria-Atmadja et al. 1985; Nishimura
et al. 1986; Simkin & Fiske 1983) and geochemical (see further
discussion) data seem to suggest that these structures formed
virtually at the same time, and that there are no systematic
relationships between age and composition, and location along
the fracture zone.
The fracture zone is clearly identified by a cluster of shallow
earthquakes, and is an important tectonic boundary (perhaps the
southernmost margin of the SIBUMASU terrane; see Gasparon &
Varne 1995) between the eastern part of the Sunda Strait
(a relatively flat and shallow area filled with up to more than
3000 m of Quaternary to Upper Pliocene marine sediments and
interpreted as a rapidly subsiding trough (Noujaim 1976)), and
the western part, characterized by a 1800 m deep north-south-
trending graben believed to be the continuation of the Sumatran
Fault System (Nishimura et al. 1986; Harjono et al. 1991).
QUATERNARY VOLCANIC1TY 123
Andaman Sea
Aceh Trench
Aceh Arc
Toba Area
250 km
A
5S
Sumatran
Arc Granitoids
Sunda
Fore-arc
Investigator
Ridge
llL
Extensional
,, Axi s
"\\k.
"~.,,
SIBUMASU
Terrane
/ , Se ma ngko
, Fault
"ii.,. k,
"~.~.
'\\}.
Bukit Telor
Indian
Ocean Sunda
95EI ~ 100El Strait / lo5E
N
Sumatran
Arc Vol cani cs
Sukadana
' Plateau
Karimunjawa
Islands
Margin of
! SIBUMASU
Fig. 9.3. Synthesis of the principal Quaternary volcano-tectonic features of Sumatra. Note that the Investigator Ridge is subducted under Sumatra, and the Toba complex
is situated at the intersection between the Semangko Fault and this ridge. North of the Toba complex, Quaternary volcanic centres are associated with a south-dipping
subduction in the Andaman Sea rather than to the north-dipping subduction forming the Sunda arc. According to Gasparon (1994), the North Sumatra volcanics are
compositionally similar to the Sunda arc volcanic (see Fig. 9.4), and it is therefore inferred that the northeastern part of Sumatra is also part of the SIBUMASU terrane.
Bukit Telor and the Sukadana basalts are situated in a back-arc position along an extensional axis that probably continues into the compositionally similar Karimunjawa
Islands north of eastern Java. Another structurally complex extensional area (a series of pull-apart basins related to the Semangko Fault and to the clockwise rotation of
Sumatra with respect to Java) is found in South Sumatra and in the Sunda Strait. Here, the Semangko Fault terminates against a north-south-trending fracture zone that
probably marks the southwestern boundary of the SIBUMASU terrane.
The widespread occurrence in Sumatra of granites and other
intrusive bodies, of crystalline schists believed to be part of a
pre-Mesozoic basement, and of sedimentary units as old as Car-
boniferous, are the basis for considering Sumatra to be mainly
composed of relatively old continental crust (van Bemmelen
1949; Hamilton 1979; Clarke & Beddoe-Stephens 1987;
Hutchison 1989; Gasparon & Varne 1995). Part of the Sumatran
crust therefore predates the opening of the Indian Ocean, and is
thus Gondwanan in its affinities. Silicic pyroclastic rocks are far
more abundant than andesitic and basaltic volcanics (Westerveld
1952a; Gasparon 1994) 9
Pyroclastic deposits
Compared with the other islands of the Indonesian arc, Sumatra
is rich in young fragmental silicic volcanic rocks associated
with major caldera-forming events, and commonly believed to
have involved the melting of upper crustal material (e.g. Hamilton
1979; Gasparon & Varne 1995).
Four major Pliocene to Quaternary pyroclastic deposits are
known in Sumatra: the Lampung and Ranau tufts in south
Sumatra, the Padang tufts in central Sumatra, and the Toba tufts
in north Sumatra (Fig. 9.1). Three of these deposits are associated
with large eruptions that formed the calderas now occupied by
three of the major lakes of Sumatra (Lake Ranau, Maninjau, and
Toba). The location of the fourth eruption, that produced the
Lampung tufts in south Sumatra, is possibly in the Sunda Strait
(Nishimura et al. 1986) not far from Krakatau. The Toba tufts
have been studied in some detail (see e.g. Wark 2001, and refer-
ences therein), but the other major recent pyroclastic deposits
have received little attention (Westerveld 1952a; Leo et al.
1980; Gasparon & Varne 1995) 9
Little is known about the Ranau and Lampung tufts. Westerveld
(1952a) briefly discussed some major element analyses of tufts
from several localities (including the Ranau and Lampung tufts)
in his review of Sumatran volcanism, and pointed out similarities
between the Sumatran Pliocene and Quaternary tufts and the
Taupo ignimbrites in New Zealand.
For the Lampung tufts, Nishimura (1980) and Nishimura et al.
(1984, 1986) obtained a fission track age of 0.09 4-0.01 Ma,
and an older age (1 4- 0.2 Ma) for an ignimbrite sampled close
to Kotaagung at the southern end of the Semangko fault. Based
on major and trace element evidence, they concluded that these
ignimbrites are similar in composition (but not in age, nor in
isotopic composition, as the new data show) to the tufts in the
Lake Toba area and in central and West Java, and considered
124 CHAPTER 9
them as the result of the remelting of the lower crust. Bellier et al.
(1999) obtained a K- Ar age of 0.55 Ma for feldspars separated
from the Ranau tufts, and concluded that the collapse of the
Ranau caldera occurred between 0.7 and 0.4 Ma.
K- Ar whole-rock age determinations for the andesitic centres
and tufts surrounding the Maninjau caldera range from 0.83 _+
0.42 Ma for the older, pre-caldera andesites, to 0.28 _ 0.12 Ma
for the youngest rhyolitic ash-flows (Leo et al. 1980). For the
87 86
same samples, Sr/ Sr values are in the range 0.7056-0.7066,
and Gasparon & Varne (1995) reported an 87Sr/86Sr value of
0.70473 for a Quaternary granite in the same area. These values
are slightly higher than those of most andesitic centres elsewhere
in the Sunda arc and in Sumatra (Whitford 1975; Gasparon 1994),
and it is suggested that they reflect the involvement of sialic crustal
material.
Gasparon & Varne (1995) noted that the compositions of most
igneous rocks from centres in the volcanic arc and west of the
Semangko fault fall within the calc-alkaline differentiation trend
(Debon & Le Fort 1988), with a complete overlap between
intrusive and generally more differentiated pyroclastic rocks.
Their geochemical and isotopic composition is typical of volcanic
87 86
arcs built on continental crust. Initial Sr/ Sr values range from
0.7045 to 0.7065 for the fragmental deposits of Lake Maninjau,
Lake Ranau and the Lampung Formation. These values are
substantially lower than the lowest values observed in the
granitoid provinces of SE Asia, and lower than those of the
Toba tufts (Fig. 9.4). Gasparon & Varne (1995) further argued
that the remarkably constant i ni t i al 87Sr/86Sr values of granitoids,
fragmental deposits, and andesitic lavas along the volcanic arc
suggest derivation from a common source.
Whitford (1975) first suggested, on the basis of a single
87Sr/86Sr value of 0.71392, that the Toba tufts have a crustal
origin. Most of the studies on the Toba caldera have dealt with
the chronology and stratigraphy of the different ignimbrites
(e.g. Ninkovich et aI. 1978a, b; Knight et al. 1986; Chesner
et al. 1991" Chesner & Rose 1991), and relatively little is known
about the geochemical and Pb/ Sr / Nd isotopic composition of
the Toba tufts.
Gasparon & Varne (1995) noted that the Toba tufts have low
NazO/ K20 and high Rb- Sr and Nb values, typical of the S-type
granites of the Central Granitoid Province of SE Asia. Chesner
(1998) carried out a detailed petrological study of the Toba tuff
units, and concluded that the observed compositional variation
from dacitic to rhyolitic magmas resulted from extensive crystal
fractionation in convecting magma bodies. Wark (2001) identified
two separate magma reservoirs using Sr and Nd isotope criteria:
a northern reservoir with eNd = - 10. 9 and 87Sr/86Sr = 0.7155
and a southern reservoir with eNd =- 10. 0 and 87Sr/86Sr
values ranging from 0.7132 to 0.7140.
Unlike the other Quaternary fragmental deposits, the Toba
tufts are isotopically (and possibly compositionally) similar to
the granitoids exposed in east Sumatra (Fig. 9.4) and peninsular
Malaysia, suggesting that little or no juvenile material participated
in their formation, and that they derived essentially from crustal
melting (Whitford 1975; Gasparon & Varne 1995). On the other
hand, the Quaternary volcanoes in the Lake Toba area show a
rather variable isotopic composition, with values ranging from
close to those found in the arc andesites elsewhere in Sumatra,
to rather more radiogenic, suggestive of varying amounts of
interaction between the same juvenile material that forms the
arc andesites and the east Sumatran upper continental crust
(Gasparon & Varne 1995; see Fig. 9.4).
Quat e r nar y ar c vol c anoe s
Volcanic rocks associated with the active volcanic arc outcrop
extensively in Sumatra, and range in composition from rare
basalts to abundant andesites and dacites. Active and dormant vol-
canoes of south and central Sumatra were visited, mapped, and
described by Dutch geologists during the period 1910-1940,
0.716 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I ' " , " ; " " " " 9 "
0,714
0.712
L-
03
r
0.710
CO
E 0.708
0.706
0.704
i ............................
TobaTuffs
i R 9 . I 9
Cent r al Province
- - : Granitoids ,
_ l b/ ~Q (SIBUMASU)" i
toba Area ~Q~
....... Volcanics ~"~,-~.,.~
_ D~,
- Sukadana
Basal t s
0.702
0.01
Aceh Arc
irTvo%n,c
J ~ Arc Granitoids~ [ (basalt to dacite)__L . . . . .
0.1 1 10
Rb/Sr
Fig. 9.4. Initial mSr/S6Sr v. Rb/Sr diagram for
Sumatran volcanics and basement granitoids. Data
from Gasparon & Varne (1995) and references
therein. Note the overlap between the Toba tufts
and the SIBUMASU granitoids. "Aceh Arc
Volcanics' are the Quaternary centres related to the
south-dipping subduction in the Andaman Sea;
other units as in Figure 9.3. Note the gap in initial
~7Sr/86Sr values that separates crustal melts derived
from the melting of the SIBUMASU te]xane (initial
87Sr/S6Sr higher than 0.710) from predominantly
mantle-derived melts of the Sunda arc, 'Aceh' arc,
and backarc basalts of Sukadana and Bukit Telor
(initial mSr/86Sr lower than 0.708). The Quaternary
andesitic to dacitic volcanics of the Toba area
represent mixing between mantle-derived melts
(Sunda arc endmember) and crustal melts
(SIBUMASU endmember).
QUATERNARY VOLCANICITY 125
and whole-rock major element analyses performed during this
period were collected and published by Neumann van Padang
(1951) and Westerveld (1952a). More recently, Kusumadinata
(1979) reviewed the existing literature on volcanic activity in
the Indonesian arc.
The part of the island north of Lake Toba, the Aceh Special
Province, remained virtually geologically unexplored until the
mid seventies, when the North Sumatran Project was undertaken
by the Indonesian and British Governments. A description of the
geology of north Sumatra can be found in Page et al. (1979),
Bennett et al. (1981a, b), and Cameron et al. (1983). A simplified
geological map of Sumatra, with the location of identified
Quaternary centres, is shown in Figure 9.1.
The exact number of Quaternary volcanic centres in Sumatra
is not known. Kusumadinata (1979) and Simkin (1981) reported
over 180 historic eruptions from 14 different volcanic centres,
with 14 more centres in the solfatara/fumarolic stage. At least
37 eruptive events from nine centres have been reported since
1980. Thirty-six Holocene centres (including Krakatau) are
currently listed by the Smithsonian Institution (2002). These
include centres with documented explosive activity but with no
conclusive evidence of historic eruptions, and fumarole fields
not associated with volcanic structures. Field evidence suggests
that the number of active volcanoes is only a small portion of
the total number of Quaternary centres.
The majority of the historically active volcanoes are strato-
volcanoes (20), with summits standing between 600 m (Pulau
Weh) and 3800 m (Kerinci) above sea level. Most of these
centres are structurally complex, with numerous solfatara fields
and hot springs, summit craters and parasitic cones. Other
structures include calderas (Toba, Ranau, Sekincau, Hulubelu and
Krakatau), complex volcanoes (Peuet Sague, Talakmau, Marapi
and Belirang-Beriti), fumarole fields (Helatoba-Tarutung and
Gayolesten) and pyroclastic cones (Sarik-Gajah). Active maars
and silicic domes have been described in the 8 x 16 km Suoh
depression in south Sumatra. However, according to Bellier &
Sebrier (1994) the Suoh depression is a pull-apart caldera
similar to the Ranau caldera.
All the centres situated north of 4~ (Pulau Weh, Seulawah
Agam, Peuet Sague, Geureudong, Bur Ni Telong, and possibly
the Gayolesten fumarole field) are likely to be related to the
SSE-dipping subduction zone located 20- 25 km off the coast of
north Sumatra (Curray et al. 1982; Rock et al. 1982; Gasparon
1994). Therefore these centres are genetically distinct from all
the other centres situated along the Sumatran arc.
Volcanic rocks of the Quaternary Sumatran arc include calc-
alkaline basalts, andesites and dacites, typical of a volcanic arc
built on continental crust. In addition to the analyses reported in
Neumann van Padang (1951) and Kusumadinata (1979), geochem-
ical data, including isotopic data, have been published by
Westerveld (1952a), Whitford (1975), Leo et al. (1980), Bennett
et al. (1981a, b), Rock et al. (1982), Gasparon & Varne (1995)
and Bellon et al. (2004). In addition, detailed petrological
studies have been carried out on Krakatau (see Smithsonian Insti-
tution 2002, for a list of references), Bukit Mapas (Della Pasqua
et al. 1995) and the Sukadana basalts (see below). Helium
isotope analyses of olivines and clinopyroxenes separated from
lavas of seven Sumatran centres (Kerinci, Ratai, Bukit Mapas,
Dempo, Bukit Telor, Krakatau and the Sukadana basalts) were
reported in Gasparon et al. (1994).
Relatively primitive rocks are rare, and detailed mineralogical
investigations have shown that even the most primitive lavas
have suffered shallow-level crustal contamination (Gasparon
et al. 1994; Della Pasqua et al. 1995). Based on geochemical
and Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic data reported in Gasparon (1994),
Gasparon & Varne (1998) noted that the overall composition of
Sumatran Quaternary arc volcanics is genetically homogeneous,
and concluded that assimilation of crustal material by uprising
mantle-derived magmas accounts for the overall characteristics
of Sumatran arc volcanics, and for their overall stronger crustal
signature compared with the magmas of the other sections of the
west Sunda arc.
Quaternary backarc volcanics
Olivine-phyric basalts in Sumatra were first recognized by Dutch
geologists in the early 1930s (cited by van Bemmelen 1949)
during the geological surveys of the island. In his comprehensive
work, van Bemmelen (1949) discussed the occurrence of olivine-
bearing basalts in Sumatra, and considered them to be ' basaltic
effusions in the post-orogenic stage' , related to the ' tensional
stresses and major fissures along the edges of the Sunda land'
caused by ' the bending of the consolidated crust due to the down-
warp of marginal troughs' (van Bemmel en 1949, vol. 1, page 253).
These basalts were recognized as petrographically different from
the rare olivine-bearing, relatively primitive basalts found in
other areas along the arc, and they clearly occupy a backarc
position. According to van Bemmelen (1949), the Sukadana and
the Bukit Telor basalts in Sumatra (Fig. 9.1) belong to this
stage, as well as rare basalts found in other small areas in SE
Asia: the Karimunjawa Islands north of central Java, Bukit Nyut
in west Kalimantan and some Quaternary volcanoes in central Kali-
mantan, Midai Island in the Natuna Islands group, and the Isle des
Cendres and Cecir de Mer (now Catwick Islands), two small islets
off the southern coast of Vietnam.
More recently, Westerveld (1952a) reported some analyses of
basalts from the Sukadana Plateau and from Bukit Mapas, made
by Dutch analysts in 1929 and 1931. In his geological sketch
map of south Sumatra, the basalts from Sukadana and Bukit
Mapas are described as different from (and contemporaneous
with) the other basalts related with the mainly andesitic centres
forming the volcanic arc, although, based on major element
chemistry, they were interpreted as genetically related to the arc
andesites. Gasparon (1994) and Della Pasqua et al. (1995),
however, demonstrated that Bukit Mapas is genetically similar
to the other magmas of the Quaternary volcanic arc. No
other occurrences of this type of basalt have been confirmed in
Indonesia since van Bemmel en' s work.
Soeria-Atmadja et al. (1985) analysed and dated some samples
from the Karimunjawa Islands and the Sukadana plateau, and
compared the Karimunjawa and the Sukadana basalts with the
Sumatran arc andesites, pointing out some of their peculiar
intra-plate and backarc characteristics. Nishimura et al. (1986)
in their study of volcanism in the Sunda Strait, reported a K- Ar
age of 0.8 Ma and some trace element data for a sample from
Sukadana. Dosso et al. (1987) and Romeur et al. (1990) described
the Sukadana basalts as relatively primitive tholeiitic basalts,
with 8- 9% MgO, 250- 350 ppm Cr, and 150-200 ppm Ni, high
but variable concentrations of hygromagmaphile elements, and
with 87Sr/86Sr values and eNd values in the range 0. 7037-
0.7045 and + 1.6 to +6. 5 respectively (Dosso et al. 1987), inter-
mediate between MORB and OIB. With the exception of
the study by Gasparon (1994), the small outcrops of Bukit Telor
(also known as Bukit Ibul) have never been investigated.
The Sukadana basaltic plateau is situated in SE Sumatra
(Lampung Province), about 30- 40 km NNE of the capital city of
the province, Tanjungkarang. It covers an area of approximately
1000 km 2, and is made of several basaltic flows up to 2- 3 m
thick, erupted along fissures trending NW- SE, parallel to the
Semangko Fault. The average height of the plateau above the
surrounding area is only 30- 40 m, but several hills, probably repre-
senting eruptive centres, are more than 200 m (above sea level), and
although the basaltic pile might locally be up to 200 m thick, no out-
crops thicker than about 10 m have been observed. Most of the area
is covered by up to 2 m of lateritic soil, and outcrops are found only
occasionally along river scarps, quarries and on top of the youngest,
126 CHAPTER 9
Table 9.1. Volcanic activity of Sumatra
Volcano name and number
(synonyms)
Type, elevation (m) and location Status, last known eruption Notes
Pulau Weh 0601-01
Seulawah Agam 0601-02
Peuet Sague 0601-03
Geureudong 0601-04 (Bur ni
Geureudong 0601-04 and
Bur ni Telong 0601-05)
Kembar 0601-06
(Gayolesten)
Sibayak 0601-07
Sinabung 0601-08
Toba 0601-09
Helatoba-Tarutung 0601 - 10
Sibualbuali 0601-11
Lubukraya 0601-11 l
Sorikmerapi 0601 - 12
Talakmau 0601 - 13
Sarik-Gajah 0601-131
Marapi 0601-14
Tandikat 0601-15
Stratovolcano, 617, 5.82~ 95.28~E
Stratovolcano, 1810, 5.448"N
95.658-~'E
Complex volcano, 2801, 4.914~
96.329~E
Stratovolcanoes, 2624, 4.813~'N
96.82~
Shield volcano, 2245, 3.850 N
97.664~
Stratovolcano, 2212, 3. 20N 98.52 E
Stratovolcano, 2460, 3. 17N
98.392 E
Caldera, 2157, 2.58~'N 98.83 E
Fumarole field, 500 to 1100. 2. 03N
98.93 E
Stratovolcano, 1819, 1.556 N
99.255' E
Stratovolcano, 1862, 1.478 N
99.209~ E
Stratovolcano, 2145, 0.686 N
99.539~E
Complex volcano, 2919, 0.079 N
99.98"~E
Pyroclastic cones, unknown, 0. 08N
100.20~
Complex volcano, 2891, 0.381<S
100.473~
Stratovolcano, 2438, 0.433'~S
100.317~
Fumarolic, unknown (Pleistocene?)
Historical, 1839 (possibly only
hydrothermal)
Historical, 2000 (ashfall)
Historical, 1937 (explosive
eruptions)
Fumarolic, unknown (Pleistocene'?)
Historical, 1881 (explosive
eruptions)
Historical, 1881 ? (explosive
eruptions)
Holocene, unknown ( ~70 ka)
Fumarolic, unknown (Pleistocene?)
Holocene, unknown
Holocene, unknown
Historical, 1986 (central vent
eruption, explosive eruption,
phreatic explosions)
Holocene, unknown (uncertain
central vent eruption in 1937)
Holocene, unknown
Historical, 2001
Historical, 1924 (explosive eruption
and phreatic activity)
Remnant of partially collapsed older centre.
Active fumaroles and hot springs. No
activity reports
Pleistocene-Holocene volcano built within a
Pleistocene caldera. Summit crater. Flank
crater with active fumarole fields. No
activity reports
Extremely remote volcano. Four summit
peaks. Pyroclastic flows and growth of
lava-dome observed in 1918-1921.
Several unofficial reports prior to 1990,
three activity reports since 1998.
Two adjacent volcanoes. Bur ni Geureudong
has a Pleistocene age and active flank
solfataras and hot springs, Bur ni Telong is
built on its southern flank and is
historically active (explosive eruptions).
No activity reports.
Fumarole field on the flanks of a Pleistocene
andesitic shield volcano capped by a
complex of craters and cones. Numerous
active fumaroles and hot springs. No
activity reports.
Twin-volcano complex (Sibayak and Pinto)
with a compound caldera. No activity
reports.
Four overlapping summit craters with
solfataric activity last observed in 1912.
No activity reports.
Earth' s largest Qualernary caldera,
35 x 100 kin, lk)rmed during four major
Pleistocene eruptions that produced over
2500 km ~ of ejecta. Post-eruptive activity
includes lava domes and the formation of
minor volcanic structures. No activity
reports.
Active field of over 40 sulphurous hot
springs, 40 kin long, located south of Lake
Toba. No activity reports.
Eroded Pleistocene stratovolcano with two
active solfatara fields on its eastern flank.
No activity reports.
Pleistocene-Holocene andcsitic
stratovolcano with prominent lava dome
at its southern toot. No activity reports.
Stratovolcano with a summit crater lake.
Several active solfatara fields and
numerous phreatic eriptions recorded
during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Eruption in 1892 produced lahars that
killed 180 people. Six activity reports
since 1986.
Three summit craters, the highest one filled
by a lava dome. No activity reports.
Two young cones, one with a rubbly lava
flow. No activity reports.
Sumatra's most active volcano. Broad
summit with multiple overlapping summit
craters constructed within a caldera. More
than 50 eruptions (mostly central vent
explosive eruptions) recorded since the
18th century. One fatality in 1992. Twenty
activity reports since 1978.
Twin volcanoes Tandikat-Singgalang, now
extinct. No activity reports.
(continued)
QUATERNARY VOLCANICITY 127
Table 9.1 Continued
Volcano name and number
(synonyms)
Type, elevation (m) and location Status, last known eruption Notes
Talang 0601-16
Kerinci 0601-17
Hutapanjang 0601-171
Sumbing 0601-18
Kunyit 0601 - 19
Belirang-Beriti 0601-20
Bukit Daun 0601-21
Kaba 0601-22
Dempo 0601-23
Patah 0601-231
Bukit Lumut Balai 0601-24
Besar 0601-25 (Marga Bajur)
Ranau 0601-251
Sekincau-Belirang 0601-26
Suoh 0601-27 (Pematang
Bata)
Hulubelu 0601-28
Rajabasa 0601-29
Krakatau 0602-00
Stratovolcano, 2597, 0.978'S
100.679 E
Stratovolcano, 3800, 1.814S
101.264E
Stratovolcano, 2021, 2.33"S
101.60E
Stratovolcano, 2507, 2.414' S
101.728E
Stratovolcano, 2151, 2.592~ S
101.63E
Compound volcano, 1958, 2. 82S
102.18 E
Stratovolcano, 2467, 3.38'~S
102.37 E
Stratovolcano, 1952, 3.52:S
102.6TE
Stratovolcano, 3173, 4.03~
103.13r
Unknown, 2817, 4.27~ 103.30~E
Stratovolcano?, 2055, 4.22'~S
103.62'E
Stratovolcano?, 1899, 4.43~
103.67'E
Caldera, 1881, 4. 83S 103.92~
Caldera, 1719, 5.12~ 104.3TE
Maars?, 1000, 5.25~'S 104.27~
Caldera, 1040, 5. 35S 104.60~E
Stratovolcano, 1281, 5.78r
105.625"E
Caldera, 813, 6.102~ 105.423~'E
Historical, 2001 (phreatic explosion)
Historical, 2002 (explosive eruption)
Holocene, unknown
Historical, 1921 (explosive eruption)
Fumarolic, unknown
Fumarolic, unknown
Fumarolic, unknown
Historical, 2000 (explosive eruption)
Historical, 1994 (explosive eruption)
Uncertain, 1989 (new crater and
fumaroles)
Fumarolic, unknown
Historical, 1940 (phreatic eruption)
Holocene?, unknown
Fumarolic, unknown
Historical, 1933, possibly 1994
(phreatic eruption)
Fumarolic, unknown
Fumarolic, unknown
Historical, 2001 (explosive eruption)
Twin volcanoes Talang-Pasar Arbaa, now
extinct. Two crater lakes on its flanks. All
historical eruptions originated from
craters on its upper NE flank. Six activity
reports since 1986.
Indonesia's highest volcano, and one of
Sumatra's most active. Numerous
moderate eruptions recorded since 1838.
Eight activity reports since 1987.
No activity reports.
Several crater remnants and a crater lake.
Active hot springs. No activity reports.
Fumarolic activity at the youngest summit
crater and on the northern flank. No
activity reports.
Active fumaroles in crater walls. No activity
reports.
Twin volcanoes Bukit Daun-Gedang. Active
fumaroles in SSW flank crater. No nkown
historical eruptions. No activity reports.
Twin volcanoes Kaba-Hitam. Complex
summit with three large, historically
active craters. Two activity reports since
1979.
Large structure with seven remnants of
craters. Numerous hot springs. One
activity report in 1999.
Unconfirmed report of new crater with active
fumaroles. Two activity reports in 1989.
Heavily eroded volcano with three eruptive
centres and active fumarole fields. No
activity reports.
Large solfatara field located along its north
and NW flanks. No activity reports.
Large caldera filled by a lake and with a post-
caldera volcano-G. Seminung. Possible
sub-lacustral eruptions in 19th and 20th
century. No activity reports.
Active fumaroles on two coalescent calderas.
No activity reports.
Tectonic depression with historically active
maars, silicic domes, hot springs, and
fumaroles. Two activity reports in 1994.
Volcano-tectonic depression with post-
caldera central cones and basaltic and
andesitic flank volcanoes. Active
solfataras, mud volcanoes, and hot
springs. No activity reports.
Isolated Volcano. Active fumaroles. No
activity reports.
Caldera with post-collapse cone (Anak
Krakatau). Catastrophic eruption in 1883,
second largest in Indonesia during
historical times (36 000 fatalities).
Frequesnt eruptions since 1927. Thirty-
seven activity reports since 1972.
bes t - pr es er ved er upt i ve cent r es. The expos ed f l ows ma y s how
col un' mar j oi nt i ng, and wher e t he base of t he pi l e is vi si bl e,
it over l ays Qua t e r na r y t uf f aceous deposi t s of t he La mpung
For mat i on.
Sampl es f r om s ever al l ocal i t i es have be e n dat ed by Soer i a-
At ma dj a et al. ( 1985) and Ni s hi mur a et al. ( 1986) , and t hei r
K- Ar ages r ange f r om 1. 15_ 0. 17Ma t o 0. 44 _+ 0. 13Ma
f or t he ol dest s ampl es (first c yc l e of Soe r i a - At ma dj a et al.
128 CHAPTER 9
0
BUR NI TELONG
0601-05
10kin
SORIK MARAPI
0601-12
.0 .......... 5 .10ki n
ii
PADANG
t"la$O
MARAPI
060%14
LAWAS
\ -'-..
""-Ampaluc
~. - . . -
0 5 10kin
110kin
SOLOK
Batukuda
TALANG
060%16
0 5
I ' ' I
10kin
!
10kin
jernih
Fig. 9.5. Preliminary volcanic hazard maps ('Keterangan daerah bahaya sementara') for Sumatran volcanoes, as published in Kusumadinata (1979). 'Daerah Bahaya' ,
danger zone; 'Daerah Waspada' , alert zone; ' Sungar (s.), river; 'Jalan', road. G 'gunung' (mount), D., ' danau' (lake). These maps are based on scientific and historical
records, and on local knowledge. According to Kusumadinata (1979), 'they may be useful as a temporary guide for local civil authorities in taking preliminary st eps--
including evacuation--in the surroundings of a volcano which is expected to erupt, while waiting for the arrival of the volcanologist-in-charge'.
QUATERNARY VOLCANICITY 129
dacurup
,,,_._.
Okm
lOkm DEMPO
0601-23
~LAN
1 /
I .................................... KRAKATAU
//~.~(~ ~~%, 0602-00
P.SE RTU NG/~SJ ( ,~::~!~g~!~ .
, i ~ , , , . I ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
/ / ~--'-" ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: R RAKATA KEClL
t f ~: ~i:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:!:!:!:!:!:i:i:i:i~ f I ~ "
; ,~ ~ ~:: : ::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::~ ',,. , j
,.. / ~ ==============================================
5~'0 ~o ===========================================
\~ ~!:!:!:!:!:!:!:!:~:i:i:i:i:i:!iY /
l 813 i
P. RAKA,T'A BESAR
~ I
0 5 10km
~i:i:i:i:i:i:i:!:i!::~ "Daerah Bahaya"
,o'~:~;i;~-~,~ Danger Zone
............................ Daerah Waspada"
~,,~,~, . . . . . . . ) Alert Zone
"Sungai"
C - J~' ~- ' J Rivers
"Jalan"
/ ~" ~- - " Roads
, " - " - , , 7\ ~ Topographic Contours (m)
Preliminary volcanic hazard maps for Sumatran volcanoes
as published in Kusumadinata (1979)
Fig. 9.5. Continued.
1985), to less than 0.01 Ma (second cycle) for the youngest ones
from well-preserved flows and spatter cones.
Despite its clearly backarc position, the axis of the Sukadana
Plateau is situated less than 50 km away from two coeval andesitic
centres (Mt Rajabasa and Mt Ratai) that are part of the Quaternary
Sumatran volcanic arc, and it overlays pyroclastic products
(Lampung and Tarahan Formations) emitted by centres within
the volcanic arc.
Bukit Telor (also known as Bukit Ibul) is an isolated hill
made of basaltic material and only 38 m high, situated about
40 km NNE of Jambi (Jambi Province), more than 200 km
behind the axis of the Quaternary Sumatran volcanic arc. The
hill is surrounded by Holocene alluvium and swamp deposits,
Pliocene to Pleistocene tuffaceous sandstones and claystones
(Kasai and Muaraenim Formations), and Miocene sandstones
and claystones (Airbenakat Formation). The area of the Bukit
Telor outcrop is less than 4 km 2. The stratigraphic age of these
basalts is clearly Quaternary, as confirmed by a K- Ar age of
1.25 + 0.19 Ma (Syachrir and Kardana, Indonesian Geological
Research Centre, pers. comm. 1991).
All the samples from the Sukadana Plateau and Bukit Telor
described in Gasparon (l 994) are basaltic lavas, and differ con-
siderably from the arc andesites in both texture and paragenesis.
Olivine with abundant Cr-spinel inclusions is ubiquitous as a
phenocryst phase, and small lherzolite xenoliths have been
found in the Bukit Telor basalts. These lavas range in composition
from quartz-tholeiites to slightly alkaline basalts, and show a clear
within plate affinity (Westerveld 1952a; Soeria-Atmadja et al.
1985; Gasparon 1994), but with a clear trend towards
compositions typical of the calc-alkaline basalts and andesites of
the Sumatran volcanic arc.
The basalts of Bukit Telor and their mantle xenoliths probably
represent the composition of the unmetasomatized mantle wedge
at some distance from the volcanic arc, and do not bear any
textural nor geochemical evidence for lithospheric contamination.
Their St, Nd, Pb, and He isotope signature (Gasparon 1994;
Gasparon et al. 1994) is similar to that of Indian Ocean basalts
enriched in a EM component (Ninetyeast Ridge), and their
overall geochemical signature suggests that they might represent
small degrees of partial melting of an isotopically slightly enriched
Indian Ocean mantle source.
The Sukadana basalts are compositionally and isotopically more
complex, and their tectonic significance and genetic processes are
yet to be resolved. According to Gasparon (1994) the high-Ti
basalts do not need to be plume-derived, and might simply be
the result of several stages of melt extraction from a depleted
130 CHAPTER 9
primitive mantle. Relatively high degrees of partial melting of the
same source that produced the high-Ti basalts yielded low-Ti, less
alkaline basalts, which then suffered varying degrees of crustal
contamination. Mineral chemistry and Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope
data indicate that contamination occurred at relatively shallow
level in the crust, and not in the source, and that relatively large
degrees of crustal contamination can create melts geochemically
and isotopically similar to arc melts.
Vol cani c hazard
Indonesia has the world' s largest number of volcanoes that have
erupted in historic times (76), with over 1100 dated eruptions.
Approximately one seventh of the recorded eruptions in the world
have taken place in Indonesia, and four fifths of the historically
active volcanoes have erupted in the last century. Since 1800,
destructive volcanic eruptions have occurred in Indonesia every
three years, causing over 140 000 casualties and destroying a
large number of villages. Two of these eruptions, Tambora 1815
and Krakatau 1883, account for over 126 000 casualties. According
to Kusumadinata (1979) and the Smithsonian Institution (2002)
only two historic eruptions in Sumatra have directly caused loss
of life: Sorik Marapi in 1892 (180 casualties) and Marapi in 1992
(1 casualty). Table 9.1 summarizes the main features of the volcanic
centres listed by the Smithsonian Institution (2002).
The Volcanological Survey Division of Indonesia classified as
A-type volcanoes those with recorded eruptions in historic
times. Primary volcanic hazards common to most Indonesian
volcanoes include lava flows, bombs and nudes ardentes, with
lahars common as a secondary hazard. The definition of
' danger' and ' alert' zones in hazard maps published in Kusumadi-
nata ( ! 979) is based largely on topographic features and on known
distribution of recent nudes ardentes and lahar deposits. Hazard
maps published in Kusumadinata (1979) are given as Figure 9.5.
There are currently 75 A-type volcanoes in Indonesia, and 12
of these are found in Sumatra (including Krakatau). Preliminary
volcanic hazard maps have been prepared for nine Sumatran
volcanoes: Bur Ni Telong, Sorik Marapi, Marapi, Tandikat,
Talang, Kerinci, Kaba, Dempo and Krakatau (Kusumadinata
1979). No hazard maps are available for the other three A-type
Sumatran volcanoes: Peuet Sague, Seulawah Agam and Sumbing.
Peuet Sague is so remote that the total extent of the danger zone
is unknown, and the population living in the danger zone is con-
sidered to be nil. Overall, Sumatran A-type volcanoes have
erupted at least 170 times since AD 1000, and the total number
of people living in the danger and alert zones is 33 000 and
254 000, respectively. In comparison, these numbers are over
250 000 and 1030 000, respectively, for Java, and a total of
over 3 000 000 for Indonesia (Kusumadinata 1979). The total
area of Sumatra exposed to volcanic hazard is just over
1060 km 2, as opposed to over 2800 km 2 for Java and 16 620 for
Indonesia (Kusumadinata 1979).
All the historic eruptions in Sumatra have been classified
as ' moderate' (Class II, up to 0.0001 km 3 of ejecta), and only
Krakatau produced more powerful eruption in 1883 (Class VIII,
18 km 3 of ejecta, second largest historic eruption in Indonesia),
1963 (Class III, 0.0003 km 3 of ejecta), and 1973 (Class V,
0.012 km 3 of ejecta). In comparison, the largest eruption in his-
toric times (Tambora 1815) produced 150km 3 of ejecta, and
over 2500 km 3 of magma were emitted by the Toba complex
during its life span.
The 1883 eruption of Krakatau is one of the best-documented
eruptions in historic times, and captured the attention of the
public like no earlier eruption. The eruption and its dramatic
build-up were observed by thousands of sailors, traders and villa-
gers, and news of the eruptions was quickly telegraphed to the
whole world. The giant tsunami caused by the explosion killed
over 36000 people and destroyed 165 coastal villages in
Sumatra and west Java, and the blast of the eruption was heard
over 4500km away. The passage of the air and sea waves
generated by the explosion were recorded over the globe, and
the large amount of volcanic dust had spectacular effects on
the atmosphere and on world' s climate. A detailed account of
Krakatau' s activity can be found in Simkin & Fiske (1983).
According to the Smithsonian Institution (2002) Krakatau
has erupted at least 48 times during the last 2000 years, and the
devastating eruption of 1883 followed over 200 years of inactivity.
Due to its location in the vicinity of densely populated areas,
high tsunami hazard and historical record of volcanic activity,
Krakatau should be regarded as one of the most dangerous
volcanoes in Indonesia.
Chapter 10
Fuel resources: oil and gas
JOHN CLURE
Petroleum systems are controlled by the evolution of sedimentary
basins and the provenance of their sedimentary fills. As the result
of a favourable combination of these factors Sumatra is rich in
petroleum resources. The discovery and exploitation of commer-
cial accumulations of oil and gas has so far been restricted to
the backarc region of Sumatra, NE of the Barisan Range and the
active volcanic arc, where three major sedimentary basins, the
North, Central and South Sumatra Basins are distinguished.
Exploration in the Sibolga, Mentawai and Bengkulu basins
along the western margin of Sumatra in the forearc region has,
so far, not been as successful. Commercial success has also
eluded companies which have explored basins or sub-basins,
such as the Ombilin Basin, which occur within the Barisan Range.
Plate-tectonic mechanisms and the resultant crustal thicknesses
control this distribution of the Sumatran petroleum resources. To
the east of the Barisan Range, beneath the backarc basins, the
crust has been stretched and thinned and thus has a high geother-
mal gradient, suitable for the generation of hydrocarbons. In the
forearc region, to the west of the Barisan Range, the lithosphere
is thicker due to the subduction of the Indian Ocean Plate
beneath the Sunda Craton in Sumatra. This effective doubling of
lithospheric thicMaess has resulted in lowering of the geothermal
gradient, so that sediments in the forearc basinal setting have a
lower thermal maturity. Also, clastic sediments in forearc
basins, due to their volcanic and metamorphic provenance, tend
to be poor in quartz, and are dominated by shales and clays,
rather than by sandstones.
Little attention has been paid to the Pre-Tertiary sediments in
Sumatra until recently, as they were considered to be economic
basement, despite the oil produced from fractured metaquartzite
in the North Pulai Field as long ago as 1951. However, there are
now numerous developed fields in Sumatra, producing from frac-
tured Pre-Tertiary reservoirs, within the basement, both from
granitic and from metamorphic rocks. According to Zeliff &
Bastian (2000), Gulf has discovered eight gas fields with the
primary reservoir within the basement, and has had an 80%
success rate in prospects where the basement is the main objective.
Gulf discoveries include the 45 km 2 Dayung Field, which has been
producing since 1998.
Rifting and basin formation commenced in Sumatra during the
Palaeogene, at about the same time as the Indian Subcontinent
collided with the Asian Plate, either due to extension tectonics
resulting from the collision according to the Tapponnier model
(Tapponnier et al. 1982, 1986), or to a change in the rate of con-
vergence of the Sunda and Indian Plates (Longley 2000), which
resulted in the extension, rifting and opening of the Sumatran
back arc basins. Whatever their cause, the early rift systems, trend-
ing north-south and NE- SW, were critical to petroleum gener-
ation within the Sumatran basins, all major fields being adjacent
to these rifts.
The earliest sediments deposited in the rift valleys are volcani-
clastic and the products of erosion along the margins of the rifts,
forming scree slopes and alluvial fans. Eventually, lakes and
marginal river systems developed within the rift valleys. Lacus-
trine sediments in the deeper parts of the sedimentary sequences
are rarely penetrated by the drill bit, but they may well form
important source rocks throughout Sumatra. Fluvio-deltaic sand-
stones deposited by the river systems have been widely explored
and form important reservoirs in some areas in Sumatra. Swamp
vegetation, which developed on delta tops, formed coals, which
may also provide an important source of hydrocarbons. Gradually
a marine incursion penetrated these rift valleys resulting in the
deposition of marine shales and beach sands which overlie the
fluvial and lacustrine sediments. As the rifts filled with sediment,
limestone build-ups and reefs were developed on basement highs
in the North and South Sumatra basins, and these now form signifi-
cant reservoirs. The laterally equivalent marine shales within the
deeper parts of the rifts form source rocks in some areas. The rift
basins were completely drowned and marine shales were deposited
forming a seal over the whole sequence, thus, in Sumatra, reservoirs
are found in coastal deposits, fluvial sandstones, deltaic and paralic
sandstones, and limestone build-ups, all sealed by overlying marine
shales. The flooding event was followed by a gradual regression
with the deposition of further fluvial sequences, resulting in the for-
mation of sandstone reservoirs. Deposition of these regressive
sequences continues to present day.
There are many regional variations, but this is the overall pattern
of development seen in all the Sumatran back arc basins.
North Sumatra Basin
Exploration in the North Sumatra Basin commenced in the 1880s.
Oil seeps had been known in this area since ancient times, but in
1880 Aeilko Jans Zijlker, a tobacco farmer, exchanged lands for
a plantation containing oil seeps which were being used by
locals to caulk boats. Zijlker promoted the drilling of Telaga
Tunggal-1 in June, 1885, which flowed oil from the Mid-
Miocene Baong Sandstone and became the discovery well of the
Telaga Said Field. The Telaga Said Field produced 8.4 million
barrels of oil over the next 70 years, and very small volumes of
oil are still being produced by the local people today. The
company formed in 1890 to drill this well became the Royal
Dutch Company. In 1907 this company merged with Shell Trans-
port and Trading Company to form Royal Dutch Shell. It was this
company, in conjunction with the colonial government, which
dominated the petroleum industry in the North Sumatra Basin
until the Second World War. During this period discoveries
were located in anticlines, faulted anticlines or anticlines with per-
meability pinch outs, producing either from the Mid-Miocene
Baong Sandstone or the upper Mi ocene-Pl i ocene Keutapang
and Seurula Sandstones. After WWII, in the 1960s and 1970s, Per-
tamina and Asamera discovered further fields in the Baong-
Keutapang play, plus the Wampu and Batu Mandi Fields, which
produce from the Early Miocene Belumai Sandstone.
The most significant discovery in the North Sumatra Basin was
made in 1971 in a completely different play, when Mobil tested
gas from the giant reefal buildup at Arun. According to
Situmorang et al. (1994), Arun has ultimate recoverable reserves
of 14.1 TCF of gas plus 700 mmbbls of condensate, from the
Arun Limestone, which lies within the lower to Mid-Miocene
Peutu Shales. Since then numerous discoveries have been made
in the same formation, including Lhok Sukon South A & B
fields, Paseh, Alur Siwah and NSO-A offshore. Other hydrocarbon
discoveries in the Arun Limestone, for example Kuala Langsa,
Peusangan and Peutouw, were found to contain large percentages
of carbon dioxide and have remained undeveloped. Today the
131
132 CHAPTER 10
main plays in this area include the reef developments in the Arun
Limestone and clastics in the fold belt parallel to the coast of the
Malacca Strait. A parallel fold belt, further inland, has not been as
productive, due to breached reservoirs. Reservoirs have been
found in the lower Miocene Arun Limestone, the lower Miocene
Belumai sandstones, the Mid-Miocene Baong Sandstones, the
upper Miocene Keutapang Sandstones and the Pliocene Seurula
Sandstones. Most of the evidence indicates that the source rocks
were marine shales in the Bampo, Peutu and Baong
formations, although there have been suggestions of a possible
lacustrine source. The various arguments in favour of the possible
source rocks are discussed in the ' Source rocks and hydrocarbon
type' section below.
The most significant structural feature in the North Sumatra
Basin is the Lhok Sukon Trough, a prominent graben system
which runs nort h-sout h and acts as the main kitchen. This is the
source area for gas in the region, with the traps adjacent to the
trough being the essential feature of the play. Oil found within
the coastal fold-belt is probably due to the remigration of the
oil associated with this gas into more recently formed
Plio-Quaternary structures. Any oil that has migrated beyond
this first fold-belt into the westernmost fold belt is likely to have
been lost, due to the breaching of reservoirs.
Tectonic elements
The North Sumatra Basin has an area of about 60 000 km 2 and the
Tertiary sediments are up to 5 km thick (Fig. 10.1). The Pliocene
to Holocene uplift of the Barisan Mountains has masked the actual
southwestern boundary of the basin. To the NE the sediments thin
onto the Malacca Shelf and onto the Asahan Arch to the south,
which separates the North Sumatra Basin from the Central
Sumatra Basin. To the NW the North Sumatra Basin merges
into the Mergui Basin in the deep waters off the north coast of
Aceh. The Mergui Ridge forms the western limit of both the
Mergui and North Sumatra basins.
The North Sumatra Basin can be divided into two distinct parts
which have different subsidence histories. Subsidence occurred
faster to the west of the Rayeu Hinge, and this area also forms
the southern limit of the Mergui Basin which merges into the
western part of the North Sumatra Basin. This region extends
northward into present deep waters of the Andaman Sea, and
still lies in deep water today, with its western margin formed by
the Sigli High and the Mergui Ridge. Within this subsiding
trough are two horsts, which were formed during the late stages
of rifting, the easternmost horst is the Arun High with the associ-
ated Arun Field. To the east of the Arun High and west of the
Gas Field
Oil Field
0_
0_
0
I
2 ~ ,
94 ~
Mer gui Sub: Basi n
100
I I I I
~
wl
913 ~ 100 ~
Fig. 10.1. The structure of the North Sumatra Basin and its northward extension into the Mergui Sub-basin, showing the positions of horst and graben structures and the
location of oil (grey) and gas fields (black).
OIL & GAS 133
Rayeu Hinge is the Lhok Sukon Deep, which is the location of part
of the kitchen for the Arun Field.
To the east of the Rayeu Hinge lies the Central Trough, a basinal
area broken into a series of north-south-trending horsts and
grabens, that include the Lhok Sukon High and the Kuala
Langsa High, before the basin floor rises eastward towards the
Malacca Shelf.
The North Sumatran Basin was initially subject to Late Eocene
rifting that formed the nort h-sout h horsts and grabens. A quies-
cent phase of basin sag, with widespread carbonate deposition
and reef growth during the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene, fol-
lowed the rifting. NW- SE wrench tectonics in the Mid-Miocene
was associated with the uplift of the proto-Barisan range, and
finally, SW- NE compression during the Plio-Pleistocene to
Recent created the NW- SE coastal fold belts of Sumatran trend
which occur throughout the basin.
St rat i graphy
The petroleum significance of the various stratigraphic units in
Sumatra is described below, in terms of the tectono-stratigraphic
classification used in the Tertiary section of this volume
(Chapter 4) as the Cratonic Stage, the Rifting Stage, the Transgres-
sive Stage and the Regressive Stage.
In North Sumatra the Tampur and Meucampli Formations were
deposited during the Cratonic Stage (Fig. 10.2). These units have
generally been regarded as economic basement, although if they
occur adjacent to a source kitchen and have an adequate seal, it is
possible for them to act as fractured and/or vuggy reservoirs.
According to Collins et al. (1995), the Tampur Formation comprises
brecciated and fractured limestones and dolomites. This formation
has produced gas shows from vuggy limestones in some wells and
tested 6.8 MMSCF per day in Alur Siwah-8 (Barliana et al. 2000).
The Rifting (horst-and-graben) Stage is the period for the devel-
opment of ideal source-rock conditions. Rifting in the North
Sumatra Basin was probably initiated in the Late Eocene, creating
a series of rift valleys that persisted for the next 8 or 9 million
years. The initial phase of rift development involves a certain
amount of volcanism, due to adiabatic melting of the mantle
during thinning of the lithosphere. The margins of the rift
valleys were subject to sub-aerial erosion, with the development
of scree slopes and alluvial fans of the Bruksah Formation; these
coarse clastic lithologies do not form good reservoirs. A thick
overburden in the deeper parts of the rifts has caused the loss of
porosity, which is still apparent in areas that were later inverted.
As elsewhere in the world the rift valley system most probably
developed river systems and lakes, which provided both source-
rocks and potential reservoirs. However, these suspected lacus-
trine source-rocks have yet to be penetrated by the drill bit. The
upper part of the Bruksah Formation basinally interfingers with
and is overlain by claystones and mudstones of the Bampo For-
mation. Black shales of this formation form one of the potential
source-rocks for the North Sumatra Basin.
System Epoch
Nor t h Sumat r a Basi n
Sour ce Reser voi r Seal
0- Quat er nar y Pl ei st ocene . . - t - . . . . : . "
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . .
P liocene
5- - ~ ~ . . . . . ' . . . . . . . . . . (1) I ~ ~' ~
. U : , , :
104 ~ 9 - ~
i _ - - __
15- O . . . . . . . . - _ _- - - - - : : = - " - - - - - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - }~!:~i~
f l
E ~176
UJ . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . . " : " 7 .......................... ...............................
t ===
22
1.- (D
3o- . c"
(D
3, %- i
0
48- -
45-
Q..
~ i
O >,
O w
Late
c-
o w
O " ~
LLi
Pre-Tertiary
Fig. 10.2. The stratigraphy of the North Sumatra Basin, showing the positions of source beds, reservoirs and seals.
134 CHAPTER 10
The Transgressive Stage began about 26 or 27 Ma ago
(1' 21-P22) due to an overall regional basinal sag and a gradual
world-wide rise in sea level, which caused the rift valleys to be
submerged. The deep marine black shales of the Bampo Formation
were deposited as the result of this rise in sea level, and may have
been oxygen deficient. The area of the Southern Mergui Basin has
a different history; it subsided earlier and therefore has been domi-
nated by marine sedimentation from very early in its history. The
deep marine event was followed by reactivation of faults and a
period of erosion forming an unconformity.
A further marine transgression resulted in the deposition of the
Peutu Shales, the Belumai Formation and the Arun Limestone.
The marine 1,eutu shales represent the maximum transgression
stage, although a condensed sequence in the overlying Baong For-
mation is a possible candidate for the maximum flooding surface.
A basal 1,eutu sandstone was recognized by Cameron et al. (1980)
in the Barisan Mountains. The Belumai interfingers with the Peutu
in low-stand submarine fans, which could also have been charged
with hydrocarbons during fault movements. During this time lime-
stones were developed on the basement horsts. This formed the
Arun Limestone, which is the main reservoir of the area (including
the giant Arun gas/condensate field). Many similar, but smaller,
Arun Limestone prospects have been tested; some of which
have been found to contain high quantities of CO2. The reefs
were eventually drowned and sealed by the Peutu or the Lower
Baong shales, topped in some areas by the Baong Sandstone
deposited as a lowstand fan, which forms a second reservoir for-
mation in this area.
The Regressive Stage deposited a series of interbedded sand-
stones and shales forming the Upper Baong and Keutapang For-
mations. Reservoir sands in these formations are locally sealed
by the interbedded shales. Within this sequence the sediment
first includes material eroded from the uplifted Barisan Mountains.
Many structures involving these shallower/younger sandstones
were locally breached during the Pliocene to present compres-
sional phase, but the sandstones form reservoirs in onshore
fields, such as 1,erlak (50 MMBO) (Courteney et al. 1989),
Tualang (24 MMBO) and Rantau (231 MMBO) (Caughey et al.
1994). These sandstones could also have significant stratigraphic
potential.
Reservoi rs
Reservoirs of the North Sumatra Basin range in age from
Oligocene to 1,1iocene, and include both carbonate and clastic
reservoirs. The Arun Limestone has an average porosity of 16%
and according to Collins et al. (1995) the pore types are variable,
being dependent on the history of sub-aerial exposure and diagen-
esis. Microporosity is developed in the southern parts of the
basin, where leaching seems to have had a lesser effect. Clastic
reservoirs include the Miocene Keutapang, Baong and Belumai
sandstones the Mio-1,1iocene Seurula sandstones. Percentage
porosity in these reservoirs varies from the lower teens to the
low thirties.
Source rock and hydrocarbon t ype
All geochemical data so far indicates that the source rocks of the
North Sumatra Basin are mainly marine, although Kirby et al.
(1993) suggested that there was the possibility of lacustrine
source rocks occurring within the rifts. According to Buck &
McCulloh (1994) hydrocarbons in the basin originated from mul-
tiple source rocks, including shales in the Bampo, marls in the
Peutu and shales within the Baong, all of which are marine.
Buck & McCulloh (1994) reported that the Bampo was the main
source of the oil in the the 1,eutu carbonate reservoirs, such as
the Arun field, and stated that the Baong shales surrounding the
Arun Field have little or no generative capacity. This is due to
the low organic content, and because the organic matter which
is present is hydrogen poor. They report, however, that the
Baong becomes richer in oil generative potential in the east and
southeast of the basin, and forms part of the Baong-Keutapang-
Seurula petroleum system in that region. The two systems are
separated by the Alur Siwah High.
Buck & McCulloh (1994) state that most of the organic matter in
the Bampo Formation is derived from land plants, with minor
amounts of algal and amorphous kerogen. Their work indicates
that the Bampo and Peutu formations have poor to moderate
hydrocarbon generative capacity. They claim that the exception-
ally lean organic composition of the Bampo and Peutu source
rocks is partially offset by the substantial thickness of this
section in the deeper part of the basin. Their maturation modeling,
using in-house software, showed the deeps to be over mature at the
present day, with peak generation having occurred during late
Tertiary times (c. 12- 4 Ma). Rapid conversion of the kerogen
was brought about by substantial late Tertiary sedimentation and
unusually high geothermal gradients (46.8~ km - j average for
113 wells). Hydrocarbons matured and migrated into pre-existing
structures in a short period of time and thus presenting very little
chance of loss.
According to Courteney et al. (1989), the overpressured Baong
Shale is the primary source rock of the basin with average total
organic carbon (TOC) of 1.5% in the lower part of the formation.
Kjellgren & Sugiharto (1989) working on the southeastern
section of the North Sumatra Basin, suggested that there were
three phases of oil generation. The first phase affected the
Bampo, which is now over mature in the deep areas and was
responsible for the oils, now biodegraded, seen in the Kemiri-I
and Kambuna-I oils and the Polonia-1 condensate (it is,
however, not possible to use biomarkers in biodegraded oils).
These oils migrated near to the palaeo-surface and were subject
to biodegradation. Structural features containing these bio-
degraded oils would have been present at the time when the oil
was expelled from the Bampo in Lower Baong times. However,
most structures have formed more recently and were formed
after the migration of this oil. The second phase of oil generation
oil came from the Lower Baong/Belumai Formation. The Baong
is deltaic and progrades westerly to southwesterly, from proximal
near shore to distal wholly marine. Light oils and condensates at
Kambuna-l, Polonia-I and Glagah-1 were more proximal while
black oil at Batumandi-1 was very distal. The third phase of oil
generation was from a carbonate source, seen in Tonjol-1.
Situmeang & Davies (1986) confirmed the Mid- Lower Baong
Formation as the source rock for the light, waxy, paraffinic
crudes in Gulf Resources' ' A' Block. Moreover, the Baong was
found to contain a mixture of both terrestrial and marine organic
matter, the predominance of one over the other being related to
proximity to the source area of the sediments.
Kirby et al. (1993) studied Pertamina Unit 1 area in the central
part of the North Sumatra Basin and found the Baong Formation to
have TOC values averaging 0.5% with an oil window between
2900 and 3300 m, only the deepest samples being within the
window. They concluded that the Baong could not be a viable
source rock in that area. They found that the Belumai Member
had TOCs in the range of 0. 2- 4. 8% (typically 1%) and that the
organic matter was terrestrially derived. TOC analyses in the
Bampo Formation ranged from 0.27% to 3.84%. The higher
values came from core samples, but outcrop samples showed a
great lateral variation. The hydrogen index values were low to
very low, with only inert organic matter. The Bampo mudstones
were classified as having only limited potential for gas generation.
Since none of these units could be the source rock for the oil in the
area, they analysed all the oils. Combined GCMS and isotopic ana-
lyses on a number of reservoired light oils and condensates indi-
cated that terrestrial kerogen was the principal source for the
trapped hydrocarbon. Kirby et al. (1993) therefore concluded
OIL & GAS 135
that the most likely source rocks in the Pertamina Unit 1 area is the
lacustrinal sequence of the Bruksah Formation, anticipated to
occur in the basinal areas, but which has not yet been drilled.
Modelling suggested that oil migration from the deepest parts of
the Palaeogene sequence commenced at 11 Ma. The oil would
have migrated into porous zones in existing structures in the
Belumai and Bruksah formations, sealed by the Baong and
Bampo shales respectively. The major phase of structuring
occurred during the Plio-Pleistocene. The oil then migrated from
the pre-existing structures up faults formed during this tectonic
phase, through the otherwise impermeable Baong shales, into
structural and stratigraphic traps in the Keutapang Formation.
The deepest part of the Baong Formation would now have
entered the oil window and have supplied additional oil.
Pet r ol eum syst ems
According to Buck & McCulloh (1994), the petroleum system in
the northern part of the North Sumatra Basin is the Bampo-
Peutu system. Gas and condensate generated in the Bampo
Shales is reservoired in the Arun Limestone, which is part of the
Peutu Formation. The overlying, overpressured shales of the
Baong Formation provides the seal. Buck et al. (1994) also state
that overpressured shales of the Peutu Formation form a lateral
seal.
According to Kjellgren & Suguharto (1989), the petroleum
system in the SE part of the basin is the Baong- Bel umai -
Keutapang system, with the Lower Baong-Bel umai Formations
being the source rocks for light oils and condensates. They also
suggest that oil generated from the Bampo Formation, prior to
the time it entered the gas window, is the source of the bio-
degraded oil found in Kemiri-1 and Kambuna-1 wells.
Most of the Bampo is now buried deeply enough to be in the gas
window. The kerogen type tends to be Type III (gas prone) or Type
II/III (gas and oil prone). Fields in the basin are close to the Lhok
Sukon Rift, in the region of the source kitchen. There is a good
regional seal provided by the Peutu and Baong shales, with the
addition of interbedded shales in the Keutapang Formation.
Thus, productive petroleum systems in this basin require structural
features which include the Arun Limestone, the Baong or Keuta-
pang sandstones and proximity to the Lhok Sukon Rift to
produce potential oil fields. Shallower reservoirs also require fault-
ing to provide conduits for the migrating oil. The systems also
require that subsequent inversion has not been sufficient to
breach the trap.
Pot ent i al dri l l i ng hazards
Overpressure occurs in the Baong Shale overlying the Peutu and
Belumai formations throughout the basin; this can usually be
recognised on the seismic profiles by acoustic transparency. Cor-
rosive CO2 occurs in concentrations varying from 15% at Arun to
82% at Kuala Langsa in the Peutu/Arun Limestone (Caughey &
Wahyudi 1993, p. 204). The limestones also contain varying
amounts of H2S. Alur Siwah, for example, contains about 1.6%
H2S (Barliana et al. 2000, p. 164).
Central Sumatra Basin
The lack of oil seeps discouraged exploration in the Central
Sumatra Basin during the early days of Sumatran petroleum
exploration. However, it has since become Indonesia' s largest pro-
ducing basin, with the establishment of the giant oilfields of Duri
and Minas. The structural features in these oilfields are shallow,
but have excellent seals. According to the IPA Oil Field Atlas,
the first geological survey in the basin was carried out in 1864
along the Siak, Siak Kecil and Mandau Rivers. Over half a
century later two seeps were described near the village of Lubuk
Bendahara. Despite this early interest, it was not until 1933 that
the first exploration well was drilled by Nederlands Koloniale
Petroleum Maatschappi (NKPM), and this well encountered
shallow basement. The first discovery was made in 1938 with
Sebang-I drilled by NKPM. This yielded gas with heavy oil. In
1939 the Lirik Field was discovered with Lirik-3 by NKPM.
The giant Duri field was discovered by SOCAL in 1941.
Minas-1 was about to spud when the Japanese invasion occurred
and the invading forces completed the well. The wellsite geologist
was Toru Oki, who many years later was to play an important role
in Inpex (Indonesia' s largest non-operating producer). After the
war Nederlands Pacific Petroleum Maatschappij (NPPM) returned
with its new Caltex Pacific name and went on to discover Pungut
( 1951 ), Kotabatak (1952) and Bekasap (1955), which have in com-
bination, produced over half a billion barrels of oil, according to
Courteney et al. (1991). Caltex put Minas on stream in 1952 and
Duri, with a more viscous crude, in 1958. Caltex also
established the Palaeogene oil play with their discovery at
Pematang- l i n 1959.
NKPM returned to Sumatra as Standard Vacuum, developed the
Lirik field and went on to make further discoveries in the Lirik
trend, which produce from Neogene and Palaeogene sands. The
North Pulai Field, which is also part of this trend, produced
from fractured metaquartzite basement. The reservoirs in the
Lirik trend range in age from Palaeogene Sihapas to Pleistocene
Minas formation sandstones. Shales within the Minas Formation
form the main regional seal, while the source rocks have tradition-
ally been regarded as the brown shales of the Pematang Group. As
in the North Sumatra Basin, the kitchens are located in the deep
main grabens, the Kiri, Mandau, Bengkalis and the Central
Deep. The major oil fields are all situated close to these nort h-
south grabens.
Tect oni c el ement s
To the NW the Asahan Arch separates the Central Sumatra Basin
from the North Sumatra Basin (Fig. 10.3), and to the SE the
Tigapuluh High separates it from the South Sumatra Basin. The
sediments thin to the NE onto the Malacca Shelf and the Tertiary
sediments disappear beneath the Barisan Range to the SW.
Rift basins were formed in the Eocene, following a nort h-sout h
structural grain. The rifts include the Bengkalis Graben, the
Balam, the Kiri and the Aman (Central Deep) sub-basins. The
Balam Trough-Cent ral Deep contains over 3000 in of Tertiary
fill (Yarmanto et al. 1995). To the east, a region of structural
highs separates the Central Graben from the Bengkalis Graben.
These rift basins were later subject to compression 30 Ma ago,
associated with the mid-Oligocene world-wide drop in sea-level.
According to Courteney et al. (1991) this compression was
caused by the commencement of subduction to the west of
Sumatra. The compression also coincides with the first emergence
of the Barisans as a sediment source. A second phase of com-
pression occurred 21 Ma ago (Courteney et al. 1991), marked by
an unconformity in the sequence. Reactivation of the proto-Bari-
sans created a major unconformity 15.5 Ma ago (Courteney
et al. 1991) restricting the basin even further. This period of
Barisan uplift still continues. Further significant compressional
periods occurred 2.8 and 1.65 Ma ago (Courteney et al. 1991),
resulting in major inversions, creating the classic Sunda Folds of
Eubank & Makki (1981) which formed many large traps.
However, according to Courteney et al. (1991) the traps which
form the giant fields of the basin, have either a long history of
structural growth or were formed by drape over basement highs.
136 CHAPTER 10
100
I
102
2n-
&
100 200k
I I I
Gas Field
e Oil Field
100 102 104
Fig. 10.3. The structure of the Central Sumatra
Basin showing the positions of horst and graben
structures and the localion of oil (grey) and gas
(black) fields.
St rat i graphy
No sediments representing the Cratonic Stage were deposited in
the Central Sumatra Basin. Rifting Stage sediments were depos-
ited directly onto the pre-Tertiary basement, which consists of
greywacke in the west and quartzite in the east. According to
Caughey et al. (1994), the basement provides a good seismic
reflector over the structural highs, but becomes more difficult to
distinguish in the troughs. The earliest Rifting Stage sediments
comprise the Eocene through Early Oligocene Pematang
Formation, and were deposited in the troughs (Fig. 10.4). The
Pematang Formation comprises the Lower Red Beds, the Brown
Shale and the Upper Red Beds. The Lower Red Beds represent
an immature basin fill, of sandstones, shales and conglomerates
deposited in an alluvial/fluvial environment. The Brown Shale
was associated with basinal subsidence, and with the formation
of permanent fresh to brackish water lakes in the Palaeogene
troughs in which anoxic, saline, lacustrinal facies were deposited.
These are algal-rich, dark brown to black shales, which form the
main source-rock for the Central Sumatra Basin. According to
Yarmanto et al. (1995), due to its high amplitude, continuous,
low frequency response the Brown Shale can frequently be
picked on seismic profiles. The Brown Shale and the Lower Red
Beds are observed only within the troughs. The onset of a regres-
sive phase, with the deposition of the Upper Red Beds, composed
of fine to coarse sandstones, siltstones and claystones, resulted in
in-filling of the lakes and a return to a fluvial/alluvial depositional
environment. Palaeosols in the upper part of the red beds act as a
effective seals. Seismically, the top of the Pematang is truncated
by an unconformity, which provides a good seismic reflector.
This unconformity was followed by the Transgressive Stage
with its reservoir sandstones. These sandstones, known generally
as the Sihapas Group, are the main reservoirs in the basin. The
various sandstones are called the Menggala, Bangko, Bekasap,
Duri, Langkat and Tualang formations, with environments of
deposition ranging from inner neritic to braided and meandering
streams. The producing horizons of the Minas and Duri Fields
are the Bekasap and Duri Sandstones, which are deltaic to tidal
in origin. Overall, there was a gradual marine transgression, culmi-
nating in the deposition of the Telisa Shale. The Sihapas interca-
lates basinally with, and is overlain by the Telisa, which
provides the main regional seal.
A compressional phase resulted in a renewed development of the
proto-Barisan 15.5 Ma ago, marked by the influx of sediment from
the west and creating a major unconformity. This tectonic event is
associated with the initiation of the Regressive Stage. The Petani
Formation, the earliest formation of this stage, comprises claystones,
siltstones, thin sandstones and limestones. On seismic sections this
formation can be observed forming prograding wedges, derived
from the west. The Plio-Pleistocene Minas Formation represents
the final phase of deposition. The last major compressional phase,
from 2.8 to 1.65 Ma ago brought about an inversion of the structures.
Most of the major fields were formed at this time, although they are
usually also associated with older pre-existing features.
Reservoi rs
The Sihapas Group forms the main reservoir for this basin. It is
composed of Menggala, Bangko, Bekasap, Duri, Lakat and
Tualang Sandstones, varying environmentally from fluvial to
inner neritic. The Upper Red Beds of the Pematang Formation
can also form reservoirs, especially in the troughs; these reservoirs
were formed in fluvial or alluvial sediments.
OIL & GAS 137
System
O- Quaternary
Epoch
Central Sumatra Basin
Pleistocene I
I Pliocene
(~ ~ i.. ,. , . , . - . , . - : . : ~, , . . . . . : , i Upr Pet ani / Kor i nci J- , . : :, : . , , , . , . , : .- ... : . . , :. :. :. . i
~ ~ ~ !..::..:,!,-::~~Lr.petant/Bin!~ .
8 s __
0
r
i
C o
0
o
0
-=,- .uprS!aPas/Durll !..:,
[ [ [ I - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ' , . ,
UJ
Late
Source Fbservoir Seal
Pre- Tert i ary
Fig. 10.4. The stratigraphy of the Central Sumatra Basin showing the position of source beds, reservoirs and seals.
Source rocks and hydrocarbon type
The Middle Oligocene Brown Shale, within the Pematang For-
mation, forms the main source-rock for the basin, with TOC
(total organic carbon) averaging 5%. It is an excellent, dark brown
to black, algal rich, source rock, restricted to the Palaeogene deeps
and was deposited in restricted, fresh to brackish water lakes.
Hydrocarbons found in the Central Sumatra Basin are predomi-
nantly oil, due to the presence of these oil-prone lacustrine
source-rocks.
Pet rol eum systems
The Pematang Sihapas System is the most prolific petroleum
system, according to Howes and Tisnawijaya (1995), with an
EUR (estimated untapped reserve) of 12.8 BBOE (billion barrels
of oil equivalent). The low gas (about 5% of the EUR) is presum-
ably due to oil-prone nature of the lacustrine Pematang Brown
Shale source-rocks. The Menggala, Bekasap and Duri marine
sandstones of the Sihapas Group comprise the reservoirs. Shale
of the Telisa Formation forms the seal.
The Pematang Pematang System comprises the Pematang
Upper Red Beds forming the reservoir with the same Brown
Shale forming the source. Palaeosol at the top of the Upper Red
Beds creates the seal.
Sout h Sumat ra Basi n
The South Sumatra Basin received a great deal of attention in the
early days of petroleum exploration because of the numerous oil
seeps in the area. According to Courteney et al. (1990), oil was
first reported in the South Sumatra Basin near Muara Enim, to
the east of Karangradja by Granberg in 1866. He observed three
seeps from which oil was being collected and traded by the
local people and suggested that this indicated the potential for
larger production. Strief later described two of these seeps in
1877, but it was not until 1896 that the first discovery was
made by Muara Enim Petroleum on the Kampong Minyak Anticli-
norium with Kampong Minyak-1. The Kampong Minyak field is
still producing over a hundred years later, having produced
about 15 million barrels of oil. In the same year, according to
Zeliff et al. (1985), the Royal Dutch Company, discovered the 4
million barrel Sumpal Field. However, it was a quarter of a
century later before the first significant discovery was made in
1922, when 370 mmbls were discovered at Talang Akar by
NKPM (later Stanvac); this is still the largest oil field discovered
in the basin. The last discoveries, of greater than 100 mmbl s of oil,
were the Talang Jamar, which according to the IPA Oil and Gas
Field Atlas had produced over 170 mmbo by 1992, and Kaji-
Semoga, which according to Hutapea et al. (2000) contains
150 mmbo of recoverable reserves. Nearly two billion barrels have
so far been discovered in the South Sumatra Basin, the largest
fields being on the Pendopo-Li mau Anticlinorium (Fig. 10.5).
138 CHAPTER 10
2s
4s
6s
102 104
I
0 1 O0 20,
I I I I
106
I
I I
102 104 106
9 Gas Field
0 Oil Field
2s
4s
108
Fig. 10.5. The structure of the South Sumatra
Basin showing the positions of depressions and
highs and the location of oil (grey) and gas
(black) lields.
The leaky nature of the seals results in hydrocarbons
migrating into reservoirs throughout the Oligo-Miocene
sequence. The reservoirs include Lemat and Talang Akar Sand-
stones, Batu Raja Limestones, sandstones within the Gumai For-
mation, and sandstones throughout the Air Benakat and the
Muara Enim formations (Fig. 10.6). The Late Oligocene to
Early Miocene Talang Akar Sandstones are fluvial at the base
and marine at the top, indicating a rise in relative sea level.
The Miocene Batu Raja Limestones formed as carbonate
build-ups on basement highs. Source-rocks include coals and
high gamma ray shales within the Talang Akar Formation,
whilst the lacustrine sediments of the Lahat contribute a distinct,
high wax oil (Caughey pers. comm.). Frequently the Talang
Akar Sandstones form stratigraphic traps where sandstones
wedge out against basement highs. The Gumai marine shales
provide the main regional seal in the basin, however, hydrocar-
bons do get through it, so that, as mentioned previously, the Air
Benakat and Muara Enim Sandstones higher in the sequence are
also significant hydrocarbon reservoirs.
In the past the prime exploration target was oil, but now the
emphasis has changed to gas, with recent large discoveries in
deeply buried Talang Akar and fractured we-Tertiary reser-
voirs. Starting with discovery of Dayung in 1991, fractured
basement has become a significant objective reservoir for
gas. Gas is piped from the South Sumatra Basin to the
Central Sumatra Basin 536 km to the north, where it is used
in the Duri tertiary recovery steam flood project. Agreements
were signed early in 2001 for a pipeline from South
Sumatra to Singapore, and the gas will also be used locally
to run small electricity generators for power generation and
industrial use.
Tectonic elements
The Lampung High separates the South Sumatra Basin fi'om the
Sunda Basin to the east and the Tigapuluh High separates it
from the Central Sumatra Basin to the NW. In the NE, the basin
thins towards the Bangka part of the Sunda Craton and towards
the SW, like the basins to the north, it wedges beneath the
Barisan Mountains (Fig. [0.5).
The South Sumatra Basin formed initially during Late Eocene
rifting. The basin can be divided into two distinct parts, the Palem-
bang sub-basin to the south and the Jambi sub-basin to the north.
The two sub-basins are slightly off-set from each other, and the
rifts are orientated nort h-sout h in the Palembang sub-basin and
NE- SW in the Jambi sub-basin. The rift valleys so formed were
to become the source kitchens around which oil accumulations
would later be found. Basement highs formed eroding areas pro-
viding a sediment source and were eventually submerged to
form the substrate on which carbonate build-ups would form. A
sag phase in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene promoted
growth of carbonate banks tbrmed on structural highs.
In the Mid-Miocene wrenching occurred, and this was followed
by a period of subsidence prior to a compressional phase in the
Plio-Pleistocene. The end result is a pattern of north-south or
NE- SW horsts and grabens with superimposed NW-SE-paral l el
fold trends, with associated high-angle compressional faults.
Stratigraphy
Sediments representing the Cratonic Stage are absent in the South
Sumatra Basin. Tertiary sediments overlie Mesozoic limestones,
OIL & GAS 139
System Epoch South Sumat r a Basin Source Ft~servo,, Seal
O-- Quate(na ry Pleistocene
Pl i ocene
5- ~
_J
9
) GumaiF- : : : i : i l
: -
LU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
m~
2s- .i ~
1,,. a>
(11 g
3~ _C}')
0
o i :: : : : :: : : : : : :: : . : : : ! ::::
O LU
- /
I
l
Late " * . . . . . " ~ ~ ~
Pre-Tertiary
Fig. 10.6. The stratigraphy of the South Sumatra Basin showing the positions of source rocks, reservoirs and seals.
various metasediments and igneous rocks of the basement directly.
The Lahat Formation represents the earliest Rifting Stage. This
formation has been penetrated in the Palembang Sub-basin, but
has not so far been encountered in the Jambi Sub-Basin, probably
due to its greater depth in that area. The Lahat Formation is absent
on basement highs, and some grabens have not been drilled below
the ' overlying' Talang Akar Formation. The Lahat Formation rep-
resents the initial rift valley sediments, which overlie the Kikim
Tufts, erupted as the rifts opened. Thus, the Lahat consists of allu-
vial fans, basal conglomerates, lacustrine and fluvial sediments. It
is likely that these late Eocene lacustrine facies provide one of the
sources of oil for the basin.
The depositional environments of sediments of the Talang Akar
Formation range from fluvio-deltaic at the base to marine at
the top, and represent a transition from the last component of
the Rifting Stage into the earliest component of the Transgressive
Stage. The fluvio-deltaic deposits include source rocks, either as
coals or high-gamma shales, between fluvial sandstones. As the
sea transgressed across the basement highs, carbonate build-ups
developed around them (Batu Raja Formation). These build-ups
formed along a coastal shelf adjacent to the Sunda Shelf and on
basement highs that protruded into the basin. The coastal shelf
was widest in the Palembang Sub-Basin to the south, becoming
narrower towards the north and was absent in the northern part
of the Jambi Sub-basin. Shales of the Gumai Formation eventually
engulfed the carbonate buildups, forming a regional seal. This seal
is more effective in the Palembang Sub-basin than in the Jambi
Sub-basin, as the shales are thicker. The Gumai Formation rep-
resents the height of the transgression and is followed by the
Regressive Stage Air Benakat Formation, and by the Muara
Enim Formation.
Reservoirs
Pre-Tertiary basement is becoming a significant reservoir in the
South Sumatra Basin, as with the development of the infrastruc-
ture, gas is becoming more significant in the economics of the
area. Dayung is an example of a basement field producing gas
from fractured pre-Tertiary granite wash and granite (Zeliff &
Bastian 2000). Fractured metasedimentary lithologies are also
reservoirs.
The Talang Akar Formation contains two types of reservoir, in
fluvial sandstones in the lower part of the formation and in marine
sandstones in the upper part. The fluvial sandstones form thick but
relatively poor quality reservoirs, being created by the coalescence
of channels, while the marine sandstones tend to be thin but
more porous and permeable. The basal part of the Talang Akar
is sometimes conglomeratic and merges into weathered basement.
The Batu Raja carbonates vary from very porous to tight. The
porosity is generally secondary, with many stages of diagenesis
being involved. Sometimes a dual porosity system occurs
with fractures connecting the vugs. Predicting the porosity
140 CHAPTER l0
development is tricky, as with all carbonates, but there is a ten-
dency for the limestones to have a better porosity at the top of
buildups. In some areas, such as part of the Air Sedang field, the
top of the limestone cannot be distinguished from the overlying
shale on seismic data. This is due to the high porosity of the lime-
stone, which brings the velocity down to that of the shale.
However, the Batu Raja is usually a very clear seismic marker.
Shales equivalent to the Batu Raja commonly show a velocity con-
trast with the overlying shales, due to their high carbonate content.
The Gumai Formation frequently contains marine glauconitic
sandstones which are occasionally very fine grained and tight,
but may also form good reservoirs. The sandstones may also act
as thief beds, downlapping onto the underlying reservoirs and
allowing hydrocarbons to escape.
The Air Benakat Formation contains many sandstones which
may form stacked reservoirs. As this is a regressive sequence indi-
vidual sandstone reservoirs vary considerably in quality and areal
extent. Within the Jambi Sub-basin there are usually shows of
some degree in every sand, but these sands crop out and
sub-crop along the edge of the Sunda landmass where they are fre-
quently exposed to meteoric waters. The areal extent of the sands
varies and the water salinity of each sand interval varies also, this
in turn has affected the extent of biodegradation of the hydro-
carbons. Finally, sandstones within the Muara Enim Formation
also form reservoirs in this basin.
Source rocks and hydrocarbon type
Hydrocarbons in the South Sumatra Basin are both gas and oil, this
is probably due to the early migration of oil from the source rocks
followed by later gas migration. Source rocks are lacustrinal facies
of the Lahat Formation, which may be the source of high pour
point waxy oils, and the shales and coals of the Talang Akar For-
mation. The Talang Akar Shales have a high gamma-ray response,
which is frequently associated with a high total organic carbon
content. The Gumai could provide a marine source rock, but gen-
erally has low organic levels and is thermally immature in most
parts of the basin.
Petroleum systems
As mentioned earlier, there are several possible source rocks. Oil
type analysis indicates that more than one type of oil is present, but
all are derived from the Talang Akar Formation or older units. The
primary system, therefore, is associated with the Talang Akar
Sandstones and/ or the underlying fractured basement, which
form the reservoir part of the system and are usually in direct
contact with the source-rock. Gas is also significant, as according
to Zeliff & Bastian (2000) 14.8 TCF gas reserves have been dis-
covered in basement reservoirs. The graben areas are the kitchens
and thus plays tend to be adjacent to them. The Talang Akar sand-
stones are also the main conduit for hydrocarbon migration to
other reservoirs, either directly or via faulting. Faulting occurred
in the Mid-Miocene as well as in the Plio-Pleistocene, developing
numerous pathways. Since the Talang Akar Formation wedges out
on basement highs, and the Batu Raja carbonates were formed on
the highs, a connection is provided between the source and the
Batu Raja reservoir. The downlapping Intra-Gumai Sandstones
provide a connection with either the Talang Akar Sandstones or
the Batu Raja for further upward migration, while sandier parts
of the Gumai and faulting produce the final contact with the Air
Benakat sandstones.
Potential drilling hazards
Coals in the Muara Enim Formation occasionally slough into the
hole, pipe-sticking is experienced in the Gumai Formation and
circulation has been lost in both the Batu Raja Limestone and in
fractured basement. In some areas the lower part of the Gumai
is geo-pressured, this in combination with possible loss of circula-
tion in the Batu Raja can lead to blow-outs. CO2 is present in
varying amounts in the Batu Raja Limestone, with higher percen-
tages in the basement and H=S has been encountered in the Batu
Raja and Talang Akar formations. Zeliff & Bastian (2000)
report gas columns of up to 1 km in recent highly permeable
fractured basement discoveries. The well control problems that
this causes have been tackled with underbalanced drilling with
rotary BOPs (blow-out-preventers).
Other Sumatran basins
The search for hydrocarbons in the remainder of the sedimentary
basins in Sumatra has not been successful. Exploration has been
limited by the perceived high risk. The remaining basins can be
divided into two groups: outer-arc basins and the intramontane
or intra-arc basins.
Outer-arc basins
Outer-arc basins occur to the west of the Barisan Mountains and
underlie the coastal region and the offshore areas between main-
land Sumatra and the outer-arc islands. From north to south these
basins are the Sibolga, Mentawai and Bengkulu basins. The outer-
arc basins, as mentioned earlier, have low geothermal gradients
due to the double thickness of the plate in subduction zones,
and thus a greater depth of burial is required for maturation.
This may have not always been true throughout the history of
the basins as there is an extinct spreading centre that intersects
the outer- arc system at the Pini Arch, which separates the
Sibolga Basin from the Mentawai Basin. This spreading centre,
which now forms the Wharton Ridge, became inactive in the
Eocene, probably due to j ammi ng in the trench. If Sumatra was
subjected to clockwise rotation caused by the collision of the
Indian Plate with the Asian plate, then according to Clure
(1991) the spreading centre would have been subducted beneath
the Bengkulu and Mentawai Basins. The passage of the spreading
centre would have resulted in a period of higher heat flow and
possible oil generation in the outer arc basins. Oil shows to the
west of the Barisan Mountains are found only in the Bengkulu
Basin to the south of the Pini Arch, whilst to the north of the
arch only gas, probably of biogenic origin, has been found.
Another factor in this scenario is that volcanic and metamorphic
rocks in the Barisan Mountains provided a provenance only for
clays, shales and poor quality lithic sandstones, due to the
limited availability of quartz. Various granite plutons provide
local sources of quartz sandstone, but this type of provenance is
characterized by the deficiency of coarse clastics. Prior to the
uplift of the Barisan, sediments in the outer- arc basins came all
the way from the Sunda Craton to the east, and the outer- arc
basins formed part of the basins that became backarc basins
after Barisan uplift. For example, the Bengkulu Basin is
thought to have originally formed part of the South Sumatra
Basin. Various attempts have been made to trace the grabens
from the backarc basins into the outer-arc areas and thus
explore for the rift sequences, but the success of this exercise is
dependent on the estimated amount of displacement along the
Sumatran Fault. If these rifts continue into the outer-arc area
they are still very far from the presumed source of sediment in
the exposed Sunda Craton, and therefore the clastics are likely
to be finer, the coarse sediments having dropped out of the
system nearer the source area of the sediments.
Satellite images of Sumatra show a significant number of rivers
radiating out from a point in the central part of the Barisans. Prior
OIL & GAS 141
to Barisan uplift, Sumatra had a regional slope from the Sunda
Craton in the east, towards the sea to the SW and the drainage
was in the reverse direction to the drainage at the present day.
At that time the drainage pattern converged on the Mentawai
Basin, thus providing the basin with a coarse clastic source.
However, if reservoir quality clastic sediments are deficient,
then hope lies in the carbonates; sub-commercial quantities of
gas have been discovered in carbonate buildups in the Sibolga
Basin. Unfortunately, these scenarios are just theoretical, and
can only be proved or disproved by the drill bit. Testing in this
area is greatly hampered in both the Mentawai and Bengkulu
Basins by water depth, as the shelf in these areas is very narrow,
and the slope quickly plunges off to many thousands of metres,
stretching offshore drilling technology to its limit. This high-
cost, high-risk scenario has limited exploration in these basins.
Exploration in the Sibolga Basin has involved a few early wells
to test the carbonate play, and there has been some recent explora-
tion by Caltex in the offshore Nias area, but like Union before
them they encountered only non-commercial quantities of bio-
genic gas. The Mentawai Basin has not as yet attracted any drilling
activity, due to the depth of the water, and it therefore remains
very much a frontier zone. The Bengkulu Basin, with onshore
oil seeps has, however, attracted exploration offshore, although
the results to date have not been encouraging. A few companies
over the years have searched for the western limits of the
Talang Akar Formation of South Sumatra, or possible Baturaja
carbonate build-ups. Sources of oil would lie in sediments depos-
ited in undetected lakes within rift grabens.
Intermontane basins
The Intramontane or Intra-arc Basins are extensions of the Central
and South Sumatra Basins and were initially part of those basins
prior to the uplift of the Barisans, which isolated them from the
main basin area. The earlier history in these basins is very
similar to the backarc basins from which they have become dis-
connected. Such basins include the Mandian, Kampar Kanan,
Ombilin and the Bandar Jaya basins.
The Banda Jaya Basin has a reasonably complete, although thin,
younger section, whilst the Ombilin Basin, due to subsequent
uplift, is missing the younger section, either as the result of non-
deposition, due to isolation from the main sediment source, or to
erosion. Oil shows were observed in the Sinimar-1 well drilled
by Caltex in the Ombilin Basin, demonstrating that generation
of hydrocarbons had occurred in this area; however this is the
only well to have been drilled in this basin.
The Bandar Jaya Basin, which is made up of a series of smaller
half grabens, has been tested by a few wells, which encountered
Lahat through Air Benakat formations, but these wells were
unsuccessful in finding hydrocarbons, probably due to the low
maturity of sediments in this area.
Chapter 11
Fuel res ources : coal
L. P. THOMAS
The coal resources of Sumatra were developed rapidly during the
1980s and 1990s following the oil shocks of the 1970s. This encour-
aged the Indonesian Government to develop the abundant coal
resources of the nation as a major source of energy, as it was
appreciated that it was not sensible to rely upon any single energy
source. Coal resources are now of vital importance to the indonesian
economy, being used as fuel in preference to that of oil for thermo-
electric generating stations, and cement works, throughout Indone-
sia. Coal has also been developed as one of Indonesia' s major
export commodities, being shipped to ASEAN countries and
other countries in the Far East, such as Malaysia, Thailand, the Phi-
lippines, Taiwan, Korea and Japan, which are deficient in fuel
resources, as well as further afield to Europe.
Coal was first discovered under the Dutch colonial adminis-
tration in the Ombilin Basin, within the Barisan Mountains, near
Sawahlunto in West Sumatra in 1891 (Fig. 11.1). The area has a
rugged mountainous topography and mining operations could
not commence until a railway line had been constructed to trans-
port the coal from Sawahlunto to the port of Teluk Bayur south of
Padang on the west coast of Sumatra. The Ombilin area continues
as a major producer of coal, mostly through open-cast mining, but
much of the coal is now transported to the coast by road. in 1919,
the Bukit Asam Mine in South Sumatra began production, the coal
being exported again by rail transport through the ports of Kerta-
pati near Palembang and Tarahan near Kotaagung (Fig. 11.1).
Underground mining operations ceased in 1938, but mining in
this area has continued through opencast mining to the present
day. The Ombilin and Bukit Asam mines produced virtually all
of the Indonesian coal before World War II, reaching a peak pro-
duction of 2 million tonnes (Mt) in 1941. Post-war production fell
to less than 0.15 Mt in 1973, due in part to the preference for oil as
a cheap fuel. However in 1976, when oil prices rose dramatically
coal reappeared as a major source of fuel. Currently annual coal
production in Sumatra is around 12 Mt from both state and pri-
vately owned mines.
Geology and coal deposits in Sumatra
Coal deposits in Sumatra, as elsewhere throughout the Indonesian
Archipelago, occur almost entirely within Tertiary sequences.
Traces of coal occur in the Pre-Tertiary basement in the Barisan
Mountains, in rocks of Permo-Carboniferous age, but not in suffi-
cient quantity to be of any economic importance. On the other
hand, economic coal deposits of Tertiary age are abundant and
distributed throughout Sumatra, ranging from the Eocene to the
Pliocene (van Bemmelen 1949; Robertson Research 1974).
Nort h Sumat ra
Coal deposits in north Sumatra are largely confined to rocks of
Palaeogene age. The coals are black, bituminous or sub-bituminous
in rank. Coal seams are only locally developed and show rapid vari-
ations in thickness. The overlying Neogene deposits contain numer-
ous thin seams of brown coal rank.
Tertiary sedimentation in the North Sumatra Basin (Fig. 11.1)
commenced with a marine transgression from the NW, across an
eroded surface of folded Palaeozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary
and igneous rocks. Following this transgression, a continental
and paralic sequence of coarse clastic sediments, with interbedded
coal seams and subordinate limestones, was deposited over a wide
area, extending from Nias Island in the west, to the Malacca Straits
in the east. This basal sequence ranges in age from Eocene and
Oligocene in the north, to Lower Miocene in the SE. The continen-
tal and paralic sequence was followed by a second marine trans-
gression with the deposition of a thick sequence of marine
shales, with subordinate sandstones and limestones of Oligocene
to Miocene age, represented by the Bampo Formation in
the central and northern parts of the basin. The North Sumatra
Basin is separated from the Central and South Sumatra Basins to
the south, by the Asahan Basement High (Fig. 11.1).
Coals have been described from Palaeogene sediments in the
northeastern part of Nias Island to the west of Sumatra,
where one or two coal seams, less than 0.5 m in thickness, dip at
20- 40 ~ to the west. There are also Neogene coals of Miocene
age on Nias (Robertson Research 1974).
On the west coast of Sumatra coal occurrences are known from
the Palaeogene Sibolga and Loser Formations in the Tapaktuan
and Tapanuli Bay areas (Cameron et al. 1983). At Tapaktuan,
the sequence dips steeply at 25- 45 ~ and contains at least two
coal seams 0. 20-0. 60 m thick. The coal is black, vitreous, often
pyritic with a high clay content. Coals have been recorded from
the rivers which flow into the northern part of Tapanuli Bay.
The dips for these seams range from 8 ~ to 20' and are relatively
thin, 0. 2-0. 5 m in thickness.
A number of coals and carbonaceous horizons have also been
recorded in the Neogene sequence in the Meulaboh area, in the foot-
hills to the west of the Barisan Range. Here up to 5 coal seams have
been observed, ranging from 0.4 to 3.0 m in thickness. The coals are
brown and are interbedded with clay and bituminous shale.
To the east of the Barisan Mountains, in the northern part of
Aceh, the Palaeogene basal sequence contains a number of coal
seams, usually less than 1 m in thickness. In the Bohorok district
to the west of Medan, seams of 0. 4-0. 5 m dip at 45 ~ The coal
is black, vitreous and pyritic. The thickest development of coals
occurs in the Kualu River, where seams of up to 6 m have been
recorded (van Bemmelen, p. 49 1949; Robertson Research 1974),
but the seams decrease southwards to less than 1 m in thickness.
Again the coal is black and resinous with associated pyrite.
In the central area of the North Sumatra Basin, a large number of
thin carbonaceous horizons occur in a late Miocene sequence,
several hundreds of metres in thickness. These seams are
low-rank coals, classified as brown coals.
Central and South Sumat ra
At the close of the Cretaceous period, Central and South Sumatra
formed part of an extensive landmass with considerable topo-
graphic relief. At the beginning of the Tertiary, fault-bounded
troughs formed within this landmass. The earliest Tertiary
sediments were deposited in the troughs, but subsequently
extended across the margins to form the Central and South
Sumatra Basins. Throughout Tertiary times these basins were sep-
arated from the North Sumatra Basin by the Asahan Basement
High (Fig. 11.1). These basins are asymmetric in character being
142
COAL 143
COAL LOCALI TI ES OF SUMATRA
Banda Aceh 10~~
~ - " ' . Sumatra I
h , )
I~ Meula ~ " 4~ Meulaboh ~ ~. Kual Medan
har t
"~ Basement ~ ~J.
NI ,, Basin
" " t Kor i nci " ~
" Basi n " ": , ' .
s
t-" l lc arornqo: : ,W.: : : 9 %e~ v' "
~, ~ ., .,:::~::,TA~T.A/hed Indo ~,9o~I -~
/ 4oeysa~, v: . , , i i A, pT:.~,AOmbthn~,~,~r4tr :ii .... .. d.~S .v
I-'aaangM ! ~e~l ~i d~i & e" ,~o~ "~ ".
' "~: : ! ! i i : ": : - . Qf 5~ _ ~, ....
L X Toluk'k~ "zO-r~. blT'n ," ~n.~n,,I
"~ Bayu~ s
~Painan
I , ': ~
_ _ _ _ I ~ . "l,'..x. ' ..... ...... : : ~~ ~ ''~
~7 . . . . . Sumatra " ~ '
/ " . . . . . . ~ =~ Pat e LEGEND "~ ., , "-s~m~~a! 'e,
9 Pr oduci ng Coal Mi nes n(
9 O TownSMajor Por t s Pul ai Baai ~~{ ! ~r ~Ut ama i
,iq::i~i:~i!:'.:i!~) Coal Basins ~_~i~".:, "..
t~ ~ "~-. . . ~ " Tara.
, _. , Large Sedimentary Basins " L ~ ~ , 4
! 250 Km , !
102~
I
4~
2~
Fig, 11.1. The major sedimentary basins, the coal-bearing basins, production areas and coal-exporting ports in Sumatra.
144 CHAPTER 11
bounded to the SW by faults and horsts of pre-Tertiary rocks al ong
the Barisan Range, and to the NE by pre-Tertiary rocks in the
Tigapuluh Hills close to the original Tertiary depositional bound-
ary. There is evidence that the basins ext ended further west than
the present limits of outcrop, as Tertiary sediments occur along
the SW coast of Sumatra near Bengkulu, to the west of the
Barisan Range (Fig. l 1.1).
Both Pal aeogene and Neogene sediments are present in the
Central and South Sumat ra basins. The Pal aeogene consists of
paralic and tuffaceous non-mari ne clastic sediments preserved in
restricted grabens (the Lemat, Pemat ang and Kelesa Formations).
Neogene sediments, consisting of marine shales, limestones and
shallow water sandstones, represent a marine transgressive
phase, passing upwards into non-mari ne shales of Middle Palem-
bang (Muaraenim) and Korinci formations of late Mi ocene and
Pliocene age, with widespread coal formation (de Coster 1974).
Numerous records of coal exposures in Central Sumatra are
listed by van Bemmel en (1949, p. 49). There are rarely more
than two seams at any locality. Most coal seams are less than
1 m in thickness and many coals are of poor quality cont ai ni ng
clay or carbonaceous shale.
Significant Palaeogene coal deposits occur in the Painan District
on the west coast of Sumatra south of Padang, where up to six
coals are present, one reachi ng 2 m in thickness. The coals are
interbedded with shales and the total sequence, which is 10-
15 m thick, dips from 45 c' to vertical. These coals have been
affected by volcanic intrusions of basalt and dolerite.
The Sungei - Sapuh/ Sungei - Ker uh District contains several
coals, one of which is 2- 4 m thick. Other occurrences of coal
are in the Bat ang Tui area and numerous localities on the west
and east coasts, all of mi nor importance.
The most important coal devel opment in Central Sumatra and
the principal coal producer is the Ombi l i n Coalfield whi ch
occurs within the Eocene to ?Miocene, Sawahl unt o Formation.
This coalfield is situated within the Barisan Mount ai ns 90 km
inland from Padang (Fig. 11.1). The coal deposit occurs in
the i nt ermont ane Ombi l i n Basin, the axis of which is oriented
NW- SE, in line with the main structural trend of the Barisan
Range. The basin is severely block-faulted in WNW- ESE, and
NNE- SSW directions. The coal-bearing sediments are locally
strongly folded and faulted, with both normal and reverse faults,
maki ng the correlation of individual coal seams difficult.
The Ombi l i n Coalfield lies within the northwestern limb of the
Ombi l i n Basin. The coalfield is subdivided geographi cal l y into the
Sungai - Dur i an, Tanah Hitam, Sugar, Sigalut and Parambahan
coalfields.
Within the Ombilin Basin the Sawahlunto Formation is made up
of conglomerates, sandstones and shales. In the Tanah Hitam and
Sungai Durian fields, the lower part of the sequence contains a
thin coal or coaly shale layer, designated the D seam. The upper
part of the formation contains three principal coal seams designated
the A (average thickness 2 m), B (0. 6-1. 0 m) and C seams (average
thickness 6 m). These seams occur in a sequence of 40- 80 m in
thickness and dip at 12 ~ towards the east (Robertson Research 1974).
To the east of Ombilin, Neogene coals have been identified in
the Cerenti area near Rengat in Riau where exploration was
carried out in 1988. Here the coal-bearing Mi o-Pl i ocene Korinci
Format i on contains six seams rangi ng from 1.6 to 14.0 m in thick-
ness. In the Si namar coal basin, situated further south, at the border
bet ween Jambi and West Sumatra provinces, the coals are of
Ol i gocene age, and have a thickness of 2- 9 m. Adjoining the
Si namar area, at Mampun Pandan, coal seams 5- 11 m thick are
present. All of these coals are of hi gh volatile sub-bituminous
rank.
The other principal economi c coal deposits in central and
southern Sumatra are of Neogene age. Neogene coals occur in
the Korinci Basin within the Central Sumatra Basi n (Fig. 11.1).
These coals occur in the Muaraeni m Format i on of Pliocene
age, are usually two or three in number and are interbedded with
tuffaceous horizons, the most significant coal developments
being along the Pi l adang River, where the total thickness of
three coal seams is around 9 m.
Significant coal-bearing deposits of Mi ocene age are found in
the area of Buki t Sunur in the Bengkul u District (Fig. 11.1). The
coal is being worked in three areas. The Buki t Sunur Coalfield
itself is the most important of these occurrences and contains
three seams, 1. 6-3. 5 m in thickness, with a maxi mum of 10 m.
The coal has been affected by the intrusion of the Sunur andesite
and at several localities has been altered to coke. At Susup Leman,
two coals are present, with thicknesses of more than 2- 3 m. At
Bukit Puding, five or six coals are present of which one or two
reach thicknesses of over 1.4 m. At Pilubang, two thick coals
show evidences of alteration by the andesite resulting in a loss
of volatiles. Owi ng to the effects of contact metamorphism, the
quality of the coal in these occurrences varies considerably. In
all these areas the deposits are strongly faulted.
In southern Sumatra virtually all the Pal aeogene coal occur-
rences are found within the Lahat Formation in Jambi Province.
The coals are thought to be of similar age to those at Ombilin,
but are general l y thinner, seams not being more than 1.5 m and
usually less than 0.5 m thick. The coals are present in a sequence
of conglomerates, sandstones and shales similar to that at Ombilin.
To date the Palaeogene coals of South Sumatra have not proved to
be of economi c importance. On the other hand the Neogene of
Jambi Province yields numerous lignite outcrops with two or
three seams, as much as 5- 7 m thick, with low angles of dip.
At Bukit Asam in South Sumatra Province, Neogene coals from
the Miocene, Middle Pel ambang Beds, have been exploited since
1919. Three groups of coals are present, the lower group contains
the Merapi Seam ( 8- 10 m thick), together with a number of
thinner seams. The middle group contains the Mangus
Bed which consists of coals 14- 22 m thick including a 4 m
cl ay- t uf f band. This bed is separated from the overlying Suban
Bed by 15 m with no coal. The Suban Bed consists of 7- 10 m
of coal, containing a clay layer of 1.5 m. Some 30 m above, is
the Petai Bed containing 5- 8 m of coal. The third and uppermost
group contains six or seven coal seams, the youngest of which may
be as much as 30 m thick. In various parts of the Bukit Asam area,
Table 11.1. General coal qualities r and pro,spective Sumatran coals "air dried basis) (Soehandojo 1989)
Area or coal mine Total Inherent Ash % Volatile Calorific
moisture % moisture % matter % value Kcal / kg
Total
sulphur %
PTBA Ombilin 12 6 8 36
PTBA Bukit Asam (Steam) 18-28 7-15 5-8 32-38
PTBA Bukit Asam (Anthracite) 7-8 1-4 6-10 9-15
PT Allied Indo - - 4 10 37
PT Bukit Sunur 12-16 4-9 5-14 34-40
PT Danau Mas Hitam 14 7-10 8-10 37-40
Cerenti area - - 18 7-9 38
Sinamar area - - 17 10 35
6900
5500-6500
7500-8000
6900
6000-6900
6300-6500
4700
5180
0.5 -0.6
0.4-0.6
1.0 max
0.5
0.8
1.0 max
0.3
1.4
COAL 145
Table 11.2. Ash analysis f or Air Laya Coal (yon
Schwartzenberg 1989)
Element Average (%) Range (%)
si Q 64.0 50-85
A1203 25.4 7-35
Fe203 4.4 1-9
TiO2 0.5 0.2 -4.0
CaO 1.6 0.2-3.5
MgO 1.1 0.3 - 3.5
K20 0.6 0.2-2.5
NazO 0.9 0.2 -4.0
SO3 1.3 0.2-3.5
P 0.3 0.1-1.0
the coals have been ameliorated by the younger andesites of
the Serelo Mountains to produce locally altered coals of sub-
bituminous, bituminous and anthracite rank.
Coal-bearing sediments are found at Sukamarinda occurring
immediately adjacent to Bukit Asam, where two layers of
lignite, 2 and 5 m thick, have been locally altered by an igneous
intrusion. In the Ajer Serillo area, a thick lignite is present,
whilst in the Bunian area a lignite has been thermally altered. In
the Kendi n-Ri ngi n area there are over 12 coals 5- 15 m thick.
All these areas have coals similar to those found at Bukit Asam.
All the coals are autochthonous in nature.
Coal qual i t y
The very large tonnages of low rank lignite found throughout
Sumatra are not currently mined in any significant amounts.
Consequently very little quality data has been collected for these
lignites. Investigations of coal quality have centred on the coal
seams of sub-bituminous, bituminous and anthracite rank.
Quality determines the value and marketability of coals. Quality
is primarily dependent on the rank of the coal, i.e. higher rank
coals will have lower moisture content and volatile matter
levels, and higher calorific values (CV) than lower rank coals.
Importantly, Indonesian coals generally have low ash and
sulphur levels, making them particularly attractive for use in the
electricity generating industry. Table 11.1 summarizes the chief
quality parameters of the principal Sumatran coal deposits.
Bituminous coals from the Ombilin Basin have <7% inherent
moisture, <10% ash, and <1% sulphur, with a calorific value
(CV) of 6900 kcal kg -1. These coals are therefore good-quality
steam coals, accounting for the long history of mining at
Ombilin. Higher-rank coals are present in small amounts, due to
the alteration caused by the intrusion of igneous rocks into the
coal-bearing sequences. At Bukit Asam, anthracite is open-cast
mined for domestic use. The surrounding unaltered coal is lower
in rank, with higher moisture and lower CV levels (see
Table 11.1) and is chiefly used for domestic power generation.
The nature of the ash content in the coals is important, particu-
larly in influencing the burning performance and efficiency
in power station boilers. An example of ash analysis is given
in Table 11.2 for the Air Laya deposit at Bukit Asam (von
Schwarzenberg 1986) in which it can be seen that the chief con-
stituents in the ash are silica and alumina. High contents of iron
and/ or calcium can affect the performance of the coal, by lower-
ing the ash fusion temperature, which can cause slagging in the
boiler. Similarly high amounts of reactives (K20 and Na20) are
also undesirable, because they can cause fouling in the boiler.
Coal res ources and pr oduc t i on
The total coal and lignite resources in Indonesia are estimated at
38 billion tonnes (Symon 1997, p.88). Sumatra contains 64% of
the total, some 24 billion tonnes, of which 3.1 billion tonnes are
reserves, defined within measured status (see Table 11.3). The
bulk of these resources are in the Ombilin Basin, Central
Sumatra, and in the Bukit Asam area of South Sumatra.
From these figures it is clear that significant resources of coal
and lignite exist in Sumatra and have yet to be exploited. The
reasons for the relative lack of development of these resources is
a combination of geographical inaccessibility, remoteness from
markets and the general low rank and quality of the larger part
of the resource.
Coal production in Indonesia has risen from around 0.5 million
tonnes per annum (Mtpa) in 1983, to 73 Mtpa in 1999 and to 92 Mt
in 2001. Significantly, 66 Mt is exported (i.e. 72% of production).
indonesia is rapidly heading to being the third largest exporter of
thermal coal in the world after Australia and China (US Embassy,
Jakarta statistics 2003).
Coal has been mined in Indonesia since the late nineteenth
century, but subsequent oil development and low oil prices saw
the coal market diminish and production virtually cease. The oil
crises of the 1970s radically changed this situation, reviving the
interest in coal. Currently Indonesian coal is performing well in
a very competitive energy industry.
The growth of the Indonesian coal industry has been accelerated
by the mining operations of foreign companies, which in the late
1970s and early 1980s were encouraged to invest in and to operate
coal mines. The development of mining by foreign companies has
been accompanied by the massive expansion of the state-owned
coal mining company, PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA).
The Indonesian Government has authorised the state coal company
PTBA to act as the main agent for coal mining, and PTBA has
been able to attract private sector companies to carry out mining
under product-sharing agreements. Future mining contracts will be
managed by the Ministry of Mines and Energy in order to
improve the regulatory framework and to allow PTBA to concentrate
on its mining operations (Indonesian Mining Association 1997).
The Indonesian coal industry is concentrated on mining
sub-bituminous and bituminous steam coal, no coking coal is
produced. Currently some 96% of coal production comes from
opencast mines. In Sumatra, PTBA have underground and
opencast mines at Ombilin in central Sumatra, and the Bukit
Asam complex of opencast mines in South Sumatra. Private
open pit mines are established in the Ombilin area (PT Allied
Indo, PT Karbindo Abeysapradhi) and in West Sumatra in the
Table 11.3. Coal and lignite resources of Sumatra (Symon 1997)
Region Measured (Mt) Indicated (Mt) Inferred (Mt) Hypothetical (Mt) Total (Mt) % of total Indonesia
reserves
North - - 1272.0 2.0
Central 717.8 2322.0 105.9
South 2438.8 7505.5 2204.0
Bengkulu 30.9 17.0 15.9
Total 3187.5 10 920.7 2355.9
433.0 1707.0 4.4
1022.4 4169.0 10.8
6891.0 18 743.5 48.6
- - 60.0 0.2
8296.5 24 759.7 64.0
146 CHAPTER 11
Table 11.4. Coal production from Sumatran mines (Directorate of Coal 1997)
Company Production (Mt) Exports (Mt)
PTBA Ombilin 1. l 0 0.77
PTBA Bukit Asam (Steam) 8.06 1.24
PTBA Bukit Asam (Anthracite) 0.06 - -
PT Allied lndo 0.85 0.53
PT Bukit Sunur 0.36 0.35
PT Danau Mas Hitam 0.07 0.07
PT Bukit Bara Utama 0.15 0.15
PT Karbindo Abesyapradhi 0.60 0.42
Total 11.25 3.53
Bengkul u area (PT Bukit Sunur, PT Danau Mas Hi t am and PT
Buki t Bara Utama) (see Fig. 11.1 ). Production from the individual
Sumatran mines is shown in Table 11.4. A total of 11.25 Mt was
produced in 1997 whi ch has since increased to 12 Mt, of which
3.8 Mt is exported.
Of critical i mport ance to the mi ni ng operations in Sumatra is the
proxi mi t y of suitable port facilities to enable shipment of coal both
for domestic use, chiefly in Java, and for export into Far Eastern
and European markets. The principal ports all lie on the western
and southwestern coast of Sumatra (see Fig. 11.1). The port of
Tarahan is operated by PTBA with a capacity for 5.5 Mtpa,
accepting vessels of up to 65 000 t dwt, Teluk Bayur ships
2.0 Mtpa, in vessels up to 30 000 t dwt and Pulai Baai, with a
capacity for 1.0 Mt pa in vessels up to 20 000 t dwt. The ports of
Tarahan and Tel uk Bayur are further supported by rail links
from the mines. In the case of PTBA' s Tanj ung Eni m mine, the
rail link is 450 km to Tarahan. However, a small amount of coal
from Tanjung Eni m is sent 200 km by rail to the small port of
Kertapati on the Musi River near Palembang. Coal is loaded
onto barges for shi pment from the eastern side of Sumatra to dom-
estic markets and to nearby Malaysia. It is proposed to construct a
larger terminal near Pal embang to accommodat e larger vessels and
shipments.
It is envisaged that the current product i on will increase in the
next ten years, provi di ng market conditions (domestic and
export) that justify investment. An exampl e of this is the expected
increase in Indonesi a' s domestic steam coal market to satisfy the
increased demand for electricity, with the proviso that there will
continue to be i nvest ment in the electricity-generating sector.
Chapter 12
Metallic mineral deposits
M. J. CROW & T. M. VAN LEEUWEN
This account concentrates on the the primary metallic mineral
deposits and occurrences in Sumatra, in particular the recent dis-
coveries of gold, tin and base metals. The residual and placer
deposits are given less emphasis, as no significant discoveries
have been made in recent years.
The history of mineral exploration and discovery in Indonesia
has been reviewed recently by van Leeuwen (1993, 1994), docu-
menting the change in emphasis of mineral-based activities from
western to eastern Indonesia since the World War II. These
studies bring up-to-date the classic account by van Bemmelen
(1949), written when the mineral deposits in western Indonesia,
particularly those in Sumatra, were among the better known and
prior to 1942, important contributors to the Indonesian economy.
The larger mineral deposits in southern Sumatra have been
described briefly by Gafoer & Purbo-Hadiwidjoyo (1986), and
are referred to in the regional descriptions of the mineral deposits
of SE Asia by Hutchison & Taylor (1978) and Hutchison (1996).
In wider-ranging reviews the geological setting of gold and base
metal deposits in indonesia have been discussed by Carlile &
Mitchell (1994), while those of tin deposits in SE Asia are catalo-
gued by Schwartz et al. (1995).
Sumatra has long been known as a source of gold, the name of
the island being derived from the Sanscrit word Svar nadvi pa,
meaning ' Golden Island' , dating from the importance of gold
deposits to the rulers of the Hindu kingdoms that flourished in
Sumatra from the seventh until the eleventh century. The esti-
mated total production of precious metals from Sumatra to 1994
was 91 t gold and 937 t of silver (van Leeuwen 1994).
Tin deposits in the Riau Archipelago, Bangka and Billiton
islands (' Tin Islands' ) are positioned at the convergence of
ancient maritime trade routes between the Middle East and India
and China, and Bernal (1991) has suggested that they have been
known and exploited from the earliest times, but there is no
archaeological evidence for this; current exploitation of tin dates
from the early eighteenth century. Between 1710 and 1942 a
total of 1.5 Mt of tin was produced (van Leeuwen 1994), but cur-
rently the demand for tin is limited and the bulk of tin production
in Indonesia comes from alluvial and off-shore placer deposits.
Sources of data
For the purposes of this review mineral localities in Sumatra and
the Tin Islands are catalogued in Tables 12. 1-12. 6 in terms of
' mineral clusters' , the locations of which are shown in Figures
12.1 and 12.6-12.10. Mineral clusters represent concentrations
of mineral occurrences, or a group of deposits formed at similar
times, although a few include mineral deposits which were
formed in the same area but at different times. Summaries are
given of the geological setting and the history of exploitation of
these deposits. Original sources should be consulted for further
details. Recently discovered/investigated deposits that have not
(yet) been described in the published literature are discussed in
some detail in the text.
Van Bemmelen (1949), Young & Johari (1980), Djaswadi
(1993), Indonesian Mining Association (1995) and Crow (1995)
have compiled lists and details of mineral localities in Sumatra.
Summaries of this data are given in the Explanatory Notes
which accompany the 1:250 000 Geological Maps of Sumatra
published by the Geological Research and Development Centre,
Bandung. Additional data for southern Sumatra can be found in
the Quadrangle Regional Geochemistry Atlas Series published
by the Directorate of Mineral Resources and for Sumatra as a
whole in the geochemical atlases of Northern Sumatra (Stephen-
son et al. 1982) and Southern Sumatra (Machali Muchsin et al.
1995, 1997). Historic (pre-1941) data on several precious metal
deposits in North Sumatra appear in Bowles et al. (1985).
Details of other mineral occurrences are given in reports of the
North Sumatra Mineral Exploration Project (Directorate of
Mineral Resources/British Geological Survey) and in reports
and published accounts of the mineralogical and analytical
studies which followed this project (e.g. Bowles et al. 1984).
The Regional Physical Planning Programme for Transmigration
(RePPProT Land Resources Department/Bina Programme)
include a review of the mineral resources of Sumatra by Clarke
(1990) in a summary of the land and natural resources of Indonesia
to assist the planning of the Transmigration Programme.
Government-sponsored mineral exploration activities concen-
trated on geological mapping and long-term regional geochemical
surveys, with an emphasis on documentation but with limited
follow-up. The objective of these surveys was to encourage
exploration activity by the private sector. Private sector interest
in investment in mineral exploration in Sumatra was stimulated
by these programmes and peaked between 1985 and 1992
(Fig. 12.2). The latest cycle in exploration activity started
between 1995-1997 (Fig. 12.3).
Much data concerning mineralization in Sumatra has been accu-
mulated by mineral exploration companies in their Contracts of
Work (COW) areas. Relinquishment reports of COW companies
are not easily found on open file, and often important information,
for example on analyses and drill cores, was never reported, or was
misplaced when the COW ended (van Leeuwen 1994).
The most significant prospect located by the government-
sponsored regional geochemical surveys of Sumatra was the
porphyry deposit at Tangse where Cu- Mo mineralization was out-
lined by preliminary geochemical surveys (Page et al. 1978)
during the North Sumatra Project. This prospect was investigated
by Rio Tinto Indonesia (van Leeuwen et al. 1987). Recently pub-
lished descriptions of mined Sumatran mineral deposits include
Lebong Tandai (Jobson et al. 1994), Mangani (Kavalieris et al.
1987) and Muara Sipongi (Beddoe-Stephens et al. 1987), and
the recent discoveries include: Nam Salu (Schwartz & Surjono
1990b), Sungei Isahan in the Tigapuluh Mountains (Schwartz &
Surjono 1990a), Hatapang (Clarke & Beddoe-Stephens 1987),
Way Linggo (Andrews et al. 1991) and Miwah (Williamson &
Fleming 1995). Descriptions of Dairi (Middleton 2003) and
Martabe (Levet et al. 2003; Sutopo et al. 2003), both new discov-
eries, have been presented at recent conferences.
Ti mi ng of metallic mineralization events in Sumatra
No comprehensive dating of mineralization events in Sumatra has
been carried out. The available data are summarized in
Figure 12.4, with mini-maps illustrating the trends of zones of
mineralization.
147
148 CHAPTER 12
, , , 101 i ,
, o 4 0 ,06Oo ANGs E
BREUEH 960 980 100~
IGEUNT~T~ ~M, ~ ~ X X
I %4~A ANU RENGUET \
SI KULEH/ ~ DUSUN ~ \
- MEULABOH-'~" O Q LOKOP ~ MALAY } 4 ~ -
~x.4,~KA~I ~MELuAK~BERHALA ~ PENINSULA /
BABHAROT~ . A --- ~ k ,
BEUKAH~I ~ ~] SI GALGALA ~
TAPAKTUAN]~I~ vl ~l BEUDE M)~RIA ~
DIARI [ ~" ~---"~ Lake " ~ /.~
_ 2ON ~ J PI NAPAN~ AHATAP' AN jG ~ ~ \ 2 ~ -
SIBOLGA~ xJ ~k.( ~ ~
~l~l MARTABE ~ ~ ~ ~
"~ / SIHAu ~-k.._~,t~ KuK-~-'6'R j
~J NATAL~I~,V ~ROKAN j~/--~
PASA MA N~I ~ r ~ l ~ BALU N G ~ X~
- 0~ LU~BU KSIKAPI N.G . v. ^IJIF~ .v.,, / / _~ 0 ~
SINGK~AR~V~~' O SINGING' ~ <~S. - ~GKEP
BUKIT BULAT/VDANA-LI DIATASA \ ~ .
.-, m" ,'~ A TIGAPULUH ~CEBIA
(" \ ~x~'l'~ "- LUBUKGADANG
\ \ ~ ~L~ [ IDRKELAYANG k ~-.c-~
LOLO~ V " " \ ~{ L~A\D=,n^~', I
_ _ SIULUKr 1 ~ BANGKO . . . . . . . . c., A ~ . . . . . . . . 2~
- 2~ DERAS V /r_lVlrlL/~l~l
% __ q~IILRAWAS ~ L~l ~j ~ k~ KELAPA BATU[
r~. ~ A ~ S.TUBOH ~ "~-'~..~..-~A7 KAMPIL-~BESI I
D.DIPATIAMPAT[ J_ I ~BUKI TTEMBANG . . . . . ~. . _mV~j kTI KUS~ I
v \ kGO . . . . . . . . . ~ I ~ L U M A R B U K I T
MINERAL CLUSTERS ~ LEBON q~IITIRIS ~ILI BATU) SENYUBU
\ { TEBRONG
O GOLD } - ~
- 4 ~ TANJUNGSAKTI I~ ) 4 ~
O BASE METALS ~ , ~GARBA
MUARADUA I ~ /
TIN ~ ~ ~1~ SEPUTI
WAY LINGGO ~ /
~l~C~ ~TANJUNGKARANG
KOTAAGUNG~\ ~ /
0 500km ~ LAMPUNG
96 ~ 98 ~ 100 ~ 102 ~ 104 ~ _ /" 106 ~
I I I I I
Fig. 12.1. Metallic mineral clusters in Sumatra and the Tin islands.
Palaeozoic sedimentary basins (Pb-Zn Table 12.1)
Lead-zinc mineralization in metasediments and metavolcanics of
the Bentong-Billiton Accretion Complex (Barber & Crow 2003)
was found in Billiton in the 1980s in the Nam Salu open pit at the
Kelapa Kampit mine, during the exploration for tin, and this
deposit has been investigated by several companies during the
past 30 years. It occurs as sub-parallel veins and lenses within
and adjacent to the Nam Salu horizon over a strike of more than
5 km. The Nam Salu horizon consists of interbedded, iron-rich,
chemically precipitated sediments and basaltic tuff, altered by
metasomatic processes (Schwartz & Surjono 1990b). The total
resource outlined to date is of the order of 25 Mt @ 6.5% Zn,
4.0% Pb and 60 g t -~ Ag. The style, thickness and grades of
mineralization intersected in drillholes vary considerable along
the strike of the mineralized zones. Three styles of mineralization
have been recognized: (1) massive, fine-grained sphalerite,
galena and pyrite, in places showing streaky lamination and
commonly containing fragments of quartz and mudstone;
(2) brecciated quartz veins and mudstones with selvages of sul-
phides; (3) disseminated sphalerite and galena in sandstone
(Large 1991).
Several origins have been proposed for the lead-zinc mineral-
ization: (1) sediment-hosted exhalative (first proposed in 1977
by BHP geologists); (2) possibly syngenetic/diagenetic related
to volcanic exhalations with later faulting, folding and granite
intrusions having variably remobilized the mineralization (van
Leeuwen & Poole 1978); (3) syntectonic (?Triassic) formed
from hydrothermal solutions derived from tectonically induced
dewatering of the host sediments, with mineral deposition taking
place in structurally dilated zones (Large 1991); and (4) vein-
type related to hydrothermal fluids exsolved from a crystallizing
acid magma (Schwartz & Surjono 1990b).
Important zinc-lead deposits, the Dairi cluster, were recently
identified in northern Sumatra, in the Kluet Formation to the
NW of Lake Toba by Herald Resources. The deposits include
massive Pb- Zn veins that were mined on a limited scale in
the early 1900s (van Bemmelen 1949). In addition to the veins,
METALLIC MINERAL DEPOSITS 149
- 4 ~
- 2ON
- 0 o
- 2os
- 4 ~
i 9~ ~
96~
MIWAH
NIAS %
%
%
DRILL-TESTED DEPOSITS
/ ~ TIN
O BASE METALS
~t GOLD (primary)
O GOLD (alluvial)
0 500km
I I I I
1~176176 CONTRACTS OF WORK SIGNINGS
1967-1971
1969-]972 ~
TIN
COPPER
GOLD
........
EMBANG
LEBON(.31~I[~EE BONG DONOK
TANDAI LEBONG SIMPANG
LIN(
0 o -
~!~:i~!~?~!~ 84184 ! ~?: : ~i i :i ]
CEBI A
BESI -
BUKIT TIK
LKELAPA
KAMPIT
PAL
96OE 98 ~ 100 ~ 102 ~ 104 ~
I I I I I
4 ~ -
6o '
~__~
6 ~ 108 ~
I
Fig. 12.2. Contract of Work (COW) licence
areas signed in Sumatra and the Tin islands
between 1967 and 1992 showing deposits that
have been drill-tested.
several other styles of mineralization have been identified: sedi-
mentary-exhalative (sedex) deposits of Mississippi Valley Type
(MVT), believed to be formed by the reaction of volcanic fluids
with sediments; and supergene mineralization, the latter presum-
ably deposited recently from descending metal-rich solutions
derived from the weathering of the sedex mineralisation (Middle-
ton 2003). The sedex mineralization occurs in a dome-like struc-
ture and is traceable over a strike distance of about 5 km along
the NE flank of the dome. It is hosted by carbonaceous shales
and dolosiltstones and forms a single thick horizon in the SE
and multiple, mostly thinner horizons in the NE. The MVT and
vein -type mineralization are confined to a sequence of shelf car-
bonates which are in sharp contact with overlying sedex-bearing
argillites (Middleton 2003). The project has reached the bankable
feasibility stage. Measured and indicated resources amount to
7.1 Mt @ 16.6% Zn, 10.2% Pb and 13 g t -~ Ag. An additional
10 Mt of c. 8% Zn, 4.2% Pb and 6 g t -~ Ag has been inferred.
Two extensive skarn zones at the Sarkea prospect (Hendrawan
et al. 2001) located to the south of the Dairi prospect were drill-
tested by Rio Tinto in 2001. The skarns are related to the intrusion
of a granite of the Sibolga Complex into (?calcareous) beds of the
Kluet Formation. Magnetite is the dominant mineral, followed by
pyrrhotite and minor sphalerite-molybdenite in a magnet i t e-
si l i ca-chl ori t e-garnet + actinolite-epidote assemblage. The
skarn is locally cut by late quartz veins containing significant
amounts of Ag, Cu, Pb and Zn.
During a regional stream sediment sampling programme carried
out in South Aceh by Rio Tinto, Zn dominant banded and
laminated pyri t e-pyrrhot i t e-sphal eri t e-gal ena mineralization,
and Pb-dominant galena-sphalerite mineralization, both of
apparent limited extent, were found near Beukah in an area of
meta-argillites and subordinate meta-psammites and marbles.
These are interpreted as sedex and remobilised cavity-fill deposits,
respectively (Dalimunthe et al. 1996).
Late Triassic-Early Jurassic magmatic arc and the Tin
Granites (Sn, Wo; Tables 12.2 and 12.3, Figs 12.5 and
12.6a, b)
Mineral deposits and mineral occurrences, predominantly of tin,
are associated with granitoids emplaced in the period between
220 and 195 Ma, and associated hydrothermal activity. In this
period Sumatra was a part of the western margin of the SE Asia
Tin Belt which extends from Myamar to Billiton Island. The
majority of significant tin deposits are associated with peralumi-
nous granites of collision origin (Mitchell 1977, 1979, 1986)
that were emplaced during the Indosinian Orogeny (Hutchison
1989) (Fig. 12.5). These peraluminous granites are classified as
being within the Main Range Granite Province by Cobbing
et al. (1986, 1992), Cobbing (2000; see also Chapter 5) and
Schwartz et al. (1995), the type area being the western part of
the Malay Peninsula. Granitoids in the Eastern Granite Province
in the eastern part of the Malay Peninsula are predominantly
metaluminous, but some of these granitoids are also associated
with tin mineralization (Fig. 12.5). Cobbing (et al. 1992 and
Chapter 5) describes the occurrence of granitoids of both I- and
S-types with similar age ranges, representing the two separate
provinces in the north of the Riau Archipelago, overlapping
south of Singkep Island and on Bangka and Billiton Islands to
form a single belt. The textures, chemistry and geochronology
150 CHAPTER 12
_0 o
I
96OE
I
98 ~
,DUSUN
DAI RI
%
i \ L_. , I I
100o / \ 104o 106o
",...CONTRACTS OF WORK
SI GNI ~ 995-1997
Lake
Toba
%
(3
DRILL-TESTED DEPOSITS
C~ BASE METAL
9 GOLD
%
0 ~ __
0 500km
96OE 98 ~ 100 ~ 102 ~
I I I I
%
~, 1~ NAPAL
104 ~
I I %,
Fig. 12.3. Contract of Work (COW) licence
areas signed in Sumatra and the Tin Islands
between 1995 and 1997 showing deposits
that have been drill-tested.
of these granitoids has been described by Cobbing et al. (1992 and
Chapter 5), and Schwartz et al. (1995).
The foreland of the Indosinian Orogenic Belt extended from the
central Malay Peninsula deep into eastern Sumatra (Sibumasu).
The West Sumatra Block, when sited approximately between
present day Borneo (Cathaysia) and New Guinea (Gondwana)
(see also Fig. 14.11) also appears to have participated distally in
this collision. In Chapter 5 Cobbing refers to the presence of S-
type granites in northern Sumatra, dating from 200Ma
(McCourt et al. 1996), including a suite of tin-bearing granites
associated with the Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone, and also the
West Sumatra magmatic arc which is composed mainly of Volca-
nic Arc-type granites (as classified by Pearce et al. 1984).
West Sumat ra
McCourt et al. (1996) identified a magmatic arc in western
Sumatra (219 _ 4 to 183 13 Ma) that overlaps the post-collision
phase of the Indosinian Orogeny. Alluvial cassiterite is associated
with the locally porphyritic Tantan Biotite Granite (210 + 10 Ma
K- Ar age, Suwarna et al. 1994). In Chapter 5 Cobbing has noted
the similarity of the Sijunjung biotite granite (247 12 Ma K- Ar
age, quoted by Sato (1991) and 206 + 3 Ma by Silitonga &
Kastowo 1975), with the granites of the Main Range Province,
but tin is not recorded. Cobbing & Mallick (1984) include the
unmineralized Payumbah Granite near Muarasipongi in the
Main Range Province, but found parts of the Sibolga Complex
reminiscent of Eastern Province granites of Peninsular Malaysia.
Minor alluvial tin is associated with the Sibolga Complex but
the age and source of this tin mineralisation is uncertain
(Aspden et al. 1982b).
Westerveld (1937) mentions clasts of vein quartz with cassiter-
ite in a Tertiary conglomerate 18 km to the west of Palembang in
SE Sumatra. This tin appears to have been derived from the con-
cealed Palembang Batholith, known from oil exploration (De
Coster 1974). The only surface exposure of the batholith is the
Bukit Batu quartz syenite pluton southeast of Palembang (van
Tongeren 1936; Gasparon & Varne 1995), which is associated
with quartz-cassiterite veins (Katili 1974a). The Bukit Batu
syenite has geographic and chemical affinity with, and a similar
SVSr/S6Sr ratio to the Main Range Province (see Chapter 5),
though the end value of +5.3 (Gasparon & Varne 1995) is very
different from Main Range Province ~Nd values of --8 to --10
(Cobbing et al. 1992).
Medi al Sumat ra Tect oni c Zone ( MSTZ)
The Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone (MSTZ) (Hutchison 1994;
Barber & Crow 2003) is associated with granitic plutons carrying
strongly to intensely pleochroic cassiterite, similar to cassiterite
associated with the Main Range Granite Province in Malaysia
METALLI C MI NERAL DEPOSI TS 151
THE AGES OF MINERALISATION , MIWAH
EVENTS NEOGENE
GOLD
Ma ~ ~
01 1"o~.~ 9 LEBONG DONOK "~MARTABE
a)~ ~ "~,~.
10t 1" ~ "~ ~O T TANGSE Co-Mo . "~.-.TANGSE ~- " ~
/ ,l, o ~ 2 _c * "...r ~.,SALIDA " ~
20 ~ ~ E BEUEH VEINS i~tX-- L x
t o
30| ~, ~ ~ LEBON~ EMPAH )
~~ ,,h PORPHYRY- TYPE"- ~\ " ~) ~ ~. #4,~
601r " " MINERALISATION \ ~, ~ ~>..x~
- 13-9Ma ~ ~. ~, %~j.~'+"~
ZX HATAPANG TIN
. "M~SIKULEH
ulr ~ ~ GARBATIN ~ k , , ~
90 ~ ~,~_,,
< MANUNGGAL SKARNS ~ (~_'~x
~O s,~u,~. S~A~NS " , '%
00 ~ E HATAPANG/~/-e,,'~x
N N \ ~'
10 .~ 9 MUAR"A~Ook-er
1 ~' ~ SIPONGI~ c MESOZOI C
2o TcoHision of Bentaro-Saling ~" " - DAN~,U RANTAU MAGMATIC ARCS
30 ~ O . . . . ic Island Arcs "~ " ,,O KI~LAYANG _ _
~x X " "".
| ~ " "- "'" Mid-Jurassic
40 ' ~ o ~ " ~ ( " Early Cretaceous
.o o~ ' ~ "A n~,Rn~ UagmaticArc
50 ~ {~ ~ DANAU RANAU ~ Z"4~k"g~'P ' 'Zl
60 ~[ ~ E~ ~Z~ MKjLAIAINpGO N G I ~i e / e
',,.:.%
70 o,,g.oor
GREISEN Deformation of
A~/ A"vv R~ Granite Main Peri~ ~ ~ ~ ~ s ~ C I , , ~ BELITUNG GREISENSTin Mineralisation ~o~
I } A TANTANGRANITE ~
~ (MAGMATIC ARC)
O
.~ / ~ BINTAN GRANITE
5~ TIGAPULL
~
?SIBOLGA TIN TRI ASSI C- JURASSI C
TIN MINERALISATION
O ? SULPHIDES IN
BENTONG- BELITUNG
ACCRETIONARY COMPLEX
O ? DIARI BASE METALS
Fig. 12.4. The t i mi ng of the main
mineralization events and their distribution
in Sumat ra and the Tin Islands.
(Hosking 1977). Van Bemmel en (1949) suggested that the Medial
Sumatra tin granite suite occurred within an allochthonous thrust
slice sourced in the Tin Islands Archipelago. The Medial
Sumatra tin zone is now considered to be related to a suite of
peraluminous granitoids belonging to the Main Range Granite
Province of Peninsular Malaysia (see Chapter 5).
Primary and alluvial tin in the Tigahpuluh tin cluster (Table 12.2)
is derived from granites emplaced in Tapanuli Group metasedi-
ments to the east of the MSTZ. Schwartz & Surjono (1990a)
report K- Ar ages of 197 __ 2 and 193 4- 2 Ma from muscovite in
a cassiterite-bearing greisen in the cupola of the Sungei Isahan
muscovite granite. The granitoids from the Tigapuluh Mountains
analysed by Schwartz & Surjono (1990a) and Suwarna et al.
(1991) have ' high' and ' moderate' peraluminous compositions in
the scheme of Villaseca et al. (1998), suggesting reactions with
peraluminous pelitic and greywacke lithologies. Upright folds
with sub-horizontal plunges indicate deformational thickening of
the sediment pile, facilitating hydrous fluxing and anatexis.
Crustal melts were emplaced in shears within the MSTZ. The Tiga-
puluh Mountains have the potential for the exploitation of small
deposits of alluvial cassiterite, which may be accompanied by
small amounts of gold.
To the NW of the Tigahpuluh cluster, sporadic elevated geo-
chemical tin values in stream sediments (Machali et al. 1997)
were probably derived from the cupolas of granites from which
the tin has been weathered out, eroded and redistributed in Tertiary
and Quaternary sediments. Alluvial tin has been won for over 50
years from the Si abu-Sungai Lipai mining area in the Rokan
cluster, from which about 100 t of tin concentrate was produced
up to 1982. Occasionally diamonds are found in the concentrates,
which are believed to be of multi-cycle alluvial origin, originally
sourced in the Tapanuli Group (Clarke et al. 1982b). The source
of the tin is the Rokan-Si abu granitoid suite intruded into the
Tapanuli Group on the margin of the MSTZ. Fifteen greisen,
quartz vein and alluvial tin occurrences are associated with these
granitoids (Clarke et al. 1982b; Rock et al. 1983). The Rokan
Granite is variably cataclastically deformed and cooled to
c. 400 ~ between 186 4- 2 and 189 4- 2 Ma (determinations on
biotites using the K- Ar method quoted by Rock et al. 1983). The
roof zones of the mineralized granites were exposed to erosion by
block faulting during the Neogene.
The Penno-Triassic granite plutons in the Alas Valley section of
the MSTZ, west of the Sumatran Fault Zone have metasomatic
cupolas and, according to Cameron et al. (1982a), were emplaced
during a transcurrent fault episode. The foliated muscovite-biotite
granitoid plutons (Ketambe and Upper Sempali) and the Kais Intru-
sive Complex, which is believed to be the source of the alluvial tin in
the Kais cluster (Johari 1988), from their field descriptions are similar
to the anatectic granitoids which occur elsewhere in the MSTZ, but
there are no chemical or isotopic data to confirm this affinity.
152 CHAPTER 12
el
-4
<
~ .~
r
<
~. -
~- ~_~ ~s~ , o ~
~. - a ~- - - , - . ~ ~ ~_ o~ s
<
-~ ~ ~. ~
x ~ ~ ~--~ ~
>
~' e -~
z
<
<
<
o
,._.,
~ ~. ~
I I I I
.~- ~ ~ ~ ~
- , - . ~ ~ . - - o .~ ~:
9 ,- ._ _ ~. ~ ~ ~. ~
. ~
9
~~
0
0
0
-
,4=
"GI
9 ~ ~ ~ .~ .~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~r.,0
~Z
z
z
<
,=~
"6
<
METALLIC MINERAL DEPOSITS 153
c,o --~
o > <
-~ ~ 0
,~ -~
9~ , ~ "~
= ~ .=
0
r~ ~
r '~
~ ~ ~~ "i "~~
r. ~ , .
0
<
< ~ Z
0
'e
,0
9 ~ ~ ~ o ,~ = o +
"~ - - "6
9
0 ~
0
. ,...~
0
E
9
<
154 CHAPTER 12
The I ndosi ni an f or e l and
In Northern Sumatra, a belt of remote and poorly exposed grani-
toids (Fig. 12.5) north of the Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone
(MSTZ), were dated as Permo-Triassic by Cameron et al.
(1980). In Chapter 5 Cobbing correlates these granitoids with
the Main Range Province of the Malay Peninsula, based on the
field descriptions of biotite and muscovite granites with tourma-
line, reported in the Keteren, Serbajadi and Biden intrusions.
The Dusun biotite granite is excluded here, as it has an early
dioritic phase (Cameron et al. 1983), Mo-Cu mineralisation and
is most likely associated with a Miocene intrusion (Dalimunthe
et al. 1997a, b). The Serbajadi Batholith is elongated NW- SE,
has a massive marginal carapace of lineated schists and gneisses
(Cameron et al. 1983) and according to Bennett et al. (1981c),
was emplaced during the regional slate-grade metamorphism
and deformation of the Tapanuli Group. This granitoid belt
coincides with a ' mi d level geochemical enrichment zone' of tin
identified during the North Sumatra Project stream-sediment
survey (Stephenson et al. 1982), but no in situ tin mineralization
has been reported.
There are several islands in the Malacca Straits to the east of
Sumatra composed of granite and/or greisen, with tin mineraliz-
ation. The Berhala cluster occurs in the three Berhala Islands off-
shore Tebingtinggi. Here tin and rare-earth minerals in beach
sands have been weathered from gneissic biotite granite, greisens
and cordierite-sillimanite aureole hornfels (van Tongeren 1935 in
Cameron et al. 1981). Van Bemmelen (1949) considered the
Berhala granites to be the same age as those in the Malaysian
Tin Belt. Katili (1973) reported a K- Ar age of 167 Ma from an
altered basalt cored during oil exploration in the area of the
Berhala Islands. Pulau Perak north of the Berhala islands and
SW of Langkawi Island is composed of quartz-tourmaline horn-
fels (Jones 1981), which is related to a concealed pluton.
Several granite plutons buried beneath the Tertiary sediments of
the Central Sumatra Basin were cored in the Foreland Zone during
the exploration for oil. A hydrothermally altered muscovite granite
pluton at the bottom of the Idris No.1 well in the Coastal Plains
Block gave a K- Ar muscovite age of 208 __ 7 Ma (Koning &
Darmono 1982). Nearby detrital tin in the Petani Formation
(Stephenson et al. 1982) appears to have been derived from
another (undated) buried pluton to the north of Rengat.
The mai n SE As i an Tin Bel t
The bulk of the economic tin mineralisation in the Indonesian
section of the Southeast Asia Tin Belt occurs in the Riau Archipe-
lago, Bangka and Billiton, within the Indosinian Collision Zone
(Fig. 12.5 and Table 12.3). An irregular 'tin front' separates
the mineralized peraluminous tin-bearing granitoids from the
unmineralized metaluminous granitoids. On Bangka Island
(Fig. 12.6a), the granitoids were emplaced in foreland basin
sediments (Tempilang Sandstone), which unconformably overlie
an accretionary complex composed of imbricated sediments
and metavolcanics of the Carboniferous-Permian Pemali Group
(Ko 1986; Barber & Crow 2003). On Billiton Island,
(Fig. 12.6b) the accretionary complex is exposed beneath folded
Triassic sediments in (former) underground mines for primary
tin. Lower Palaeozoic stratigraphic units are not exposed in the
Indonesian islands, unless they occur on Singkep Island among
the unfossiliferous slates and graphitic schists of the Persing
Complex (Sutisna et al. 1995).
According to Cobbing et al. (1992 and in Chapter 5) Sn-bearing
granitoids were emplaced during a post-collision peak between
220 and 200 Ma. Tin (and wolfram) mineralization is associated
with late two-phase granitoid textural variants within the predomi-
nantly peraluminous megacrystic K-feldspar granitoids. The
process of textural evolution from megacrystic granitoid through
heterogeneous granite porphyry to microgranite has been
described by Pitfield et al. (1990). The textural changes leading
to the heterogenous microgranites were attributed to sudden
losses in pressure, which resulted in the quenching, fluidization
and disruptive emplacement of residual melt into a partially or
wholly crystalline host granitoid. The emplacement of residual
melts was often accompanied by alkali metasomatism, volatile-
fluxing and hydrothermal alteration, culminating in replacement
greisen deposits, veins and stockwork systems containing tin,
wolfram and sulphides.
Tin and wolfram ores (Table 12.3) occur either as massive repla-
cement deposits with greisen, as non-massive replacements of
low-grade ore, as at the Pemali Mine on Bangka, or as stockworks
and simple veins. The cooling period for the granite in the Pemali
Mine was between 159 and 95 Ma (Schwartz et al. 1995) based on
the K- Ar ages of biotites from this granite that was emplaced
around 211 __ 3 Ma ( Rb- Sr errorchron quoted by Schwartz &
Surjono 1991). The lengthy hydrothermal regime during the
cooling of intrusions generated by the collision orogeny provided
favourable conditions for tin mineralization on a regional scale
(Lehmann 1990).
Tin, and sometimes wolfram, are invariably accompanied by
later sulphides, and mineralization is accompanied by tourmaline,
fluorite and topaz. These replacement bodies, stockworks and vein
systems, which are characterized by the absence of magnetite and
paucity of basemetal and iron sulphides, formed in the cupolas of
the granitoids. For example the Tikus mine of NE Billiton
(Suryono & Clarke 1981" Schwartz & Surjono 1990c) was exca-
vated in a greisen topaz-quartz pipe within the Tanjung
Pandang batholith. In contrast to the other Main Range tin gran-
ites, tin was not identified in geochemical analyses of the
Tanjung Pandang batholith; Lehmann & Harmanto (1990)
suggested that the tin remained in solution until it was removed
during the hydrothermal stage. In the southern part of Billiton,
several tin deposits (e.g. Tebrong and the Senyubuk cluster)
occur as stockworks and sheeted veins in metasediments, but
erosion has not yet exposed the granite source.
A rather unusual style of mineralization is found at the disused
Kelapa Kampit mine, where complex tin-sulphide mineralization
is present in both stratabound ' bedding-parallel veins' and cross-
cutting veins: on a mine-scale the distribution of the mineraliz-
ation is stratabound. Bedding-parallel veins also are found in
several other localities, including Batu Besi and Selumar. The
veins are generally up to 2 km long and 3 m thick. They contain
varying amounts of magnetite, sulphides, amphibole, biotite/
chlorite aggregates and quartz. Some veins are magnetite-rich,
some are sulphide-rich, while others comprise both magnetite-
rich and sulphide-rich portions. The veins are hosted by metasedi-
ments, with the exception of the rich and thick (35 m) Nam Salu
Lode (now largely mined out), which occurs in the Nam Salu
horizon (mafic volcanics-ironstone). Certain characteristics of
the Nam Salu Lode and bedding-parallel veins (stratabound/strati-
form, sharp contacts, fine grain size and other textural features,
abundance of iron minerals, and the presence of bedded barite)
led several workers, including Hosking (1977), Hutchinson
(1986) and van Wees & de Vente (1989) to conclude that the
mineralization is of syngenetic origin. Other workers, e.g. Meyer
(1979) and Schwartz & Surjono (1990b), favour an epigenetic
(hydrothermal and/ or pyrometasomatic) replacement origin
related to granitic intrusions based on replacement textures dis-
played by the mineralization, chemical characteristics (of the
Nam Salu horizon), and the presence of skarn-like assemblages
that include amphibole, pyroxene and garnet.
Recent work at Batu Besi has shown that the latter interpretation
is the most likely. In this area several 'iron formations' with strike
lengths of up to 6 km and up to 50 m thick, occur close to granitoids
that are extensively greisenized and veined by quartz along their
margins, together with felsic quartz porphyry and microgranite
dykes with associated tin mineralization (Middleton 2002). They
METALLIC MINERAL DEPOSITS 155
b
t",l
("4
..,--. O0
~ ~o
m~- ~v
v v
- i ~
~ m
+1 +1
+1+1~ >, +1 ~ ~ a +1
9 ~, . ~ .~ ~ o
~ ~~
,,-.! ~ ~ ~
~ ~
~ ~
r.~ ~ r ~ r ~ ~
r,!
;>.,
::u
~. ~ ~, ~ ~ > ~ ~
~ s a =
~ ~
~s
9 ~o.~ ~ .~ ~
2
9
B"
~ <
Z
~
~ ~+~
~. , ~ ~ .
tc'b
v
9 ~, ~; ~ _~
+1
- t - I ~ o
r
.,,_,
9 ~ ~ ~
+~ ~2
~. ~
8- ~ ~ ~ -
8
+1 J
+~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~+1 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
p. ~.
r,.p
b
Z
E"8
~[ . - ,
156 CHAPTER 12
~=~
0 r-~ a. ~ , - .
> ~ - ~ ..~
< 8
,,.-,,
o"-,
o",,
,,....,,
o, I
o',,
C, N
r. ~
=3
- ~ ~- , ~ . ~ " ~=
= ~' =-
~ =- ~
~=~, =~ ="F= ~ ~ ~
, _. _ .= ~ ~#~
~_~ ~. ~
("4
tt'3
O0
4 =
r.~
[ -
+1 >, +
"~ 4-1
~ r ~ o = .~-~ +s +~..- ~ +~-~ =.=~=
" "= '~ 5 ~ 5 '= ~ = +1 +1 - +l .-~
4-1
, - , r 4-1
,_, =Eo=o. s
u
G"
2
i rO
2
= = ~=
r. ~
cq
r.,f3
o ,..o ~
>
,t,..)
~=
&
z
9
z
o
9
z
[ . .
z
METALLIC MINERAL DEPOSITS 157
I 84 I 9 ~:
96~ 98 ~ ..
~D
SIBUMASU BLOCK Langkawi
9 (GONDWANA) eer ake ,
; er
~,; O Berhal a
--~ Ket er en~
9 \
_2ON
, , 't
Granite Provinces and Granite Types
MAI N RANGE ( Per al umi nous
S- Type)
\ ~ EASTERN BELT (Metaluminousl_Type) I
EAST MALAYA BLOCK
_o o
~ " ~'~~' ...... ' Rokan-
Muar asi pongi ~Si abu
Idrisq
' Sungei ~@~
x~l sahan : J
~: Tgapul uh
- 2os
--4 ~
F SUMATRA BLO(
'CATHAYSIA)
_6 ~
0 300km
I
96~ 98 ~ 100 ~ 102 ~ 104 ~ 106 ~ ~- 108 c
I I I I I I I
Fig. 12.5. Distribution of Late Triassic and Early Jurassic granites in Sumatra, Malaysia and the Tin Islands in the Indosinian Orogen. Granite Provinces and typology
from Chapter 5.
are deeply weathered into a mixture of maghemite, goethite, hema-
tite plus remnant magnetite. Deep drilling has revealed the primary
mineralized rocks to comprise skarns of varied assemblages, which
show a complex paragenesis. Early phase ' proto-skarn' is a zebra-
patterned, contorted, banded lithology, with dark bands predomi-
nantly of magnetite and light bands of calcsilicate (probably
mainly versuvianite) and fluorite. It resembles the so-called
' wrigglite' skarn at Moina, Tasmania (Kwak & Askins 1981).
In places this early skarn phase is altered to a garnet-rich lithol-
ogy, which in turn is retrogressed to carbonat e-si l i ca and clay, but
the most important mineralization stage is a chl ori t e-bi ot i t e-
sulphide-fluorite assemblage, still with preserved magnetite
wrigglite banding. This style commonly has >1% Sn grade
while the ' proto-skarn' has Sn grades in the order of 0. 2-0. 1%.
The later stage retrograde mineralization is interpreted as associ-
ated with a late stage, volatile-rich hydrothermal fluid that also
caused the greisenization of the granitoids. It is likely that the
skarn was formed after a carbonate-rich protolith.
Bi nt an
Tin mineralization on Bintan Island is associated with metaluminous
to peraluminous Volcanic Arc Granites of the East Belt (Schwartz
et al. 1995) of the Eastern Province, intruded c. 230 Ma. Cobbing
et al. (1992) attributed these granitoids and their mineralization to
melting of the lithospheric mantle as a result of the subduction of
158 CHAPTER 12
(a) : KLABAT BATHOLITH
F-:
O:
Fi
PENANGA, ~
-2os~
Old T.KK
~..& 106~
iiiilili
Thrust /
PERMISA
Triassic ~ Tem~i~ L.
Sandstone
Early-Mid Permian t
and older Pemai GrOup /
'Pebbly Mudstone'
Carboniferous- ~ Tapanuli Group ~--
_ Early Permian
0 50km
i iiii ' , i 106~
(] 1, . 0 30kml
Sye n l t ~ ~' - ' X" J -.. ~- L ._.a I
Gabbr o~, Munt i (, S-~"~ I
.... I
I I I II IRL ....... i "
I l I i ~ . . . . ~ i ~ . . . . . . gi N~GUNON G ]
: ; I ~, : : : .'lanjau ..... ExaEll2Jl . . . . . ~MANG I
tttt-t-t~, . . . . . . . ~-',-~ ~ , . , . . . . edan- I
! 1111111 qEl l . , ~" . l l _L~Cl . / Ul l l ~ I
. . . . . . . . . ,']l~VA-ntulDti;1Man g kuban g I
G e" Batu n";-~Beb u ng I
9 "~'~aunung I
i~(... / Man ar
Seumar . " i ~r~n,-~ i
"..',. ~V]l~ ~ t l ~
larD:, eSi:~ns I
/
TANJU~:G~ TIkus
PANDANG," ~ [l ~,
L!!!!' !
I ~ Z~ ~ 4~ Labu
/ / ~ " ~ GUNUNG
I ~/ ~ ..:.. ~ Badau LEGAU ..
] ~J ~. t Papan Zr Sel umar.t..!."
I J: ..L.: eaga
- ~sA~ Sambulae . ~n
.... ~Nangka / ~ LILANG~hi :~, _) TIN FRONT
"' ~.Bunta L . ~. . . , , . ~. - ~l ~l t l t ~, . . - " ~" . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
- ~ ,,' I I I ~KELUMPANG
PARANG BULOH..-" ~ I~_)~ ~ .~" . . . .
GRANI TE PROVI NCES AND
GRANITE TYPE
I ~ MAIN RANGE ' S' or ' IS' Type
!...i.iljlii!i!J EASTERN BELT ' r-Type
; Tin Mining
'. 9 Primary Soils and
; Deposits ":~:.:!:. Sediments
'. Tempilan name of mineral cluster
~luk~ salinta
\
2 ~ -
::Tr
~:: :: Tr
TO OX
PADI NG
'TIN ZONE'
3 ~ _
107 ~
I,,, ,
Fig. 12.6. (a) Bangka Island; (b) Billiton
Island. Compilation maps to show
distribution of granites and primary and
secondary tin deposits. The structure of
Bangka Island is after Ko (1986) and the
granite typology after Cobbing et al. (1992).
(Palaeo-Tethys) oceanic crust, assimilation of continental crest
lithologies and fractional crystallization processes.
In Malaysia to the NE, metaluminous intrusions of the Central
Belt (Schwartz et al. 1995) of the Eastern Granite Province are
associated with gold, stibnite and sulphide mineralization, as
exploited at Raub, but this style of mineralization is not seen in
the Indonesian sector of the Indosinian orogen.
Pl ac e r t i n
Primary tin deposits have given rise to numerous onshore and off-
shore placers (Fig. 12.6a, b), including Koba Tin and Cebia, from
which the bulk of Indonesia's tin production has come. Most are
palaeoplacers which were deposited and partly reworked from
the Late Miocene to Recent times, during three major phases of
erosion and sedimentation, characterized by distinctive climatic
regimes, and accompanied by a progressive rise in sea level that
eventually submerged the present-day shelf platform area sur-
rounding the tin islands (Aleva 1973, 1985; Batchelor 1979).
Jurassic to Early Cretaceous magmatic arcs
(Cu, Au; Table 12.4 and Fig. 12.7)
These magmatic arcs have been eroded, exposing batholiths and
plutons, so that the roof structure and mineralization are rarely pre-
served. In Central Sumatra a few examples of intrusion-centered
mineralization are known from the Mid-Jurassic-Early Cretac-
eous Arc. Skarn and disseminated mineralization at Muarasipongi
have been described in detail by Beddoe-Stephens et al. (1987). At
!
METALLIC MINERAL DEPOSITS 159
the time of the emplacement of the batholith at 158 -+- 23 Ma
precious metal and copper deposits were formed.
In the Singkarak cluster copper and precious metals in the
disused Timbulan quarry are associated with an altered granitoid.
This intrusion is probably related to the Sulit Air suite of plutons,
from which Imtihanah (2000) obtained 4~ ages of
192 + 0.4 and 193 ___4Ma for emplacement, which is the
suggested time of porphyry-type mineralization.
The Danau (Lake) Ranau Kelayang low-grade Cu- Mo mineral-
ization in the north of the Bangko cluster occurs in altered roof
rocks of the Bungo Batholith. Components of the batholith have
K- Ar mineral ages ranging between 169 and 129 Ma (McCourt
et al. 1996).
Woyla Group and Accretion Complex
(Au-Ag, Pb-Zn; Table 12.4 and Fig. 12.7)
A possible example of exhalative sulphide mineralization is present
within mafic lavas of the Bentaro Volcanic Formation in the Geun-
teut cluster. Bedded hematite-magnetite rock in the Tapaktuan
Volcanic Formation is a potential, although limited, source of
massive volcanic exhalative auriferous magnetite and sulphides
forming the Tapaktuan and Babahrot clusters from which alluvial
gold is derived (Cameron et al. 1982b). The alluvial gold in the
Natal river is derived from skarn-type deposits at the contacts of
Late Cretaceous intrusions and Woyla metasediments (see
below). Alluvial chromite and perhaps some gold in the Pasaman
cluster are derived from the Pasaman ophiolite body, which was
possibly a seamount accreted within the Woyla succession.
The Sungei Pagu former Pb- Zn mine near Lubukgadang north
of Kerinci Volcano occurs within limestones in a megabreccia,
composed mostly of serpentinite boulders derived from an adja-
cent massive serpentinised harzburgite (Hariwidjaja & Suharsono
1990). Small diatremes and andesite and dacite dykes occur in the
area. The megabreccia and ophiolite body are similar to lithologies
described within the Woyl a Group at Natal (Wajzer et al. 1991).
The megabreccia is probably an olistostrome or a mud diapir in
an accretion complex of which the massive serpentinite forms a
component. Van Bemmelen (1949) suggested that the Pb- Zn-
Mn mineralisation was of metasomatic origin, but here it is
suggested to be a manganese-rich metalliferous deposit of hydro-
thermal type (Mitchell & Garson 1981) formed in an oceanic
environment with the harzburgite representing part of a seamount,
capped by limestone.
Late Cretaceous magmatic arc (Sn, Au-Ag;
Table 12.4 and Fig. 12.7)
Subduction beneath Sumatra was re-established in the Late Cre-
taceous, following the collision of the Bent aro-Sal i ng Oceanic
island Arc Complex in the Mid Cretaceous (Barber 2000). The
reversal of subduction direction resulting from the collision of
oceanic volcanic arcs with Sundaland in the Cretaceous was
identified as potentially important for mineralization by Carlile
& Mitchell (1994). In Northern Sumatra, small amounts of gold
in the Sikuleh area are derived from skarns in reef limestones of
the Bentaro Arc formed when the Younger Complex of the
Sikuleh Batholith was emplaced at c. 98 Ma. Detrital tin, identified
by stream sediment sampling during the North Sumatra Project
(Stephenson et al. 1982), is probably of Tertiary age, as no tin min-
eralization was seen in greisens and veins at the contact of the
Sikuleh Batholith with the Woyla Group, well exposed in stream
sections along the northern margin of the intrusion (M.C.G.
Clarke, unpublished map, pers. comm.).
Precious metals and sulphides in the Natal cluster, formerly
mined from magnetite bodies at the contact of the Manunggal
Batholith with the Woyla Group, were formed around the time
of its intrusion (c. 87 Ma, Rock et al. 1983).
Cassiterite and cerium-bearing monazite placers of the Garba
cluster were eroded from greisens and pegmatites which formed
in the cupola in a late phase of the Garba Batholith. This composite
batholith was constructed during the Cretaceous, with a Mid-
Cretaceous dioritic phase (117-115 Ma, Aptian) followed by a
Late Cretaceous ( 86- 82Ma, Santonian) granitic phase with
quartz-feldspar two-phase variants (McCourt & Cobbing 1993).
Tin and rare earth mineralization was formed as a result of the suc-
cessive fractionation of melts emplaced in a long-lived conduit and
hydrothermal system developed in a favourable carapace. Alluvial
tin in the Seputi cluster to the SE of the Garba Mountains is
thought to be associated with a younger muscovite granite, which
is a fractionated phase of the Padean Pluton (McCourt & Cobbing
1993), dated at c. 85 Ma and having low values of tin. The source
of the alluvial tin was most likely the highly fractionated granite
phases and greisens that have since been eroded away.
The second category of Late Cretaceous tin deposits in Sumatra
is associated with the Hatapang Granite, studied in detail by
Clarke & Beddoe-Stephens (1987). The cassiterite and wolframite
in this untested resource are derived from pegmatites and greisens
developed in the carapace of the granite, emplaced at 80 i 1 Ma
( Rb- Sr isochron age) to the rear of the magmatic arc. The
Hatapang Granite margin has a peraluminous chemistry and has
chemical characters of both a within-plate A-type granite (see
Chapter 5) and an S-type anatectic granite of collision origin
(Clarke & Beddoe-Stephens 1987). Detrital tin weathered out of
Tertiary sediments 70- 80 km to the SE of Hatapang is possibly
derived from hidden Late Cretaceous granitoids.
Tin deposits formed during Late Cretaceous magmatism have
two origins: (1) by fractionation and assimilation in intrusions
belonging to the Late Cretaceous magmatic arc and (2) by anatexis
of peraluminous metasediments caused by crustal thickening and
associated mantle-derived intrusions in the backarc area.
Palaeocene magmatic arc (Cu, Au-Ag; Table 12.4)
Minor sulphide mineralization in the Rawas cluster occurs within
iron-rich skarns at the contact with Woyla Group metasediments
and disseminated within the Bukit Rajah Granite emplaced at
54 2 Ma ( K- Ar method, JICA 1988). Nearby is the Sungei
Tuboh 1.76 Mt (estimate) skarn deposit with copper and precious
metals which formed at the contact of a quartz monzonite at
c. 40 2 Ma ( K- Ar method, JICA 1988).
The alluvial gold in the Rawas cluster is found in the vicinity of
quartz veins, and associated with the sericitization and chloritiza-
tion of Woyla Group metasediments, which also may be related to
Palaeocene intrusions (Miswar & Suherman 1991).
Late Eocene-Early Miocene magmatic arc (Table 12.4)
A rare example of mineralization associated with this Early
Neogene volcanic arc occurs in the Breueh cluster NW of Banda
Aceh. Disseminated sulphides and quartz veins are related to the
intrusion of a sub-volcanic diorite body dated at 19 _+ 1 Ma (on
hornblende by K- Ar method) (Bennett et al. 1981a).
Miocene-Pliocene magmatic arc (porphyry Cu, Mo;
Table 12.5 and Fig. 12.8)
Several porphyry-type mineral occurrences (Danau Diatas, Siuluk
Deras and Danau Dipatiampat) were located as the result of
exploration for porphyry copper deposits in the early-1970s (van
Leeuwen 1978) (Exploration Phase 2 of van Leeuwen 1994)
160 CHAPTER 12
~-,
h
t,'q
[...
0
~
~a
r,~
~
~~_ ~ .~ ~ ~- ~;
r_.#h
~~ ~+,
~ .= ~ -~,-, ~
I I
I I
.~ o,=-~ ~ ~
~= i ~~ >-.' ~ ~ . -
,,-,!
o .=
-~.i ~~
N
L
~<
~<
0
0o
6
>6
~o' . , o~
% "d
r~ r..)
~,=,~ ~~
~~. - o = ,_,
~ ~b~ ~ ~
6,., <
I I I I
1=
.o
~ . - ,-, :,_, . _ , . - . . _
~, ..~ ..
9 ~ . ~ ~ . -
~ ~ ~ ~.
o ~ ~ .o
~ ~o
< <
~+~
9 0 ~
~5
~=~~ ~ ~. ~
~~ ~ < ~~ ~, ~<
~~ ~. ~i ~ ~.~
~ ~ -~ -~ - ~ ~ -~ -~ -=
e ~ z
m ~
9 ~ o
~~:~_
>
. . dE~ ~|
[..;
! ~ ~._=~
+1
I
E ~u ~ ~'-
~-~o . ~-~ ~ ~-
g. <
~E ~E
< <<
z ~
<
. . --. ,
c' --.
b
~ ~
<
9
~
~z
METALLI C MI NERAL DEPOSITS 161
,....., C3~
~. , e-
-~ ~ :2 ~
~0
. ,...,
- ~o~.
tz~t)
,,...,
[...,
e q
<~
O
9 t " q
= ~ ~ o =
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3:
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,...,
9" ~ 9
<
2.<
l . J
I
z
,<
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162 CHAPTER 12
9~oE &~
JLEH
" - I
-2ON
anun(
N;
Lake
"PASAM,a
L I ~ I I I
JURASSI C - CRETACEOUS MI NERALI SATI ON
4 ~ -
2 ~ -
MUARASIPONGI ~- . . . . ~ ~
- - O GOLD ~L U~I ~ ei GADA Pagt
-2~ O BASE METAL
~ TIN
Cr CHROMITE ' 9
Late Cretaceous Plutons
I I I I I I
-4~ Elm__. Mid-Jurassic to
Early Cretaceous Plutons
Woyla Group
(Arc and Accretionary Complex)
I I Pre-Cretaceous basement
- 6 ~
0 500km
TIMBULAN
DANAU RANAU
KELAYANG
<5
,,,% -%\
%
96 ~ 98 ~ 100" 102 ~
I I I I
lO4 ~
I
SEPUTI
Padean
106 ~
I
4 ~ _
6 ~ _
Fi g. 12. 7. Mi ne r a l oc c ur r e nc e s a s s oc i a t e d
wi t h t he Mi d- J ur a s s i c - Ea r l y Cr e t a c e ous a nd
t he Lat e Cr e t a c e ous ma gma t i c ar cs.
(Fig. 12.2); others were found during regional mapping (Tangse
and Dusun) and in the 1990s. The Miocene suite of equigranular
and porphyritic dioritic and granitic intrusions, with Cu- Mo min-
eralization, are widely distributed in the Barisan Mountains
of western Sumatra, but the mineralization is of very low grade.
Porphyry-type mineralization is usually associated with arc-
parallel fault sets of the Sumatran Fault System, with plutons
emplaced within segments and jogs of the main fault zone, or
like the Lokop cluster in fault splays, although some dioritic
centres, such as Tinjoen, are not associated with important faults.
Van Leeuwen et al. (1987) have described the extensive inves-
tigation of the Tangse Cu- Mo prospect which was discovered
during the geological and geochemical mapping programme of
the North Sumatra Project (Young & Johari 1978). A large miner-
alized system is present at the Tangse prospect, but at the time of
the investigation the grades were not economic. Cu- Mo mineral-
ization is present between strands of the main Sumatran Fault
System in altered, stockwork-fractured, multiphase (three sequen-
tial sets of intrusion were distinguished) porphyritic intrusions in
the Eocene age Gle Seukeun Igneous Complex. The older group
of porphyritic quartz diorites is the most extensive, with the intru-
sion and the alteration-mineralization having cooled between 13
and 9 Ma. A core of early chalcopyrite and biotite alteration is sur-
rounded by a halo of chlorite and epidote. These were overprinted
by two structurally controlled quartz-sericite-pyrite assemblages
of which the chlorite assemblage is enriched in Cu and Mo. The
mineralized system has been weathered and oxidized and there
is patchy secondary Cu enrichment.
The Tangse prospect is of particular interest as an example of
dated Miocene multiphase porphyritic igneous intrusions in the
Sumatran Fault System. The geochemistry and low intial Sr
isotope values shown by the Tangse porphyries indicate that
they represent a subduction-related, mantle-derived, normal-K
calc-alkaline suite, which shows little evidence of sialic crustal
contamination (van Leeuwen et al. 1987). The significance of
such multiphase intrusions is the potential for successively fractio-
nated melts with enriched metal contents to be emplaced in the
same host, via the same magma conduit system, resulting in
potential mineral deposits of economic value. This setting
occurred in the overlaps and jogs between transcurrent faults in
Sumatra during the Neogene, as at Tangse and probably also the
Lolo Batholith. The mineralization at the Tangse stock (van
Leeuwen et al. 1987) was completed before the intrusion of the
dacite porphyry dykes, which had cooled to c. 500 ~ by
9.97 4- 0.50 Ma (magmatic hornblende by K- Ar method). This
suggests that the vertical and horizontal movements along the
Sumatran Fault System which initially facilitated the magma
conduit system at Tangse may have disrupted this system by
c. 10 Ma and was followed by rapid uplift. The Tangse multiphase
stock may be younger than the Lolo Batholith, which is composed
of equigranular granodiorites only locally megacrystic, where the
associated minor skarn mineralisation probably dates from the
40 39
emplacement at c. 15 Ma ( Ar/~ Ar determinations by Imtihanah
2OOO).
The only other porphyry copper prospects that have been drill-
tested to date are the Upper and Lower Tengkereng and Upper
METALLI C MI NERAL DEPOSI TS 163
8g
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164 CHAPTER 12
~
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METALLIC MINERAL DEPOSITS 165
I I [ I ~ I I I
96~ 98~ k" ~ ~ "~O-PUOCENE MINERAUSATION
\,-N--. " ~ ~ . O Mineral Locality
GEUNTEUT~ ~
-2~ (,x,.. " ~ (-,x Lake' S, . ~,,. ~ 2~
- ~ ~ pi N APAN O~',x~Tob_a v~ ,---. ~.
""~t . g& ~TINJOEN..J "~(._...1 ~
N .w
-o+ " o
_ >- - - , \ %
"~N N ~ ~ 1~ AIR SEBLAT )
NGSET-",,
UNI~ q~__Ld
-4 ~ " ~ON, , ~r "-..._..-'~TAMBANG SAWAH)
TANJUNG SAKTI
_6 ~
500km
96 ~ 100 ~ 102 ~ 104 ~ ~ 106 ~
I I I I "%, I
Fig. 12.8. Mineral occurrences and
prospects associated with the Miocene-
Pliocene mineralization.
Ise-Ise in the Dusun cluster. The three Dusun cluster deposits
(Dalimunthe et al. 1997a, b) are associated with small (up to
550 x 300m 2) multiple intrusive diorite-tonalite porphyry
stocks. Alteration is highly telescoped with progressive overprint-
ing of advanced argillic and phyllic alteration assemblages. Quartz
stockwork veining varies from weak (1-10%) to intensive (up to
50%). The quartz stockwork is typically barren or only weakly
mineralized. Sulphide mineralization consists of pyrite, covel-
lite-chalcolite, lesser bornite and chalcopyrite and minor molyb-
denite. In contrast to Tangse the mol ybdenum content is
negligible, whereas gold values are relatively high (0. 17-
0.38 g t-~ Au).
It has been suggested that the general low tenor of the porphyry
copper occurrences found to date in Sumatra may be due to the
poor copper content of the crust that was subducted beneath the
island during the Neogene (Katili 1974b) or because the process
of subduction was too young to have generated suitable melts
(Hutchison & Taylor 1978). Another possible explanation is that
the Neogene subduction occurred (most of the time) at an even
velocity, a condition which is not conducive to the generation of
large, high grade deposits (Sillitoe 1997).
Neogene magmatic arc (Au-Ag; Table 12.6 and Fig. 12.9)
Mining of primary deposits on the West Coast of Sumatra and in
the Lebong cluster was interrupted in 1941. Subsequently mining
has never reached pre-war production levels, with only Lebong
Tandai being reopened. Most of the abandoned mines were rein-
vestigated and drilled during the late 1980s, but extensions to
the ore bodies at Mangani and Lebong Donok were not found at
depth (van Leeuwen 1994). A number of new gold occurrences
in Sumatra were found during the various COW investigations
(1985 onwards), of which Bukit Tembang reached the mining
stage while exploration is at an advanced stage at two others
(Way Linggo and Martabe).
The dating, quantity and source of the gold mineralization of
many prospects remains poorly understood, because their per-
ceived low economic potential has discouraged detailed study.
In Table 12.6 the times of mineralization are estimates, based on
the dating of host lithologies and intrusions, although the mineral-
ization sequences are better documented. An exception is the gold
mineralization at Lebong Donok for which K- Ar ages between
1.2 and 1. 3Ma were quoted by Henley & Etheridge (1995),
which is a similar to the age to the Cirotan epithermal system in
west Java, where adularia was dated by the K- At method at
1.7 Ma (Milesi et al. 1994). This data places Neogene gold miner-
alization in Sumatra, at least in part, in the period after 3.5 Ma in
an interval of tectonic reorganization following the collision of the
Philippine Arc and the Eurasian Plate (Barley et al. 2002).
Neogene epithermal precious metal deposits in Sumatra are
classified following White & Hedenquist (1990), using the vein
and alteration mineralogy and the form of the ore body, to infer
the fluid chemistry which controlled ore formation. The high sul-
phidation type reflects relatively oxidised ore fluids, and the low
sulphidation type reflects relatively reduced ore fluids. Examples
166 CHAPTER 12
..E
r162
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e4
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. .
r~
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.= =~
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O e d r
8
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METALLI C MI NERAL DEPOSI TS 167
O~
I re', ~,,-,~ ~ ~ c~
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.s
,r--
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168 CHAPTER 12
$=
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8
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METALLI C MI NERAL DEPOSITS 169
4ON
I
96~
I
98 ~
MIWAH \
ABONG x
!
IAK
"7
""'" ~ SIHAYO
/KIN~
cBUKIT BULA"
9 ~ / I
' /G SALIDA
F'~ i .._., )
I ~ l "'": "
Seamount
I NDI AN- AUSTRALI AN
OCEANI C PLATE
6~ 500km
96 ~ 98 ~ 100 o
I I I
)n
NEOGENE GOLD MI NERALI SATI ON
" ~ GOLD DEPOSIT TYPE
O t High sulphidation
~1~ Low Sulphidation
Sediment hosted
I :'~'~':" ~~'~':~ ~:~ I Jur assi c- Cr et aceous
iiii~ii;iiiii~:iiii~iiiiiii:iiiiii~iiiiill Woyla Group
4 ~ - -
2 ~ _
MANGANI
9 I BULANGS
c~
BANGKO
IKIT TEMBANG
0 ~ --
2 ~ _
WAY LI NG( ~
<b
KOTAAGUNC
\
1012~'~ 104~ l
d"(TI I
tlUARADUA
~PUNG
~i l ~ TANJUNG-
~7~ " KARAN G
~APAI
%. ~.
4 ~ _
Fig. 12.9. Mineral occurrences, prospects
and former mines related to the Neogene
gold mineralization.
of the latter type are commonly found in the southern half of the
island, concentrated along two lineaments or axes. An Outer
Neogene Gold Axis, linking the Salida and Kotaagung clusters
with concentrations in the Lebong and West Coast Districts of
van Bemmelen (1949), and an Inner Neogene Gold Axis, linking
the Mangani and Tanjungkarang clusters can be distinguished
(Machali et al. 1997) and are represented predominantly by
'classic' quartz-vein type deposits (Fig. 12.9). To date only three
high-sulphidation type deposits have been found. All are located
in northern Sumatra and are recent discoveries (Martabe, Miwah
and Meluak). They represent fossil geothermal systems rich in
magmatic volatiles. A study of the present-day hydrothermal
systems in Sumatra by Hochstein & Sudarman (1993) shows
that about 20% fall into this category. A third type of deposit com-
prises sediment-hosted mineralization found at Abong and Sihayo.
The majority of Neogene epithermal gold occurrences in
Sumatra are hosted in Tertiary volcanics and sediments which
rest on the Woyla Group (Fig. 12.9). There are exceptions, as in
the Meluak, Martabe, Mangani and Bangko clusters where the
Woyla Group is not present. The spatial relationship between
many of the epithermal gold deposits and the Woyla Group in
Sumatra and Western Java was observed by Carlile & Mitchell
(1994), who suggested that this relationship may be related
indirectly to the arc reversal and emplacement of the oceanic vol-
canic arcs in the Woyla Group onto the Sundaland margin in the
Cretaceous.
The focusing of fluid flow, favourable permeability and fault
structures controlling the emplacement of intrusions helps to
explain the concentration of epithermal occurrences in the
Neogene Gold Belt. Evidence of hydrothermal outflow in
the Inner Axis is illustrated by the presence of sinters, as in the
Bangko cluster. In some instances this outflow may derive from
the Outer Neogene Gold Axis in the elevated Barisan Mountains.
The geomorphic outflow of thermal waters from the Barisan
Mountains also contributes to the low temperature reservoirs of
thermal water in the Tertiary sedimentary basins in the back arc
area (Hochstein & Sudarman 1993).
In southern Sumatra several precious metal clusters are associ-
ated with arc-parallel master fault segments of the Sumatran Fault
System (e.g. Tanjungsakti, Way Linggo and Martabe). The
Mangani prospect is situated towards the termination of a major
segment of the Sumatran Fault System (Kavalieris et al. 1987).
The connection with arc-normal fault sets is occasionally
invoked, as at Miwah and the importance of faulting in the local-
isation of metal occurrences is well understood. Hovig (1914)
noted the fault-grid intersections controlling precious-metal min-
eralization in the Lebong cluster. Terpstra (1932) distinguished
four groups of quartz veins at the Salida mine, based on their
orientation, and Harris (1988) drew attention to the significance
of fault control of mineralisation in the Lebong and Mangani
clusters.
As mentioned above, the majority of the low sulphidation gold
deposits are located in southern Sumatra. Deposits in the Lebong
cluster (Fig. 12.10) are among the better known. Jobson et al.
(1994) described the Lebong Tandai deposit where underground
mining recommenced in 1983 and continued into the early
170 CHAPTER 12
Fig. 12.10. The Lebong cluster of precious metal prospects, occurrences and
former mines showing the 'Ketaun Zone' of eroded volcanic centres along which
some the Lebong cluster mineral localities are aligned. Geology after Gafoer
et al. (1992c) and Henley & Etheridge (1995).
1990s. The tabular, quartz-cemented, breccia ore bodies are loca-
lized along shears, which are related to an east -west sinistral fault
system (Jobson et al. 1994 had reservations) and to a NW dextral
fault system, by Jobson et al. (1994), using kinematic indicators.
The mineralized zone is orientated approximately east -west
over a strike of 4.3 km. It appears that no transpression or transten-
sion was involved. The dimensions and mineralogical details of
the breccia bodies are given in Table 12.6. Jobson et al. (1994)
found that precious-metal mineralization was the result of hydrau-
lic fracturing, associated with four phases of hydrothermal mineral
deposition. In contrast, the precious metals at Lebong Donok are
associated with quartz veins within the NW- SE Lebong Fault.
Dacite dykes and andesite dykes and sheets are present. The min-
eralization is on the flank of an eroded andesitic volcano (Henley
& Etheridge 1995) and is localized at the contact between the
sediments and the volcanics. Henley & Etheridge (1995) relate
the mineralization in the Lebong cluster (apart from
Tambang Sawah) to the ' Ketaun Structural Trend' (Fig. 12.10),
a tectonic-volcanic zone in which the individual ore bodies
were emplaced at different levels, with Lebong Tandai represent-
ing the oldest mineralization and deepest structural level. Henley
& Etheridge (1995) postulated that the breccia mineralization at
Lebong Tandai was due to later transtensional reactivation of
stepped thrusts, and that the Lebong Donok bonanza veins were
formed in a dilitant transtensional setting, closely associated
with the intrusion of dacite.
According to Gafoer et al. (1992c) the location of the Ketaun
Zone coincides with an incursion of the volcaniclastic Seblat For-
mation within the volcanic Hulusimpang Formation (Ol i gocene-
Miocene), and the volcanic centres are related to the Bal
Formation (Middle Miocene). Postulated thrusting in the Ketaun
Zone was presumably Pliocene in age, but while thrusts have
not been described elsewhere in the area, they could represent
the inversion of pre-existing normal faults associated with the
growth of the Barisan Mountain range.
It is difficult to evaluate the alternative interpretations of a
clearly complex geological setting with so little information on
the dating of the volcanic events and the mineralization. None
the less the presence of large high-grade gold deposits at
Lebong Donok and at Salida (Painan Formation volcanics on the
Woyla Group), both of which are at the interface between sedi-
ments and volcanics, is significant. The settings are reminiscent
of that at Hishikari in Japan where a fractured unconformity
between sediments and overlying volcanics was the focus of
repeated boiling of high-temperature fluids that resulted in mul-
tiple precipitation of precious metals (Izawa et al. 1990). It is note-
worthy that Lebong Donok and Hishikari show very similar
mineralization characteristics (Kavalieris 1988). The ore bodies
at Lebong Donok and Salida formed as a result of repeated
opening of the fault zones, but in Sumatra precious metal mineral-
ization was dispersed over larger areas, and in alignments, rather
than concentrated at a single locality as at Hisikari.
An unusual feature of several south Sumatra deposits, including
Lebong Tandai and Lebong Donok, Mangani and Way Linggo is
the occurrence of hypogene low-temperature calcium zeolites in
quartz veins. Lawless et al. (1995) suggest that these deposits
were formed in long lateral outflows, which facilitated extensive
de-gassing of the outflowing primary hydrothermal fluid to the
point where zeolites, rather than calcite, were deposited when
the fluids finally boiled. In contrast, in deposits which formed in
hydrothermal upflow zones, such as Bukit Tembang and Salida,
CO2 contents were relatively high and consequently calcite
tended to precipitate on boiling because of the de-stabilisation of
bicarbonate along with adularia in response to the resulting rise
in pH. Lawless et al. (1995) point out that if their model is
correct, it may be a useful exploration tool for distinguishing
upflow-zone from ' satellite' outflow-zone deposits which they
argue is important, as the latter can be expected to have a more
limited vertical extent.
Turning to high sulphidation deposits, the Martabe gold system
(Levet et al. 2003, Sutopo et al. 2003) was discovered in late 1997
by Normandy Anglo Asian Indonesia (subsequently taken over by
Newmont), using bulk leach extraction of gold (BLEG) sampling
techniques. It consists of a number of deposits over a strike length
of 7 km, hosted in a series of Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary
rocks (palaeontologically dated at 18-20 Ma), proximal to a
fault splay of the Sumatran Fault System. Episodic fault activity
has been responsible for pulses of high-level magmatism and the
development of multistage phreatomagmatic breccias, dacitic
flow dome complexes, hydrothermal alteration and gold mineral-
ization in this district. The fault system consists of a major NW to
NNW fault set accompanied by a conjugate set of NE extensional
faults, consistent with regional dextral strike-slip tectonics.
The most significant and best defined of the Martabe deposits is
the Purnama deposit, which has a resource of 3.7 million ounces of
gold and 46 million ounces of silver, making it the largest known
gold deposit in Sumatra. It is hosted by an intrusive diatreme that
has been injected along bedding planes within a sedimentary-vol-
canic unit. Multi-stage acid-leaching hydrothermal alteration
events have produced large volumes of vuggy to massive silica
with a tabular geometry. The silica zones are enveloped by
silica/dickite/alunite, grading out to silica-illite and peripheral
argillic alteration zones as the initial acidic vapour phase was pro-
gressively neutralized by the wall rocks and the groundwater.
There is a very strong correlation between gold mineralization
and silicification, as the latter has produced a vuggy permeable
host that was subjected to brittle fracture during subsequent tec-
tonic events. The mineralized zone at Purnama extends about
1.2 by 1 km. An early phase of low sulphidation silica pyrite
veining and chalcedonic silica with low gold grades, associated
with or immediately after the main acid sulphate alteration
event, was followed by a high sulphidation phase characterized
by enargite and luzonite mineralization and higher gold grades.
The alteration/mineralization sequence observed at Purnama,
i.e. acid-sulphide alteration-low sulphidation vei ni ng-hi gh sul-
phidation veining is highly unusual for this type of deposit.
The low grade Miwah prospect is found in an extensive altera-
tion system in interbedded Pliocene sediments and andesitic volca-
nics, associated with arc-normal faulting and probably connected
to a buried porphyry-type intrusion (Williamson & Fleming 1995).
A linkage with a subduction zone beneath the North Aceh coast
was proposed by Rock et al. (1982) on the basis of the chemical
METALLIC MINERAL DEPOSITS 171
composition of the volcanics and is favoured by Carlile & Mitchell
(1994). This interpretation is considered unlikely as although
seismicity is associated with this zone, oceanic crust is not
involved. The deposit is related like the rest of the precious
metal deposits, to the Sunda subduction zone as mapped beneath
Sumatra by Sieh & Natawidjaja (2000).
The geology of the Meluak area is dominated by the rift formed
by the subparallel Bl angkej eren-Toru and Kl a- Al as Faults that
form part of the main Sumatran Fault Zone. Gold mineralization
is hosted by the Quaternary Kembar volcano and is associated
with hydrothermal breccias, massive and vuggy silica and cl ay-
pyrite alteration.
The Martabe and Meluak deposits have been discovered in areas
of good access without previously recorded gold occurrences. This
is probably due to the very fine particle size of the gold, which has
not led to obvious detrital gold signatures in the drainage, but is
amenable to discovery by chemical exploration techniques such
as the BLEG (bulk leach extraction of gold) method.
The two known sediment-only hosted gold deposits Abong and
Sihayo, are both located in northern Sumatra.
The Abong prospect (Hendrawan et al. 1996) consists of a NW-
trending zone, about 2300 m by 450 m, of mudstone/black shale
underlain by limestone, belonging to the Bampo Formation
(Upper Oligocene to Middle Miocene). Andesitic volcanics are
interbedded in this unit. An irregular zone of gold-bearing strati-
form jasperoid and silicified shale/siltstone with an average thick-
ness of about 9 m is present at, or close to the hanging wall of the
limestone. It shows variable development of fluid breccias grading
from crackle breccia to pseudo-conglomeratic breccia. Matrix-fill
material includes massive crystalline quartz, colloform quartz,
cockscomb quartz and illite. Gold mineralization is accompanied
by anomalous As (up to 6%), Ag (up to 680 ppm), Sb and Hg.
At Sihayo (R. Jones, written comm. 2004) drilling by Aberfoyle
Resources Ltd, and more recently by Oropa Limited, has outlined
a well-mineralized zone with a strike length of 1 km and up to
450 m wide containing an inferred gold resource of about
600 000 ounces. It is associated with NW-SE-t rendi ng faults as
well as orthogonal cross-structures that form part of a multi-
strand segment of the Sumatran Fault Zone. The zone is inferred
to extend discontinuously over more than 4 km of strike length
to adjacent prospects. Gold mineralization is hosted by regolith
and silicified breccias at, and near the top of a sequence of
Permian limestones, and in tuffaceous siltstone intercalations
within the limestones. The tuffaceous sediments vary from well-
bedded ash-rich siltstones to chaotic, slumped, clast-dominated
grits. The breccias were formed by karst dissolution under phreatic
conditions and subsequent collapse. Typical breccias comprise
clasts of mainly limestone, dark siltstone and andesitic volcanics
(from intercalated beds in the limestone), and coarse calcite frag-
ments. Dark silica alteration (jasperoid) replaces breccia matrix
material (fine phreatic sediments and tuffaceous sediments). Indi-
vidual jasperoid bodies can be highly irregular in shape. Sulphide
content is generally less than 1 or 2%, but locally exceeds 10%.
Pyrite is the dominantly sulphide phase and is invariably
accompanied by arsenopyrite and stibnite. In one of the adjacent
prospects late-stage epithermal white quartz with vuggy and
cockade textures forms the breccia matrix and occurs extensively
as veining and breccia fill.
Jasperoid alteration and mineralisation postdates Oligocene
sediments which disconformably overlie the Permian limestone,
but is otherwise undated. Later karst processes during the ?Late
Tertiary and Quaternary, have reworked the jasperoid material
into new breccias, some of which are fissure fillings.
Some workers distinguish two types of sediment-hosted gold
mineralization, as discussed by Sillitoe (1994): one generated dis-
tally with respect to intrusion-centred districts (eg. Sillitoe &
Bonham 1990); and the other the product of metamorphic dewa-
tering of thick sedimentary sequences, as exemplified by deposits
in the Carlin trend in Nevada (e.g. Seedorff 1991). Abong and
Sihayo are both located in areas that contain low-grade porphyry
copper deposits and may therefore belong to the former group.
However Sillitoe (1994) suggests that both groups may form a
single, broad genetic category.
The alignments in Sumatra range in scale from the NW- SE
' Neogene Gold Axes' (Fig. 12.9) and less common east - west
volcanic-tectonic alignments of mineralization as at Muaradua
and the Ketaun Zone in the Lebong cluster. Posavec et al.
(1983) described examples (see Fig. 13.25) of NW- SE align-
ments, representing the migration of older Quaternary to Recent
volcanic centres in response to progressive displacement along
the Sumatra Fault Zone. East - west alignments of active Quatern-
ary volcanic centres also occur, as at Bukitinggi. At Talang, and
some other active volcanoes, Posavec et al. (1983) found east -
west aeromagnetic anomalies, thought to image large buried
dioritic intrusions, but the NW- SE volcanic alignments did not
show aeromagnetic signatures indicative of buried intrusions.
The migration of the loci of igneous intrusion and transcurrent
movement of fault blocks were both caused by the oblique subduc-
tion of the Indi an-Aust ral i an Ocean crust beneath Sumatra
(Fig. 12.9). The Sunda subduction zone (Sieh & Natawidjaja
2000) and the Neogene Gold Belt are deflected by subduction of
the Investigator Fracture Zone. In the forearc the ' Pini Arch' has
formed above the trace of the Investigator Fracture Zone, which
also has been related by Page et al. (1979) to the genesis of the
Quaternary Toba Caldera Complex (Chesner & Rose 1991). The
Martabe deposit is situated above the projected eastern boundary
Table 12.7. Al l uvi al gol d deposi t s in Sumat ra
Cluster name Orebody form Ore elements Time of mineralisation Resource & notes Reference
ANU- REUNGUET Alluvial Au derived from Au Quaternary Cameron et al. (1983);
quartz veins & Coulson et al.
disseminated sulphides in (1986)
Woyla Group
MEULABOH River terrace sands & Au- Ag Quaternary Production (est. pre- 1942) Cameron et al. (1983);
(WOYLA) boulders derived from Cu- Hg 980 kg Au/ 5 Mm 3 gravel. Bowles et al.
Woyla Group & Cr - Pt Resource: proven (1988) (1985);
epithermal min 11.5 M m3@ 196 mg m -3 Au Van Leeuwen
SINGINGI Alluvial deposits occupy Au- Ag
(BENGKALIS) broad valleys cut in Pt??
Tertiary sediments
Source uncertain.
Epithermal quartz
found in dumps.
Most gold found in
upper alluvial
succession
in 8 areas along Kr. Woyla (1994)
Resource: 17.2 Mm 3 @ Van Bemmelen
149 mg/m 3 Au (1990); (1949);
production to 1958:2.2 t Au; Van Leeuwen
est. grade 120 mg m -3 Au; (1994)
1973-75 resource of
180 Mm 3 @ 90 mg m -3 Au
172 CHAPTER 12
e4
m
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z
METALLI C MI NERAL DEPOSI TS 173
a', o-, a-, a', o, ~,
> > < > > m > ~ >
~ 7 =
~ C~ ~ ". ~
"~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . - . _
c~
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9
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174 CHAPTER 12
of the Investigator Fracture Zone and may be an example of min-
eralization caused by the focussed release of volatiles into the
mantle wedge as a result of post-subduction faulting of hydrated
oceanic crust, which Fauzi et al. (1996) suggested might have con-
tributed to the formation of the Toba Caldera Complex. The pre-
sence of other irregularities in the ocean crust passing through
the Sunda subduction system in the past may have contributed
to stalling of the subduction system, which Sillitoe (1997) has
suggested creates the possibility for developing large ore deposits
in a volcanic arc by steady-state, feed-back processes.
Al l uvi al gol d
Several of the larger alluvial gold deposits in Sumatra have been
mined in the post-war period (Table 12.7), but production has
never reached pre-war levels. This is because the deposits were
exhausted or because the resources were insufficient for commen-
cial exploitation, though attracting artisanal workers (as have
many of the disused primary deposits).
Coulson et al. (1986) suggested that the precious metals in the
Quaternary Anu-Renguet alluvial goldfield in northern Sumatra
were derived from quartz veins and disseminated sulphides that
formed during Mid-Cretaceous deformation of the Woyla
Group. Precious metals in the more economically interesting
coastal plain Woyla (Meulaboh) alluvial gold field were probably
sourced from skarns in the Woyla Group (Cameron et al. 1983).
The source of the gold in the Singingi alluvial field south of the
equator is probably weathered epithermal deposits.
Conclusions
Since 1967, Sumatra and adjacent islands have seen successive
phases of mineral exploration (Figs 12.2 & 12.3) for tin, bauxite
and porphyry copper deposits (1967-71), gold (1985-92 and
1995-97) and since 1998 (albeit on a reduced scale) base
metals, gold, and tin. These phases of exploration have led to
the discovery of numerous mineral occurrences and the testing
of the more important mineral deposits (Table 12.8 &
Fig. 12.1 l). The Indonesian Government has encouraged foreign
mineral industry private sector investment in exploration
through the Contracts of Work (COW) system. Although the
main focus of the exploration efforts of the private sector has
been in Eastern Indonesia and Kalimantan, Sumatra with its rela-
tive accessibility and lower cost of exploration, has seen a fair
amount of activity, especially during the most recent gold explora-
tion boom in 1995-97, when large tracts of land were covered by
COW applications (Fig. 12.3). Unfortunately, the boom was pre-
maturely terminated in the wake of the Bre-X scandal in Kaliman-
tan (Wells 1998). This scandal sapped the confidence of investors
in the Indonesian mining sector, and the sector has remained
3~ t
LEBO
104 ~1 ~ LEBONG DONONG
I WAYU.GGo \ \ %
E~176 9~ ~ MARTABE~
01 , ,
0.2 1 10 160
Resource (including past production) in millions of tonnes
Fig. 12.11. Gold resources, including past production and gold grades (g t l) of
some Sumatran gold deposits adapted from van Leeuwen (1994).
depressed subsequently due to the 1998-99 economic crisis, the
deterioration in the general investment climate, the issuance of
Forestry Law 41/1999 prohibiting opencast mining in protected
forest areas, which has effectively sterilized large parts of areas
with mining potential ( >50% in Sumatra), and the emergence of
a strong anti-mining lobby. Despite these unfavourable conditions,
several companies have persisted with exploration projects.
Compared with other parts of Indonesia, exploration for metallic
minerals in Sumatra during the past 35 years has, on the whole,
produced disappointing results. In mainland Sumatra only one
deposit was discovered that reached the mining stage (Bukit
Tembang, a small Au deposit) and two old Dutch mines (Woyla
and Lebok Tandai) were reopened for a short time. From an econ-
omic point of view none of these were very successful. The most
significant discovery on the islands east of Sumatra is arguably the
small, but rich Nam Salu tin deposit, which was amenable to open
pit extraction.
The recent discoveries of several gold and l ead-zi nc deposits,
however, indicate that the mineral potential of Sumatra has not
yet been fully tested. It is encouraging that these include styles
of mineralization not previously known to exist in Sumatra.
Other novel categories of mineralization may be identified in the
future. The reinterpretation of the genesis of known occurrences
may lead to new exploration concepts, as may a better understand-
ing of the geological history and of the geological processes which
have occurred during the evolution of Sumatra.
Chapter 13
Structure and structural history
A. J. BARBER & M. J. CROW
The present structure of Sumatra is dominated by the effects of
the current subduction system in which the Indian Plate is
being subducted northeastwards beneath the island at a rate of
c. 7 cm a-~. The structure of Sumatra was described by van
Bemmelen (1949) and in terms of plate tectonics by Hamilton
(1979). The main structural elements of Sumatra and its surround-
ing region are defined with respect to the Sumatran subduction
system (Fig. 13.1).
(1) Forearc region, which includes the subduction trench, part
of the Sunda Trench extending from Myanmar to eastern
Indonesia, the developing accretionary complex, composed
of ocean floor materials scraped off the Indian Plate, the
forearc ridge which rises above sea level to form the forearc
islands, and the forearc basins which lie between the ridge,
and the volcanic arc on the mainland of Sumatra (Fig. 13.2).
(2) Barisan Mountains and the Sumatran Fault System. The
Barisan Mountains are composed of an uplifted basement of
Upper Palaeozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary and volcanic
rocks, variously metamorphosed, deformed and intruded
by granites, overlain by Cenozoic sediments and volcanics,
including the products of the volcanoes related to the
present subduction system, which form the currently active
volcanic arc. The Sumatran Fault system is a complex of
dextral strike-slip faults running the whole length of the
island through the centre of the Barisan Mountains from
NW to SE, with zones of compression and extension,
forming areas of uplift and pull apart basins which form
grabens along the line of the fault system. Movement along
this transcurrent fault system is attributed to the oblique sub-
duction of the Indian Plate beneath Sumatra, which is carrying
the west coast of Sumatra and the whole of the forearc region
northwestwards as a ' sliver plate' (Curray 1989).
(3) Backarc region, extending northeastwards from the Barisan
Mountains, across the Malacca Strait to the east coast of the
Malay Peninsula, occupied by Tertiary sedimentary basins,
formed by Palaeogene rifting and subsidence and in filled
by Neogene to present day sedimentation. The sediments
are affected by folding and faulting and contain coal and the
major oil and gas resources of Sumatra.
The Sunda forearc
Subduct i on trench and accret i onary compl ex
To the west of Sumatra and the outer arc islands, the floor of the
!ndian Ocean increases in depth from 4000 m at the northern
end of the island to over 5000 m in the south (Fig. 13.2). Two
linear nort h-sout h submarine volcanic structures, the Ninety
East Ridge and the Investigator Ridge, considered to be based
on oceanic transform faults, rise several kilometres above the
general level of the ocean floor (see Fig. 1.2). The basaltic crust
of the Indian Ocean, which is here of Cretaceous to Eocene age
(Sclater & Fisher 1974; Liu et al. 1983) (Fig. 13.2), is overlain
first by Cret aceous-Eocene pelagic sediments and then by
Miocene turbidites. At the northern end of Sumatra the turbidites
form part of the Nicobar Fan and are 2 km thick. The turbidites
were derived from the Himalayas following their uplift during
the Miocene, and formed the eastern branch of the Bengal Fan,
before sediment supply was cut off by the collision of the northern
end of the Ninety-East Ridge with the subduction trench in Pleis-
tocene times. On the ocean floor the sedimentary cover decreases
in thickness southwards, until at the southern end of Sumatra, the
thickness of the fan sediments is reduced to less than 1 km
(Fig. 13.2, inset). Sediments of the Nicobar Fan are covered by
a thin veneer of Recent pelagic sediments.
Seismic reflection profiles obtained by the Scripps Institution of
Oceanography (SIO) around Nias in the 1970s and 1980s as a con-
tribution to the Sumatra Transect, part of the SEATAR (Studies in
East Asian Tectonics and Resources) Program (CCOP-IOC 1981),
show that Indian Ocean lithosphere, and its covering of sediments,
are being subducted in the Sunda Trench northeastwards beneath
Sumatra (Fig. 13.3). More recently very similar seismic sections
have been obtained to the south of Enggano by the R/ V Sonne
as part of the GINCO (Geoscientific Investigations along the
active Convergence zone between the eastern Eurasian and
Indo-Australian plates off Indonesia) Project (Kopp et al. 2001).
The subduction trench lies about 250 km to the SW of the main-
land of Sumatra and 100 km to the SW of the outer arc islands
(Fig. 13.2). At the northern end of Sumatra the subduction
trench is 4000 m deep, but the trench increases gradually in
depth southeastwards, until at the southern end of the island it is
more than 6000 m deep (Fig. 13.2, inset). A compilation of
echo-sounding measurements from the floor of the trench, and
seismic reflection and refraction determinations of the depth of
the underlying oceanic basement shows that this increase in
depth is due entirely to a decrease in the amount of sediment on
the ocean floor (Moore et al. 1982) (Fig. 13.2, inset). The SIO
seismic reflection profiles show sub-horizontally bedded Nicobar
Fan sediments on the floor of the trench overlain by a thin
wedge of more recent sediment at the foot of the inner slope.
The Indian Ocean floor slopes gently northwestwards at 2 ~
towards the trench and as the trench is approached the overlying
sediments and the ocean floor are broken by normal faults down-
throwing towards the trench and parallel to the trench axis. At the
base of the inner slope of the trench the sediments on the Indian
Ocean Plate are seen in seismic sections to have been uplifted
along thrust surfaces and imbricated to form an accretionary
complex (Fig. 13.3a). The trenchward outer slope and normal
faulting in the ocean floor are attributed to a downward flexure
and a complementary bulge on the incoming plate, resulting
from loading by the overlying accretionary complex.
The inner slope is made up of a series of ridges and troughs par-
allel to the trench axis which rise steeply from the floor of the
trench, and then flatten out in the outer arc ridge (Fig. 13.3a).
Karig et al. (1980, fig. 4) interpret fans of recent sediment on
the floor of the trench as formed by material slumping down the
of the steep lower face of the accretionary complex. These fans
impede the flow of sediments along the trench axis.
Seismic profiling of the trench shows that the trench sediments
and the underlying turbidites are uplifted along thrust faults at the
toe of the accretionary complex. The ridges on the face of the
accretionary complex are formed by successive anticlinal folds
of ocean floor sediments, broken by faults and converted into
175
176 CHAPTER 13
I
96~
I
98 ~
I
100 ~
I
102 ~
I
104 ~
I
106 ~
9 ~, , wB~nda Aceh A Active Volcano
FOREARC
. 4 ~
Fi g. 13. 4( a)
[ ~~l ue ~L~~ ~.
- '
Banyak Is .
2~ % % Nias~
_0 o ,~
l i nes of sections in
Fi gs 13. 6( a) & (b).
lines of seismic
pr of i l es in
Fi gs 13. 3( a) & (c)
2 ~
INDIAN
PLATE
_4 ~
I
BACKARC
&- 40: Medan
--,'.',LakeTob~
Paga~
, Sipor~
Quaternary-Recent volcanics
Tertiary Sediments and volcanics
0 100
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiii i
~iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:i:..ii~
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
; : Oi Pekanbal
: . : . : . ; . : . : . :
Sumatran Fault System
Deformation Front of the
Sumatran Subduction
Complex
:!:i:i:i:i:i:i
~5 Bengkul
200 300 400 500km
9 . . . - o ~
:!!!iii!i!i!i!iiii!iiii~
TigalJiJ/oh
9 "'i:?:i:?:?:i:i:?:?:?:?:?:i:?:::
~i:i:i:i:i:!:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:i:iOiPalembang
% Enggano
tiiiiiiiii i i iiiiiii i iliiiiiiiii!iiii
Pre-Tertiary Basement
96~ 98 ~ 100 ~ ~ 102 ~ 104 ~ 106 ~
I I I \ I I I
Fig. 13.1. Structural map of Sumatra.
6 ~ _
4 ~ _
2 ~ _
0 ~
2 ~ -
604
thrust slices which are underthrust and uplifted by the formation of
later thrust slices as the incoming plate passes down the subduc-
tion zone (Stevens & Moore 1985) (Fig. 13.3). As is the case in
other accretionary complexes (e.g. Barbados, the Makran and
the Nankai Trough etc.) the steep (c. 35 ~ dip of the faults
seen near the surface flatten out at depth into bedding-parallel
decollement surfaces in the pelagic sediments a short distance
above the oceanic basement (Moore & Curray 1980, Fig. 7).
On the SIO profiles the oceanic basement of the Indian Plate
can be traced landwards beneath the accretionary complex for a
distance of 25 km (Moore & Curray 1980). In the R/ V Sonne pro-
files to the south of Enggano the surface of the downgoing slab
dips at 3 ~ at the deformation front, increasing to 5 ~ beneath the
outer arc ridge. The depth to the surface of the subducting plate
was determined along the strike by seismic refraction at a depth
of 19 km beneath the outer arc ridge, and at 21 km beneath the
forearc basin, 80 km landwards of the deformation front (Kopp
et al. 2001; Schldter et al. 2002). Seismic profiles obtained by
the Shell Company to the south of Java show steps in the basement
which suggest that the decollement at the base of the sediments
sometimes extends down into the basement, and that slices of
oceanic crust have been uplifted into the base of the accretionary
complex (Hamilton 1979). Karig et al. (1980) reached the same
conclusion for the accretionary complex off Sumatra, as melanges
on the outer arc ridge in the island of Nias contain blocks of
serpentinite, pillow basalt and pelagic sediments derived from
the oceanic basement.
Troughs on the face of the accretionary complex become
broader towards the upper, flatter part of the slope. Seismic pro-
files show that these troughs are slope basins filled by sediments
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 177
I I I
Sumatran Forearc
N
BANDAACEH
MEDAN
I
100 ~
km
km
1
o
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
o 1 ooo
Sunda Tr ench
3
4
5
6
7
8
I sl ands and For ear c Basi ns
Nicobar SimeulueNiasSiberut Enggano .
--. A tsA / ' k/ ~ A / ' ~ ~c, r~ sea level
, , | ~ ' N | : } : N
I I ' ~
2000 3000 4000km
Pal eocenei
BOLGA
0 1000 2000 3000 4000km
Bat u
b I sl ands
PURA
Pal eocene
%
BENGKULU
Cr et aceous
0 100 200 300 400 500km
Fig, 13.2. Structural map of the Sumatran Forearc based on Hamilton (1979), with transform faults, magnetic anomalies and age of oceanic crust (double lines at 45 Ma
mark an extinct spreading ridge) in the Indian Ocean from Sclater & Fisher (1974) and Liu et al. (1983); structures in the forearc from Izart et al. (1994), Matson & Moore
(1992) and Diament et al. (1992); structures in the Nias Basin from Matson & Moore (1992), normal faults with ticks, and monoclinal flexures with triangles, indicating
the downthrown sides. Onland extensions of the forearc basins are shown in white. The inset shows topographic and bathymetric profiles parallel to the arc system through
the forearc islands, the forearc basins and the Sunda subduction trench after Moore et al. (1982).
178 CHAPTER 13
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STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 179
(Moore et al. 1980a; Karig et al. 1980). While more recent sedi-
ments in these slope basins are sub-horizontal, older sediments
are tilted landwards, and deeper in the basins are increasingly
folded and more highly deformed and disrupted by thrusts,
suggesting that the accretionary complex is under compression
and that imbricate thrusts in the accretionary complex are continu-
ally re-activated to deform the sediments in the basins (Stevens &
Moore 1985) (Fig. 13.3). Karig et al. (1980) suggest that the
greater part of the sediments in the slope basins are derived
locally by slumping of soft sediment from the face of active
fault scarps, rather than from erosion on the island of Nias
higher up the slope.
In the seismic sections to the south of Enggano Kopp et al.
(2001) make a distinction between the active accretionary
complex with low seismic velocities, indicating that it is formed
of unconsolidated sediments, and an older accretionary complex
forming the outer arc ridge. The older complex, while still com-
posed predominantly of sediments, is more highly consolidated
and has higher velocities. They suggest that the older complex
is of Palaeogene age and acted as a backstop to the younger
Neogene to Quaternary complex (Kopp & Kukowski 2003).
Out er arc i sl ands
The accretionary complex rises steeply from the floor of the trench
to form an outer arc ridge, c. 120kin wide (Fig. 13.3a) which
appears above sea level in a chain of islands to the west of
Sumatra. In the north the ridge rises 5.5 km from the floor of the
trench to the island of Simeulue, and in the south for c. 6.5 km
in Enggano (Fig. 13.2).
During the 1980s the geologists of the Indonesian Geological
Research and Development Centre (GRDC) mapped most of the
outer arc islands using aerial photographic interpretation and
field traverses. The resulting maps were subsequently modified
in the 1990s by interpretation of SAR (synthetic aperture radar)
imagery, supplemented by additional field checking. These geolo-
gical maps were published by GRDC at the scale of 1:250 000
(Simeulue and the Banyak Islands--Endharto & Sukido 1991
(Fig. 13.4); Ni as--Dj amal et al. 1994 (Fig. 13.4); Batu
Isl ands--Nas & Supandjono 1994; Pagai and Sipora--Budhitrisna
& Andi Mangga 1990; Siberut--Andi Mangga et al. 1994b;
Enggano--Ami n et al. 1994a) (Fig. 13.4).
Most of the islands show restricted outcrops of melange, with
blocks of serpentinite, gabbro, basalt, chert, calcilutite and rare
limestones with large foraminifers, Nummul i t es, Di scocycl i na
and Pel l at i spi ra of Eocene age (Douville 1912; Budhitrisna &
Andi Mangga 1990), and granitic and metamorphic rocks, amphi-
bolites, schists, phyllites and slates, together with abundant
greywacke, sandstone, shales and claystone, in a sheared scaly
clay matrix, in addition to the chaotic melange there are also
more extensive oucrops of bedded units composed of sandstones,
siltstones and clays, often tuffaceous, peats and coals, the latter
indicating mangrove swamps, marls and limestones with abundant
benthonic and planktonic microfossils, indicating abyssal to
sublittoral environments of deposition. Microfossils show that
the sediments range from Late Ol i gocene-Earl y Miocene to
Pliocene in age. These older units are generally folded, faulted
and thrust and are overlain unconformably by reef limestones
and associated reef debris of Plio-Pleistocene age. The islands
are surrounded by modem mangrove swamps and coral reefs.
In many areas, particularly on the northeastern coasts of the
islands, drowned mangroves indicate recent subsidence, and on
southwest facing coasts raised reefs indicate recent uplift.
The Karig model (Figs 13.5a, b and 13.6a). The most intensively
studied of the outer arc islands is the island of Nias. Karig et al.
(1980), having made a detailed study of the trench and the
accretionary complex from the SIO seismic reflection profiles
(Fig. 13.3), completed a series of traverses across the outer arc
ridge where it is exposed onland Nias, in collaboration with the
Indonesian National Institute of Geology and Mining (Moore
et al. 1980a; Moore & Karig 1980) as part of the Sumatran Trans-
ect of the St udi es in East Asi an Tect oni cs and Resources
(SEATAR) Programme (CCOP-IOC 1981).
The melange deposits, described as the Oyo Complex, were
found to occur as linear belts several hundred metres wide and
several kilometres long, parallel to the NW- SE trend of the
island (Fig. 13.4). The melange alternates with belts of bedded
sediment, described as the Nias Beds. The older sediments
within the bedded succession are turbidites, which coarsen and
thicken upwards. The oldest part of the succession lacks calcar-
eous microfossils, interpreted as due to deposition below the
CCD (carbonate compensation depth). Both the age and depth of
deposition of the younger units were determined by their con-
tained microfossils. It was found that Lower Miocene sediments
were deposited at bat hyal -abyssal depths >2000m, Upper
Miocene at depths of 2000- 500m, while Pliocene deposits
were accumulated on the continental shelf at <500 m, and
Pleistocene deposits were formed near sea level in a reef environ-
ment. The bedded units were folded and faulted contempora-
neously with their deposition, with the older units being more
highly deformed than the younger units.
From their study of the offshore seismic data Karig et al. (1979)
developed a model to account for the evolution of the accretionary
complex, the development of the forearc ridge and the geology
and structure of Nias (Fig. 13.5a, b). The Oyo m61ange was inter-
preted as a trench-fill deposit composed of fragments of ocean
crust and turbidites that had slumped down the inner trench
slope and were accreted into the base of the accretionary
complex (Moore & Karig 1980). The chaotic and sheared nature
of the m61ange was considered to be due to the dynamic tectonic
environment within the accretionary complex, in which the
original thrust surfaces were continually reactivated and new
thrust planes developed, disrupting the oceanic basement and
breaking it up into blocks. The oceanic basement material was
continually uplifted into the accretionary complex along the
developing thrusts. The age of the m61ange was not determined
directly, but the youngest blocks incorporated in the melange
appeared to be the Eocene limestones, so that the m41ange was
considered to be of Eocene age. No stratigraphic contacts were
seen between the Oyo Complex m61ange and the bedded units,
but the m41ange was considered to be the oldest unit, forming a
basement to the overlying bedded Nias Beds. The two belts
of sediments on Nias were found to be broadly synformal but
complicated by faults and small scale folds.
Although no depositional contacts between the basement and
the sediments were seen, Moore et al. (1980a) and Moore &
Karig (1980) suggested that on the southwestern margins of the
basins the sediments were deposited unconformably on the under-
lying m~lange, as near these contacts the m~lange is highly
sheared, while the Nias Beds are only fractured. On the other
hand the northeastern boundaries of the basins were found to be
tectonic, with the Nias Beds sheared and mixed with the
m61ange along the contact. Along strike the melange was observed
to be in contact with different units of the Nias Beds. These con-
tacts were interpreted as high angle reverse faults. Near the contact
the Nias Beds are folded into tight asymmetric synclines on
NE- SW axes with NE dipping axial planes and SW vergence.
The fold axes plunge at low angles either to the NE or SW, and
cannot be traced for more than a short distance along strike.
In some examples the hinges of the folds have been sheared out
along small scale reverse faults. Moore & Karig (1980) report
that the older strata are more highly deformed than the younger
units.
Moore et al. (1980a) and Moore & Karig (1980) interpret their
observations of the geology and structure of Nias in terms of
180 CHAPTER 13
I 1
95~ 96o00 ,
r eef s
(a) SIMEULUE
SIBOGO
BANYAK ISLAN~DS 97o15, 2~
reefs
oooTp,~ ,~ \
! 2o00' N ~
TUANGKU
97o15 '
I
Faul t
- Li neament
Sibau ~ Thrust
Gabbro ~ Anticline
Group "-.X--- Syncline
(40Ma)
. 2030 `
Quaternary reef and alluvium
i Melange (blocks, often ophiolitic,
in clay - may be diapiric)
Dihit Formation ) Late Miocene-Pliocene
Layabaung Formation )
Sibogo Formation ) Middle Miocene
Sigulai Formation )
Lasikin Member (Early Miocene)
0 5 10 15 20km
}
96o00' E
I
( b) NI AS
B I ~30' N
1o15 '
I
97o15' E
CD
%
I
97o30 '
~ reef, ~
96015 '
I
~ef s 2~ ' -
1 ~"X_~ Gomo r,,.
~ b a s i n
II " ~
1" 30'
07 ,s, " ' , /
GUNUNG-
SITOLI 1 ~Sub- klrf I~' 1-k /
Fault
- - Lineament
Thrust
" ~ Anticline
Syncline
- - 1 ~
Mud volcanoes ~ ~ B
o B Alluvium (3 CZ)d~
9
i Melange (blocks in clay %
~ Gunungsitoli FormationiPlio-Pleistocene) B
Gomo Formation 'Nias Beds' (Early Miocene-Early Pliocene)
Lelematua Formation
Conglomerate Member (Late Oligocene-Early Miocene)
Ophiolitic (B) basement
l ~ ' -
0 10 20kin
I
97o15' E 97030 '
I I
reefs
97045 , r eef s
I
TELUKDALAM
Fig. 13.4. Geological and structural maps of
Simuelue, the Banyak Islands and Nias.
Simeulue and the Banyak Islands are after
Endharto & Sukido ( 1994); the location of
the ophiolite complex on Bangkaru and the
age of the Sibau Gabbro are from Kallagher
(1990). The geology of Nias is based on
Djamal et al. (1994) but the maps are after
Samuel (1994) and Samuel & Harbury
(1996). The inset map of Nias showing the
sedimentary sub-basins, faults and
lineaments and the interpretative strain
ellipse, comes from Samuel & Harbury
(1996).
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 181
MODELS FOR THE EVOLUTI ON OF THE SUMATRAN
ACCRETI ONARY COMPLEX AT NIAS ISLAND
a. EARLY MI OCENE (Karig et al. 1980 Model)
Melange formed Slope basins filled with sediment from Sumatra
Ocean floor with thin by slumping into continually reactivated by thrusts on landward
pelagic sediments trench and tectonic side with slumped sediment; earlier sediments
deformation in toe compressed and deformed
of accretionary complex
flexure
INDIAN PLATE
J
Trench ~ ~ ~
9 ~ ~l ump~/ ~- ~ \ \ \ ~ ", . . . . . . Rifted Sumatran
~ ~ Palaeogene Continental basement
b. LATE MI OCENE TO RECENT (Karig et al. 1980 Model)
Uplift of accretionary complex (melange)due to accretion of thick sediments
Slope basins with shallowing upwards sequence - from below CCD to
Pleistocene reefs and recent exposure.
Thick sediments Slope basins overthrust on landward side
of the Nicobar Fan Forearc Basin
on oceanic crust NIAS Pleistocene subsidence
- r - ~\ \ ~- ~- - - - - ~-
flexure ~ ~ - ~ \ 1 ~4~. \ ~ ' " / ~ / ~ ~
INDIAN PLATE ~ ~ h m ~ ~ . ~ U~lift flexure
c. LATE MI OCENE TO RECENT (Samuel et al. 1997 Model)
Accretion of Nicobar Fan sediments caused uplift and extension
of the accretion complex forming rift basins in the old accretionary
complex filled with sediment from the Sumatran Shelf until the
Toe of Accretionary Pleistocene subsidence of the forearc basin.
Complex advances Melange formed by shale diapirism with mud volcanoes.
over incoming plate< NIAS Pleistocene subsidence
flexure
Complex
INDIAN PLATE ~ o m p l e x
Fig. 13.5. Comparison of models for
evolution of the Sumatran Forearc base on
studies on Nias Island (a) & (b) by Karig
et al. (1980) and (e) by Samuel et al. (1997).
the model derived from the study of the seismic sections
(Karig et al. 1979) (Fig. 13.5a, b). They suggest that the bedded
units were deposited on top of the accretionary complex in two
slope basins developed on the lower trench slope. At this stage,
in the Early Miocene, the oceanic plate had only a thin sedi-
mentary cover, so that the sediments were deposited directly on
the oceanic basement. In the Late Miocene, when there was a
greater thickness of Nicobar Fan sediments on the oceanic plate,
the slope basins were uplifted as new material was accreted to
the base of the slope. At the initiation of a slope basin, near the
base of the slope, the sediments were deposited below the CCD,
but as uplift continued sediments were deposited at progressively
shallower depths, until the youngest deposits on Nias are uplifted
coral reefs resting on the older slope basin sediments (Moore et al.
1980a).
Moore & Karig (1980) predict that if the SW margins of the
basins were exposed they would show the original unconformable
relationships between the melange and the Nias Beds. With
continual accretion the contacts and the layering in the overlying
sediments were rotated to give their present steep angles of dip.
On the other hand the NE margins of the basins are steep
reverse faults along which the basement has been uplifted, com-
pressing and folding the bedded sediments in the intervening sedi-
mentary basins. The reverse faults were continually reactivated
during the deposition of the sediments, so that older units are
more highly deformed (Moore & Karig 1980).
The Samuel model (Figs 13.5c and 13.6b). In the 1980s and early
1990s University of London Group for Geological Research in
Southeast Asia, in collaboration with the Indonesian Research
182 CHAPTER 13
CROSS SECTI ONS OF THE SUMATRAN FOREARC Volcanic
SW Sunda ACCRETIONARY COMPLEX NE
Trench Inner Trench Slope Forearc Ridge Forearc Basin coast
with slope basins NIAS Musala line Arc km
km . ~ ~ 2
~ __ _ ' ~' ~[ ~' ~. +' +: ~- . - . . . . . ~ ~ . . " - ~ ~ . . , _ ..,_~'..,..~-"~,.-Y N-"- -" I o
8 ~- - ~- ~___. ~~- - - - - ~~ earlier accretionary
lOJ ~ complexes 0 10 2.0 30 40 50kin
(a) Karig Model
SW NE
Volcanic Arc
Forearc ridge and
Sunda Sumatran Fault Zone
Indian Ocean Trench Accretionary wedge NIAS Forearc Basin km
km
0 ~ ~ ~ : " ' ~ ' . ' T " 7 ' . ~ . . ~ . .. ,-" .-" ,," .," ,-" ,," ")' . . . . ~ 2 ~ F . 0
t ~ \ x \ / / " y' 7 ~.;,<....---..~-.----~ ., ,.., ,. ,. -, ,. ,, ,. -, ,..,i ,, ,~,.-,.,o
~ ~ ~ ~ %qe- " ' ~/ \ N. ". " , " - " - % " - " , " , " , ,~ " - % " , ",/ % "4 I / , , ",,
.." ..' .-" .-" .." ..' .." .,." .." .-" .-" I .." I ' " '
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Crust of . , . , . , . . . . . . . . . ... ~-,"'..~'.'~"_-.",.[/~.q
- " , " - " , " z , " , " , " , " , " v' , " , " z , " I,." .,"
1 8 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ unknown nature . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . , . , 4~.~..,' .' ~".' ,.' i.,
% % ",. "., ",, ",, " , ' ., ",. ",, % ",. % ",,,' I,. % t , , "., "..,
~ "-, "., "., ",. % ",, ' -, "., ",,, "-, "., "., ",. ",C ",, % "' , , % "-,
" % % % % % % % ~. " - % % " - X% %1% %'
"~ ~. , / %~. %/ %/ %] %. ~%. ~. . . . ~ ~. ~. ~- .., ~. , a ,,, ,,
9, , , . . , , ,.. ,., ,,, .,, % *,. ,., ~' , , ~ ~.~ ",, % ",.
- , ~, ~ ,., , . .,- .,, ..e ,,, , , " Jt I.," ,-' ,,."
44,, "-" ." ". x. ,:,r<.~.'.".,,'~,r
O+o"~,'., ?.,: .f~,,.:~.~ i~,~ ?
i , ~ , , , % ",, "=~ "., "q ",. ",. "..
01/i,, , ~ "~,~."x~,"... "
u O,~"L",",'-.~".","
0 10 20 30 40 50km
I i I ! I I
(b) Samuel Model
Fig. 13.6. Interpretative cross-sections of the Sumatran Forearc from the Indian Ocean through Nias to the volcanic arc on the mainland of Sumatra. (a) Karig model. In
this model the sedimcntary basins on Nias are considered to have developed as as slope basins on the inner trench slope and to be overthrust on their northeastern sides by
slices of accreted oceanic basement (after Karig et al. 1979). (b) Samuel model. In this model the sedimentary basins on Nias are considered to have originated as half
graben due extension of the forearc; thrusts occurred subsequently due to inversion of the bounding normal ['aults (after Samuel & Harbury 1996) N.B.The vertical scale in
(b) has been increased so that it is the same as in (a) for easier comparison of the two models.
and Development Centre for Oil and Gas Technology (LEMIGAS),
studied several of the forearc islands. Reconnaissance visits were
made to Simeulue and the Banyak Islands (Situmorang et al. 1987;
Kallagher 1989; Harbury & Kallagher 1991) (Fig. 13.4) and the
Batu Islands and Siberut (Barber et al. 1992).
As part of this study the island of of Nias was remapped in detail
by Samuel (1994) and Samuel et al. (1995, 1997) with tight
stratigraphic control provided by microfossils. The oldest unit
which can distinguished on Nias, as well as on the other forearc
islands, is a basement unit, the Bangkaru Ophiolite Complex,
named from one of the Banyak islands (Fig. 13.4). This consists
of ocean floor material occurring either as a coherent unit, or as
blocks in the melange. Rock types include serpentinised peri-
dotites, gabbros, diorites and plagiogranites, dolerites, basalts,
generally showing pillows, pillow breccias and hyaloclastites,
garnet amphibolite (reported by Moore & Karig 1980), hornblende
gneiss and hornblende schist, palagonite tufts, foraminiferal
limestones, banded cherts, ochres, greywackes and quartz and
barroisite schists (Samuel et al. 1997, Table 1).
In the islands mapped or visited by the University of London
Group coherent units outcrop on Bangkuru in the Banyak
Islands, Simuelue, Nias and Sigata and Barogang in the Batu
Islands. On Bangkuru serpentinite and gabbro outcrop in the
hanging wall of a reverse fault with a strong shear fabric parallel
to the fault. On Simuelue the Sibau Gabbro Group crops out on
the NE coast towards the southern end of the island (Fig. 13.4).
It is composed of coarse and fine metagabbro in which the
igneous minerals have been replaced by low-grade metamorphic
minerals, including pumpelleyite. A high positive Bouguer
gravity anomaly over the gabbro and elsewhere in Simeulue
suggest that the island is underlain by a substantial slab of
oceanic basement (Milsom et al. 1990). Samples of gabbro from
Simeulue were analysed by Kallagher (1989, 1990) and showed
an enriched MORB-type geochemistry and gave K- At ages
of 35.4 4- 3. 6Ma and 40.1 _+ 2. 7Ma (Late Eocene-Early
Oligocene). Kallagher (1989, 1990) did not consider that these
ages represented the age of the original ocean floor since the pre-
sence of pumpelleyite indicates that the gabbro had been affected
by a low-grade metamorphic event. She suggests that K- Ar age
indicates the time of metamorphism during subduction/accretion
(Kallagher 1989, 1990).
Scattered outcrops of coherent Bangkuru Ophiolite Complex
were mapped by Samuel et al. (1995) on the SW coast of Nias,
and at one location on the north coast (' B' in Fig. 13.4b). On
Sigata coarse gabbro, cut by gabbro pegmatite and black dolerite
dykes and veined by epidote, crops out on the southern shore of
the island below the lighthouse. The lack of a positive gravity
anomaly over this island (Milsom et al. 1990) suggests that the
gabbro could be a large block in the m61ange. On Barogang
diorite containing fine-grained dark xenoliths crops out on the
northern side of the island, and the same rocks, highly brecciated,
form a small offshore islet (Barber et al. 1992).
Much more commonly, components of the Bangkaru Ophiolite
Complex occur throughout the forearc islands as clasts in the
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 183
mdlange, ranging in size from centimetres to more than 30 m
(Samuel 1994). The ultramafic and basic rocks, serpentinites,
gabbros, dolerites, pillow basalts and hyaloclastites, occurring as
blocks in the m61ange, are compatible with an origin as part of
an ocean floor assemblage and show the effects of low grade
ocean floor metamorphism, such as occurs in the region of a
spreading ridge. In central Nias blocks of serpentinite in the
m61ange with foliation and linear structures show that they had
been subject to ductile deformation under high temperature
conditions in a mid-ocean ridge environment, possibly in a trans-
form fault zone, prior to serpentinization. Hornblende gneiss
and schist blocks may have a similar origin. However, some
metasedimentary rocks, analogous to the metagreywackes of
Moore & Karig (1980) and Kallagher (1989), are reported to
contain prehnite, and an unusual rock composed of quartz,
pyrite and an amphibole identified as barroisite (Samuel 1994;
Samuel et al. 1997), suggests that ocean-floor sediments had
been subducted.
The pelagic limestones, bedded cherts and ochres found as
blocks in the m61ange are also compatible with an ocean floor
origin. A sample of pelagic chert from central Nias was found to
contain foraminifers of Campanian (Late Cretaceous) age. While
samples of bedded red chert yielded radiolaria of Mid-Eocene
age (Samuel 1994; Samuel et al. 1997). These ocean floor sedi-
ments are compatible with the age of the ocean floor that
has been subducted beneath Sumatra, as deduced from Indian
Ocean spreading history indicated by magnetic anomaly patterns
(Sclater & Fisher 1975) (Fig. 13.2).
Samuel (1994) and Samuel et al. (1997) subdivided the Nias
Beds of Moore et al. (1980a) into six units which could be corre-
lated across the island. The oldest sediments (Oyo Formation)
are thick-bedded, massive, micaceous sandstones. The unit is
highly disrupted, so that coherent successions are rare, but this
lithology commonly occurs as blocks in the m61ange. Early
Oligocene to earliest Miocene fossils were obtained from this
unit, but Samuel (1994) considers that the Early Oligocene
fossils were reworked, like the limestone clast with Nummul i t e s
of Eocene age found in a conglomerate (Douville 1912). Samuel
(1994) and Samuel et al. (1997) conclude that the Oyo Formation
is of Mid-Oligocene-earliest Miocene age and was deposited as
turbidites in a deep marine setting below the CCD, as suggested
by Moore et al. (1980a). The Oyo Formation is overlain conform-
ably by the Gawo Formation of Early to Late Miocene age
which has similar characters, but is thinner bedded and finer
grained. Samuel (1994) and Samuel et al. (1997) were unable to
confirm the conclusion of Moore et al. (1980a) that the ' Nias
Beds' show a coarsening upwards succession.
The Gawo Formation is overlain by the sandstones and mud-
stones of the Olodano and Lahomie formations of Early to
Mid-Miocene age, which also include coral -al gal limestone
units formed as carbonate build-ups in a shallow marine environ-
ment. The progressive uplift with a shallowing upward sequence,
from lower to upper bathyal and then sublittoral identified by
Moore et al. (1980a), was confirmed by the study of the benthic
foraminifera (Samuel et al. 1997). The transition from the deep
water facies of the Gowa Formation to the shallow-water facies
of the Olodano Formation is highly diachronous, occurring
in the Early Miocene in the east, but not until late in the Mid-
Miocene in central Nias.
The conglomerates, sandstones and mudstones of the following
Middle Mi ocene-Earl y Pliocene Lahomie formation indicate sub-
sidence, with carbonate build-ups of the Olodano Formation
covered by a blanket of mudstones, indicating that they had
been drowned. Subsidence was followed by uplift and erosion
during the Pliocene as the Late Pliocene to Recent Tetehosi (sili-
ciclastic) and Gunungsitoli (reef limestone) Formations rest
unconformably on the older units. Very recent uplift is confirmed
by C 14 dating of 800 year old raised reefs of the Gunungsitoli
Formation (Vita-Finzi & Situmorang 1989).
The origin of the mdlange. As part of his study Samuel (1994) and
Samuel et al. (1997, Table 2) made a systematic study of the
mdlange and its relationships to the bedded units. They found,
that in addition to the ophiolitic components, at least 50% and
commonly 90% of the clasts in the mdlange were derived from
the Oligocene and Lower Miocene units, while some outcrops
also include clasts of the Middle Miocene to Pleistocene units.
Very commonly the clasts showed the same sedimentary and
structural features as seen in adjacent bedded units. It was found
that the mud matrix has the same mineral composition, contains
the same microfossils and also shows the same thermal history,
with the same range of vitrinite values, as mudstones in the
Oligocene to Lower Miocene succession. The scaly foliation
which pervades the matrix is commonly vertical, but may be
folded, wrapping around the clasts, and is parallel to the margins
of the m61ange outcrops. Contacts between the m61ange and the
bedded units are always intrusive, with the matrix penetrating
along the bedding planes and fractures in the bedded units.
M61ange is found cutting bedded units of all ages from Oligocene
to Recent. It appears that the major period of m61ange formation
occurred during the Pliocene, but m61ange formation on Nias
continues to the present day, as indicated by the eruption of mud
volcanoes extruding blocks and a grey mud slurry identical to
the clay matrix of the m61ange (Figs 13.4 and 13.5c).
As a result of this study Samuel (1994) and Samuel et al. (1995,
1997) concluded that the mdlange was the product of shale diapir-
ism and not due to the tectonic disruption of trench fill sediments;
it, therefore, does not constitute the basement upon which the
bedded units were unconformably deposited, as was proposed by
Karig et al. (1979). The evidence suggests that Oligocene and
Lower Miocene deep-marine muds near the base of the bedded
succession were periodically mobilized to intrude the Bangkaru
Ophiolite Complex and the overlying bedded sediments, incorpor-
ating blocks of these units into the m61ange matrix.
Mdlange mapped on the other outer arc islands also contains
ophiolitic and sedimentary clasts in a scaly cl ay- mud matrix
similar to those recorded on Nias. Circular outcrops of m61ange
and the active mud volcanoes mapped on Simeulue, Siberut,
Sipora and Pagai (Endharto & Sukido 1994; Andi Mangga et al.
1994b; Budhitrisna & Andi Mangga 1990) suggest that the diapiric
mechanism is responsible for occurrences of m~lange in all the
outer arc islands.
Structural evolution of the Forearc ridge. From mapping and strati-
graphical study of the bedded sediments of Nias, Samuel (1994)
and Samuel et al. (1997) recognized three sedimentary sub-
basins, including a basin in the NW of the island, the Lahewa
sub-basin, in an area that had not been visited by Moore et al.
(1980a) (Fig. 13.4, inset). It was found that the earliest structural
features in the sediments were syn-depositional extensional faults.
Samuel et al. (1995) therefore suggest that although the basins
on Nias were formed on top of the accretionary complex, they
developed during a phase of extension and are bounded to the
NE by major extensional faults (Fig. 13.5r The increase in
thickness of the bedded succession towards the northeastern
margins of the basins indicates that-these margins were formed
as active growth faults during the deposition of the sediments.
Thrusts, sometimes bringing slices of the Bangkaru Ophiolite
Complex over bedded sediments, and folds are superimposed on
earlier extensional features, indicating that the basins were sub-
sequently compressed. Localized inversion in the western part of
Nias took place in Early Miocene times and was followed by the
infilling of the basins, indicated by the upward shallowing of
the depositional environments. Subsidence was renewed in
Mi d- Ear l y Pliocene times, but was followed again by widespread
inversion with deformation during the Pliocene. The major bound-
ing faults to the sedimentary basins have been reactivated
as thrusts during inversion. The alternations of extension and
subsidence, compression and uplift in the sedimentary basins are
184 CHAPTER 13
attributed to variations in the rates of convergence at the subduc-
tion zone, and the effects of transpression and transtension along
transcurrent faults due to the oblique subduction. Matson &
Moore (1992) proposed another model for the development of
the Sumatra forearc in which the accretion of massive quantities
of sediment from the Nicobar Fan in the late Mid-Miocene led
to the depression of the incoming Indian Ocean Plate during the
Mid-Miocene to Early Pliocene, causing the subsidence of
the forearc ridge and its sedimentary basins, as recorded in the
stratigraphic sequence (Samuel 1994).
Clasts in the m~lange on Nias indicate that the island is under-
lain by upper mantle, oceanic crust and pelagic sediments derived
from the Indian Ocean floor and built up into the accretionary
complex. The only components of the m61ange which do not fit
this model are garnet amphibolite and barroisite schist clasts
reported by Moore et al. (1980a), Samuel (1994, 1997) and
Samuel et al. (1997). A greater variety of clasts is reported fom
the islands of Pagai and Sipora (Budhitrisna & Andi Mangga
1990). In addition to ophiolitic rocks and garnet amphibolite,
clasts include garnetiferous mica schist, and granodiorite with
biotite, and granitic gneiss with orthoclase and muscovite,
suggesting that continental basement rocks underlie the eastern
parts of some of the outer arc islands.
Samuel et al. (1995) found that the Upper Palaeogene and
Neogene stratigraphic sequences and lithologies in the Banyak
and Batu islands, which lie within the forearc basin, and from bore-
holes in the forearc basin itself, resemble the stratigraphy and
lithology of the same units on Nias. As will be discussed below,
there is evidence that the forearc basin, which separates the outer
arc islands from the mainland of Sumatra, has developed relatively
recently. Samuel et al. (1995) suggest that prior to the Pleistocene,
sedimentation was continuous across the present forearc basin to
the outer arc islands. The common occurrence of well-rounded
quartzose and metamorphic clasts in the Oligocene and Lower
Miocene sandstones and conglomerates on Nias, indicate that the
greater part of these sediments were derived from a mature conti-
nental provenance. Samuel et al. (1995) suggest that sediments
were eroded from basement uplifts in the forearc region or were
transported across the site of the present forearc basin from
the mainland of Sumatra, to be deposited in extensional basins
developed on top of the accretionary complex at the continental
margin. Some conglomerates, however, contain locally derived
ophiolite clasts, and coarse breccias, composed of large angular
ophiolite and siltstone clasts, are interpreted as rock falls from
active fault scarps, indicating that slices of the oceanic basement
within the accretionary complex were being uplifted and eroded
along the basin margins during sedimentation, as suggested also
in the model of Moore et al. (1980a).
Monocl i nal f l exure and the Ment awai Faul t . In the eastern part of
Nias Moore & Karig (1980) mapped steeply dipping or overturned
Nias Beds with westerly dipping shears and reverse faults in a zone
3 km wide along the eastern boundary of the easterly sedimentary
basin. To the east this zone of steep dips is followed by Upper
Pliocene and younger sediments with a low easterly dip. Pliocene
sediments rest on the older rocks with an angular unconformity,
but further east in the forearc basin this angular discordance disap-
pears. Karig et al. (1979) and Moore & Karig (1980) interpreted
this structure as a large ' homocline' or monoclinal flexure,
between the deformed rocks of the forearc ridge and the flat-
lying sediments of the forearc basin. The downward displacement
of the forearc basin sediments across the flexure was estimated at
3 km. They suggested that the flexure was the surface expression
of a SSW-dipping back thrust at depth, on which the accretionary
complex had been thrust over the forearc basement, which had
acted as a back stop during the development of the complex.
This flexure zone can be recognised in seismic reflection profiles
(Fig. 13.3a & c), and can be traced southwards as a belt of struc-
tural disturbance to the east of the forearc islands, as far as Siberut.
Diament et al. (1992) carried out a seismic survey of the zone of
disturbance. Their profiles show an uplifted block with a complex
pattern of horsts and grabens, bounded on both sides by normal
faults, with downthrown forearc ridge sediments on one side,
and downthrown forearc basin sediments on the other. This struc-
ture was interpreted as a positive flower structure, and together
with the straight trace of the fault over several hundred kilometres,
led Diament et al. (1992) to suggest that the zone of disturbance
was a major transcurrent fault, the Mentawai Fault, named after
the outer arc archipelago (Fig. 13.2). Diament et al. (1992) went
on to suggest that the Sumatran forearc was dissected into
several narrow fault slivers along strike-slip faults, parallel to
the main Sumatran Fault on the mainland. They suggest that
these fault slivers are being displaced differentially northwards
in response to the oblique subduction of the Indian Ocean Plate.
They further suggest that in Nias the Mentawai Fault passed by
way of the Batee Fault into the main strand of the Sumatran
Fault in northern Sumatra. North of Simeulue Izart et al. (1994)
found several faults in the accretionary complex to the west of
the trace of the Mentawai Fault and suggests that the fault
breaks up into a horsetail pattern of subsidiary faults at its northern
end. Further north, opposite Banda Aceh, they found that the
main trace of the fault was replaced by an easterly directed
thrust fault, the West Andaman Fault (Fig. 13.2).
By careful mapping and age determinations in eastern Nias,
Samuel & Harbury (1996) found that the western limb of
the monoclinal flexure consists of 5 km of easterly dipping
Oligo-Miocene sediments. Seismic sections to the east of the
flexure on eastern Nias, and in the offshore area, show that
about 3 km of the Oligo-Miocene sediments seen to the west of
the flexure are absent, and that to the east Upper Miocene sedi-
ments rest unconformably on the forearc basement in the Mola
basement high. They, therefore, concluded that the flexure
passed at depth into a major extensional fault, the boundary
fault of a complex half-graben, rather than a thrust. Thrust features
seen in the rocks at the surface are attributed to the effects of Late
Pliocene inversion.
Samuel & Harbury (1996) also studied the fold traces and
lineaments seen in the SAR (synthetic aperture radar) imagery
of Nias. Major anticlinal and synclinal traces and the dominant
NNW- SSE lineaments run sub-parallel to the length of the
island (Fig. 13.4). The dominant lineaments are faults, bounding
the sedimentary basins, which Samuel & Harbury (1996) consider
have been reactivated as thrusts during later inversion (see
Fig. 13.4b, inset). Contrary to the suggestion of Diament et al.
(1992) evidence of strike-slip movement has not been seen in
outcrop in faults with this NNW- SSE orientation. However, com-
plimentary NW- SE, and approximately north-south faults
cutting across the strike of the beds do show strike-slip features
in outcrop and are interpreted as conjugate shears (Fig. 13.4b,
inset). Samuel & Harbury (1996) also recognize ENE- SWE
lineaments, which they interpret as extensional faults, indicating
that the island, and presumably the forearc as a whole, has been
extended parallel to its length since the Pliocene. They consider
that it is very unlikely that the Batee Fault passes into the
Mentawai Fault (cf. Diament et al. 1992), it is more likely that
it is represented by one of the nort h-sout h shears.
Similar patterns of fold traces and fault lineaments are seen on
the 1:250 000 Geological Maps of all the other forearc islands,
from Enggano in the south to Simeulue in the north (Ami n et al.
1994a; Budhitrisna & Andi Mangga 1990; Andi Mangga et al.
1994b; Nas & Supandjono 1994; Djamal et al. 1994; Endharto
& Sukido 1994).
For e ar c bas i ns
Between the forearc islands and the mainland of Sumatra are a
series of forearc basins (Fig. 13.2). At the present time the sites
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 185
of the basins are depressions, with the sea floor lying at depths of
up to 3000 m opposite north and south Sumatra, but rising oppo-
site central Sumatra, where basin sediments and forearc basement
are exposed in the islands of the Banyak and Batu groups, and
in islands offshore Sibolga. The area of uplift coincides with a
marked bend in the subduction trench, the ' Nias elbow' of
Milsom (Chapter 2) (Fig. 13.1). It is probable that this area of
uplift is due to the subduction of the Investigator Ridge and poss-
ibly the thermal and topographic perturbations caused by the
extinct Wharton spreading ridge (Liu et al. 1983) as it passed
down the subduction zone beneath this region (Malod & Kemal
1996) (Fig. 13.2).
Nature of the j~rearc basement. Hamilton (1979) in his review of
the tectonics of the Indonesian region suggested that subduction
complexes were developed within oceanic crust and that forearc
areas are underlain by segments of remnant oceanic crust attached
to the margin of the continent. Seismic refraction studies in the
forearc to the east of Nias showed that the forearc basement had
seismic velocities between those of oceanic and continental
crust, which were compatible either with continental or thickened
oceanic crust (Kieckhefer et al. 1980). The occurrence of clasts of
garnetiferous mica schist, garnet amphibolite, granodiorites and
granitic gneisses in m61ange on the outer arc islands of Pagai
and Sipora (Budhitrisna & Andi Mangga 1990) suggest that con-
tinental crust may extend as far as the outer arc ridge. Recent
seismic refraction studies during the cruise of the R/ V Sonne in
the forearc basin to the east of Enggano show that the basement
in this area is of continental type (Kopp et al. 2001).
Karig et al. (1979) concluded from the tectonic history of
Sumatra, that the forearc basins were underlain by Pre-Miocene
accretionary complexes which formed the continental margin
against which the present complex was accreted (Fig. 13.6a).
They proposed that the original, pre-present subduction phase,
continental margin coincided approximately with the monoclinal
flexure along the eastern side of the outer arc islands. The occur-
rence of ophiolitic material in the Banyak islands within the
forearc suggested that this margin was irregular, with oceanic
embayments (Karig et al. 1979). From the account of the Pre-
Tertiary geological development of Sumatra given in this
volume (Chapters 4 & 14) the forearc basement is the western
extension of the Bentaro-Saling Volcanic arc and the associated
Woyla Accretionary Complex, intruded locally by Late Cretac-
eous and Tertiary granitoids and overlain by Palaeogene sediments
and volcanics.
Depositional history of the forearc basins. The forearc basins are
from north to south: the Aceh Basin; the Meulaboh (or Simeulue)
Basin; the Nias (West Sumatra, Sibolga, or Singkel) Basin; and
the Mentawai and Enggano (Bengkulu) Basin (Fig. 13.2). At the
present day the greatest depth of the three northern basins
decreases from north to south: Aceh Basin, 2710 m; Meulaboh
Basin, 1150 m and the Nias Basin, 610 m; and increases again
to the south: > 1000 m in the Mentawai Basin and >2000 m in
the Enggano Basin to the south (Fig. 13.2). The basins are asym-
metrical, for example in the Nias Basin the Sumatra continental
shelf offshore the mainland of Sumatra deepens westwards to a
shelf edge at c. 200 m, and drops down a continental slope into
a deep-water basin, up to 610 m deep, further west. Sediment
cores obtained from the floor of the basin are turbidites (Karig
et al. 1979). The basin is cut off on its western side by a steep
slope rising to Nias, coinciding with the monoclinal flexure and
the Mentawai Fault.
Seismic reflection surveys across the Meulaboh and Nias forearc
basins calibrated by boreholes (Karig et al. 1979; Beaudry &
Moore 1981, 1985; Matson & Moore 1992; Izart et al. 1994)
show seismic sequences ranging in age from Palaeogene to the
present day (Fig. 13.3c). The oldest dated rocks found in
exploratory oil company boreholes are Upper Eocene and Lower
Oligocene dolomitic limestones, calcareous mudstones and
pyritic shales with steep dips up to 50 ~ . These rocks are poorly
imaged in seismic profiles, but can be traced from the Sumatran
mainland westwards beneath the continental shelf as far as the
shelf edge. The sediments are at least 2 km thick, show variable
dips, are cut by faults, and occupy a trough to the northwest of
the Banyak Islands extending for 100 km parallel to the arc
(Beaudry & Moore 1985).
In the Bengkulu Basin to the south a borehole penetrated a
sequence of ?Upper Eocene to Oligocene volcaniclastic sand-
stones interbedded with claystones which are correlated with the
Lahat Formation volcaniclastics exposed onland in southern
Sumatra (Hall et al. 1993). Seismic profiles indicate that these
sediments occupy faulted half graben, up to 6 km deep, trending
north-northeastwards and cut by NW-trending transfer faults.
The trend of the graben has led to the suggestion that they may
be the continuation of similar graben of the same age to the east
of the Barisan Mountains in the Sumatran backarc area, displaced
by c. 100 km along the Sumatran Fault (Howles 1986; Hall et al.
1993; Yulihanto et al. 1995). This correlation will be discussed in
the section on the backarc area.
The Palaeogene rocks are overlain with major unconformity by
Lower Miocene and younger rocks (Fig. 13.3c), which on the
mainland of Sumatra to the NW rest directly on the Palaeozoic
and Mesozoic basement and to the west rest on the accretionary
complex. In the Late Oligocene (29 Ma) the whole of the
forearc area was exposed to subaerial erosion, probably with a
landscape of significant relief, which supplied coarse sediment
to the extensional basins which were developing on the accretion-
ary complex which formed Nias to the west (Samuel & Harbury
1996). In the Early Miocene the forearc region underwent a
marine transgression. In the shelf area sediments immediately
above the unconformity are littoral sands, followed by Lower
Miocene siltstones with shallow water foraminifera (Beaudry &
Moore 1985). In the Early (?), Mi d- Lat e Miocene carbonates
were developed in the shelf area (Rose 1983).
The Barisan Mountains, to the east on the mainland of Sumatra,
were uplifted and eroded in the Late Miocene, supplying large
quantities of terrigenous sediment to the forearc region (see
Chapter 7). At the same time the forearc region itself underwent
major subsidence. Prograding shallow-water clastic sediments
overwhelmed the carbonate banks and, as sediment supply
exceeded the rate of subsidence, built out to form a continental
shelf and a continental slope towards the west. Further west, in
the deeper part of the Nias Basin, deep water turbidites of Late
Miocene age buried earlier Upper Miocene shallow-water carbon-
ate mounds, which had been constructed directly above the uncon-
formity in the early phase of subsidence. This pattern of
sedimentation, with the progradation of the shelf and the depo-
sition of pelagic turbidites in the deep basins, has continued
through Late Miocene and Pliocene times to the present day.
The same broad sequence of events affected all the forearc
basins from the Aceh Basin in the north (Izart et al. 1994) to the
Bengkulu Basin in the south (Hall et al. 1993).
In the Banyak islands, between the Simuelue and Nias basins,
Mi ddl e-Upper Miocene turbidites deposited in deep water are
overlain directly by Pleistocene to Recent reefs, indicating that a
once continuous forearc basin has been separated into two
basins by recent uplift, localised in this area. This uplift has
been attributed to the passage of the Investigator Ridge and an
extinct Indian Ocean spreading ridge beneath the forearc
(McCann & Habermann 1989; Malod & Kemal 1996; Fauzi
et al. 1996). However, Matson & Moore (1992), from their
study of the Banyak to Pini section of the forearc, discount the
possibility that subduction of the Investigator Ridge was respon-
sible for the uplift and subsidence in the forearc region. They
suggest that due to the oblique subduction of the Indian Plate,
uplift and subsidence caused by the subduction of the ridge
would be expected to progress southwards along the arc with
186 CHAPTER 13
time, whereas throughout this segment of the arc, uplift and
subsidence are synchronous (Matson & Moore 1992).
Matson & Moore (1992) following the earlier work of Beaudry
& Moore (1981, 1985) made a detailed study of SIO and industry
seismic profiles and used stratigraphic controls provided by oil
company boreholes to determine the sedimentation history and
structural evolution of the Nias Basin. They found that the basin
consists of two sub-basins separated by a broad area of elevation,
the Singkel Basin to the northwest, limited to the west by the
Batee Fault and to the east by the Singkel Fault, and the Pini
Basin to the south, limited by a fault to the west and a fault or
monoclinal flexure to the east. They suggest that the location of
the basins is controlled by irregularities in the forearc basement
which, following Karig et al. (1980), is considered to represent
the position of the original continental margin. These sub-basins
were found to have different subsidence histories. The rapid
2 km subsidence of the Singkel sub-basin in the Lower Miocene
is attributed to a 25 km northward movement between the trans-
current Batee and Singkel faults and the movement of the basin
down the inclined surface of the subducting plate (Matson &
Moore 1992, Fig. 13). They attribute the even greater subsidence
of the Meulaboh Basin which moved 100 km northwards along the
Batee Fault to the same mechanism.
Along the Mentawai Fault on the western side of the Nias Basin
Miocene-Pliocene basin sediments are seen in seismic profiles to
dip steeply eastwards into the basin, forming the monoclinal
flexure (Fig. 13.3c). Upper Pliocene to Pleistocene deposits rest
unconformably on the tilted rocks showing that the uplift of
Nias to form the flexure occurred in Late Pliocene times and
that the present form of the forearc basin developed only recently.
The dislocation represented by the flexure occurred approximately
along the original contact between the Sumatran continental
margin and the accretionary complex (Karig et al. 1980;
Diament et al. 1992). As already described this flexure is attributed
by Samuel & Harbury (1996) to the reactivation of a basin-
bounding normal fault as a thrust, due to later compression.
The Bengkulu Basin to the south has been studied by
Mulhadiono & Sukendar Asikin (1989), Hall et al. (1993) and
Yulihanto et al. (1995). They found that the Bengkulu Basin has
a similar sedimentation history to the forearc basins to the north.
Mulhadiono & Sukendar Asikin (1989) suggest that the graben
in the Bengkulu Basin developed as pull-apart basins on strike-
slip faults driven by the oblique subduction. Hall et al. (1993)
and Yulihanto et al. (1995) suggest that the Bengkulu Basin origi-
nated in the Palaeogene as a series of north-south extensional
graben similar to those developed in eastern Sumatran at the
same time, and that during the Early Miocene transgression the
Bengkulu forearc basin was connected with the South Sumatra
Basin to the east, across the present site of the Barisan Mountains.
They suggest that the basins later developed as pull-aparts by
reactivation of earlier NW- SE transfer faults, related to the
Palaeogene extensional graben.
Tect oni c evol ut i on of the f or ear c regi on
Cretaceous to Oligocene history. At the end of the Cretaceous the
area of the present Sumatran forearc formed the southwestern
margin of the Sundaland continent. It was composed of the
Bentaro-Saling Arc and associated accretionary ocean crust
which had been amalgamated with the continent in the mid-
Cretaceous, and in the Late Cretaceous was the site of a magmatic
arc related to subduction of the Indian Plate beneath Sundaland
(Barber 2000). in the Palaeogene the forearc area, in common
with the rest of Sumatra, and SE Asia as a whole, was subject to
regional extension. In Sumatra, extension led to the formation
of graben structures which were occupied by lakes, with the
deposition of screes and alluvial fans around their margins and
fluviatile and lacustrine sediments in the more central parts. This
pattern of sedimentation probably extended into the Sumatran
forearc where it is poorly imaged in seismic sections and only
rarely penetrated by oil company boreholes (e.g. Beaudry &
Moore 1985). At this time subduction still continued along the
western margin of Sundaland represented by Palaeogene plutons
and volcanic rocks which outcrop along the west coast of
Sumatra, while India was moving northwards towards its collision
with the southern margin of Asia.
In the Oligocene the forearc area was uplifted and exposed to
subaerial erosion, supplying sediment to basins developed on the
accretionary complex to the west (Samuel et al. 1997). Karig
et al. (1979) suggest that this period of uplift was related to
compression of the forearc due to an increase in the rate of move-
ment of the Indian Ocean Plate. Marine transgression, with the
renewal of sedimentation, in the Late Oligocene and Early
Miocene was due to the general world-wide rise in sea level
which occurred at this time (Haq et al. 1987). An increase in the
subduction rate from 5 to 6.5 cm a- l between 5 and 10 Ma may
have been responsible for the Pliocene uplift and unconformity
seen in Nias and the other islands (Karig et al. 1979).
The accretionary wedge. In the Palaeogene the Indian Ocean floor
that was being subducted or accreted into the accretionary
complex consisted of Cret aceous-Eocene basaltic crust with a
thin veneer of pelagic ocean floor sediments. Accretionary com-
plexes that are formed largely of basaltic ocean crust, are able
to maintain a steep inner trench slope as is the case with the accre-
tionary complex to the south of Java at the present day. In the mid-
Miocene the Indian Ocean floor received a vast influx of terrige-
nous sediment derived fi'om the collision zone of the Indian
continent with the southern margin of Asia and the uplift and
erosion of the Himalayas. This influx continued through the
Pliocene until the Nicobar Branch of the Bengal Fan was cut off
from sediment supply by the collision of the Ninety-East Ridge
with the Sunda Trench adjacent to the Andaman Islands.
After the mid-Miocene the great thickness of terrigenous sedi-
ments which was scraped off the Indian Plate altered the dynamics
of the accretionary complex. When the accretionary complex
is composed largely of incompetent sedimentary materials
the inner slope of the trench will have a much lower angle of
slope than one composed of basaltic ocean crust. The surface of
the accretionary complex will adopt a wedge-shaped cross-
sectional profile with a critical taper, the angle between the
topographic surface and the inclination of the downgoing plate.
The critical taper will depend on factors such as the frictional
resistance at the base of the wedge, the strength of the material
composing the wedge, and pore fluid pressures which will also
influence the strength (Davis et al. 1983). The Sumatran accre-
tionary wedge is composed of relatively weak materials with a
topographic slope of the order of 4 ~ and a 5 ~ inclination of the
downgoing plate, giving a critical taper of 9". The critical taper
represents an equilibrium condition. As thrust slices of sedimen-
tary material are compressed into the toe of the wedge by the
movement of the incoming plate the angle of the topographic
slope will be increased and the wedge will adjust to re-establish
the critical taper by moving forward across the incoming plate.
This process provides a mechanism for the continual extension
of the upper parts of the accretionary wedge and accounts for the
formation of the half graben developed on the surface of the wedge
as mapped by Samuel (1994) on Nias (Figs 13.5c and 13.6b).
Matson & Moore (1992) have also pointed out that the continual
increase in the volume of material incorporated into the wedge
will exert a downward pressure on the incoming plate increasing
the angle of inclination which will counteract the increase of the
topographic slope and retard the forward movement of the toe of
the wedge across the incoming plate. This in turn caused the
uplift of the eastern part of the wedge. This mechanism would
account for the continual uplift recorded in the Lower to Middle
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 187
Miocene in the stratigraphic sequences in the basins on Nias, until
in the Pliocene the upper part of the wedge and its overlying
sediments emerged above sea level. They also point out that
with time this mechanism will result in the westward movement
of the load exerted by the wedge, causing a dislocation during
the Late Pliocene along the Mentawai Fault between the uplifted
forearc ridge and subsiding sedimentary basins in the western
part of the forearc basin (Matson & Moore 1992).
The processes and effects proposed by Matson & Moore (1992)
would have operated with increasing intensity while sedimentary
material was added to the surface of the Nicobar Fan and the thick-
ness of sediment on the Indian Plate was continually increased.
When the sediment supply was cut off by the collision of the
Ninety-East Ridge with the Sunda Trench, the accretionary
wedge was able to reach an equilibrium, and Upper Pliocene
to Pleistocene sediments were deposited unconformably on the
eroded surface of the older rocks. Later minor uplift and sub-
sidence can be attributed to continual adjustments to the shape
of the accretionary wedge and to the fluctuations in sea level
during the Pleistocene. Continual recent uplift has been documen-
ted on Simeulue and Nias with five raised intertidal platforms to
the south of Sinabang on Nias. Dating of molluscs from reef
terraces on these islands gave ages ranging from c. 6000 to
<300mm a -~ BP, with rates of uplift between 0.3 and
1.0 mm a- l (Vita-Finzi & Situmorang 1989). Drowned mangroves
on the eastern side of Siberut indicate that uplift is not uniform and
the islands may be tilted, and in Nias the east is uplifted while the
NW is drowned. Karig et al. (1979) propose that this is due to the
displacement of the crest of the outer arc ridge towards the west
with the westward growth of the accretionary complex.
Effects of t ranscurrent f aul t i ng. An important influence on the
tectonic evolution of the Sumatran forearc is the obliquity of con-
vergence and subduction of the Indian Ocean Plate beneath
Sumatra. In models of oblique subduction the strain in the over-
lying plate is considered to be partitioned between compression
normal to the subduction trench, which is taken up by inversion
of the sedimentary basins during the Pliocene, with NNW- SSE
thrusting and folding, seen in all the outer arc islands, and trans-
lation parallel to the trench along transcurrent strike-slip faults
(Fitch 1972; Platt 1993; McCaffrey 1996). In the Sumatran sub-
duction system the major component of translation is the Sumatran
Fault which separates the forearc region from the Eurasian Plate
as a separate Burma sliver plate (Curray 1989).
There is a major difference in the amount of displacement along
the Sumatran Fault System from north to south. To the north of
Sumatra the displacement is represented by extension, indicated
by the development of oceanic crust in the Andaman Sea, differ-
ential displacement being taken up along a series of closely
spaced transform faults with a total displacement of about
460 km, the westernmost of which passes southeastwards into
the Sumatran Fault System (Curray et al. 1979). On the other
hand displacement of the fault system in the Sunda Strait at the
southern end of Sumatra is less than 100 km (Huchon & Le
Pichon 1984; Harjono et al. 1991). Some of this discrepancy
may be accounted for by transcurrent movement along the
Mentawai Fault (Diamant et al. 1992), and some may be taken
up along splays of the Sumatran System, such as the Batee Fault
which extends into the forearc region from northern Sumatra
(Fig. 13.2). Minor strike-slip faults, like those described by
Matson & Moore (1992) in the Singkel Basin, may be distributed
throughout the Ibrearc and the occurrence of transcurrent faults
within the submerged part of the accretionary complex is
unknown. However, it is probable that the bulk of the differential
movement, must be taken up along the large numbers of minor
transcurrent faults, which form conjugate sets marked by linea-
ments seen in all the forearc islands, and by small scale
extensional faults which bisect the obtuse angle of the conjugate
shears (e.g. Ni as--Samuel & Harbury 1996) (Fig. 13.4b).
Evidently the whole of the forearc is being deformed and has
changed its shape by contraction normal to the trench and exten-
sion parallel to the trend of the arc.
Prawirodirdjo et al. (1997) and Bock et al. (2003) have demon-
strated from GPS measurements of the displacement of 60 sites
on mainland Sumatra and on the outer arc islands, that at the
present time the forearc to the south of the Batu islands is
coupled to the Indian Plate and is moving parallel to the con-
vergence direction, but at a slightly slower rate than the incoming
plate (44 mm a -1 compared with 75 mm a- i ) , while to the north
the forearc has an important component of northward movement
parallel to the Sumatran Fault at a much slower rate (Fig. 13.7).
The change in the rate and direction of movement occurs at the
point where the Investigator Ridge is entering the subduction
system, and it is suggested that this is due to the incorporation
of water rich sediments of the Nicobar Fan into the accretion
system to the north of this point. The effects of subduction
of the Indian Plate extend for a few tens of kilometers to the NE
of the Sumatran Fault, but the greater part of eastern Sumatra
belongs to the Sunda Plate, which extends through Borneo
to western Sulawesi and is moving southeastwards at
6 + 3 mm a-1 relative to the remainder of the Eurasian Plate
(Bock et al. 2003) (Fig. 13.7).
The Bari san Mountai ns
The Barisan Mountains extend for 1700 kin, from Banda Aceh in
the north to Banda Lampung in the south, along the whole length
of the island of Sumatra, parallel and close to the west coast. Over
much of their length the mountains reach 1000 and 2000 m above
sea level, locally rising above 3000 m in Aceh (Gunung (Mount)
Leuser, 3381 m) and to the west of Lake Toba, and isolated vol-
canoes rise above the general surface in Gunung Kerinci (3805)
Siberu
I \ I / I I
~ ~ t ~ ~ 2 , 1 0 o 102~ 104 ~ 106"
; o
t & 7~ SUNDA PE/ATE O
INDIAN PLATE
Enggano
Fig. 13.7. Movements in the forearc and within Sumatra relative to the estimated
Sunda Shelf reference frame from GPS measurements 1991-2001 (after Bock
et aI. 2003). The bold arrow shows the Australia/Eurasia movement vector for
the Indian Plate the finer arrows show the directions and amounts of movement
measured at specific locations. The lengths of the arrows are propbrtionate to the
rate of movement in mm a i. Ellipses of 95% confidence limits have been
omitted, but are in general much larger for measurement to the NE of the
Sumatran Fault System, than to the SW.
188 CHAPTER 13
in the centre, and Gunung Denpo (3159) in the south. The moun-
tain range is broadest in the north, 100 km wide, occupying almost
the whole width of the island, narrowing to 50 km in the south.
In the north the mountain range is formed of Pre-Tertiary rocks
of Carboniferous to Cretaceous age forming the basement of
Sumatra, which are overlain by Tertiary sedimentary and volcanic
rocks which thicken into the basins in the forearc and backarc
areas, forming low ground of less than 100 m, to the SW and
NE. Locally Tertiary rocks occupy intramontane basins within
the mountain range. Towards the southeastern part of the island
the basement rocks are increasingly covered by Tertiary to
recent sediments and volcanics, with the older rocks being
exposed only in scattered inliers. At intervals along the chain base-
ment rocks are overlain by Late Pleistocene to Recent volcanic
piles, some of which are active volcanoes (Fig. 13.1).
Pre-Tertiary rocks in Sumatra
Mapping the Pre-Tertiary units. Although Pre-Tertiary rocks in
Sumatra form mountainous terrain, they are in general poorly
exposed because of dense tropical rain forest and deep weathering.
In addition, apart from areas immediately adjacent to the roads
or the larger rivers, much of the area is difficult of access.
During the mapping of northern Sumatra by the Indonesian
Directorate of Mineral Resources (DMR) and of southern
Sumatra by the Geological Research and Development Centre
(GRDC) in collaboration with the the British Geological Survey
(BGS), use was made of aerial photographs, Landsat and SAR
(synthetic aperture radar) imagery to identify major geological
structures. Major lineaments, mainly fault traces and wherever
possible bedding or foliation traces were plotted to outline fold
structures. These features are plotted on the geological map
sheets published by the Indonesian Geological Research and
Development Centre, together with lithological and structural
data recorded during the fieldwork programme. Massive lime-
stones are commonly well exposed, but form karstic terrain diffi-
cult of access. Outcrops, together with float, of other rock types
occur commonly in river gorges and along rivers and stream
networks and in coastal exposures. Artificial exposures occur in
occasional quarries and in new road cuttings during road building
programmes. Due to the high rate of tropical weathering these
roadside exposures commonly last only for a few years. During
the survey several areas that were found to be particularly well-
exposed were subject to more detailed structural examination.
Maps illustrating the distribution of all the Pre-Tertiary units in
Sumatra are given in Chapter 4 of this volume, together with their
definition, sedimentary features, palaeontology, stratigraphy and
the palaeogeographic interpretation, while the overall tectonic
evolution of Sumatra is discussed in Chapter 14. This chapter
will concentrate on the structure and tectonic relationships of
these units.
Crustal blocks in Sundaland. The Pre-Tertiary units of Sumatra
form part of Sundaland, the southeastern extension of the Eurasian
tectonic plate. Sundaland is considered to have been formed by
crustal blocks which were rifted from the northern margin of
the Gondwana continent, were separated during the Mi d- Lat e
Palaeozoic, and amalgamated to form Sundaland in the Late
Palaeozoic and Early Mesozoic. The definition of the structural
blocks is based on the work of Pulunggono & Cameron (1984),
Hutchison (1994), Metcalfe (1996, 2000) and Barber & Crow
(2003).
The pattern of crustal blocks which make up Sumatra and
adjacent parts of Sundaland is illustrated in Figure 13.8 and the
stratigraphic units included within blocks forming Sumatra are
shown in Figure 13.9. The Indochina Block, forms the core of
Sundaland and with its southern extension into East Malaya is
characterised by a Cathaysian Flora (Hutchison 1994). In
the Devonian Indochina separated from Gondwana (northern
Australia) with the development of Palaeotethys, and amalga-
mated with South China in the Late Carboniferous (Metcalfe
1996). In the Early Permian Sibumasu (SIkkim, BUrma,
MAlaya, S..._U_Umatra), distinguished by glacial sediments, separated
from Gondwana, and in the Late Permian or Early Triassic joined
Indochina and East Malaya along the Bent ong-Raub Suture and
its northern extension into Thailand and China (Metcalfe 2000).
Also probably in the Early Triassic the West Sumatra Block
joined the previously amalgamated blocks along the Medial
Sumatra Tectonic Zone, by strike slip faulting (Barber & Crow
2003). The final component of the Pre-Tertiary basement of
Sumatra is the Woyla Nappe, which originated in Tethys as an
oceanic island arc, and together with an accretionary complex
composed of imbricated oceanic crust, was thrust over the
western margin of Sundaland in the mid-Cretaceous (Barber
2O00).
The Bentong-Raub Suture and the Bentong-Billiton Accretionary
Complex (Figs 13.8 and 13.9). Metcalfe (2000) has given a full
account and discussed the significance of the Bent ong-Raub
Suture Zone in Peninsular Malaysia. The zone bisects the Malay
Peninsula from north to south, for a distance of over 400 kin,
where its trace is marked by outcrops of serpentinite, ribbon-
chert, schist and melange. The suture zone is considered to mark
the site of the destruction of Palaeotethys, due to the collision
between the Indochina and Sibumasu blocks. There has been a
long-standing controversy concerning the southward extension
of the suture into Sumatra. Metcalfe (1996, Figs 1 & 10) illustrates
four distinct paths which have been suggested in the literature and
proposes another of his own.
Hutchison (1994) recognized that the suture was the eastern
margin of a much broader zone of deformation which he termed
the Palaeotethys Suture Zone. His interpretation was confirmed
by Metcalfe (2000) who found that radiolarian cherts of the
Semanggol Formation 120 km to the west of the Bent ong-Raub
Suture consisted of two components, a steeply dipping sequence,
Lower to Upper Permian in age, repeated either by isoclinal
folds or by thrusts, and a unit of cherts, rhythmites and conglom-
erates of Middle to Upper Triassic age which is only gently folded.
The time of collision between Sibumasu and Indochina is marked
by the unconformity between the Permian and Triassic within the
Semanggol Formation.
Metcalfe (2000) suggested that the Permian, Devonian and
Carboniferous cherts, identified in the western part of the Malay
Peninsula were deposited on the floor of Palaeotethys and were
subsequently incorporated into an accretionary complex. The
zone of collision between Indochina and Sibumasu in Malaya is
marked by a broad accretionary complex, rather than by a
narrow suture. This re-interpretation means that it is no longer
necessary to search in southern Sumatra for a discrete suture
marking the collision between East Malaya and Sibumasu.
In this account it is proposed that the accretionary complex
recognised in the Malay Peninsula extends southeastwards into
the islands of Bangka and Billiton. It is therefore termed the
Bentong-Billiton Accretionary Complex (Fig. 13.8).
An account of the lithology, stratigraphy and structure of the
Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic rocks on Bangka to the SE
of the mainland of Sumatra is given by Ko (1986). Although
fossils are scarce, the oldest unit, the Pemali Group is considered
to be of Carboniferous and Permian age, and indeed Permian
fossils have been found (De Roever 1951). The bulk of the
island is made up of slates and schists showing isoclinal folding
and a steeply dipping NW- SE foliation, imbricated with basalts,
andesites, bedded cherts, distal turbiditic sandstones, some-
times graded, mudstones, black pyritic shales and limestones.
Barber & Crow (Chapter 4) have interpreted the Pemali Group
as oceanic material formed on the floor of Palaeotethys and
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 189
"%%~io
Si t ut up
2~ Kl i ppen
A(
SIBUMASU
~:: B LO C K
MEDA N
-% o,
,% ~
\ , %~ "% ~..oo
! . . . .
NDOCHI NA
EAST MALAYA:
:~:~ BLOCK) ~
~, %o~,. ~ ~.. ~176176176
BENGKULU
% % o
;T SUM,
BLOCK
100 200 300 400 500km
~
LAMPUNG
% % on % % ,oo % % "%
"" : iii: !i:- iiii iii I L/ JAVa
96 ~ 98 ~ 100 ~ 1020 1040 %
106 ~
I I i I I I
Fig. 13.8. Crustal blocks that comprise the pre-Tertiary basement of Sumatra, based on Hutchison (1994), Metcalfe (2000), Barber & Crow (2003). Reverse arrows
indicate dextral transcurrent movement on the Sumatran Fault System.
incorporated into an accretionary complex related to the Late
Permi an-Earl y Triassic collision between Sibumasu and East
Malaya.
Permian fossils found on Bangka and Billiton include fusulinids
and a poorly preserved flora of Cathaysian affinity, indicating that
the islands are related to the East Malaya Block (Van Overeem
1960). In eastern Sumatra and the offshore islands between the
Malay Peninsula and Bangka the Bentong-Billiton Accretionary
Complex is largely covered by Tertiary and Quaternary deposits,
although rock types which may belong to the complex have
been encountered in oil company boreholes (De Coster 1974;
Eubank & Makki 1981). However, at Toboali on the southern
tip of Bangka, Ko (1986) describes ' pebbly mudstones' , similar
to those described from other areas of Sibumasu Block to the
NW (Cameron et al. 1980; Stauffer & Lee 1987; Mitchell et al.
1970). The Sibumasu Block is therefore considered to extend
southwards into southern Bangka.
On Bangka the Pemali Group is locally intruded and hornfelsed
by Late Permi an-Tri assi c granites (see Chapter 5), constraining
the age of formation of the accretionary complex and the age of
190 CHAPTER 13
WOYLA GROUP
WEST SUMATRA BLOCK
(Schiefer Barisan,
Vorbarisan, Kluet and
Kuantan Units)
MSTZ
Grani ti c Intrusi ons
Woyl a Group
(oceani c and vol cani c
arc assembl ages)
Grani ti c Intrusi ons
o Si t ut up & Tuhur -~
Li mest one bl ocks
For mat i ons = E
in mel ange t -
~F ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~:~~ ~ "~~ "~'"~ ~ ~ ~ ~ II
N
:4 :g,:N ::~ N# St ut up S ungkang
Pal epat and Menqkaranr E'E"
Format ons- -
(tropical Jambi flora) -~ o_c~ ~- ~
,~ ~ Kluet and Kuantan ,, :~o
For mat i ons = ~ "6
(t ropi cal f auna in ~-o
l i mest ones) ~ = ~ = ~ o
s
EAST SUMATRA BENTONG- BI LLI TON
( SI BUMASU) ACCRETI ONARY
BLOCK COMPLEX
Bi nt an For mat i on
Grani ti c Intrusi ons
(3_
~) Kaloi, Batumi l mi l o
rr and Kual u ~ c Tempi l ang
O Format i ons ~ ~ Format i on
,~ - -
~Z
<~ Kal oi and
:3 Bat umi l mi l
For mat i ons
Pangururan Bryozoan Bec
O Bohor ok (ti l l oi ds) Pemal i Group
and Al as
C9 For mat i ons
-5 ( t emper at e f auna
z ~ in l i mest ones)
Fi g. 13. 9. The st r at i gr aphi c s equences and
phases of gr ani t i c i nt r us i on t hat char act er i ze
t he cr ust al bl ocks whi ch make up t he
we - Te r t i a r y ba s e me nt of Sumat r a. MSTZ,
Medi al Sumat r a Tect oni c Zone.
the collision between East Malaya and Sibumasu to Late to end-
Permian. Outcrops of the Pemali Group form east -west bands
across the island and alternate with outcrops of undeformed sand-
stones and mudstones of the Triassic Tempilang Formation, which
is folded into broad open folds. Because of their difference in
degree of deformation the Tempilang Formation is considered
to have been deposited unconformably on the Pemali Group, but
in places later deformation has thrust rocks of the Pemali Group
over the Tempilang Formation (Ko 1986).
East Sumat r a ( Si bumasu) Bl ock ( Fi gs 13. 8 and 13.9)
Tapanuli Group. During the DMR/ BGS Northern Sumatra
mapping project Pre-Tertiary rocks in northern Sumatra were
assigned to the Tapanuli (Carboniferous-Permian), Peusangan
(Permo-Triassic) and Woyla (Jurassic-Cretaceous) groups
(Cameron et al. 1980). The Tapanuli Group was further divided
into three units, the Bohorok, Alas, and Kluet formations, outcrop-
ping from NE to SW, in that order (Fig. 13.10). Of these units
only the Alas can be confidently ascribed palaeontologically to
the Carboniferous, but the Bohorok and Kluet formations were
also considered to be of Carboniferous or Early Permian age
because they are associated with the Alas Formation in the field,
and a proposed stratigraphic correlation with similar rocks in
western Malaya and southern Thailand (Cameron et al. 1980).
The Bohorok Formation, with a type locality in the Bohorok
River 60 km to the west of Medan, is characterized by the occur-
rence of ' pebbly mudstones' , interpreted as glacigenic deposits,
together with massive sandstones, sometimes conglomeratic, and
intervening shales interpreted as turbidites. Similar lithologies
in northern Sumatra, but without the pebbly mudstones, were
mapped as the Kluet Formation. It is possible that outcrops of
Kluet Formation which are shown on the quadrangle sheets
lying to the NE of the Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone should
more properly be assigned to the Bohorok Formation. The
pebbly mudstones of the Bohorok Formation have been correlated
with the Lower Permian pebbly mudstones of Phuket in southern
Thailand (Cameron et al. 1980; Mitchell et al. 1970). Similar
lithologies occur in the Mentulu Formation in the Tigapuluh
Hills in central Sumatra, and as has already been mentioned,
pebbly mudstones also crop out at Toboali at the southern tip
of the island of Bangka. This lithological association, with the
presence of pebbly mudstones, is regarded as characteristic of
the Sibumasu Block which therefore occupies the whole of the
eastern part of Sumatra (Figs 13.8 & 13.9).
Although there is no direct evidence for the age of the Bohorok
Formation, support for the correlation with the Lower Permian
of southern Thailand is given by an outcrop of decalcified lime-
stone, the Pangururan Bryozoan Bed, on the western shore of
Lake Toba (Aldiss et al. 1983) (Figs 13.10 & 13.11). This
limestone is associated with slates and sandstones which were
attributed to the Kluet Formation, presumably because it contains
no pebbly mudstones, but its location NW of the Medial Sumatra
Tectonic Zone of this account, suggests that it should be more cor-
rectly attributed to the Bohorok Formation. This limestone con-
tains fenestellid bryozoans deformed in the slaty cleavage and
forming ideal strain markers (Ramsay 1967). The fenestellids
and the other fossils indicate a Late Carboniferous or Early
Permian age and the bed has been correlated with the Lower
Permian Bryozoan Bed of Peninsular Thailand (Mitchell et al.
1970; Cameron et al. 1980). This outcrop is critical to
determining the age of the Tapanuli Group and also the age of
its deformation and metamorphism.
A brief account of the structure of the Bohorok Formation is
given in the explanatory notes which accompany each of the
GRDC 1:250 000 geological map sheets (Bennett et al. 1981c;
Cameron et al. 1982a; Clarke et al. 1982a, b). Unfortunately,
very few structural observations are recorded on the map sheets,
but it is reported that general strike of bedding throughout the
outcrop of the Bohorok and Mentulu formations is NW- SE,
parallel to the trend of the Barisan Mountains and of Sumatra as
a whole (Sumatran trend), and that the rocks are folded with
steep and often vertical dips. Massive sandstones show little evi-
dence of penetrative deformation, with only irregular jointing
and quartz veining, although fracture cleavage is sometimes
developed, but the intervening shales are generally tightly to
isoclinally folded and converted to slates with an axial plane
slaty cleavage. Crenulation cleavages, kink bands and shears are
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 191
.?
I
97~
Li mes t o e' -. . -,
~ . ~ "'" "'" GON~
SIBUMASU (EAST SUMATRA) BLOCK
Peusangan Group
(Permo-Triassic)
LHOKSEUMAWE
" ~ ~Bo~J Tapanul i Gr oup- Bohor ok Formati on
,:{~,1 (Carboniferous-Early Permian)
MEDIAL SUMATRA TECTONIC ZONE
(MSTZ)
Alas Formation (limestones etc.)
% ~ AmphiboliteFacies
Metamorphic Rocks
BO ~"~
>10ppm tin in stream sediment samples
;erbajadi
Granite
TAPAKTUAN
X Antiform
X Synform
Granitic intrusions
WOYLA NAPPE
Woyla Group
P-~ (Ju rassic-Cretaceous)
KLUET (WEST SUMATRA) BLOCK
Kluet Formation
Amphibolite Facies
Metamorphic Rocks
C / " ~M E DAN
~ Bohorok
\
KUTACANE
\ ~R Toba Tufts
Kualu (K)
,ilmil
LAUBALENG
: ~ Toba Tuffs
SIDIKALAN(
Pangururan
Bryozoan B
\,Granite//
264+6Ma'
0 50 100km \ /~
SIBOLGAq
I I
97 ~ 98 ~ Q ~
i I /
Fig. 13.10. Outcrops of pre-Tertiary units in northern Sumatra showing the distribution of formations in the Carboniferous to lower Permian Tapanuli Group and the
Permo-Triassic Peusangan Group (after Stephenson & Aspden 1982, with modifications from the present study). Near Kutacane the Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone is
coincident with the outcrop of the Alas Formation and is distinguished by the juxtaposition of unmetamorphosed sediments and high-grade metamorphic rocks,
syntectonic granitoid intrusions and a tin anomaly. Further north the MSTZ is traced through Takengon following outcrops of phyllite, schist and gneiss, recognised in the
primary mapping, but not incorporated in the compilations. Turbiditic sediments, without pebbly mudstones to the NE of the MSTZ which were originally mapped as
Kluet Formation lie on the Sibumasu Block, and are here assigned to the Bohorok Formation. Pre-Tertiary rocks are covered by Tertiary and Quaternary sediments and
volcanics in areas left blank.
192 CHAPTER 13
reported indicating that the rocks have been subjected to multiple
deformat i on (Bennett et al. 1981c; Cameron et al. 1982a; Clarke
et al. 1982a, b).
In a more detailed structural study of the Bohorok Format i on
on the Pematangsiantar Sheet, in the area to the south and SE of
the Hatapang Granite, Clarke et al. (1982a) (Fig. 13.11) recog-
nized two stages of folding, the earlier on NW- SE axes with
SW-di ppi ng axial planes, and the later with axial planes inclined
at a shallow angle to the west. The intersection of the two axial
surfaces defines a lineation pl ungi ng at a shallow angle (c. 15 <')
to the NW. In the Pakanbaru Quadrangle to the south, dip
measurements show a wide range of orientations, but Clarke
et al. (1982b) report that slate units show widespread tight to iso-
clinal folding on axes which vary from east - west to NW- SE,
with axial planes whi ch are vertical or dip steeply to the SW.
SAR imagery of the same area shows bedding plane traces with
compl ex folding and fold axial plane traces trending NE- SW
and NW- SE, the latter direction becomes domi nant towards
the SW where the Bohorok Format i on is in contact with the
Tanj ungpuah Member of the Kuantan Format i on (Fig. 13.12).
The Bohorok Format i on is intruded by large and small igneous
bodies with the devel opment of hornfelses, schists and gneisses
in the adjacent country rocks. One of the largest is the Serbajadi
Batholith to the north of Medan on the Takengon and Langsa
sheets. The intrusion is separated from the surrounding slate
grade rocks (shown as Kluet Formation) by a marginal zone of
gneisses and schists. These met amorphi c rocks were interpreted
as an aureole formi ng a carapace brought up t?om depth together
with the batholith (Bennett et al. 1981c; Cameron et al. 1983), but
is here suggested to form part of the Medial Sumatra Tectonic
Zone (Fig. 13.10). Cameron et al. (1982a) describe the sequence
of rocks seen in met amorphi c aureoles around granitoid intrusions
in the Medan area as: fine-grained hornfels ~ coarse muscovi t e-
biotite hornfels with segregations of epidote, chlorite, hornblende
and tourmaline with quartzofeldspathic rims -+ schistose hornfels
with flattened segregations, andalusite and cordierite ---> bi ot i t e-
muscovite schists, sometimes garnetiferous--+ banded sillima-
ni t e- bi ot i t e- muscovi t e gneiss with feldspar porphyroblasts--+
coarse migmatitic gneiss with quart z-fel dspar lit-par-lit layers,
pods and ptygmatic veins. Flattened clasts in the hornfelsed sand-
stones show that the rocks had been deformed and converted to
slates before they were thermally met amorphosed and before the
empl acement of the igneous intrusions.
To the SE in the Ti gapul uh Hills in central Sumatra Pre-Tertiary
rocks of the Tigapuluh Group outcrop as an inlier among Tertiary
sediments (Fig. 13.1) 9 The group is composed of the Mentulu,
Pangabuhan and Gangsal formations (Simandjuntak et al. 1991;
Suwarna et al. 1991). The Mentulu Format i on contains pebbly
mudstones, similar to those of the Bohorok Formation; the other
formations are turbiditic sandstones and shales, with the Gangsal
To Prapat
2~ Tt
LAKE TOBA
Tt
2~
, , v- ill " ~ i
~. ~ T~ Tebingtinggi "~99~
1
Te
Te
_4q1
Tt i
Tt '
~' ~~O451E __ 0~ Li iorl plLInge ....
Bedding strike and dip
LAKE TOBA Ve~oal beds
~1~ nal Inverted beds
SAMOSIR ~ CI g .... ......... ddip ~d
ha (Tuffaceous k v ..... ,e, .... ,e Te
sed'men's ,ntrusions,
I
Pleistocene Toba Tufts
Tertiary sediments and volcanics
N Middle-Late Triassic Kualu Formation
Sibaganding and Pangunjungan
Limestone Members
Oo
\ .... . ,
I-o Tebingtinggi
.....
Tt \
Tt
an
Zt Carboniferous-Permian ~ ~ T( ~*' ~ Halqbia
,ozoan Bed Tapanul i Gr oup , Rant
Haria ~ Bohorok Formation ~, ~~
TtPintu (pebbly mudstones)
4e ~ Undifferentiated ~ 0 5 10 15 20km
99015 '
Fig. 13.11. The geology of the area between Lake Toba and Rantauprapat showing the relationship between the Carboniferous-Permian Tapanuli Gl"oup and the Triassic
Kualu Formation based on the GRDC Pematansiantar (Clarke et al. 1982a) and Sidikalang (Aldiss et al. ]983) Quadrangle sheets. While the Tapanuli Group is isoclinally
folded with slaty cleavage and shows the effects of multiple deformation the Kualu Formation shows one set of upright fold and argillaceous units are not cleaved.
Although all the contacts are faulted the Kualu Formation must have an unconformable relationship to the Tapanuli Group. The inset map shows the location of the
Pangururan Bryozoan Bed (PBB) on the western shore of Lake Toba.
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 193
- 0~
I
l Okm
I
2,,
Pasirpangarayan.
90km
Pakanbaru
disilan 70ki n .
Igneous intrusions
Kuantan Formation
(West Sumatra Block)
Tanj ungpuah Member
(Medial Sumatra Tectonic
Zone)
Bohorok Formation
(Si bumasu Block)
70
Strike and dip of bedding
75 Strike and dip of cleavage
~"~20 Plunge of lineation
. . ~ Photodip
_ ~I Hot spring
0~
Ban
.._TJ
F~angkalan-kota-baru
9 Siasam
Bukit
Tinggi
50km,
0o00 '
100~ . . . . 101~
9 Muaraketua
Fig. 13.12. Structure across the Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone (MSTZ) from GRDC Pakanbaru Quadrangle Sheet (Clarke et al. 1982b), central Sumatra, with the
addition of bedding traces from SAR imagery. Irregular refolded folds in the Bohorok and Kluet Formations trending approximately east-west, contrast with isoclinal
folds trending NW-SE within the MSTZ which incorporates the Tanjunpuah Member of the Kuantan Formation. N.B. Granitic rocks within the MSTZ show a gneissose
foliation parallel to the trend of the zone. The identification of units on the map has been modified in the light of the interpretation SAR imagery. Pre-Tertiary basement
rocks are overlain by Tertiary sediments in the areas left blank.
Format i on being finer-grained. SAR i magery indicates that the
Gangsal Format i on is also more deformed than the other units,
with a strong NW- SE trend.
Structures in the Tigapuluh Group are similar to those reported
from the Bohorok Formation, with folded bedding and steeply
dipping cleavage in pelitic units, indicating tight to isoclinal
upright folds (Si mandj unt ak et al. 1991; Suwarna et al. 1991).
Al t hough the contact between stratigraphic units and measure-
ments of the orientation of the bedding within the group have
the NW- SE Sumatran trend, cleavage measurements made in
the field and shown on the Rengat and Muarabungo map sheets
show a wide scatter, but trend predomi nant l y east - west and dip
either to north or south. The reasons for the discrepancy
bet ween the orientation of the cleavage and the bedding is not
clear, and requires further study. Two phases of folding are
reported, the first east - west and the second NW- SE, but no
exampl es of refolded folds were identified in the field, although
crenulation cleavage, indicating that the rocks were affected by
a second phase of deformation, was recorded (Si mandj unt ak
et al. 1991; Suwarna et al. 1991). The possibility of the influence
of strong Tertiary deformat i on in this area on the orientation of
the cleavage in the basement rocks has not been clarified.
Pelitic rocks of the Ti gapul uh Group are altered to cordierite
hornfels, biotite schist and gneiss in met amorphi c aureoles
around granitoids of Jurassic age (Schwartz et al. 1987). Defor-
mation, with folding and the devel opment of cleavage preceded
the intrusion of the granitoids, as the thermal met amorphi sm
affects rocks which were already cleaved.
The Permo- Tri assi c Peusangan Group in the Si bumasu Bl ock. In
northern Sumatra the Permo-Triassic Peusangan Group is
represented mai nl y by isolated l i mest one outcrops in the northern
part of the Sibumasu Bl ock (Fig. 13.10). Each of the isolated
l i mest one outcrops has been given a separate format i on name
(for a detailed account of these format i ons see Chapter 4). The
limestones are generally massive and recrystallized, and unlike
the slates and sandstones of the Bohorok Formation, do not gener-
ally show folding or penetrative deformation. For this reason the
194 CHAPTER 13
Fig. 13.13. Map of the outcrops of the Bohorok, Alas and Kluet tbrmations between Kutacane and Laubaleng, based on the GRDC Medan Quadrangle Sheet (Cameron
et al. 1982a), with the addition of bedding traces (dashed lines) from SAR imagery; solid lines are faults. Open folding in the Bohorok and Kluet lormations contrasts with
tighter folding in the Alas Formation, which lies within the Medial Sumatran Tectonic Zone. In areas left blank the the we-Tertiary basement is covered by Tertiary and
Quaternary sediments and volcanics, including the alluvium in the Kutacane Graben.
surveyors considered that the undeformed Permo-Triassic rocks
rest unconformably on the deformed Bohorok Formation, although
no stratigraphic contacts have been described (Cameron et al.
1980). On this basis it was suggested that the major phase of
deformation seen in the Tapanuli Group occurred in the Early to
Mid-Permian, before the deposition of the Peusangan Group
(Cameron et al . 1980).
Many of the limestone outcrops are recrystallized and
apparently unlbssiliferous, but a few have yielded Permian and
Triassic fossils. Mi d- Lat e Permian fossils have been obtained
from the Situtup Formation to the NW of Takengon, and the
Kaloi and Batumilmil formations to the NW and west of Medan
(Fig. 13.10). The Situtup Formation has yielded Mid-Permian
fusulinids with a Cathaysian affinity, indicating that this area
forms part of the West Sumatra Block. Mi d- Lat e Triassic
fossils have been obtained from the Situtup, Kaloi and Batumilmil
formations (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989) but the relationships
between the Permian and Triassic components of these outcrops,
whether conformable or unconformable, have not been estab-
lished. Other outcrops of Triassic rocks belonging to the Kualu
Formation occur on the eastern and western shores of Lake
Toba and 35 km south of Medan (Fig. 13.11).
In the outcrop of the Kaloi Formation massive undeformed
limestones are associated with Triassic limestones and shales
which show open folds (Bennett et al. 1981c). To the south of
Medan at Parapat on Lake Toba bedded limestones and shales
of the Kualu Formation are moderately to tightly folded about
sub-horizontal, NW- SE axes with steep NE-dipping axial
planes. The intensity of the tblding increases towards the west
and the steep western limbs of the folds may be overturned,
giving a westerly vergence. However, cleavage is not developed
in the argillaceous interbeds in these outcrops, although highly
deformed slates of the Bohorok Formation occur only a short
distance away across a fault contact (Clarke et al. 1982a; Aldiss
et al. 1983) suggesting that the relationships between the Kualu
and the Bohorok formations are unconformable (Fig. 13.11).
In the Pematangsiantar Quadrangle to the east, thin-bedded
limestones and cherts of the Pangunjungan Member of the
Kualu Formation show tight disharmonic folds which have been
attributed to slumping (Clarke et al. 1982a).
It has been argued by Barber & Crow (Chapter 4) that the obser-
vations concerning the structural and stratigraphic relationships
of the Tapanuli and Peusangan groups in northern Sumatra have
been misinterpreted. It is commonly observed in slate-grade
metamorphic terranes that massive limestones behave as compe-
tent materials, while incompetent argillaceous materials are
deformed around them. This may well be the case in northern
Sumatra, where the argillaceous sediments of the Tapanuli
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 195
Group are highly deformed, while the massive limestones of the
Peusangan Group are unaffected. In this respect it is notable that
massive limestones of the Alas Formation, considered to form
part of the Tapanuli Group are also undeformed, with the preser-
vation of fossils and delicate sedimentary structures, while the
argillaceous rocks around them have been altered to slates and
schists.
Evidence for the age of deformation in the Sibumasu Block of
northern Sumatra is found around Lake Toba, where on the
western shore of the lake, the Pangururan Bryozoan Bed
(Figs 13.8 & 13.9), a decalcified argillaceous limestone of Late
Carboniferous to Early Permian age, is interbedded with slates
and sandstones of the Kluet Formation (?Bohorok Formation in
this account) and has been deformed to the same extent. On the
other hand slaty cleavage is not developed in the folded argillac-
eous beds of the Middle to Upper Triassic Kualu Formation
on the eastern shore of the lake. Determining the age of the
Pangururan Bryozoan Bed is critical for defining the age of defor-
mation more precisely. However, taking the evidence available,
it is considered that the major deformation in northern Sumatra
occurred within units classified in the Peusangan Group between
the Permian and Triassic. Since no fossils representing the latest
Permian or earliest Triassic have been found anywhere in northern
Sumatra, it is therefore most probable that the major phase of
deformation occurred during the Late Permian and Early Triassic.
This is the age of the deformation seen in Peninsular Mal aya,
where it is regarded as marking the collision of the Sibumasu
and East Malaya terranes (Metcalfe 2000).
The Me di al Sumat r a Tect oni c Zone (Fi g. 13. 8)
The Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone (MSTZ) forms a zone of
highly deformed rocks, extending for the whole length of
Sumatra, separating the Sibumasu Block from the West Sumatra
Block. The MSTZ is separated into three segments by major
faults. The northern segment of the zone abuts against the
Samalanga Fault and must pass beneath Tertiary sediments into
the Andaman Sea to the west of the fault. The central segment
has been displaced southwards by c. 50 km along the Lokop-
Kutacane Fault and near Sibolga the southern segment has been
displaced southeastwards for a distance of 150 km along the
Sumatran Fault Zone (Fig. 13.8).
The northern segment of the MSTZ is marked by a zone of
phyllitic, schistose and gneissose rocks which were identified on
the 1:100000 field maps and described in the initial reports
prepared during the DMR/ BGS Northern Sumatra Survey,
but are not represented separately on the 1:250 000 Quadrangle
sheets. These include the Uneuen Unit on the Lhokseumawe
and Takengon Quadrangle Sheets, the Toweren Member of the
Peusangan Group along Lake Tawar, and amphibolite facies
schists, gneisses and marbles which were interpreted as forming
the aureole of the Serbajadi Granite (Keats et al. 1981; Cameron
et al. 1983) (Fig. 13.10). A calcareous bed in the Uneuen Unit
yielded Triassic fossils (Cameron et al. 1978, appendix), a
feature seen in the MSTZ further south.
The central segment of the MSTZ corresponds with the outcrop
of the Alas Formation (Figs 13.8 & 13.13) characterized by
massive limestones, which locally contain a Early Carboniferous
(Vis6an) fauna (Metcalfe 1983; Fontaine & Gafoer 1989), but
also includes sandstones and shales, identified as turbidites,
similar to those of the Bohorok Formation. The temperate
Vis~an fauna identifies the Alas Formation as part of the Sibumasu
Block which has been disrupted and incorporated into the MSTZ.
Apart from these limestones, the Alas Formation is schistose and
metamorphosed in the greenschist to amphibolite facies. Locally
the limestones have been altered to coarse graphite-phlogopite
marbles. In the Rikit Gaib (Fig. 13.10) area in the Takengon
Quadrangle near Kutapanjang, the rocks are schists and gneisses
that enclose garnetiferous granites with gneissose or foliated
margins (Cameron et al. 1983). The granitoids contain narrow
zones of mylonite and cataclasite showing horizontal slickensides
and are separated from slate-grade country rocks by a meta-
morphic envelope. The syntectonic granitoids are considered
to have been intruded into active sub-vertical shear zones and
to be responsible for the amphibolite-facies metamorphism of
the adjacent rocks (Cameron et al. 1983). The MSTZ is also
associated with elevated values of tin in stream-sediment
samples > 10 ppm (Stephenson et al. 1982) (Fig. 13.10). The tin
was derived either directly from the Pre-Tertiary basement and
the associated granites (e.g. the Kais Complex, Fig. 13.10) or
indirectly from Tertiary sediments.
The southern segment of the Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone is
generally very poorly exposed, but crops out in a NW- SE-
trending belt as the Pawan and Tanjungpuah members attributed
to the Kuantan Formation, between Pakanbaru and Lubuksikaping
(Clarke et al. 1982b; Rock et al. 1983) (Figs 13.12 & 13.14).
These rock units are composed of intensely folded muscovite,
tremolite, chlorite, carbonate and quartz schists. Locally coarse-
to fine-grained banded marbles are interbedded with fine-grained
chlorite schists derived from basic volcanics or tufts (Rock et al.
1983).
Large scale folds on NW- SE axial traces have been mapped in
the Tanjunpuah Member in the Pakanbaru Quadrangle using aerial
photographs (Clarke et al. 1982b). On SAR imagery, irregularly
oriented folds in the Bohorok Formation to the NE, and the
Kuantan Formation to the SW, pass into tight to isoclinal folds
with NW- SE axial traces in the Pawan and Tanjungpuah out-
crops. The Pawan and Tanjungpuah units lie within a zone of
intense deformation identified here as the MSTZ (Fig. 13.12).
In the field Clarke et al. (1982b) recognized three phases
of folding in the Pawan Member: the earliest on moderate to
steeply plunging axes, the second forming tight to isoclinal folds
on sub-horizontal NW- SE axes and the third as narrow zones of
brittle-style refolding and kinking on NW-dipping axial planes,
with the development of quartz tension gashes.
The metamorphic rocks are intruded by granites with a lensoid
shape, elongated parallel to the schistosity in the adjacent slates.
The granites also contain a steeply dipping NW- SE internal
foliation (e.g. the Pulaugadang Granite in Figs 13.12 & 13.14)
that is defined by oriented mica flakes, encloses aligned felspar
megacrysts, and also affects cross-cutting microgranitic veins.
Adjacent to the granitic intrusions the metasediments are
converted to schists with a steep schistosity. The schistosity
related to the second phase of folding has been dated by the
K- At method as Early Jurassic (Clarke et al. 1982b).
Southeastwards, the MSTZ may be represented by the intensely
deformed Gangsal Formation on the southwestern side of the
Tigapuluh Hills, but it is not exposed further to the SE, and its
trace can only be inferred from schistose and basic lithologies
encountered in oil company boreholes put down through Tertiary
sediments (De Coster 1974; Eubank & Makki 1981) (Fig. 13.14).
The zone identified here as the MSTZ has long been recognized
as an important tectonic boundary in Sumatra. Van Bemmel en
(1949) following the survey by Von Steiger (1922) drew the
boundary between his Tectonic Zones I and III along this line,
and his lensoid Zone II incorporates the Pawan and Tanjungpuah
Members. Lithologies described within Zone II include quartzites,
phyllites, shales, diabase-schists, limestone, radiolarian chert,
conglomerates with granitic boulders and mylonitized breccia,
and the zone is characterized by tin mineralization (see Figs
13.8 & 13.12). In their tectonic synthesis of Sumatra Pulunggono
& Cameron (1984, Fig. 1) draw a line separating the Bohorok and
Kuantan formations through central Sumatra, from the outcrop
of the Alas Formation in the north to Palembang in the south.
They identified a lens of material along this line, including the
Pawan and Tanjungpuah members, Triassic rocks of the Kualu
196 CHAPTER 13
Fig. 13.14. The Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone in central Sumatra distinguished by highly deformed metamorphic rocks, syntectonic granitic intrusions and a tin
anomaly, separating the East and West Sumatra blocks.
Formation, and the Mutus Assemblage, previously described
from southern Sumatra by Eubank & Makki (1981). Eubank &
Makki (1981) defined the Mutus Assemblage from oil company
boreholes which had penetrated the Pre-Tertiary basement. The
material included ' radiolarian chert, meta-argillite, red-mauve
shale, thinly-bedded limestone and deep water rhythmite
sequences' . Basalt from one borehole, and the association with
deep-water sediments, led them to speculate that the assemblage
might include ophiolitic material; the chert and rhythmites were
con-elated with the Triassic Kualu Formation of northern Sumatra.
The absence of records of large bodies of ophiolite along the
MSTZ suggest that the zone does not mark a major suture zone
representing the collision of continents and the subduction of
oceans, although tremolite schist in the Pawan and Tanjungpuah
may represent slivers of deformed and metamorphosed serpenti-
nite, and chlorite schists may represent basic igneous rocks.
We interpret the MSTZ as having been initiated as a transcurrent
fault along which the West Sumatra Block was emplaced against
the Sibumasu Block. The subsequent uplift of high-grade meta-
morphic rocks, the emplacement of syntectonic granitic magmas
and the flux of tin mineralizing fluids indicate that the MSTZ is
a major lineament on a crustal scale.
Some of the material incorporated in the zone are slivers of the
adjacent Bohorok, Alas, Kluet and Kuantan formations, and their
original structural patterns have been truncated and drawn out into
conformity with the NW- SE trend of the shear zone (Figs 13.12 &
13.14). Local amphibolite-facies metamorphic rocks juxtaposed
with unmetamorphosed sediments, including fossiliferous lime-
stones, indicate that material has been uplifted from deeper in
the basement and that material has subsided during movements
along the shear zone. Multiple phases of deformation recorded
within the rocks of the shear zone indicate that movements
occurred at different periods of time. The occurrence of relatively
undeformed Triassic rocks of the Kualu and Tuhur formations
adjacent to the shear zone suggest that initial movements occurred
before the Mid-Triassic. Granites, foliated together with the
associated metasediments, were emplaced syntectonically. From
regional correlations these granites are considered to be of
Late Triassic to Early Jurassic age. If the ages of the syntectonic
granitic rocks are confirmed it suggests that movements along
the MSTZ continued throughout these periods. Further age deter-
minations on the granites would constrain the period of movement
more precisely. Records of mylonitization, cataclasis, brecciation
and surfaces with slickensides within the MSTZ (Cameron et al.
1982a) suggest that strike-slip movements have occurred con-
tinually within the zone. The latest movements along the MSTZ
are probably associated with the movement of the Sumatran
Fault Zone.
West Sumat ra Bl ock
Kluet Unit (Fig. 13.8). The Kluet tectonic unit is coincident with
the outcrop of the Kluet Formation, occupying the western part
of the Barisan Mountains between Sibolga and Tapaktuan to the
southwest of the Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone, and is overlain
to the NW and SE by the Woyla Nappe (Fig. 13.8). The Kluet
Unit is considered to form the northern part of the West Sumatra
Block which has become separated from the remainder of the
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL H|STORY 197
block to the south by movements along the Sumatran Fault
System.
Lithologically the Kluet Formation is composed of alternating
quartz-wackes, siltstones and shales, with some limestones. Over
most of the outcrop the argillaceous rocks have been converted
to slates, but amphibolite-grade metamorphic rocks occur on
the western side of the outcrop to the east of Tapaktuan
(Fig. 13.10). Cameron et al. (1982b) describe a southwestwards
change from predominantly slates to pelitic schists and phyllites
in the Simpali area and further southwest, in the type locality of
the Kreung (River) Kluet to amphibolite facies pelitic schists,
calc-schists and quartzo-feldspathic gneisses with small concor-
dant gneissose granitoid bodies. Barber (2000) has suggested
that these higher-grade metamorphic rocks mark the footprint
of the overlying Woyl a Nappe. These rocks have not yet been
dated to test this hypothesis.
Structurally the sandstones and slates of the Kluet Formation
are folded on both the large and small scale. In the outcrop to
the south of Sidikalang, large scale folds of the bedding, with syn-
lbrmal and antiformal axial traces 20 km apart, have been traced
on aerial photographs (Aldiss et al. 1983) (Fig. 13.15). The fold
axial traces trend WNW- ESE and the folds plunge to the ESE.
Variations in the general strike of bedding and cleavage from
NW- SE to NE- SW recorded in some areas of the Kluet
outcrop are presumed to be due to the effects of the later lbld
phases (Aspden et al. 1982b; Aldiss et al. 1983). In the field
pelitic rocks are often tightly to isoclinally folded, and an axial
plane slaty cleavage is developed. Again the cleavage generally
strikes NW- SE or WNW- ESE and dips vertically or steeply to
the SW.
In the same area a detailed structural study was made of the
minor structures in the Kluet Formation exposed in a road cut
4 km to the south of Sidikalang (Clarke & Bagdja 1979; Aldiss
et al. 1983) (Fig. 13.15). The rocks are thick, coarse, massive sand-
stones interbedded with finer-grained, laminated sandstones and
siltstones. The fine-grained sandstones frequently show grading
and occasionally small-scale current bedding. Three fold phases
were recognized (Fl, F2 and F3). F1 folds are tight to isoclinal,
the shape depending on lithology. The axial planes are upright
to vertical and strike WNW- ESE, but may be horizontal locally
where the rocks are refolded. Grading in sandstone beds in asym-
metrical folds indicate that the limbs of folds are overturned
towards the NE (Aspden et al. 1982b). Slaty axial plane cleavage
(S0 is developed in pelitic bands and refracted through graded
sandstone beds. Fracture cleavage is developed in semi-pelitic
bands, and quartz tension gashes occur normal to bedding in
thicker and more massive psammites. The fold axes, and a
beddi ng-cl eavage intersection lineation (L1), plunge to the SE.
It is probable that this is the same phase of folding is seen on a
large scale to the south on aerial photographs (Fig. 13.15).
F2 folds are confined to narrow bands 100-200 m wide. These
folds refold the bedding, the earlier Fl folds, which may become
recumbent, and the slaty cleavage developed during F1, on near
vertical axial planes. A crenulation cleavage ($2) is developed in
the slates, forming a prominent sub-horizontal crenulation linea-
tion (Lz) trending NW- SE. F3 folds are small-scale chevron
folds, 1 cm to 10 m in amplitude with fold axes striking from
west to SW and a lineation plunging NW at shallow to moderate
angles. Directions of overturning and the predominant SW dip
of the axial planes of both the first and second phase folds, show
a predominant northeasterly vergence. A similar sequence of
folds is seen in the road section between Pakkat and Barus some
25 km to the south of Sidikalang (Fig. 13.15).
The Kluet Formation is intruded and extensively hornfelsed by
the plutons of the Sibolga Granite Complex. A wide range of ages
has been obtained from the main body and satellite intrusions
by different dating methods. The oldest is a Rb- Sr whole-rock
age of 264 6 Ma (Mid-Permian) from the main outcrop north
of Sibolga, but other widely distributed granite phases in the
complex have given Late Triassic and Early Jurassic ages. Roof
pendants of Kluet Formation in the granite, when they are not
hornfelsed, show isoclinal folding and cleavage, with graded
bedding indicating that some beds are inverted (Aspden et al.
1982b). It is therefore presumed that the bulk of the intrusion is
post-tectonic. A detailed study of the relationships between the
structures and dated intrusive phases of the Sibolga Complex
may elucidate the history of deformation in the Kluet Formation.
Kuant an Unit (Fig. 13.8). The Kuantan Unit in central Sumatra is
coincident with the outcrop of the Kuantan Formation. It is
limited to the NE by the Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone and to
the SW across the Takung Fault by the Vorbarisan Unit (Tobler
1910, 1917). The Kuantan Formation is composed of turbiditic
sandstones and shales with some limestones and resembles litho-
logically the Kluet Formation of northern Sumatra, and indeed
the boundary between the two formations was defined arbitrarily
at a break in outcrop along 99~ longitude. Massive limestones
within the Kuantan Formation with a Carboniferous (Vis6an)
fauna suggest a correlation with the Alas Formation of northern
Sumatra. However the Kuantan fauna is of tropical type, while
the Alas fauna is of temperate type, indicating that the two units
cannot be correlated directly (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). The
Kuantan Block is considered to be related to the Indochina or
East Malaya Block, and was emplaced in its present position
by transcurrent movements along the Medial Sumatra Tectonic
Zone (Hutchison 1994; Barber & Crow 2003).
Structures in the turbidites of the Kuantan Formation are the
same as those reported from the Kluet Formation, with steep
dips of both bedding and cleavage, indicating that the rocks are
affected by tight or isoclinal folding. Local variations in strike,
from dominantly NW- SE to east-west, suggest that the rocks
were affected by more than one phase of folding (Aspden et al.
1982b; Rock et al. 1983). In the Pakanbaru Quadrangle Clarke
et al. (1982b) report refolding of the cleavage and bedding on
sub-horizontal NW- SE fold axes on near vertical axial planes.
Aspden et al. (1982b) suggested that in the Padangsidempuan
and Sibolga Quadrangle the east -west phase of folding was the
earlier. This interpretation is confirmed by the SAR imagery
which shows tight folds with east -west axial traces refolded by
folds with NW- SE axial plane traces (Figs 13.12 & 13.16).
Around igneous intrusions the slates are converted to hornfels,
schist and gneiss.
Further to the south the Terantam Formation in the Duabelas
Mountains, 120 km along strike to the SE, the Tarap Formation
of the Garba Mountains in South Sumatra, and the Gunungkasih
Complex of Lampung have all been correlated with the Kuantan
Formation, and although they have not been studied in detail,
from the descriptions these occurrences are very similar in
lithology, structure and metamorphism (Simandjuntak et al.
1991; Gafoer et al. 1994; Ami n et al. 1994b; Andi Mangga
et al. 1994a). In the Gunungkasih Complex the schistosity
strikes NW- SE, but is folded about east -west axes and refolded
by NW-SE-t rendi ng upright folds and then by variably oriented
kink-band folds (Barber 2000).
The Gunungkasih Complex is intruded by gabbros and granites
of the Sulan Pluton that have given K- Ar ages of 151 4 Ma and
113 ___3 Ma respectively (McCourt et al. 1996). In the same area
granites and basaltic dykes have been deformed by strike-slip
movements to form banded gneiss. Diorites from this gneiss
complex gave a K- Ar age of 89 +_ 3 Ma (McCourt et al. 1996).
In southern Sumatra deformation had occurred by the Late
Jurassic, but continued along shear zones into the mid-Cretaceous
(Barber 2000).
Vorbari san Unit (Fig. 13.8). The ' Vorbarisan' tectonic unit was
proposed by Tobler (1910, 1917, 1919) for the area occupied
by Permo-Triassic rocks between the Takung and Musi faults.
To the NW the Vorbarisan Unit is transected by the Sumatran
198 CHAPTER 13
Fig. 13.15. Detail of the GRDC Sidikalang Quadrangle sheet showing the outcrop of the Kluet Formation to the SW of Lake Toba (Aldiss et al. 1983). The highly
irregular outcrop pattern is due to the infilling of valleys in a mountainous terrain by tufts from the 70 000 years Bp eruption of the Toba volcano. Bedding strikes
and dips were collected in the field. Traces of bedding are from airphoto and Landsat imagery. Solid lines are faults and dashed lines are possible faults and/or
pholo-lineaments plotted from the imagery.
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 199
Fig. 13.16. Detail of the GRDC Lubuksikaping Quadrangle Sheet (Rock et al. 1983) showing the outcrop of the Kuantan Formation, with the addition of bedding traces
(dashed lines) from SAR imagery. Solid lines are faults. The bedding traces show folds on east-west axial traces refolded by north-south or NW-SE folds. In the areas
left blank pre-Tertiary rocks are overlain by Tertiary sediments and volcanics.
Fault system of which the Takung and Musi faults appear to be
splays. Further to the NW the extension of the Vorbarisan Block
lies beneath the Woyla Nappe.
Permian stratigraphic units in this area have been described
under the names of the Silungkang, Palepat and Mengkarang
formations. The Silungkang and Palepat formations are composed
of lavas and tufts, interbedded with shales, siltstones, sandstones
and crystalline limestones, in the Palepat Formation passing up
into an upper Limestone Member. The massive lavas and the lime-
stones in these units are faulted and jointed and the thinner bedded
units are sometimes strongly folded (Suwarna e t al . 1994).
However, coal bands and plant fossils in the Mengkarang For-
mation are well-preserved, showing that the rocks have not been
metamorphosed. In the Batang Tembesi south of Muarabungo,
sandstones of the Mengkarang Formation at Pulau Bayer are
folded into an anticline on an east -west axis with an overturned
northern limb. In the limb of the fold thin-bedded sandstone
layers are imbricated along small scale thrusts, indicating that
thrust movements directed towards the west had occurred in
these beds before the rocks were folded. Similar small duplex
structures have been observed in the Palepat Formation in the
Batang Tantan area. Throughout the Silungkang, Palepat and
Mengkarang formations finer grained units within folded beds
do not show cleavage.
The relatively undeformed nature of these Permian units in
contrast to the Kuantan Formation to the NE and the slates and
phyllites of the ' Schiefer Barisan' to the SW, together with the
volcanics and the Cathaysian ' Jambi Flora' in the Mengkarang
Formation, led Zwierzycki (1935) to suggest that they formed an
overthrust ' Jambi Nappe' . Because of the affinities of the
Permian lavas and the Cathaysian flora to those of East Malaya
Zwierzycki (1935) suggested that this nappe was overthrust
from the northeast over a distance of 350 km. Van Bemmelen
(1949) considered that this amount of movement was too great
to have occurred during a single phase of movement (in the
Cretaceous Varanginian Stage according to Zwierzycki 1930a)
and suggested in his ' undation hypothesis' that the nappe had
been gravitationally moved westwards by successive uplifts
200 CHAPTER 13
cored by plutonic belts from the Triassic to the Cretaceous. The
nappe hypothesis has been discounted by more recent authors
(Katili 1970; Cameron & Pulonggono 1984; Hutchison 1994;
Barber & Crow 2003). Barber & Crow (2003), following
Hutchison (1994), have suggested that the Vorbarisan Unit and
the Kuantan Unit constitute a West Sumatra Block separated
from Cathaysia and emplaced in Sumatra along a major transcur-
rent fault, represented by the Medial Sumatran Tectonic Zone,
to the SW of the Sibumasu Block.
Schiefer Barisan Unit (Fig. 13.8). The Schiefer Barisan tectonic unit
lies to the SW of the Vorbarisan Unit from which it is separated by
the Musi Fault; it is overlain further to the SW by the Woyla
Nappe. The Permian Barisan, the Triassic Tuhur and the Jurassic
and Lower Cretaceous Asai, Rawas and Peneta formations out-
cropping in the unit, as the name of the implies, are characterized
by penetrative cleavage and foliation, in contrast to the Permian
and Triassic units of the Vorbarisan Unit.
The Barisan Formation shown cropping out to the south of
Solok is composed of phyllite, slate, sandstones, limestones and
cherts (Rosidi et al. 1976). Lower Permian fusulinids in massive
limestones in the eastern part of the outcrop shown as Barisan
Formation on the geological map indicate that these rocks,
although more highly deformed, should be correlated with the
Silungkang and Mengkarang formations of the Vorbarisan Block
(Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). The foliation in the phyllites and
slates strikes NNW- SSE and limestone lenses are elongated in
the same direction. Later deformation is indicated by kinking of
the slaty cleavage and small scale shear zones (Rosidi et al. 1976).
The Triassic Tuhur Formation outcrops in the area from Lake
Singkarak to Dibawah and Diatas lakes (Silitonga & Kastowo
1975; Rosidi et al. 1976). Lithologies include argillaceous
sediments with brown cherts, thin turbiditic sandstones and thin
limestones which resemble those described from the Kualu
Formation of northern Sumatra. Silitonga & Kastowo (1976)
distinguished a Slate and Shale Member and a Limestone
Member. The Slate and Shale Member, in which the slaty cleavage
strikes NW- SE, occupies the greater part of the outcrop.
The Limestone Member includes limestone conglomerates that
contain blocks of Lower to Middle Permian fusulinid limestone
(Silitonga & Kastowo 1975). Similar conglomerates were
described to the north of the equator by Turner (1983) from the
Cubadak Formation and his Limau Manis Formation, in an area
which was mapped by Rock et al. (1983) as part of the Silungkang
Formation. The Cubadak and Limau Manis formations contain
Hal obi a and ammonites indicating a Mi d- Lat e Triassic age.
The limestone conglomerates indicate that Permian limestones
were uplifted during the formation of a horst and graben structure
and were subjected to erosion between the Mid-Permian and the
Mid-Triassic (Barber & Crow 2003).
The Middle Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Asai, Rawas and
Peneta formations outcrop in the foothills of the Barisan
Mountains to the southwest of Bangko and Sarolungan (Suwarna
et al. 1994). The Asai Formation is composed of greywacke,
meta-sandstone, siltstone, slate, phyllite and limestone. The
slates are blue-grey or reddish in colour with a strong penetrative
cleavage striking NW- SE and dipping steeply. Sandstones are cut
by quartz veins and limestones by calcite veins. Fossils indicate
that the Asai Formation is of Middle Jurassic age and it appears
to be the oldest of the three formations (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989).
The Rawas Formation consists of basalt lava flows with
intrusive dolerite dykes, associated with conglomerates, grey-
wacke sandstones and siltstones, described as a turbidite sequence
(Suwarna et al. 1994). Extensive outcrops of grey slate with thin
sandstone and siltstone bands and limestone lenses of the Rawas
Formation are exposed in the Rawas River. Slaty cleavage
strikes NW- SE and dips at 40 ~ to the SW. The bedding lamination
in the siltstones is parallel to the cleavage, but the cleavage is axial
planar to small isoclinal folds in limestone lenses. The slates
are folded by open asymmetrical folds overturned to the NNE,
with a spaced axial plane cleavage cutting across the earlier
cleavage, and an intersection lineation plunging at c. 30 ~ to the
WNW. Sandstone bands up to 40 cm thick are fractured at right
angles to the bedding and the fractures are filled with quartz;
similarly limestones are cut by calcite veins.
The Peneta Formation covers the same age range as the Rawas
Formation and the description is very similar to that of the non-
volcanic, finer-grained parts of the Rawas Formation (Suwarna
et al. 1994). It consists of slates, shales, siltstones, sandstones
and meta-limestones. The siltstones are strongly folded with a
slaty cleavage striking NW- SE, emphasized by new mica growth.
The Asai, Peneta and Rawas formations are considered to
have been deposited in shallow-water environments, passing into
deeper water in a foreland or forearc basin on the SW margin of
Sundaland (Pulunggono & Cameron 1984; Barber 2000). Defor-
mation, with the development of folds and slaty cleavage occurred
in the mid-Cretaceous, later than the youngest sediments but
earlier than the intrusion of Late Cretaceous granites. Deformation
of the other units of the Schiefer Barisan, the Tuhur and Barisan
formations, presumably occurred at the same time. The defor-
mation is attributed to the collision and overthrusting of the
Woyla volcanic island arc and its associated accretionary
complex over the margin of Sundaland in mid-Cretaceous times.
The deformed low-grade metamorphic rocks of the Schiefer
Barisan mark the footprint of the Woyla Nappe. Folds overturned
towards the NE and SW-dipping cleavage indicate that the nappe
was emplaced from the SW and overthrust towards the NE. The
absence of penetrative cleavage in the Permian rocks forming
the Vorbarisan Unit suggests that they were never covered by
the nappe. The Takung and Musi faults which separate the
Kuantan, Vorbarisan and Schieferbarisan units may be older
structures, but have been reactivated in the Neogene, during
movements along the Sumatran Fault.
Woyl a Nappe (Fig. 13.8)
The Woyla Group crops out discontinuously in the Barisan
Mountains along the west coast of Sumatra from Banda Aceh in
the north, through Natal and Padang in central Sumatra, to the
Gumai and Garba Mountains and Bandar Lampung in the south.
The further extent of the Woyla Group in southern Sumatra can
be traced in oil company boreholes beneath the Tertiary sedimen-
tary cover (Barber & Crow 2003). A comprehensive review of the
Woyla Group in Sumatra, based on the work of Bennett et al.
(198 i a, b) and Cameron et al. (1982, 1983) in northern Sumatra,
Rock et al. (1983), Wajzer et al. (1991) and McCarthy et al.
(2001) in central Sumatra and Gafoer et al. (1992c, 1994) in
southern Sumatra, has been given by Barber (2000). Barber' s
(2000) review covered the areas of outcrop, the lithologies and
structures, the environments of deposition of the stratigraphic
units or formation of the volcanic units, palaeontological and
isotopic evidence of their age, and presented a tectonic synthesis
of their origin and emplacement as the Woyla Nappe on the
southwestern margin of Sundaland (Fig. 13.8).
Cameron et al. (1980) distinguished two lithological assem-
blages in the Woyla Group of northern Sumatra, an oceanic
assemblage and a volcanic arc assemblage (Fig. 13.17) shown
on the ' Simplified Geological Map of Northern Sumatra'
(Stephenson & Aspden 1982). This distinction was extended to
cover other outcrops of the Woyla Group throughout Sumatra
(Barber 2000).
The oceanic assemblage, which generally lies to the NE of the
arc assemblage, consists of serpentinites, gabbros, mafic to inter-
mediate volcanic rocks, commonly basaltic and showing pillow
structures, hyaloclastites, volcaniclastic sandstones, red radiolar-
ian cherts, red and purple manganiferous shales, sometimes with
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 201
%
o
Lho'nga
Lamn(
Bentaro
Vol cani cs
-5ON
Tel
4~
I
96~
ACEH BANDA
i~]lll~/~ . ~ G eumpan g~'---~---,,~
Lam Minet
-" Batholith-".,-'.
euem
CALANG " ~, . - ~
- ~- Faults
' ~ Thrusts
SFZ Sumatran Fault System
KL Kla Line
GL Geumpang Line
0 50 100km
..... t It - 7- - : : :::::::::========================== . . . . . . . . .
I
Cretaceous granites
WOYLA GROUP
::.,,:,.,\. Oceanic assemblage
s Arc assemblage
volcanics/limestones
~ Meukuk Gneiss
Undifferentiated
m
tke
Peridotite/serpentinite
Penarum
"~ " ~~i " . . . . %>%.
r :undifferentiated
0 ~
0
4" ~a ba hr ot
Tapaktuan
Vol cani cs
Meukuek
TAPAKTUAN
96 ~ 97 ~
I I
Fig. 13.17. Outcrops of the Jurassic-Cretaceous Woyla Group in Aceh, northern Sumatra, modified from Stephenson & Aspden (1982).
5 ~
4 ~
manganese nodules, and rare limestones. These rock units form
lens-shaped outcrops, usually separated by steep faults that show
slickenside evidence of thrust, and sometimes strike-slip, move-
ment (Wajzer et al. 1991). Interlayered melange units, composed
of angular fragments of the other units in a clay or serpentinous
matrix, occur within the oceanic assemblage (Fig. 13.18).
The oceanic assemblage is interpreted as an ocean-floor
sequence composed of serpentinized mantle peridotite, gabbroic
and basaltic oceanic crust, with overlying oceanic sediments,
imbricated at a subduction zone to form an accretionary complex.
Blocks of massive limestone, sometimes occurring in the mel-
anges, have been interpreted as derived from the carbonate
cappings of sea-mounts. Triassic foraminifers from a massive
limestone block in melange in Natal (Wajzer et al. 1991), Mid-
Jurassic radiolarian fossils from cherts at Indarung near Padang
(McCarthy et al. 2001), Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous stroma-
toporoids, corals and foraminifers also at lndarung (Yancey & Alif
1977) and in Aceh (Cameron et al. 1983) indicate that oceanic
crust ranging in age from Triassic to mid-Cretaceous was being
subducted or imbricated to form the accretionary complex. A
K- Ar isotopic age of 105 + 3 Ma was reported by Koning &
Aulia (I985) from a tuff at Indarung.
The volcanic arc assemblage which lies along the west coast
of northern Sumatra in Aceh is described as the Bentaro Volcanic
Formation and consists of basaltic to andesitic volcanics, which
are not pillowed, and volcaniclastic sandstones (Bennett et al.
1981a) (Fig. 13.17). The volcanics are associated with massive
to bedded limestones with a variety of formation names, of
which the Teunom Limestone Formation is typical (Bennett
et al. 1981b). The assemblage is interpreted as representing an
oceanic island arc with carbonate fringing reefs and its sedimen-
tary apron (Cameron et al. 1980; Barber 2000). A similar assem-
blage of rock types crops out in the Gumai Mountains inland from
Bengkulu in southern Sumatra, where they are identified as the
Saling Volcanic Formation, the Lingsing Formation, composed
of volcanics with interbedded sediments, and the Sepingtiang
202 CHAPTER 13
Z
0
E
I
. . t
z ~
"'E
, . r
Z
0
Z
.1
Z
/
r
r . / ]
o r
0 "~=
0 . ~ "~
;~ ~ o
0 E~ ,'~ ~ -- 2~ ".:
"" c ~ ~
r-
, i /
O- -
<
tm ~ 9
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
- d
Z
~b
a
%
&
o
Z~
eh ~
~S
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_~-=
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0 "~
~a
, - ' ~
~ 0
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 203
Limestone Formation (Gafoer et al. 1992c). There are no isotopic
ages from any of the volcanic rocks, but the limestones have
yielded Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous corals, stromatoporoids
and forams (Bennett et al. 1981a, b) and an Albian (mid-
Cretaceous) foraminifer was obtained from the Sepingtiang
Formation, indicating that the oceanic and arc assemblages were
contemporaneous.
A detailed study of the imbricated oceanic assemblage in a
20km road and river section at Natal on the west coast of
Sumatra near the equator was carried out by Wajzer et al.
(1991; see also Chapter 4) (Fig. 13.18, inset). Lithologies
include serpentinite, pillow basalt, bedded chert, volcaniclastic
sandstone, shale and melange. They found that lithological units,
1- 2 km in width, trending NW- SE, were separated by steeply
dipping or vertical faults. Also the units are disrupted internally
by faults every few metres. Some fault surfaces show slickensides
indicating normal or reversed movements, while others show sub-
horizontal slickensides indicating strike-slip movement. There is
no apparent pattern in the sequence of lithological units and
some units are repeated several times in the section (Wajzer
et al. 1991). The grade of metamorphism varies along the
section with some units being metamorphic schists and slates of
prehni t e-pumpel l yi t e greenschist facies, while others are unmeta-
morphosed. There is no apparent pattern in the state of meta-
morphism, with greenschist facies schists juxtaposed against
unmetamorphosed units.
In Natal where foliation and slaty cleavage is developed the
general trend of the strike is NW- SE with steep but variable
dips. Some finer-grained units, including the clay matrix of
melanges units, show isoclinal folding (Ft) with axial plane
cleavage. The highest grade unit, the Si Gala Gala Schist is a
quart z-muscovi t e-chl ori t e schist in which the schistosity ($1)
contains a rodding lineation (Lj). In some units the foliation,
schistosity or cleavage and the earlier formed folds are refolded
by open to close folds (F2) on NNW- SSE or NW- SE axes,
with the development of crenulation cleavage and crenulation
and intersection lineations. Again there is no pattern in the
amount of deformation along the section, units with simple defor-
mation being juxtaposed against those with multiple deformation.
Similar distributions of lithological units, and variations in
metamorphism and deformation are reported from the oceanic
assemblage of the Woyla Group in Aceh (Bennett et al. 1981a,
b; Cameron et al. 1982b, 1983) with the finer-grained sedimentary
and volcaniclastic rocks converted to slates and phyllites. Higher-
grade metamorphic rocks of the Meukek Gneiss Complex occur in
a fault-bounded block in the Woyla Group to the north of
Tapaktuan, including a garnet-biotite amphibolite with garnets
up to 8 cm in diameter (Cameron et al. 1982b). An area of high-
grade metamorphic rocks between strands of the Sumatran Fault
described as ' undifferentiated' , which includes coarse banded
marbles, hornblende schists and mylonitized bi ot i t e-garnet -
staurolite schist (Cameron et al. 1983) has probably been included
in the Woyla Group erroneously and may belong to the Kluet
Block or possibly the continuation of the Medial Tectonic Zone.
In Aceh the general trend of the lithological units, separated by
faults and thrusts, and of the strike of the schistosity, foliation
and cleavage, is NW- SE, with moderate to steep dips. Isoclinal
folds with an axial-plane cleavage can be seen wherever the
bedding lamination can be distinguished, with a beddi ng-
cleavage intersection lineation plunging to the SE. The slaty clea-
vage is sometimes refolded by more open folds on subhorizontal
axes and NE-dipping axial planes, with the development of sec-
ondary cleavages and lineations. Large-scale upright folds with
a 7 km amplitude and subsidiary folds on the scale of 1- 2 km
are reported from the Tapaktuan Quadrangle (Cameron et al.
1982b).
The massive volcanic units of the Bentaro Formation and the
limestones of the Tuenom Formation and its equivalents are
faulted, fractured and jointed, but are not obviously internally
deformed, although mylonitized limestones in which the foliation
was affected by kink-band folds were observed near Banda Aceh
(Barber 2000). Bedded limestones, however, are commonly folded
on a large scale, as seen in the quarries in the Lho' nga Formation
also near Banda Aceh (Bennett et al. 198 l a) (Fig. 13.17). Two fold
phases were seen, F~ isoclinal folds with vertical to steeply dipping
axial planes with the intersection of bedding and cleavage
plunging at a low angle to the SE. The cleavage is folded into
small crenulations. Elsewhere in the quarry the first fold phase
is represented by tight folds with cylindrical cores and recumbent
axial planes on WNW- ESE axes and are cut by a second phase
folds on NE- SW axes. Where limestones are interbedded with
shales they show pinch-and-swell structures, boudinage and
calcite-filled tension gashes normal to the bedding.
There are variations in the structural trends in the scattered
outcrops of rock units correlated with the Woyla Group in
central and southern Sumatra. In the Siguntur Formation, cropping
out to the south of Padang, the general strike of the bedding and
slaty cleavage is east -west (Rosidi et al. 1976). In the Gumai
Mountains east of Bengkulu the contact between the Saling and
Lingsing formations trends east-west, and while the rocks
are reported to be highly deformed and folded, the strike of
the bedding and cleavage trends nort h-sout h (Gafoer et al.
1992c). A massive limestone, the Sepintiang Formation, rests dis-
cordantly across the contact of the Saling and Linsing formations.
The limestone evidently represents a fragment of a fringing reef
emplaced tectonically over the other formations. In the Gumai
Mountains, to the SW of Baturaja, outcrops of volcanics, cherts
and mrlanges are associated with metamorphosed Palaeozoic
rocks and bounded by NW-SE-t rendi ng thrust faults (Gafoer
et al. 1994; Barber 2000). Foliation in the scaly matrix of the
m~langes also trends NW- SE; blocks enclosed in the mrlange
are elongated in the same direction and cut by tension fractures
normal to their long axes. In the Garba Volcanic Formation two
lbld phases are distinguished; the first, with east -west axes, is
refolded by later folds on NW- SE axes (Gafoer et al. 1994).
Radiolarian and foraminiferal fossils found in the oceanic
assemblage of the Woyla Group show that the ocean floor of
which it formed a part existed from Triassic to Early Cretaceous
times. Mid-Cretaceous foraminifers from the Sepingtiang
Formation and Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous fossils that
commonly occur in limestone members of the volcanic arc assem-
blage, together with the K- Ar age of 105 + 3 Ma from a tuff at
Indarung (Koning & Aulia 1985) show that the volcanic arc was
constructed on the ocean crust in the Late Jurassic and remained
active until mid-Cretaceous times. Granites were intruded into
both the oceanic and the volcanic arc assemblages of the Woyla
Group after they were accreted to the western margin of
Sumatra. These include the Sikuleh Batholith in Aceh, the
Manunggul and Kanaikan batholiths in Natal and the Garba
Pluton in the Garba Mountains. The Manunggal Batholith has
yielded a Late Cretaceous age of K- Ar age of 87.0 Ma (Kanao
et al. 1971, reported in Rock et al. 1983). The Woyl a volcanic
arc and its associated oceanic crust were evidently accreted to
and thrust over the western margin of Sumatra in early Late
Cretaceous times (Barber 2000).
The Sumat r an Faul t Zone
The Barisan Mountain Range is split along its length by the
NW- SE Sumatran dextral transcurrent fault system (Fig. 13.19),
a transform fault linking the Andaman Sea spreading centre in
the north to an area of spreading in the Sunda Strait in the
south. From the Andaman Sea to the Sunda Strait the Sumatran
Fault is c. 1900 km long, and cuts through all the rock units in
Sumatra, including Recent volcanic tufts and alluvial sediments.
The overall shape of the fault is a lazy S, the segment to the
204 CHAPTER 13
Fig. 13.19. A simplified map of the Sumatran Fault System in its tectonic setting, showing the location of figures illustrating detailed sections of the fault system discussed
in this account. Inset map shows the distribution of areas of subsidence, forming grabens, and areas of uplift along the trace of the Sumatran Fault, which Holder et al.
(1994) attribute to the formation of subsiduary splays with strike-slip movement, due to transpression across the fault, with the principal compressive stress (o- I) oriented
ENE-WSW.
north of the equator being concave to the SW, while the segment
to the south is concave to the NE. The fault is currently active
along much of its length, as indicated by frequent historic and
recent earthquake shocks and measured rates of differential
movement across the fault using GPS measurements. Splays of
the main fault extend into the forearc and also into the backarc
region. It is probable that promi nent Pre-Neogene faults mapped
in the backarc area have been reactivated in association
with more recent movement s along the main fault trace. This
has not always been appreciated and may have led to confusion
concerni ng the time of initiation and the amount of displacement
along the fault. In some parts of its length the active fault trace
is a single discontinuous strand, with mai nl y right step-overs,
but in other areas it bifurcates and splits into a number of
strands that may rejoin to isolate fault blocks, some of which
have subsided to form lakes, or have been partially or compl et el y
filled by Quaternary lacustrine and fluvial sediments.
Age of the Sumatran Fault System. The time of the initiation of the
fault and the amount of movement along the fault have been
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 205
matters of continual speculation. Since the Sumatran Fault is a
transform fault, clearly related to the Andaman Sea spreading
system, it is most reasonable to suppose that it was initiated in
the Mid-Miocene (c. 13 Ma) together with the present phase of
opening of the Andaman Sea (Curray et al. 1978; Curray 1989;
McCarthy & Elders 1997). The trace of the fault is commonly
seen cutting Quaternary sediments and volcanics, but sometimes
mylonites are exposed in outcrops along the line of the fault,
indicating that the fault had an earlier history of movement
(McCarthy 1997). Also Wajzer et al. (1991) report NW- SE
strike-slip faults in the Woyla Group in the Natal area of North
Sumatra which are cut by the Late Cretaceous Manunggal
Batholith and Madingding Diorite, and Barber (2000) reports
NW- SE foliated syntectonic granitic and basaltic intrusions
dated by the K- Ar method at 89 + 3 Ma in (mi d-Lat e Cretac-
eous) in the Sekampung River near Bandarlampung in southern
Sumatra, suggesting that strike-slip movements occurred along
the same trend as the Sumatran Fault during the Late Mesozoic.
Pulunggono et al. (1992) have interpreted a series of WNW-
ESE lineaments recognized in SAR imagery in the Tertiary
sediments of the backarc area as the traces of successive strike-
slip faults in the basement which were developed in the Sumatran
continental margin during the Mesozoic. They suggest that the
most northerly of these lineaments to the south of Palembang
is of Triassic age and that the lineaments become progressively
younger towards the SSW.
Displacement along the Sumatran Fault System. During the primary
mapping of Sumatra it was appreciated that the Barisan Mountains
were bisected by a series of discontinuous rift valleys, a ' longi-
tudinal valley' , which extended all the way from Aceh in the
north to Semangka Bay in the south (van Es 1919). Van Bemmelen
(1949) interpreted this longitudinal rift system as due to the domal
uplift of the Barisans with extension and the collapse of a central
' keystone' . Durham (1940) was the first to recognize the strike-
slip nature of the fault in its central section and subsequently
this was recognized for other segments of the fault. The first
description of the nature of the Sumatran Fault Zone in modern
terms was given by Katili & Hehuwat (1967), who also presented
evidence from the displacement of buildings and other structures
for the amounts of strike-slip movement along segments of
the fault during earthquakes, and over a longer term from stream
displacements.
The overall amount of movement along the fault can be deduced
from its tectonic setting as a transform fault between the Andaman
Sea spreading centre and the zone of extension in the Sunda Strait.
Segments of continental crust on either side of the Andaman
spreading ridge are now separated by c. 460 kin, with Indian
Ocean side moving northwards with respect to the rest of SE
Asia. To the south this movement is tranformed into the West
Andaman Fault, or into strands of the Sumatran Fault System.
At the southern end of the Sumatran Fault System the amount of
extension in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra has
been estimated as 100 km since the Miocene, this extension
being taken up by movements along the fault zone (Huchon &
Le Pichon 1984; Harjono et al. 1991; Malod & Kemal 1996;
Sieh & Natawidjaja 2000).
Many suggestions for the amount of movement along the
Sumatran Fault Zone in the Barisan Mountains have been pro-
posed from the displacement of units which have been correlated
across the fault. Page et al. (1979) found a displacement of at
least 200 km in northern Sumatra from lithium values from
stream sediment samples, which are commonly >60 ppm on the
NE and <30 ppm on the SW side of the fault. However, this
could be because the basement to the NE is largely composed of
the Tapanuli Group of continental derivation, while to the SW,
basement is the Woyla Group composed of rocks of volcanic-
arc and ocean-floor origin. In north central Sumatra the Medial
Sumatra Tectonic Zone, identified during the present study, is
displaced by 150 km between Natal and Lake Toba by dextral
movement along the Sumatran Fault (Fig. 13.8). McCarthy &
Elders (1997) also suggested a displacement of 150kin in
central Sumatra from a possible correlation between the mid-
Jurassic Siguntur Formation on the SW side, with the contempora-
neous Asai Formation on the NE side of the fault.
In central Sumatra Posavec et al. (1973) identified east -west -
trending aeromagnetic anomalies that cut across the Sumatran
Fault. These anomalies correspond with volcanic centres and are
attributed to dioritic intrusions at depth. They found that a series
increasingly deeply eroded volcanic edifices extend to the NW
of the Maningjau Centre as far as Padang, and suggest that this
indicates that the crust to the SW of the fault has moved northwest-
ward with respect to the volcanic centre, indicating dextral displa-
cement for a distance of 90 km (Fig. 13.25, inset). On the other
hand volcanic edifices are displaced southeastwards by 35 km
on the northeastern side of the fault, giving a total relative displa-
cement of 125 km. This movement must have occurred during the
Quaternary.
Beaudry & Moore (1985), from their study of the distribution
of facies in the West Aceh and West Sumatra forearc basins
suggested that these two basins were contiguous in Mid-
Miocene times. Since that time the West Aceh Basin has been
displaced by some 65 km along the Batee Fault, a splay of the
Sumatran Fault (Fig. 13.20). Further evidence for movement of
this order of magnitude was presented by Kallagher (1989) from
her study of the West Aceh Basin. Here, fine-grained clastic and
calcareous sediments of Lower Miocene age are juxtaposed
across the Batee Fault against coarse volcaniclastic deposits of
the same age. These deposits must have been separated by tens
of kilometres in Early Miocene times, before they were juxtaposed
by movements along the fault. Malod & Kemal (1996) suggest that
the northern part of the Sumatra Forearc constitutes an indepen-
dent Aceh Plate, bounded by the Mentawai, West Andaman,
Batee and the northern segment of the Sumatran Fault.
In central Sumatra, Hahn & Weber (1981b) proposed 42 km
of dextral displacement from the correlation of coarse- and fine-
grained facies in the Permo-Triassic Air Mabara and Sopan
granites across the Lubuksikaping Fault (Rock et al. /983)
(Fig. 13.24). Katili & Hehuwat (1967), Posavec et al. (1973)
and Sieh & Natawidjaja (2000) have reported dextral offsets
of 20- 35 km from stream courses which cross the trace of the
Sumatran Fault. Again these movements must have occurred
during the Quaternary.
Current movements along the Sumatran Fault System. In the dis-
cussion of the structural evolution of the forearc above, it was
pointed out that many authors have proposed that during the
oblique subduction of the Indian Ocean Plate beneath Sumatra
the convergence between the two plates is partitioned between
thrusting normal to the subduction trench and shearing parallel
to the arc (Fitch 1972; Hamilton 1979; Jarrard 1986; Curray
1989; McCaffrey 1996). Shearing parallel to the arc is taken
up along the Sumatran Fault System, including the Batee and
Mentawai faults.
The obliquity of convergence increases northwestwards along
the arc, from zero opposite Java, where convergence is normal
to the trench, to 45 ~ opposite north Sumatra. Increasing obliquity
is matched by an increase in the rate of movement along the
Sumatran Fault System, confirmed by measurements of actual
movement along the fault by the displacement of recent sediments,
from the differential movement of trigonometrical survey points
over the last 100 years, and from repeated GPS surveys over the
past few years (cf. Prawirodirdjo et al. 2000). Slip rates are
calculated as c. 6 mm a-z at the southern end of the fault near
the Sunda Strait (Bellier et al. 1991, 1999), <10mma -1 near
5~ (Bellier et al. 1991), c. 10mma - l at the equator and
28 mm a- l near 2.2~ (Sieh et al. 1994). At the northern end of
the fault, the rate of opening of the Andaman Sea is calculated
206 CHAPTER 13
Fig. 13.20. Dextral displacement of the Meulaboh and West Sumatra Forearc basins, the reef complex (brick pattern) and the shoreline along strands of the Sumatran
Fault System since the Mid-Miocene (from Beaudry & Moore 1985).
as 40.4 mm a-1, averaging 37.2 mm a-J since the Mid-Miocene
(Curray 1989).
As has been discussed in the account of the forearc above,
this differential movement implies that the forearc area is being
extended, the extension being accommodated within a forearc
sliver by movements along the Batee and Mentawai faults and
along minor strike-slip and extension faults within the forearc
islands and the accretionary complex.
It has been demonstrated by GPS measurements that at the
present time the forearc to the south of the Batu Islands is
moving in the same direction as the Indian Plate, but at a slower
rate, while the forearc to the north has a component of movement
northwards, parallel to the Sumatran Fault (Prawirodirdjo et al.
1997) (Fig. 13.7).
Sieh & Natawidjaja (2000) have recently prepared detailed
maps of the active traces of the Sumatran Fault System, based
on their geomorphic expression, using 1:50 000 topographic
maps, 1:100 000 stereoscopic aerial photographs, the 1:250 000
geological maps and SAR imagery at the same scale. They
divided the fault into 19 segments, named after major rivers or
bays within the segment, and show the relationship of the fault
traces to active volcanoes (Fig. 13.21).
The Sumat ran Fault Syst em in Aceh. At the northern end of the
Sumatran Fault System in Aceh the fault bifurcates into two
strands, the Seulimeum and Aceh faults (Fig. 13.22). Geomorphic
features show that the Seulimeum Fault has been active recently,
as it cuts through Plio-Pleistocene sediments and volcanic pro-
ducts of the active Seulawai Again volcano; hot springs occur
at its southern end. The fault transects and displaces the axial
traces of east - west trending folds affecting Pliocene deposits
with the SW side of the fault having been moved northwestward.
Bennett et al. (1981a) suggest that this displacement amounts
to 5 km, but Sieh & Natawidjaja (2000) suggest a movement
of 20km, corresponding to stream offsets along the fault
further south.
The Aceh Fault does not show any geomorphic effects of recent
movement and is considered to be currently inactive, although
Soetadi & Soekarman (1964) reported that a school and other
buildings were displaced by up to 0.5 m in a NW- SE direction
along the fault in the 1964 earthquake. However, Plio-Pleistocene
sediments are highly deformed against the fault, showing that it
was certainly more active in the recent past. A depression filled
with recent alluvium and volcanic products, the Banda Aceh
Embayment, lies between the Seulimeum and Aceh faults
(Fig. 13.22). Towards the south rocks of the Woyla Group
forming the basement, rise from beneath the younger sediments
of the embayment to form a horst block. Genrich et al. (2000)
estimate a rate of displacement across the two strands of the
Sumatran Fault at 15 mm a -~, with the Banda Aceh Embayment
-1
being extruded towards the NW at a rate of 5 + 2 mm a
Pre-Tertiary and Tertiary rocks cropping out on the southwes-
tern side of the Aceh Fault are affected by a discontinuous series
of thrusts, the Geumpang Line (Fig. 13.22). The thrusts are
steep against the fault, but flatten towards the SW, becoming
horizontal in Gle Cuplet (Bennett et al. 1981a). The thrusts
bring together Tertiary sediments and different units of the
Woyla Group, which are also thrust across the Late Cretaceous
Sikuleh Batholith. Serpentinites and serpentinous m~lange,
presumably derived from the oceanic assemblage of the Woyla
Group, sometimes outcrop along the thrusts. M~lange near
Rumah Baru contains blocks of Earl y-Mi d-Mi ocene fossiliferous
limestone (Bennett et al. 1981a; Cameron et al. 1983), while Ni
and Cr anomalies in Plio-Pleistocene sediments show that the
serpentinites had been uplifted and exposed to erosion during
the Neogene. Cameron et al. (1983) attribute the development of
the thrusts to transpression due to the northwards movement
of the forearc sliver into the constraining bend formed by the
SW concavity at the northern end of the Sumatran Fault System.
To the SE of Rumah Baru the Sumatran Fault bifurcates to
form the Anu Batee and Blangkejeren faults, and again further
south to form the Kl a- Al as Fault (Cameron et al. !983)
(Fig. 13.22). The outcrop of the Blangkejeren Fault is marked
by a zone of gouge; breccia, phyllonite and m~lange. Thick
conglomerates in the Peutu Formation adjacent to the fault indi-
cate that the fault was active during the early Mid-Miocene. The
Anu- Bat ee Fault extends southwards into the offshore region,
where it influenced the development of the Sumatran forearc
basins (Beaudry & Moore 1981). From the landward part of the
fault Sieh & Natawidjaja (2000) report that several of the larger
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 207
Fig. 13.21. Active traces of the Sumatran Fault System identified by their geomorphic expression, fault segments and estimated rates of dextral movement, the location of
active volcanoes, lakes and extensional graben (from Sieh & Natawidjaja 2000).
river channels appear to be displaced across the fault by distances
up to 10km, while smaller stream courses are unaffected,
suggesting that there have been no movement s along this fault
for the past tens of thousands of years. On the other hand Bellier
& S~brier (1995) have calculated a present rate of movement of
12 + 5 mm a-1 from the offset on three stream courses and the
estimated age of the streams, calibrated against movement on
the mai n Sumatran Fault where it cuts through the c. 70 000 year
Toba Tufts, and therefore the time of initiation of the stream
courses is known.
208 CHAPTER 13
Fig. 13.22. Thrust structures related to the
northern end of the Sumatran Fault System in
Aceh. C-P, Carboniferous-Permian
Tapanuli Group; P-T, Permo-Triassic
Peusangan Group; ,l-K, Jurassic-Cretaceous
Woyla Group; Tom; Tertiary Oligo-Miocene
sediments.
The east-west-trending Kla Line (thrust) (Fig. 13.22), between
the Kl a-Al as and Blangkejeren faults, which brings the Permo-
Carboniferous Kluet Formation to rest on the Jurassic-Cretaceous
Woyla Group, is attributed to Late Cretaceous tectonism
(Cameron et al. 1983). Near Takengon the east -west Takengon
Line, a southward-directed thrust, bringing Permo-Triassic
Peusangan Group over the Woyla Group and Oligocene sediments
was formed prior to the deposition of the Peutu Formation which
is unaffected by the thrust (Cameron et al. 1983). The outcrop of
the thrust forms a marked topographic feature where Peusangan
limestones rest on soft Tertiary sediments. At its western end
the Takengon Line links with the dextral strike-slip Geureuggang
Fault which extends to the north coast (Fig. 13.22).
Movements along the Geureuggang Fault, the Takengon Line
and the formation of the east -west folds in Pliocene sedi-
ments are due to nort h-sout h compression. Curray (I989, Fig. 1)
suggested that a southward-directed subduction system had
developed in the Andaman Sea off the north coast of Sumatra
(Fig. 13.22) which could account for the compression. This postu-
lated subduction system has also been invoked to account for the
volcanoes lying to the east of the general trend of the volcanic arc
in northern Sumatra (see Chapter 7). But these volcanoes are
much more likely to be related to the eastward-dipping Sunda s-
ubduction system (see the contours on the Indian Plate in Seih
& Natawidjaya 2000) and there is no other evidence for southward
subduction, so that there is no obvious cause for the nort h-sout h
compression.
Kembar Volcano and the Kut acane Graben. To the SE of Aceh the
Kl a- Al as and Blangkejeren faults define the SW margin of a
faulted block, with the Lokop-Kut acane Fault on its NE
margin, into which the active Kembar Volcanic Centre has been
emplaced (Fig. 13.23). Further south the Lokop-Kut acane Fault
passes into the Toru Fault which forms the NE margin of the
Kutacane Graben. The Eastern and Central Barisan ranges rise
to 1000-2000 m on each side of the graben, which forms a long
narrow depression (75 km long and 9 km wide at its widest
part), with a floor at 180-200 m, occupied by Quaternary to
Recent alluvium.
The emplacement of the Kembar Volcano and the subsidence
of the Kutacane Graben are attributed to transtension within a
releasing bend on the concave side of the complex of faults
which forms the the Sumatran Fault System in this area. The
bounding faults cut the products of the Kembar Volcano and
displace alluvium at the northern and southern ends of the
graben, indicating that recent movement has occurred along
the faults (Cameron et al. 1982a). To the south of the graben
the Toru Fault cuts and displaces the 73 000 year Toba Tufts,
giving an average rate of movement since their eruption of
27 mm a - j (Sieh & Natawidjaja 2000); GPS measurements
indicate that the current rate of movement along the Toru Fault
is 26 __ 2 mm a- i (Genrich et al. 2000).
The Equatorial b~[urcation. Between l~30'N and the equator the
Sumatran Fault System splits into two branches, which enclose a
lens of structurally complex geology (Fig. 13.24). This structure,
formed by the Barumun and Angkola fault segments, is termed
the Equatorial Bifurcation by Sieh & Natawidjaja (2000)
(13.21). Rock et al. (1983) suggest that the ENE- WSW trend of
the lithological units within the fault block, compared with the
general NW- SE trend of the rock units outside it, indicate that
the lens has been rotated c. 30 ~ in an anticlockwise direction by
movements along the bounding faults. In the Barumun segment,
movement along the Lubuksikaping Fault, which is concave
towards the SW, has formed the Rau Graben in a releasing bend
at its southern end. The floor of the Rau Graben lies at 300 m
with the mountains on either side rising to heights of 600-1700 m.
Based on their mapping programme in central Sumatra Hahn &
Weber (1981b) suggested that the Sopan Granite on the
eastern side of the Lubuksikaping Fault, in which coarse- and
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 209
Fig. 13.23. Kembar Volcano and the
Kutacane Graben, North Sumatra, a volcanic
centre and a graben filled by Quaternary
alluvium in a releasing bend of the Sumatran
fault System (detail from GRDC map of
Medan--Cameron et al. 1982a).
fine-grained facies can be recognized, could be mat ched by the
Air Mabara Granite on the western side of the fault, indicating a
right-lateral di spl acement of c. 42 kin (Fig. 13.24). McCart hy &
Elders (1997) visited these localities and urge caution in accepting
this correlation as these granite bodies are petrologically hetero-
geneous. Sieh & Nat awi dj aya (2000) recognised 20 km of right-
lateral offset on the channel of the Barumun River, but consider
that this segment of the fault is relatively inactive at present.
The faults in the Angkol a segment boundi ng the lens to the SW
are the Gadis and Pungkut - Bar i l as faults. These faults are
concave towards the NE and the Panyabungan Graben has been
formed in a releasing bend against the Gadis Fault. The floor of
the Panyabungan Graben lies at 200 m, while the mount ai ns on
either side rise to 1000- 1700 m. The vol cani c centre of Sorik
Merapi has been intruded to the south of the graben, near the
sharp bend between the Gadis and Pungkut - Bar i l as faults
(Fig. 13.24). Katili & Hehuwat (1967) found right-lateral offsets
of 200- 1200 m on tributaries of the Angkol a Ri ver at the northern
end of the Panyabungan Graben, and many streams on the north-
eastern slopes of Sorik Merapi also show dextral offsets. The
present rate of sli~ along this segment of the fault is estimated
at 23 + 4 mm a- (Genrich e t al . 2000). The Gadis Fault was
the site of an earthquake in 1892 in which a right-lateral dis-
pl acement of 2 m was recorded t ri gonomet ri cal l y (Mfiller 1895).
The original survey data have been recalculated and have
shown that the amount of dextral di spl acement was actually
210 CHAPTER 13
Fig. 13.24. Fault block bounded by
segments of the Sumatran Transcurrent Fault
System based on GRDC Geological Map of
Lubuksikaping (Rock et al. 1983),
interpreted as an extensional stepover and in
terms of the strain ellipsoid. Reversed arrows
indicate strike slip faults; toothed lines are
reversed faults; and lines with blocks are
extensional faults. The correlation of the Air
Mabara and Sopan granites indicating dextral
transcurrent movement of 42 km on the
Lubuksikaping Fault is taken from Hahn &
Weber (1981b). If the correlation of the
granites is correct the fault-bounded block
has rotated counter-clockwise by some 40 ~ .
4.5 0.6 m (Prawirodirdjo et al. 2000). As well as topographic
expression, the outcrop of the Bar i l as- Pungkut Fault is marked
by a 20 m wide fault zone with a fault gouge, composed of
sulphide-rich clays and silicified breccia with gypsum (Rock
et al. 1983).
In Figure 13.24 the Equatorial Bifurcation is interpreted in terms
of a strain ellipse in which the Panyabungan and Rau grabens
occupy the extensional segments. In this figure, apart from the
boundi ng faults, for which there is good evidence of dextral
strike-slip, movement on the other faults is inferred from their
orientation with respect to the strain ellipse. The Equatorial
Bifurcation is also interpreted as an extensional right-stepping
step-over, devel opi ng compl ement ary pull-apart grabens.
Lake Singkarak (Fig. 13.25). Lake Singkarak, in West Sumatra to
the north of Padang, occupies a depression flanked by escarpments
which rise 400 m above the lake surface. The escarpments mark
the outcrop of two opposing oblique normal faults, formi ng a
pull-apart graben structure within the Sumatran Fault System
(Fig. 13.25). Tjia & Posavec (1972) report that fault traces are
seen to displace lahars from recent volcanic eruptions, lake
terraces and valley alluvium, and to offset stream courses for up
to a kilometre. Major historical earthquakes have occurred along
this segment of the fault; the 1926 Pandangpanj ang earthquake
to the north of the lake, and the 1822 and 1943 earthquakes near
Solok to the south. In the Pandangpanj ang earthquake, buildings
in the town were displaced up to 60c m towards the NW by
dextral fault movement (Katili & Hehuwat 1967). Genrich et al.
(2000) calculate that the current rate of dextral displacement is
23 ___5 mm a-~ along this segment of the Sumatran Fault.
Bellier & S6brier (1994) used SPOT (Satellite Propatoire d' Ob-
servation de la Terre) imagery to distinguish between active
(young) and inactive (old) fault traces in their study of the fault
system. They suggest that the lake formed within an extensional
right step-over which developed as a graben bounded by faults
to the NE and the SW. These faults have been superseded by a
active major through-going fault whi ch passes through the
centre of the lake, displacing the northwest bank right laterally
for a distance of 2500 m (Fig. 13.25).
Hol der et al. (1994) made a study of the l i neament pattern in
Sumatra to the south of the equator from SAR (synthetic aperature
radar) imagery. They found that the Sumatran Fault was marked
by series of V-shaped graben bet ween the mai n fault trace and
WNW- ESE splays at intervals of 50- 100 kin; the apex of the
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 211
Vs being towards the north (Fig. 13.19, inset). Segments along the
fault between the graben are areas of recent uplift, with perched
river terraces and the erosion of the Tertiary and Quaternary sedi-
ments. Holder et al. (1994) suggest sinistral strike-slip movements
along the splays, together with dextral movements along the main
fault, induced subsidence between the main fault and the splay and
uplift along the ENE sides of the splays, as crustal blocks moved
along the fault. They suggest that these movements were due to
oblique compression across the fault zone (Fig. 13.19, inset).
Lake Ranau and the Semanka Depression (Fig. 13.26). A 150 km long
depression, filled with the products of Quaternary volcanic
products and alluvium, extends from Lake Ranau to Semangka
Bay in southern Sumatra (Fig. 13.26). The depression is
bounded by the Ranau-Suwoh and Semangka fault segments at
the southern end of the Sumatran Fault System. The fault zone
Fig. 13.25. The pull-apart basin of Lake
Singkarak, based on GRDC maps of Padang
(Kastowo & Leo 1973) and Solok (Silitonga
& Kastowo 1975), with modifications to the
faults from Bellier & S6brier (1994) and
detail of normal fault scarps from Sieh &
Natawidjaja (2000). The inset shows the
progressive displacement of volcanic centres
from the Kerinci Centre towards the NW and
SE by movements along the Sumatran Fault
System (SFS) according to the hypothesis of
Posavec et al. (1973).
is closely associated with volcanic activity and with many hot
springs. Ranau Lake at the northwestern end of the depression,
occupies the caldera of a volcano that erupted in a releasing
right stepover between the two fault segments. The unusual rec-
tangular walls of the caldera represent the bounding strike-slip
and normal faults of the pull-apart basin into which the volcano
was emplaced (Bellier & S6brier 1994). A resurgent volcanic
dome has developed on the southeastern margin of the caldera.
The southwestern component of the step-over is a presently inac-
tive fault strand (North Semangka Fault) that extends from the
southern bank of the lake along the southern side of the Liwa
depression. The currently active Ranau-Suwoh Fault cuts
through the northeastern part of the lake replacing the stepover
and the pull-apart basin and offsetting the caldera rim by
2300 i 100m (Bellier & S6brier 1994). Bellier & S6brier
(1994) estimate a rate of displacement of 6 _+ 4 mm a -~. This
segment of the fault was the site of the 1933 and 1994 earthquakes.
212 CHAPTER 13
Fig. 13.26. The pattern of faults between Lake Ranau and Semangka Bay at the southern end of the Sumatran Fault System, from S6brier et al. (1991 ) based on SPOT,
Landsat and aerial photographic interpretation. Inset shows the relationship between Java, Sumatra and the Sunda deformation front in solid lines, compared to their
relationships at 13 Ma (from Huchon & Le Pichon 1984) in dashed lines. The cross-hatched area indicates the area of extension and cruslal thinning in the forearc, the
shaded area indicates the zone of extension in the Sunda Strait, opened up as western Sumatra moved c, lO0 km northwestwards along the Sumatran Fault.
Fifty kilometres to the SE of the lake, Quaternary alluvium fills
the Suwoh Graben, occupyi ng a releasing bend in the Ranau-
Suwoh Fault. A small group of calderas, one of which erupted
in 1933, occurs on the southwestern side of this graben, at the
northern end of the Semangka Fault. The Semangka Fault with a
significant dip-slip component downt hrowi ng to the NE, defines
the southwestern side of Semangka Bay, and a compl ement ary
fault defines its NE margin. A subsidiary fault, the Bandi ng
Fault, limits a triangular depression filled with al l uvi um at the
head of the bay (Fig. 13.26).
The Sunda Strait (Fig. 13.27). The Sunda Strait lies within the
zone of transition in whi ch normal subduction of the Indian
Ocean Plate beneath Java is replaced by oblique subduction
beneath Sumatra. Opposite Java there is a well-developed accre-
tionary compl ex and forearc basin, while opposite the Sunda
Strait the deformat i on front of the accretionary compl ex is
deflected northeastwards for a distance of 40 km, the topographic
expression of the accretionary compl ex is much reduced, and the
forearc basin is hardly developed. A well-developed accretionary
compl ex and forearc basin is again devel oped further north
opposite Sumatra. The curvature of the subduction trench
towards the NW means that subduction becomes increasingly
oblique in this direction. Seismic profiles show that these vari-
ations in the devel opment of the accretionary prism and the
forearc basin are not due to a change in the attitude of the subduct-
ing plate which has a constant rate of movement (c. 7 cm a- ~) and
a constant angle of subduction (c. 7 ~, Kopp et al. 2002).
Malod et al. (1995) used existing Sea Beam data and the results
of a new echo-soundi ng survey to compi l e a bathymetric and tec-
tonic map of the area of the Sunda Strait. The accretionary
compl ex is represented by a series of small parallel basins, anticli-
nal ridges and large scarps, some of the latter show the character-
istics of reverse faults, with a NW- SE trend, culminating in a
series of rift basins and SW- and NE-facing escarpments identified
as the Ujung Kulong Fault Zone (Fig. 13.27). To the north of
the accretionary compl ex the central part of the Sunda Strait
is occupied by a closed nor t h- sout h depression 1800 m deep.
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 213
Fig. 13.27. Extensional fault system in the
Sunda Strait between Sumatra and Java
(from Malod et al. 1995). Bathymetry in
metres; toothed lines are normal faults;
arrows indicate strike slip faults; triangles are
active volcanoes.
The depression is bounded to the south by the accretionary
complex and to the north by the northern shore of Semangka
Bay, defined by the Sunda segment of the Sumatran Fault
system. The tectonic map of Malod et al. (1995) shows the
depression bounded to east and west by nort h-sout h escarpments
representing faults downthrowing into the depression. Within the
bounding faults the depression is cut by fault scarps trending
NW- SE and downthrowing either to the NE or to the SW
(Fig. 13.27). Seismic reflection and refraction data obtained by
Lelgemann et al. (2000) confirmed the general structural pattern
identified by Malod et al. (1995) and show substantial crustal
thinning with the development of a horst and graben structure
within the strait. Major nort h-sout h graben structures occur
both to the east and west of the central depression. The graben
contain up to 6 km of Neogene and Quaternary sediment.
Malod et al. (1995) interpret the Sunda Strait as a nort h-sout h
extensional pull-apart basin, bounded to the north by the Sunda
segment of the Sumatran Fault System, and to the south by the
Ujung Kulon Fault Zone. Extension evidently continues at the
present day, as a nort h-sout h zone of earthquake epicentres
extends through the strait, paralleled by a line of volcanoes extend-
ing northwards from Krakatoa into southern Sumatra.
The opening of the Sunda Strait is interpreted as the result
of oblique subduction that has thinned and extended the crust
above the down-going plate, resulting in the concave form of
the deformation front and the poor development of the accretion-
ary complex. Huchon & Le Pichon (1984) suggested that forearc
material to the west of the strait, including the accretionary
complex, has been translated c. 100 km northwestwards along
the Sumatran Fault System since the Miocene (Fig. 13.26,
inset). Sieh & Natawidjaja (2000) have recently confirmed this
estimate using more rigorous calculations.
The rel at i onshi p bet ween the Sumat ran Faul t Syst em and the
Quat ernary vol cani c arc. Quaternary volcanic centres and currently
active volcanoes show a close relationship to the trace of the
Sumatran fault system. Posavec et al. (1973) claimed that this
relationship is seen particularly in central and southern Sumatra
between Lake Toba and Semangka Bay. They remark that when
plotted on a small-scale map the volcanic centres lie at intervals
of 75- 100 km along the fault trace ' like a string of pearls' .
However, from their mapping of active fault traces and of volcanic
centres Sieh & Natawidjaja (2000) show that this relationship is
not as close as has been supposed (Fig. 13.21). Plotting the distri-
bution of volcanic centres relative to the line of the fault they
demonstrate that the centres switch back and forth across the
fault along its length, with centres occurring up to 20 km from
the fault on its SW side near the equator, (Talakmau, Maninjau)
and up to 50 km on the northeastern side in Aceh and in the
Sunda Strait (Kapal, Krakatoa). Page et al. (1979) suggested that
the eastward displacement of volcanic centres from Lake Toba
northwards into Aceh is due to a fracture in the downgoing plate
along the Investigator Fracture Zone which has been subducted
in this area. They suggest that presence of the fracture is respon-
sible for the extent and the intensity of the explosive eruption of
Toba, and that to the north of Toba the subducted plate is
passing into the mantle at a lower angle, so that the depth at
which magmas are generated (c. 100 kin) is displaced towards
the east (Page et al. 1979).
As has already been reported, Posavec et al. (1973) found in the
area of their study in central Sumatra that active volcanic centres
are grouped around east - west aeromagnetic anomalies that
intersect the fault zone, and which they suggest are due to grano-
dioritic/dioritic intrusions, representing an underlying magma
chamber. These east - west zones of volcanic activity at a high
214 CHAPTER 13
angle to the Sumatran Fault trace may be due to north-south
extension related to the northward movement of the forearc
sliver plate. Again, as noted above, Posavec et al. (1973) found
that the present volcanic centres have given rise to trails of
earlier volcanic edifices which extend towards the NW on the
southwestern side of the fault, and to the SE on the northeastern
side, and are increasingly eroded with distance from the volcanic
centre. This displacement of the volcanic centres with time is
attributed to dextral movement along the Sumatran Fault during
the past few million years (Fig. 13.25, inset).
In detail, as has been pointed out in the preceding account
of local areas along the fault, volcanic centres are often located
in stepovers and in releasing bends where they are associated
with normal faulting and the formation of pull-apart sedimentary
basins (Bellier & S~brier 1995) (e.g. Kembar Vol cano--
Fig. 13.23, Sorik Merapi --Fi g. 13.24, Ranau--Fi g. 13.26).
The apparent close relationship between the trace of the fault
zone and the distribution of the volcanic centres has led to the
suggestion that there is a genetic relationship between faulting
and volcanicity (e.g. Saint Blanquat et al. 1998). The suggestion
is that the generation of magmas in the upper mantle and their
intrusion into the upper crust has formed a weak zone of ductile
material extending from the upper surface of the downgoing
plate to the surface, along which the shear component of strain
partitioning has been focused. In the upper crust fractures
related to the fault zone provide channels for the passage of
magmas to the surface to construct volcanic edifices, indeed
earthquake hypocentres extend vertically below the fault zone
for 100-135 kin, down to the surface of the downgoing plate as
defined by the Wadat i -Beni off Zone below (Seamans 1993).
However, as noted above this relationship is not as close as
first appears, and elsewhere in the world, in other regions of
oblique subduction and strike slip faulting, volcanism does not
always coincide with the active fault zone (Sieh & Natawidjaja
2000). Sieh & Natawidjaja point out that the active volcanic
centres are much younger than the initiation of the active fault
traces, hundreds of thousands of years as opposed to millions.
They concede that the location of the fault zone may have
been controlled by earlier Neogene volcanism, but conclude
that the relationship seen in Sumatra at the present time between
active faults and modern volcanoes is not cogenetic but
coincidental.
Terti ary basins in the backarc area
The backarc area of Sumatra, to the east of the Barisan Mountains
and the currently active volcanic arc, is a relatively low-lying area
declining in relief into the Malacca Straits, crossed by meandering
rivers and passing into mangrove swamps towards the straits.
Beneath the present alluvial and swamp deposits this area is
underlain by Tertiary sediments which rest unconformably on
the Pre-Tertiary basement and occupy a series of sedimentary
basins. The basins hold major reserves of oil and gas and locally
coal, and have been intensively studied by geophysical methods
and by drilling by companies that hold concessions for the
exploration and exploitation of oil and gas. The results of these
studies have been reported mainly in the Proceedings of the
Annual Conventions of the Indonesian Petroleum Association
(IPA). Figures modified from these Proceedings have been used
with the written permision of the IPA to illustrate the following
account.
The backarc region is divided by the Asahan and Tigapuluh
arches into the North, Central, with its associated Ombilin
Basin, and South Sumatra Basins (Fig. 13.28). The lithologies
and sedimentary history of these basins has been described
earlier in this volume by De Smet & Barber (Chapter 7), the
environments for oil and gas by Clure (Chapter 10) and the coal
deposits by Thomas (Chapter 11).
North Sumatra and NW Aceh basins
The North Sumatra Tertiary sedimentary basin and its westward
extension in NW Aceh occupy the northeastern part of Sumatra
between Banda Aceh and Medan, extending northwards into the
Andaman Sea (Fig. 13.29). Knowledge of the geology and
structure of these basins is largely due to work of the companies
holding concessions in the area, including Inpex, Mobil (now
ExxonMobil), Asamera (now ConocoPhillips) and Pertamina
(the Indonesian National Petroleum Company).
The Tertiary sediments rest unconformably on low-grade meta-
sediments of Carboniferous-Permian age intruded by granites
which are exposed in the Barisan Mountains to the south
and west of the basins. Outcrops of Tertiary sediment also occur
within the Barisans as fault-bounded basins or tilted caps to
horst blocks. In the Malacca Strait towards the NE, Tertiary
sediments thin out over the Malacca Shelf, and further east the
Pre-Tertiary basement rises above sea level in Peninsular
Malaya. Tertiary sediments also thin out to the SE towards the
Asahan Arch, a basement high that separates the North from the
Central Sumatra Basin (Fig. 13.28). There is no clear boundary
to the basin towards the north where the basins pass into Thai
territorial waters as the Mergui Basin (Polachan & Racey 1994).
The Tertiary sediments are covered extensively by Pleistocene
to Recent alluvium, swamp deposits and the products of
Quaternary volcanism, including volcanic edifices, and to the
south of Medan, by the Toba Tufts (Fig. 13.29).
The earliest sediments in NW Aceh, and extending westwards
across the Barisan Mountains into the West Aceh Basin, are
conglomerates, sandstones, siltstones and shales with interbedded
limestones (Meucampli and Agam formations) of Eocene to Early
Oligocene age (Bennett et al. 198 la). Some of the conglomerates
contain volcanic clasts suggesting that volcanicity occurred in
this region at that time. Apart from the active volcanoes, it is
evident that at this time the Barisan Mountains did not form a
topographic feature, and that sedimentation in fluvial, coastal
and restricted marine environments was continuous from the
North Sumatra Basin into the West Aceh Basin. In the North
Sumatra Basin the earliest Tertiary sediments are marine platform
carbonates, of presumed Eocene age (Tampur Formation), exten-
sively exposed in a karstic plateau to the west of Langsa, which
rest unconformably on the eroded surface of the Pre-Tertiary
basement.
From a detailed study of seismic sections Situmorang &
Yulihanto (1985) reconstructed sub-surface horizons and ident-
ified fault patterns in the Pertamina Block, between Pangkalan
Brandan and Medan. They found that fault traces in the Pre-
Tertiary basement, which they identified as strike-slip faults,
have a predominantly north-south orientation. In the Late
Palaeogene to Early Miocene the platform broke-up in a ' rift
phase' with the formation of extensional pull-apart basins and
the development of horsts (highs) and graben or half-graben
(deeps). This horst and graben structure now forms the underlying
structure of the basin (Figs 13.30 & 13.31). In the Lho Sukon
(Pase) Deep this basement now lies at depths of more than
3000 m (McArthur & Helm 1982).
Scree deposits formed marginal to the horsts extended out
into the grabens as alluvial fans, with coal swamps passing into
lacustrine, estuarine and shallow marine deposits (Bruksah
Formation). In the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene, the basin
entered a ' sag phase' , with marine conditions extending through-
out the basin (Fig. 13.31). The separate graben coalesced into a
regionally extensive basin, with more rapid subsidence to the
west of a hinge line (Rayeu Hinge) at the margin of the Malacca
Shelf (Figs 13.30 & 13.31). Subsidence outpaced sedimentation,
submerging the horsts, including the Arun and the Lho Sukon
highs, and the western part of the Malacca Shelf, on which carbon-
ate build-ups developed (Peutu Formation). These build-ups
host important gas fields (McArthur & Helm 1982). Continued
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 215
Fig. 13.28. The geographical and tectonic
setting of the Sumatran backarc basins. The
volcanic arc follows approximately the trace
of the Sumatran Fault, based on Davies
(1984, Fig. l).
subsidence, coinciding with a global rise in sea level, resulted
in maximum marine transgression during the Mid-Miocene
(Collins et al. 1995). The reefs were submerged, source areas
became restricted, and fine grained sediments (Baong Formation)
were deposited throughout the basin. Carbonate reefs were buried
beneath fine-grained sediments forming effective traps for oil and
gas. At this stage the basin extended westwards over much of the
area which now forms the Barisan Mountains. From the Mid-
Miocene to the present time the rate of subsidence has decreased
and the basin has undergone a regressive phase. This coincided
with the progressive uplift of the Barisan Mountains, together
with erosion and the eastward spread of fluvial deposits (Keuta-
pang, Seureula and Julu Rayeu formations), followed by the emer-
gence of the southern part of the basin, with continued uplift of the
Barisan Mountains and the growth of the volcanic arc, while to the
north beneath the Andaman Sea the basin is still submerged and
deposition continues. It is estimated that the original thickness
of the sediments in the central part of the basin reached over
5 km (Kingston 1988).
Studies of the surface lineaments, representing fault structures
in the northern part of the North Sumatra Basin using SAR (syn-
thetic aperture radar) imagery showed that NW- SE (Sumatran)
and NE- SW (antithetic) trends are dominant throughout the
basin, with subordinate WNW- ESE and ENE- WSW trends
(Sosromihardjo 1988). Surprisingly the nort h-sout h trend that
dominates the subsurface horst and graben structure of the basin
is not represented in the surface lineaments, which must reflect
more recent stress systems.
Fol d st ruct ures. The Tertiary sediments are folded (Figs 13.29 &
13.32). Fold structures can sometimes be recognized by outcrop
patterns, bedding traces on aerial photographs and in outcrop by
the dip of the bedding, especially on the margins of the Barisan
Mountains and in temporary roadcuts, but many folds have been
recognized only in seismic sections during the exploration for
oil and gas.
In the NW Aceh Basin between Banda Aceh and Lhokseumawe
the fold trends are approximately east -west , parallel to the north
coast. This is surprising as the underlying basement structures
trend nort h-sout h (Fig. 13.30). It has been suggested that the
east - west orientation of the folds is due to the incipient develop-
ment of a southward-dipping subduction system in the southern
Andaman Sea, offshore northern Sumatra (Bennett et al. 1981a;
Curray et al. 1979), but there is no evidence of such a system in
the structural syntheses prepared by the hydrocarbon industry
(Nur' aini et al. 1999) (Fig. 13.30).
The east - west folds affecting Plio-Pleistocene sediments
are open, symmetric to slightly asymmetric, mainly synclinal
folds, arranged en echelon. The corresponding anticlines are
absent, or represented by interference and accommodation stuc-
tures, especially in argillaceous units. The folding occurred after
the Early Pleistocene as the present volcanic edifices have been
constructed on rocks which had already been folded. An earlier
east - west phase of folding is recognized in the Takengon
Quadrangle to the south where folded early Tertiary rocks are
overlain unconformably by Late Oligocene sediments (Cameron
et al. 1983).
216 CHAPTER 13
Fig. 13.29. Structural map of the North Sumatra Basin and the distribution of Tertiary and Quaternary sediments in northern Sumatra. The location of the cross-section in
Figure 13.32 is indicated.
In the North Sumatra Basin, in the area to the south of
Lhokseumawe, fold traces swing round into a NNW- SSE
direction, parallel to the margin of the Barisan Mountains
(Fig. 13.29). The swing in strike is attributed to dextral strike-
slip movement on the Lhokseumawe Fault (Bennett et al.
198 lc). Further south this fault is seen to have a major downthrow
to the east and joins the Lokop-Kut acane Fault to mark the
margin of the Barisan uplift. To the east of the fault zone
the Simpang Kanan Monocline forms the western margin of the
structural North Sumatra Basin. The Tampur Formation of (?)
Eocene age, the oldest of the Tertiary units, forms a plateau on
the flat limb of the monocline and is seen in aerial photographs
to be intensely fractured and jointed, with a karst topography.
The monocline is considered to be the surface expression of a
major normal fault at depth with a 3 km downthrow to the east
(Bennett et al. 1981c). The vertical limb is composed of mud-
stones of the Bampo Formation (Upper Ol i gocene-Lower
Miocene), which are sheared and slickensided and cut by
west-dipping reversed faults. Locally the Bampo mudstones are
altered to dark slates containing deformed septarian nodules.
Tight, extremely elongated anticlines and broad synclines
occur in a belt to the east of the monocline in which the cores of
the anticlines are formed of mudstones of the Baong Formation
(Mi ddl e-Upper Miocene) and the cores of the synclines of
sandstones of the Keutapang and Seureula formations (Upper
Mi ocene-Pl i ocene) (Fig. 13.32). From field studies and in
seismic sections it can be seen that the Baong Formation is
excessively thickened over the crests of the folds (Mulhadiono
& Marinoadi 1977) and mudstones cropping out in the cores of
the anticlines are often vertical, crushed, sheared and slickensided.
The anticlines are commonly associated with mud volcanoes and
oil, gas and warm water seepages. These features are attributed to
mud-diapirism in which the rapidly deposited, water-saturated
mudstone, buried beneath the sandstones, became overpressured,
producing a density inversion that has caused the activated
mudstones to rise diapirically towards the surface. This process
is considered to have commenced in the Pliocene, but continues
to the present day (Bennett et al. 1981 c). Kinking and bifurcation
of the anticlinal fold traces seen in the area to the west of Aru Bay
(Fig. 13.29) has suggested that the locations of the anticlines are
controlled by dextral movement along strike-slip faults in the
basement.
Fold structures in the younger Tertiary units to the NE, become
difficult to recognize on aerial photographs as they form low-
amplitude domes and basins, resembling interference structures,
and are covered by alluvial deposits.
In a detailed study of seismic data from the Pertamina Block to
the north of Aru Bay Situmorang & Yulihanto (1985) examined
the orientation of faults, fractures and fold axes at different horizons
in the Tertiary sequence and demonstrated that at the level of
the basement the structure is extensional, with dominant nort h-
south-trending normal faults, while above the base of the Baong
Formation the dominant structures are compressional, with fold
axes and strike-slip faults trending NW- SE (Sumatran Trend).
In a further study of the same area, Ryacudu et al. (1992) plotted
contours of three horizons, the Belumai Formation, the Middle
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 217
Fig. 13.30. Basement struclure in the North
Sumatra Basin showing the highs and
depressions which have controlled Tertiary
sedimentation, based on Nur'aini et al.
(1999) with modifications after Collins et al.
(1995). The white dashed line marks the limit
of thick Tertiary sediments on the Malacca
Shelf, and the bold dashed line marks the
position of the Early Miocene Rayeu Hinge;
subsidence was more rapid to the west of this
hinge (after Kingston 1988). The location of
the cross-section in Figure 13.31 is indicated.
Baong Sandstones and the Lower Keutapang Sandstone, from
seismic reflection profiles. From this study they compiled a
SW- NE cross-section that illustrated the structure and the struc-
tural evolution of the area (Fig. 13.32). At the base of the section
the Pre-Tertiary basement is poorly imaged in the seismic data,
but is overlain by the Tampur Formation which has been encoun-
tered in several boreholes. At this level extensional normal
faulting is dominant, but the SW end of the section is cut by a
dextral strike-slip fault parallel to the NW- SE ' Sumatran' trend.
Further to the NE are several complementary NE-SW-t rendi ng
' antithetic' sinistral strike-slip faults. Following the deposition
of the Belumai Formation these strike-slip faults were re-activated
and inverted in a compressional tectonic regime and in the upper
part of the section have developed as positive flower structures,
with reverse rather than normal sense of movement, and form
fold structures which increase in amplitude upwards through the
section. At the SW end of the section the Keutapang Sandstone
is exposed at the surface in the core of an anticline. Thickening
in the Upper Baong Formation seen in this fold indicates that
the structure developed by the diapiric flow of shales into the
anticlinal core. The cross section is interpreted as showing that
prior to the Mid-Miocene the structure of the area was developed
in a transtensional tectonic regime, while after the Mid-Miocene
the tectonic regime was transpressional.
Ce nt r al Sumat r a Bas i n
The Central Sumatra Basin with a width of nearly 300 km from
the Malacca Straits in the NE, to the foothills of the Barisan
Mountains in the SW, occupies the greater part of Sumatra from
2~ to l~ (Fig. 13.33). Faulted outliers of Tertiary deposits,
such as the Ombilin Basin, suggest that before the uplift of the
Barisans the area of sedimentation was continuous with the
West Sumatra Basin on the west coast of Sumatra. Exposure of
the Tertiary sediments is poor, except in the Barisan foothills
and to the south around the Tigapuluh Hills, where outcrops
occur in river and more transient road sections. Over the greater
part of the basin the Tertiary sediments are covered by Recent allu-
vium and swamp deposits. However, the Central Sumatra Basin is
a major oil province and has been intensively investigated during
oil exploration by seismic reflection profiling and by boreholes by
P.T. Caltex, Pertamina and P.T. Stanvac, so that the subsurface
structure (Fig. 13.34) and the sedimentation history of the basin
are very well known (Fig. 13.35).
The Central Sumatra Basin is separated from the North Sumatra
Basin to the NW by a basement ridge, the Asahan Arch, and less
sharply from the South Sumatra Basin to the SE by the Tigapuluh
Arch (Fig. 13.28). Pre-Tertiary rocks have been penetrated in
many boreholes during oil exploration, as the fractured basement
has locally proved to be productive. It has therefore been possible
to reconstruct the nature of the basement to some extent (Eubank
& Makki 1981). The Pre-Tertiary basement is composed of a
series of terranes with a NW- SE structural grain (see Chapter 4).
In the NE beneath the Malacca Straits, boreholes encountered a
'quartzite terrain' , followed to the SW by a zone of radiolarian
cherts, mauve-shales, thin limestone and sandstones and shales
(rhythmites) which has been termed the Mutus Assemblage and
correlated with the Triassic Kualu Formation, which crops out
near Medan to the north. Further to the SW is a zone of greywacke
sandstones and mudstones correlated with the Carboniferous-
Permian Tapanuli Group of northern Sumatra. These rocks also
crop out to the SE in the Tigapuluh Hills. Forming the southwes-
tern margin of the Tigapuluh Hills and extending to the NW is a
zone of highly deformed schists termed have the Medial
Sumatra Tectonic Zone (MSTZ). In the Barisan foothills along
the southwestern margin of the basin Tertiary sediments are
218 CHAPTER 13
Fig. 13.31. Diagrammatic cross-section to
illustrate the tectonostratigraphic evolution
of the North Sumatra Basin modified from
Kingston (1988) and Collins et al. (1995).
The location of the section is shown on
Figure 13.30.
seen t o rest unc onf or ma bl y on t he Car boni f er ous Kuant an
For mat i on, t he Per mi an Pal epat and Me ngka r a ng f or mat i ons and
t he Jurassi c and Cr et aceous Rawas, Penet a and Asai f or mat i ons.
The t opogr aphy of t he ba s e me nt is hi ghl y i rregul ar, wi t h ri dges,
hi ghs or ' upl i f t s' wher e t he ba s e me nt appr oaches t he surface,
al t er nat i ng wi t h t r oughs or deeps whi ch are fi l l ed wi t h Ter t i ar y
sedi ment , t o a dept h of over 5 km in t he Ba r uma n Basi n to t he
nor t h of Rant aupr apat (Fig. 13. 34). The r i dges and t r oughs are
cons i der ed to be cont r ol l ed by ol der NNW- SSE l i neament s in
t he bas ement , r epr es ent i ng t he MSTZ and t he mar gi ns of Tr i assi c
Fig. 13.32. Diagrammatic cross-section of the structure in the Simpang area to the north of Aru Bay, modified from Ryacudu et al. (1992, fig. 18) based on the
interpretation of seismic profiles. Normal or transtensional strike-slip faults in the lower part of the succession were inverted as transpressional faults during and after the
deposition of the Middle Miocene Baong Formation. Fold structures are developed over positive flower structures related to dextral or sinistral strike-slip faults. The
amplitude of the anticline at the SW end of the section has been increased by the diapiric flowage of shale into its core. The line of section is indicated on Figure 13.29.
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 219
Fig. 13.33. The Central Sumatra Basin, based on GRDC maps, with addition of subsurface structure from Heidrick & Aulia (1993). Tertiary sediments are only exposed at
the surface in the southwestern part of the basin in the foothills of the Barisan Mountains and also around the Tigapuluh Hills to the south. Elsewhere Tertiary sediments
are covered by Recent alluvium and swamp deposits.
graben, but also seen in the Malay Peninsula, and younger
NW- SE or ' Sumatra' trend lineaments seen in the Barisans to
the west. The troughs occur as two groups, a western group
along the front of the Barisan Mountains, including the Baruman
Basin in the north, separated by the Kubu High from the Balam
and Kiri troughs to the south. A series of highs, including the
Dumai High, the Rokan Uplift and the Minas and Kampar highs
separate the western troughs from the Bengkalis Trough towards
the Malacca Straits. In the western part of the basin, ridges and
troughs trend in a NW- SE direction, but in the east the structure
is dominated by the nort h-sout h Bengkalis Trough and its
extensions to the south in the Genako and Bukit Susah troughs
(Wain & Jackson 1995). The ridges and troughs were formed
as horsts and graben by extension in the earliest phase in the
structural development of the Central Sumatra Basin.
The sedimentation history of the Central Sumatra Basin as
illustrated by Wongsosantiko (1976) (Fig. 13.35) is similar to
that of the North Sumatra Basin. The earliest sediments are brec-
cias, conglomerates and sandstones interbedded with shales and
coal seams, which were eroded from the ridges and deposited in
subsided troughs or half-graben. The evironments of deposition
are interpreted as scree, alluvial fan, fluvial and lacustrine with
rare marine incursions (Pematang Formation). Although the age
of the earliest sediments is poorly constrained they are considered
to be of Late Eocene to Oligocene age. Again, as in the North
Sumatra Basin, the rift phase was followed by a sag phase with
regional subsidence, so that sedimentation became more wide-
spread, extending from the graben across the adjacent horsts.
The sediments are sands and marine shales of the Menggala and
Bangko formations. In the Early Miocene deltaic sediments
derived from the Sunda Shelf in the region of the Asahah Arch
in the NNE extended southwards into the basin, with some input
from the Malay Penisula to the east (Sihapas Group). Delta front
sand deposits interfinger with marine shales (Telisa Formation)
towards the south. As the deltas advanced southwards marine
deposits were gradually replaced by terrestrial sediments and
coal seams were developed on the delta tops. Subsidence was
not uniform throughout the basin, with greater subsidence in the
troughs. Subsidence and rapid sedimentation was greatest in
the north, so that the greatest thickness of sediments is found
in the Barumen Basin (>5000 m) and the sediments thin out
over the Kampur High to the south (Fig. 13.34). With continuing
subsidence, but a decrease in sediment supply, a major marine
transgression occurred in the Mid-Miocene, so that marine depos-
its of the Telisa Formation were deposited across the delta surface.
At the time of maximum trangression marine sedimentation
extended westwards across the present site of the Barisan
Mountains to reach the Ombilin Basin (Fig. 13.33), well beyond
the bounds of the Central Sumatra Basin. In the Ombilin Basin
Mid-Miocene sediments include a carbonate reef (Ombilin
Formation), indicating that at that time the mountains did not
form a topographic feature. Uplift and erosion of the Barisan
220 CHAPTER 13
Fig. 13.34. Basement slructure in the Central Sumatra Basin showing highs and depressions which controlled Tertiary sedimentation, simplified after Heidrick & Aulia
(1993, Fig. 3). The lines of sections (a) and (b) in Figure 13.35 are indicated.
Mountains late in the Mid-Miocene provided a source of sedi-
ments which advanced across the basin from the west, depositing
a regressive sequence of grey sandstones, siltstones and shales up
to 1.5 km thick (Petani Formation) through the Pliocene and Early
Pleistocene. These deposits are overlain, above an unconformity,
by Pleistocene to Recent alluvial and swamp deposits of the
Minas Formation (Fig. 13.35b).
The Dumai and Pakanbaru Quadrangle sheets (Cameron et al.
1982d; Clarke et al. 1982b) show the stratigraphic sequence
exposed in the foothills of the Barisan Mountains with local and
restricted outcrops of the Pematang Formation adjacent to base-
ment horsts, with more extensive outcrops of the Sihapas Group
and the Telisa Formation forming broad NW- SE anticlines and
syclines faulted into the Pre-Tertiary basement. Away from the
mountain front broad anticlines with a NW- SE trend, cored by
the Sihapas Group and Telisa Formation, including the folds
marking the site of the prolific Minas oilfield (Fig. 13.33), occur
among extensive Quaternary sands, gravels and swamp deposits.
The anticlines occur above highs in the underlying Pre-Tertiary
basement or mark the inversion of the sediments deposited in
the troughs (' Sunda Folds' , Eubank & Makki 1981).
Bal am Trough. The structure of the Balam and the associated
Rangau, Kiri and Aman troughs, on the western side of the
Central Sumatra Basin (Central Deep on Fig. 13.34) has been
studied by Williams et al. (1985) and Yarmanto et al. (1995)
who describe them as a series of en echelon graben, with inter-
vening complex basement highs or accommodation zones.
The troughs are bounded by steep normal listric growth faults
on their western or southwestern margins with hinges to the east
or NE broken by small normal faults. Rollover folds were devel-
oped against the major bounding faults. The troughs show
dog-leg bends at the accommodation zones which are associated
with NE- SW oblique faults, and the troughs terminate at faults
with the same orientation.
Soeryowibowo et al. (1999) have made a structural study of
Tapung Half-Graben in the southern part of the Kiri Trough
(Fig. 13.34). This graben is 25 km long, 8 km wide, trends
NNW- SSE, and lies immediately to the SW of the Minas Field.
The graben is bounded on its SW side by a series of three
arcuate listric normal faults which are considered to detach at a
depth of less than 6.5 km. The graben has a syn-rift section of
1500 m, the extension factor (/3-value) varies along fault frag-
ments between 5 and 12% with a maximum extension of 2 kin.
It is suggested that the graben developed as the result of extension
on nort h-sout h faults in the underlying pre-Tertiary basement.
Comparing the pattern of faulting in the Tapung Graben with
the sandbox model studies of normal and oblique graben for-
mation by McClay & White (/995), Soeryowibowo et al. (1999)
conclude that the extension did not occur in an east -west direc-
tion, normal to the basement structures, as had been previously
assumed, but obliquely in a NE- SW direction. They point out
that the experiments show that only normal faults are developed
during oblique extension, and that neither strike-slip nor
oblique-slip faults are involved. Plio-Pleistocene compression,
also in a NE- SW direction, inverted the Tapung Graben. On the
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 221
Fig. 13.35. (a) Diagrammatic cast-west cross-section across the western part of the Central Sumatra Basin showing troughs and highs and sediment provenance (after
Williams & Eubank 1995); (b) Diagrammatic north-south cross-section to illustrate the tcctonostratigraphic development of the Central Sumatra Basin (modified
from Wongsosantiko 1976, fig. 3). The lines of section are shown on Figure 13.34.
222 CHAPTER 13
Fig. 13.36. The Bengkalis Graben. (a) Outline of the graben and controlling faults from Moulds (1989) with the addition of fault traces from Heidrick & Aulia (1993). (b)
Model for the formation of the Bengkalis Graben due to extension on NW- SE and NE- SW basement fractures and the collapse of rhomboid blocks from Moulds (t989,
fig. 5). (e) Cross-section showing the Bengkalis Graben as a half-graben, based on a seismic profile in the southern part of the graben, after Heidrick & Aulia (1993).
Length of section is c. 60 km, vertical scale is not given. (d) Cross-section showing the Bengkalis graben as a half-graben with normal faults re-activated as thrust faults at
the NNE end of the section, based on a seismic profile from the northern part of the graben after Santy (2001). Length of section is c. 30 kin. The locations of sections (b)
and (c) are shown on (a). Circled ' A' and ' T' against vertical faults indicate ' away' and 'towards' on dextral strike-slip faults.
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 223
other hand, in their study of the Amin Trough and related graben,
Williams et al. (1995) suggest that dextral strike-slip fault
movements along the main boundary faults caused compression
at the dog-leg bends, with complementary sinistral strike-slip
on the NE- SW faults, during both the Middle Miocene and
Plio-Pleistocene detbrmation events.
Bengkalis Trough. Heidrick & Aulia (1993) made an intensive
study of the sub-surface structure of the ' Coastal Plains Block'
covering the area to the south of Bengkalis island, including the
Bengkalis Trough, on behalf of P.T. Caltex Pacific Indonesia.
The 265 km long Bengkalis Trough originated as a series of exten-
sional half grabens on nort h-sout h normal faults (Fig. 13.36).
Seismic sections show steep normal faults at the surface passing
into listric faults, and an inferred flat-lying decollement surface
in the basement at a depth ofc. 6 km (Fig. 13.36c). At the northern
end the major bounding fault is on the SW side of the trough,
while in the south it is on the NE side (Fig. 13.36c, d). During
the Plio-Pleistocene one of the normal faults, the Padang Fault,
at the northern end of the trough, was re-activated as a reverse
fault in a phase of NE- SW compression (Fig. 13.36d).The base-
ment structure of the trough has been modelled by Moulds
(1989) as due to the subsidence of the basement as rhomboidal
blocks between north-south- and NNE-SSW-t rendi ng faults as
the result of regional extension (Fig. 13.36b).
Heidrick & Aulia (1993) recognized a complex history of struc-
tural development with two intersecting dominant structural
trends, nort h-sout h and NNE- SSW, which controlled the struc-
tural development of the Central Sumatra Basin and were continu-
ally reactivated throughout its history. These structures behaved
as dextral wrench faults, normal faults or reverse faults, depending
on the orientation of the stress system at different stages in the
structural evolution of the basin. Heidrick & Aulia (1993) calcu-
late nearly 9 km of extension across the Bengkalis Trough and a
minimum of 43 km total dextral strike-slip displacement across
north-south faults. The earliest phase of deformation was rifting
on north-south or NNE- SSW normal faults and reactivated
WNW- ESE basement fractures during Eocene to Oligocene
time. A second phase of deformation with NNE- SSW transten-
sional wrenching in the Early Miocene was associated with
the regional sag phase and re-activated the nort h-sout h faults as
dextral wrench faults, and causing counter-clockwise kinking.
in the period from the Mid-Miocene to the present NNE- SSW
compression has reactivated the NNW- SSE wrench faults as
WSW-directed thrust faults (Fig. 13.36d).
Pungut and Tandon Fields. The complex interaction between folds
and faults in the structural development of anticlinal structures
which form traps for oil fields is illustrated by the Pungut and
Tandon fields 65 km to the NNW of Pekanbaru (Mertosono
1975; Eubank & Makki 1981) (Fig. 13.37). A NNW- SSE anticli-
nal and synclinal fold pair are transected and apparently displaced
for some 3 km by a major dextral strike-slip fault. The Pungut
Field to the north is bounded to the east by a nort h-sout h
segment of the strike-slip fault. The oilfield occupies a narrow
anticlinal structure developed over an upfaulted sliver of the base-
ment (Fig. 13.37). The Tandun Field to the south occupies an
anticlinal fold to the east of the strike-slip fault, which here
trends NNW- SSE. The strike-slip fault follows the trace of
a normal fault which bounded the western margin of a half
graben, filled with a thick sequence of the Upper Oligocene
Pematang Formation (Fig. 13.37). The change in the orientation
is significant, as this segment of the fault has been reactivated as
a reverse fault. The oilfield occupies the anticlinal structure devel-
oped by the inversion of the thick sediments forming the graben
fill, uplifted along the reverse fault. This is an example of the
' Sunda Folds' as described by Eubank & Makki (1981).
The sequence of events which can deduced from these relation-
ships is that the earliest stage was a period of east - west extension,
producing normal faulting and the formation of the half graben
structure. Whether there was a component of transtension is not
always possible to determine. The faults were inactive thoughout
the deposition of the Sihapas Group and the Telisa Formation.
Deformation with strike-slip faulting and NNE- SSW com-
pression, causing, the reactivation and inversion of the normal
fault and the formation of the fold structure in the Tandun Field,
occurred during the deposition of the Petani Formation in the
Late Miocene to Plio-Pleistocene. The western troughs in the
Central Sumatran Basins show a similar sequence of events, as
has been diagrammatically illustrated by Yarmanto et al. (1995)
(Fig. 13.38).
Ombilin Basi n
A group of en echelon intramontane basins within the Barisan
Mountains, faulted into Pre-Tertiary basement rocks, lie to the
west of the Central Sumata Basin. From north to south these are
the Mandian, Kampar Kanan, Payakumbuh and Ombilin basins
(Fig. 13.33). The best studied of these is the Ombilin Basin in
West Sumatra, some 15 km to the SW of the Barisan Mountain
Front, and about 10 km to the NE of the active strand of the
Sumatran Fault at Solok. The basin has been described by
Koesoemadinata & Matasak (1981), Koning & Aulia (1985),
Whateley & Jordan (1989), Situmorang et al. (1991), De Smet
(1991) and Howells (1997a). The Tertiary rocks are preserved in
a synclinal basin divided into two sub-basins, the Talawi and
Sinamar sub-basins, by the nort h-sout h Tanj ung-Ampol o Fault
(Fig. 13.39). The basin is surrounded by Pre-Tertiary rocks
of the Carboniferous Kuantan Formation to the NE and the
Permo-Triassic Silungkang and Tuhur formations to the SW. To
the NW the Tertiary sediments are overlain by volcanic products
of the Quaternary Malintang and Merapi volcanoes.
The average topographic height of the basin is c. 400 m with
some peaks in the southern part of the basin reaching over
1000 m. Much of the basin is easily accessible and the Tertiary
sediments are well exposed in mountainous terrain, with many
river and road sections, so that conventional geological outcrop
mapping is possible. In addition there are also several large
open-cast coal mines in which the small-scale structures may be
examined in detail. The basin has also been investigated in the
search for oil and gas, so that the subsurface structure has been
explored by seismic sections and boreholes.
As presently exposed the basin is elongated in a NW- SE direc-
tion, the longer axis being c. 64 km, with a width of c. 25 km and
a present depth of c. 4600 m (Williams & Eubank 1995). The basin
is considered to have originated as a half-graben in the Late
Eocene or Early Oligocene, during the same phase of extension
that formed the troughs in the Central Sumatran Basin.
Particular attention has been paid to the Ombilin Basin, as it is
considered to be a well-exposed analogue for the early stages in
development of the basins of the Central Sumatra Basin and the
other basins in the Sumatran backarc area that can only be
studied by seismic methods and from borehole data. The Takung
Fault that bounds the northeastern margin of the basin is con-
sidered to be the major bounding fault to the half-graben, as the
sediments thicken towards the fault, but the original normal
fault has now been partially inverted as a thrust. The hinge zone
to the SW is also broken by faults, but to the NW around the
Tungkar High, and on the SW side of the basin near Kolok,
the unconformity between Tertiary and Pre-Tertiary rocks is
well-exposed (Fig. 13.39). Although the unconformity is well-
exposed where the Tertiary rocks rest on the Tungkar Granite,
its position is difficult to define precisely in the field, as weathered
granite passes into arkosic sandstone without a distinct break.
Sedimentation histo 9 Against Pre-Tertiary units the oldest
deposits (?Late Eocene- Ear l y Oligocene) are marginal screes
224 CHAPTER 13
Fig. 13.37. Structural map from Mertosono ( 1975, figs 7, 8) and line drawings from seismic sections of the Pungut and Tandun oilfields. Central Sumatra Basin (Eubank &
Makki 1981; Williams et al. 1995). 'U', upthrown sides; D, downthrown sides of faults.
and alluvial fans, passing out into braided stream sandstones
and lacustrine sediments deposited in an anoxic environment
in the central part of the basin (Sangkarewang Formation). The
Sangkarewang Formation is equivalent to the Pematang Formation
of the Central Sumatra Basin, and is estimated to be some 3000 m
thick (Williams & Eubank 1995). It is followed by the (?)
Oligocene Sawahlunto Formation, composed of sandstones, silt-
stones, mudstones and coals, deposited in meandering river and
flood plain environments, 172 m thick in the Sinamar No.1 well
(Fig. 13.40). Coal seams up to 10 m thick are worked in open-
cast pits and underground mines in the Talawi area. The
Sawahlunto Formation is overlain by the (?) Upper Oligocene
Sawahtambang Formation, with thick coarse, quartz-rich fluvial
sandstones deposited from braided streams, with overbank and
flood plain silts and coals, 1365 m thick in Sinamar No.l well.
Outcrops of massive sandstones form cliffs and plateaux to the
west of Sawahlunto. The Sawahtambang Formation is equivalent
to the Sihapas Formation and marks the continued subsidence of
the basin and the renewed influx of sediment due to the uplift of
the source areas. The increase in volcanic clasts upwards in the
section indicates that volcanicity had commenced in the source
area, which lay to the SW of the basin in the present forearc
area (Howells 1997a). Towards the top of the Sawahtambang
Formation fine green sandstones are less quartz-rich and contain
glauconite as well as volcanic clasts (Howells 1997a), indicating
a marine incursion into the Ombilin area. The Lower Miocene
Ombilin Formation, which overlies the Sawahtambang Formation
conformably, is entirely marine, and consists of fine sandstones,
siltstones and claystone, often carbonaceous, with local lime-
stones, 50 m to 100 m thick, which include lenticular coral and
algal reefs. Fine sandstones with fragments of coal and amber
probably represent beach sands. Howells (1997a) suggests that
this marine incursion came from the backarc area to the east.
Because the sediments in the lower part of the sequence were
deposited in a terrestrial environment it has proved difficult to
date them precisely, although fish occur in the Sangkarewang
Formation and palynomorphs have been recovered from the
Sawahlunto and Sawahtambang formations, these have not
proved to be age-diagnostic, although a Late Eocene to Oligocene
age is inferred (Bartram & Nugrahaningsih 1990; Humphreys
et al. 1991). This general age is confirmed by the marine fauna
in the overlying Ombilin Formation, which includes foraminifers
of Early Miocene age, giving an upper age limit for the older for-
mations (Silitonga & Kastowo 1975; Koesoemadinata & Matasak
1981; Howells 1997a).
Ori gi n of tile Ombi l i n Basi n. Although there is general agreement
that the Ombilin Basin developed as a half-graben, there is no
agreement concerning the relative importance and timing of exten-
sion, strike-slip faulting and compression in the development of
the basin. Koning & Aulia (1985) and Situmorang et al. (1991),
impressed by its close proximity to the Sumatran Fault System,
suggested that the basin had originated as a pull-apart basin in a
dextral transcurrent fault regime. Although the basin has a major
controlling fault on its NE margin, this is a normal fault which
has been inverted as a thrust. Strike-slip movement at some
stage is indicated by mismatch between clasts in conglomerates
and the adjacent basement lithologies along this margin
(Howells 1997a). There is, however, no complementary major
fault on the southwestern side of the basin. It is not known
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 225
Fig. 13.38. Diagrammatic
representation of the structural
development of the Central
Sumatra Basin, modified from
Yarmanto et al. (1995, fig. 3).
White circles with crosses and
dots indicate 'away' and
'towards', respectively, on
dextral strike-slip faults.
whether the northern margin of the basin is fault-bounded, but the
sediments increase in thickness until they are covered by the
volcanic products of Mal i nt ang Volcano. At the southern end of
the basin the basement emerges from beneath the basin fill, with
no evidence of a maj or basin-bounding fault. The Ombilin Basin
does not show the characteristic rhomboi dal shape or pattern of
faulting seen in strike-slip pull-apart basins.
Ext ensi onal structures. Detailed structures in the stratigraphic units
in the Ombi l i n Basin can be studied in numerous river sections,
roadcuts, quarries and in large open-cast coal pits. Evi dence of
extensional faulting is ubiquitous. Normal faults are common in
all stratigraphic units, in particular several spectacular outcrops
of extensional listric growth faults have been described from the
Sawahlunto Formation. A fault in a road cut on the access road
to the Parambahan open cast mine shows a NE-di ppi ng curved
surface marked with slickensides indicating normal move-
ment (McCarthy 1997; Howells 1997a). The fault plane passes
downwards into a horizontal decol l ement surface, marked by a
thin band of commi nut ed coal. On the downt hrown side of the
fault a wedge of sandstone thickens towards the fault trace,
whi ch has a total throw of 1.75 m. The structure is covered by a
2 m t hi ck bed of unfaulted sandstone. A much larger version of
a listric normal fault, with a throw of 4- 5 m, is seen in the same
road section. Other examples are seen in the open-cast coal pit,
but are cont i nual l y being removed during the excavat i on of
the coal. Extensional faulting also occurs much higher in the
succession, as a listric fault with a rol l over anticline, broken by
small-scale normal faults formi ng a crestal graben, is seen in a
quarry in the Ombi l i n Formation, opposite the garage at Sijunjung
on the Trans-Sumat ra Highway.
Compressi onal structures. As has already been mentioned, the
Takung Fault whi ch is the maj or boundi ng fault on the northeast-
ern side of the basin is interpreted as a reverse fault from mappi ng
and in seismic section (Koning & Aulia 1985). Small-scale reverse
226 CHAPTER 13
Fig. 13.39. Geological map of the
intramontane Ombilin Basin, Central
Sumatra, from Howells (1997a) based on a
compilation by de Smet (1991), from Musper
(1929), Koesmadinata & Matasak (1981)
and Koning & Aulia (1985).
faults are common in outcrops throughout the stratigraphic units
in the Ombilin Basin. A clear example, dipping at 45' , with
slickensides indicating up-dip movement towards the NW, is
seen along the access road to the Parambahan Mine cutting a sand-
stone wedge associated with a listric normal fault, giving a clear
indication of relative age (McCarthy 1997). In the open-cast pit
numerous reverse faults can be seen, varying in dip from steep
to fiat-lying. Fault planes often have a low angle of dip where
they pass through shales and become steeper when they cross
sandstone beds. One reverse fault was seen to be a reactivated
growth fault which has become a thrust related to the axial
plane of a monoclinal fold, passing into a hanging wall anticline
where the thrust runs along a bedding plane (Howells 1997a).
Fol d structures. Structurally the Ombilin Basin consists of two
sub-basins. The Talawi sub-basin to the west trends NW- SE
and is relatively shallow, with outcrops of the Sangkarewang
Formation around the margins in contact with the Pre-Tertiary
basement, and the Sawahlunto and Sawahtambang formations
in the centre. This is separated from the NNW-SSE-t rendi ng
Sinamar sub-basin to the east by the nort h-sout h Tanj ung-
Ampolo Fault (Fig. 13.40). As may be seen from the cross-
section (Fig 13.40), the Sinamar sub-basin is a composite syncline,
with subordinate anticlines and synclines on axes trending gener-
ally NNW- SSE, parallel to the trend of the basin as a whole, and
broken by a series of normal faults. Figure 13.40 shows contours in
seconds two-way-time on the top of the Sawahtambang Formation
and closures in the crests of anticlines, isolated by cross-cutting
NE- SW faults, which are potential oil-bearing structures. The
Sawahlunto and Sawahtambang formations are seen to thin
towards the crest of the Palangki Anticline and the Ombilin
Formation onlaps the flanks of this fold showing that this anticline
was a growth structure during the deposition of all the sedimentary
units in the basin (Howells 1997a).
Folding on the outcrop scale is seen in the Sangkarewang and
Sawahlunto formations. Bedding in the laminated lacustrine
shales of the Sangkarewang Formation often dip steeply or verti-
cally, with a strike parallel to the NW- SE trend of the basin.
Interbedded shales and sandstones of the Sangkarewang For-
mation are folded in a complex fashion. Some of these folds
have been interpreted as due to sedimentary slumping, distin-
guished by being underlain and overlain by unfolded beds.
Howells (1997a) measured the orientation of slumps in the
Malakutan River near Kolok and found the general trend of the
fold axes was NW- SE, parallel to the basin margin, and the ver-
gence of the folds was to the NE. The inference is that the present
basin margin is parallel to the margin of the basin during the depo-
sition of the sediments, and that the palaeoslope was northeast-
wards into the basin. The sediments of the Sangkarewang and
Sawahlunto formations have certainly undergone a great deal of
syn-sedimentary deformation, with the formation of unusually
large-scale load casts (Moss & Howells 1996), injection of sand-
stone dykes into the interbedded shales and, presumably at a
later stage, the injection of shales into lithified sandstone beds to
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL H| STORY 227
Fig. 13.40. Structural map from Koning &
Aulia (1985, Fig. 7) and cross-section from
Williams & Eubank (1995, based on a
seismic profile from Koning & Aulia 1985)
of the Ombilin Basin, Central Sumatra. The
contours on the map are in ms two-way-time
on the top of the Early Miocene
Sawahtambang Formation, except for the
closure noted in the south, which is on the top
of the Oligocene Sawahlunto Formation. The
maximum depth of the basin is at least
4500 m.
228 CHAPTER 13
form flame structures, or in extreme cases, m61ange or ' broken
beds' (Howells 1997a). Evidently there was frequent earthquake
activity during the formation of the rift graben and the deposition
of the graben fill.
Folds, clearly of tectonic origin occur particularly in the thin-
bedded lacustrine shales of the Sangkarewang Formation.
In road-cuts up to 5 m high between Atar and Sitankai, shales
and thin sandstones are folded on a large scale into chevron
folds, with long limbs and tight angular hinges (45'~), overturned
towards the SW on NE-dipping axial planes. The beds show
slight thinning in the limbs and thickening in the hinges. Steeply
dipping, alternating right-way-up and inverted beds along this
section, and in a similar 8 m high section along the road
between Talawi and Padang-Ganting, show that long-limbed
folds with acute hinges are a common feature of the Sangkarewang
Formation. In contrast to the Sangkarewang Formation, sediments
in the overlying Sawahlunto, Sawahtambang and Ombilin for-
mations show gentle dips throughout the basin, although mono-
clinal folds are seen in open-cast coal pits in the Sawahlunto
Formation, with one steeply inclined limb and with the hinge
zone broken by thrust faults along the axial plane. The/ bl d axes
trend east - west and the folds are generally overturned towards
the south (Howells 1997a).
An unconformity?. The contrast between the steeply dipping and
highly folded Sangkarewang Formation and the relative lack of
folding in the overlying units led de Smet (1991) to suggest that
there is an unconformity between the Sangkarewang and
Sawahlunto formations. Indeed de Smet (1991) and Howells
(1997a) report several sections where steeply dipping lacus-
trine beds of the Sangkarewang Formation are apparently
overlain unconformably by horizontal or gently dipping, coarse,
Sawahlunto sandstones, although the actual contact is not
exposed. In his structural study of the Ombilin Basin, Lailey
(1989) pointed out that chevron lblds, with sharp angular hinges
and long limbs, seen in the laminated lacustrine shales of the
Sangkarewang Formation, are characteristic of folds formed in
thin-bedded highly anisotropic rock units by compression parallel
to the layering. Chevron lblds are only formed where slip along the
bedding planes is possible during the formation of the folds
(Ramsay 1974). The geometry of the folds limits propagation of
the folds for any distance through the sequence, so that individual
folds die out both upwards and downwards. The folded package is
bounded above and below by a decollement surface. Chevron
folding, commonly associated with monoclinal folds and box
folds with convergent axial planes, seen in the Sangkarewang
and Sawahlunto tbrmations, is restricted to incompetent strati-
graphic units with high anisotropy, and cannot be transmitted
through the more competent and homogeneous sandstone units
of the Sawahlunto and Sawahtambang formations. The relation-
ships seen in the field, between steeply dipping shales and flat-
lying sandstones above, do not therefore necessarily indicate
an unconformity. Indeed, there is no evidence of a break at the
boundary between the Sankarewang and the Sawahlunto for-
mations in the vitrinite reflectance data from the Sinamar No.1
well, although other breaks in the succession were identified
(Koning & Aulia 1985).
Strike-slip faulting. Small-scale strike-slip faults, with horizontal
or sub-horizontal slickensides, are common throughout all the
units in the Ombilin Basin. Both Howells (1997a) and McCarthy
(1997) made detailed studies of strike-slip faults from outcrops.
They found that the faults are vertical or steeply dipping and fall
into two sets, one sinistral, trending east -west , and the other
dextral, trending NW- SE. Both sets of faults cut across dipping
beds and are therefore probably later than the folding. Where
the relative age could be determined the east - west set is earlier
than the NW- SE set. Along the western side of the Ombilin
Basin, on the road from the Trans-Sumatra Highway to
Sawahlunto an outcrop of Triassic limestone is cut by a NW- SE
fault with a 0.5 m breccia zone. On one side the breccia zone is
planed off along a fault surface which shows horizontal grooving
and slickensides indicating dextral strike-slip movement. Evi-
dently a phase of NE- SW extension was followed by a phase of
NW- SE strike-slip faulting most probably related to movements
along the Sumatran Fault System.
Structural history. The structural development of the Ombilin
Basin can be interpreted in terms of an initial phase of extension
during which the half-graben structure was formed. As indicated
by the abundant listric normal growth faults, extension continued
from the ?Late Eocene, during the deposition of the Sangkarewang
Formation, until the Early Miocene, during the deposition of
the Ombilin Formation. The evidence for the formation of the
Palangki Anticline as a growth fold indicates that there was
some differential subsidence of the basement within the basin.
The extent to which extension was accompanied by a component
of transcurrent fault movement resulting in a pull-apart basin,
as proposed by Koning & Aulia (1985) and Situmorang et al.
(1991) is impossible to determine. A component of transtension
in the formation of the basin is probable, as normal extension
without some strike-slip component is exceedingly rare. As
in the basins in the backarc area, the extensional rift phase
was followed, during the deposition of the upper part of the
Sawahtambang Formation and the Ombilin Formation, by a sag
phase due to thermal subsidence. Volcanic clasts indicate that
an active volcanic arc lay to the west of the Ombilin Basin
showing that subduction of the Indian Plate was in progress at
this time. From the vitrinite reflectance data and from projection
of fold structures in the seismic section it is estimated that
some 1800-2500 m of the Ombilin Formation has been eroded
following Plio-Pleistocene uplift of the Barisan Mountains.
Vitrinite reflectance data indicate that the sedimentary units in
the Talawi sub-basin did not subside to the same depth as those
in the Sinamar sub-basin, and that carbonaceous material in
the sediments in this basin is more mature than sediments in the
Central Sumatra Basin, due either to a greater depth of burial or
to a higher heat flow.
Deposition in the Ombilin Basin was followed by compression,
causing inversion of the basin with reversal of the movement
on the listric normal faults, including the Takung Fault, the
major NE boundary fault which was inverted to form a thrust
(Fig. 13.40 section). Compression also formed the major folds
such as the Sinamar Anticline and Syncline, and intensified the
Palangki Anticline. It was also responsible for the minor folding
and thrusting seen in the Sangkarewang and Sawahlunto for-
mations. The extent to which the compression was accompanied
by a component of transpression is again impossible to determine,
but some component of transpression is probable.
The final event in the structural development of the Ombilin
Basin was strike-slip faulting, dextral on a NW- SE trend and
sinistral on the complementary east -west trend. Wherever the
relative age of strike-slip faults, normal faults and folds could
be determined, strike-slip faulting was always the youngest
event. This major phase of strike-slip faulting is most probably
related to movements on the Sumatran Fault Zone, which lies
only 10 km to the SW of the basin. As has been discussed in an
earlier section, movement on the SFZ commenced in the Middle
Miocene, after the deposition of all the sediments now preser-
ved in the Ombilin Basin. Uplift of the Barisan Mountains
accompanied these movements. The Ombilin Basin then formed
part of the source area for the Plio-Pleistocene sediments of the
Central Sumatra Basin.
South Sumat ra Basi n
The Central and South Sumatra basins have similar structural
and sedimentary histories and once probably formed a single
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 229
large basin, with a poorly defined division now marked by the
exposed Pre-Tertiary basement in the Tigapuluh Hills and the
Duabelas Mountains (De Coster 1974) (Fig. 13.28). To the east
the South Sumatra Basin is separated from the Sunda Basin
in the Java Sea by the Lampung High, and its northward exten-
sion in the islands of Bangka and Billiton; to the NE the basin
deposits thin out over the Sundaland basement in the Malacca
Straits; to the SW the basin is limited along the margins of
the Barisan Mountains by uplifted basement, exposed in the
Gumai and Garba mountains and the Gunungkasih Complex
(Fig. 13.41). Within the Barisans the basin deposits are covered
by Pleistocene to Recent volcanoes and their volcanic products
(Kamal 2000).
Internally the South Sumatra Basin is made up of the large
Central Palembang Basin >4 km deep, trending NW- SE with
a northeastward extension into the NE- SW trending Jambi
Trough or (Jambi Sub-Basin) (Fig. 13.42). Two further basins,
the Muara Enim Deep (Benakat Gulley) and the Limau Graben,
occur to the SE, sometimes collectively refered to as the South
Palembang Basin. Tertiary sediments reach a depth of 5 km in
the Benakat Gulley (Fig. 13.43). The basins are separated and sur-
rounded by upfaulted blocks where the Pre-Tertiary basement lies
at a relatively shallow depth, such as the Tigapuluh High in the
north, the Musi and Kuang platforms in the south, and the Palem-
bang, Tamiang and Lampung highs in the east (Fig. 13.42). From a
study of SAR (synthetic aperture radar) imagery and seismic data
Pulunggono et al . (1992) recognized lineaments with WNW-
ESE, NE- SW and nort h-sout h trends, which he considered rep-
resent structures in the Pre-Tertiary basement which were re-acti-
vated as normal faults during extension to form the highs, the
basins and the troughs. Pulunggono et al. (1992) suggest that the
WNW- ESE lineaments, including the Lematang Fault, may
mark Mesozoic strike-slip faults in the basement, analogous to
the present Sumatran Fault Zone, which were re-activated as
Fig. 13.41. Structure of the South Sumatra
Basin showing the distribution of folds and
faults, based on data from GRDC map
sheets, De Coster (1974), Pulunggono
(1986) Pulunggono et al. (1992) and Kamal
(1999). LBF, Lebak Fault; KF, Kikim Fault.
230 CHAPTER 13
Fig. 13.42. Basement structure of the South
Sumatra Basin based on an unpublished map
prepared by Pertamina/BElCIP (1985), with
additional data from GRDC maps, De Coster
(1974), Pulunggono (1986) Pulunggono et al.
(1992) and Kamal (1999) and showing
'deeps', 'troughs', grabens and 'highs', with
deplh to basement in seconds two-way-time
(TWT). The Lampung High which marks the
eastern boundary of the basin is about
100 km to the east of Palembang. The line of
the cross-section illustrated in Figure 13.43
is indicated.
normal faults during the Palaeogene. Unlike the North and Central
Sumatra basins, it has not yet been demonstrated that active
strike-slip faulting has played an important part in the develop-
ment of the South Sumatra Basin, although Pulunggono et al,
(1992) report that the Lematang Fault is cut and displaced
dextrally for 12 km by the nort h-sout h strike-slip Kikim Fault
(Figs 13.41 & 13.42).
Sedi ment at i on hi st ory. Apart from the greater importance of vol-
canic rocks, the sedimentary sequence in the South Sumatra
Basin resembles those in the Central and North Sumatra
basins (Fig. 13.43). The oldest deposits, the Lemat and Lahat
formations (?Middle Eocene-Upper Oligocene), outcrop in the
foothills of the Tigapuluh Hills and the Duabelas Mountains,
and are identified in boreholes and seismic sections along the
margins of the troughs and graben throughout the basin. These
are volcanic and rift phase sediments, including breccias,
conglomerates and ' granite wash' , resting unconformably on
the Pre-Tertiary basement. Conglomerate clasts include slate,
phyllite, metasandstone, marble, basalt, andesite and vein
quartz derived from the underlying Tapanuli, Kuantan and
Woyla groups, and from intrusive granites. Towards the
central parts of the basin the conglomerates pass into bedded
sandstones and siltstones with thin coals, and irregular carbonate
layers and glauconitic and tuffaceous shales (De Coster 1974).
Environments of deposition are interpreted as scree, alluvial
fan, fluviatile and fresh to brackish water lacustrine. These
deposits are followed by channel sandstones with silicified
wood, alternating with siltstones and carbonaceous shales, some-
times containing molluscs, with coal seams and tuffaceous units
(Talangakar Formation, Upper Ol i gocene-Lower Miocene), laid
down in a delta plain environment, from fluvial to lacustrine,
lagoonal and shallow marine, becoming euxenic in the
troughs. In the troughs the Talangakar Formation follows
conformably on the Lemat or Lahat Formation, but at the
basin margins becomes unconformable.
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 231
Fig. 13.43. Diagrammatic cross-section to
illustrate the tectonostratigraphic
development of the South Sumatra Basin
modified after Kingston (1988).
Differential subsidence, with reactivation of the marginal faults
continued during the deposition of the Talangakar Formation,
which marks a transgressive phase, and this is followed by the
fully marine Baturaja and Gumai Formations (Lower-Mi ddl e
Miocene), representing the period of maximum transgression.
The Baturaja Formation is a thick platform carbonate unit, some-
times including coral reefs, deposited on basement highs, passing
into bedded limestones and open marine shales in the intervening
depressions. The area of deposition extended eastwards across
the Lampung High into the Sunda Basin. The Gumai Formation
is composed of foraminiferal grey shales and siltstones, with inter-
calations of glauconitic and tuffaceous sandstone, which become
more important westwards towards the Barisans. At this stage
the Barisan Mountains had ceased to exist and the area of sedi-
mentation extended continuously from the backarc westwards
into the forearc area.
Marine regression commenced with the deposition of the
Airbenakat and Muaraenim formations (Upper Mi ocene-Lower
Pliocene), which consist of sandstones and clays with coal beds
and bands rich in molluscs and foraminifera. The overlying
Kasai Fornaation (Pleistocene) rests with local unconformity on
the Muaraenim Formation and is composed of conglomerates,
tuffaceous sandstones and tuffs with lignite and silicified
wood. The conglomerates contain clasts derived from the Pre-
Tertiary units and volcanic materials including pumice, marking
the uplift of the Barisans and the eruption of active volcanoes.
Sediment was also eroded from developing fold structures
within the basin and deposited locally. From the extrapolation
of the structure it is estimated that up to 1500 m of sediment
has been removed from the crests of anticlinal folds (De Coster
1974).
Structure. The structure of the South Sumatran Basin is dominated
by outcrops of the Pre-Tertiary rocks in the Tigapuluh Hills, the
Duabelas Mountains in the north and along the Barisan front to
the SW. The Pre-Tertiary rocks are fringed by outcrops of the
oldest Tertiary units in the basin, the Lemat and Lahat formations,
indicating later basement uplift. Fold structures, concentrated in
three broad anticlinal areas (anticlinoria), the Palembang, the
Pendopo and Muaraenim anticlinoria, are best developed in the
central part of the basin, where the Tertiary sediments are thickest
(De Coster 1974) (Fig. 13.41).
The Palembang Anticlinorium extends southeastwards from
the Tigapuluh Hills to Palembang. It is made up of a series of
NW- SE, elongated, narrow, periclinal, asymmetrical anticlines,
with intervening broader, basinal synclines. The more northerly
anticlines have steeper southern limbs, while the southern
folds have steeper northern limbs (Pulunggono 1986). In the
Pendopo-Li mau Anticlinorium SW of Palembang, the folds
have a more WNW- ESE orientation (Fig. 13.41), with limbs
dipping more steeply to the south; the fold axes are cut at frequent
intervals by NE- SW normal faults. The anticline is considered to
have formed as a drape over an uplifted basement block composed
of Permian limestone and Cretaceous granite which outcrop in
the core (Gafoer et al. 1986) (Fig. 13.42). The Pendopo-Li mau
Anticline is limited to the south by the Lematang Fault, which
cuts the basement and has a throw of up to 1500 m to the south
into the Benakat Gulley (Muara Enim Deep) (Pulunggono et al.
1992) (Fig. 13.42). The throw decreases eastwards and the fault
dies out into a monoclinal flexure.
The Muaraenim Anticline to the east of the Gumai Mountains in
the southern part of the basin, is formed of a series of arcuate,
asymmetrical, periclinal folds with limbs which become steeper
and overturned towards the ENE, and are broken by thrusts
(Pulunggono 1986) (Fig. 13.44). The folds are considered to be
disharmonic, affecting Tertiary units above a detachment in the
Gumai Formation (Fig. 13.44 section B- B' ) . A gravitational
origin is suggested for these folds, formed by the slumping of
the Tertiary sediments towards the NE from the basement ridge
which extends eastwards from the outcrop of Pre-Tertiary rocks
in the Gumai Mountains (Pulunggono 1986; Holder et al. 1994)
(Fig. 13.44).
232 CHAPTER 13
Fig. 13.44. Geological Map and cross-sections of the Gumai Mountains and the Muaraenim Anticlinorium based on GRDC 1:250 000 Quadrangle Sheets of Bengkulu
(Gafoer et al. 1992c) and Lahat (Gafoer et al. 1986). Filled circles on the map are oil seeps, and open circles are gas seeps. The arcuate fold stuctures in the Muaraenim
Anticlinorium, shown in section B-B', are interpreted as due to gravitational sliding from the uplifted Gumai Ridge on detachment surfaces within the Gumai Formation;
vertical lines in section B-B' are oil company boreholes (after Pulunggono 1986).
Throughout the South Sumatra Basin anticlines are generally
cored by outcrops of the older Tertiary units, the Talangakar,
Gumai and Airbenakat formations, while the synclines are cored
by the Plio-Pleistocene Kasai Formation. The folded rocks,
particularly in the southern part of the basin are covered uncon-
formably by Quaternary to Recent fluviatile and swamp deposits;
the underlying structure being determined only from seismic data.
The deformation of the Tertiary sediments in the South Sumatra
Basin evidently occurred in the latter part of the Pleistocene.
St r uc t ur al hi s t or y. The South Sumatra Basin was formed in the
Late Eocene to Early Oligocene, at the same time as the North
and Central Sumatra Basins, by extension of the Pre-Tertiary base-
ment on pre-existing faults on WNW- ESE and NE- SW trends
and the subsidence of rift graben. Nort h-sout h trends, dominant
in the North Sumatra Basin and prominent in the Central
Sumatra Basin, are less important in South Sumatra being rep-
resented only by the Kikim Fault margining the Benakat Gulley
and parts of the Lembak Fault terminating the Pendopo-Li mau
Anticlinorium (Pulunggono 1986), although the long straight
eastern coast of Sumatra, facing the Java Sea, appears to be con-
trolled by a major nort h-sout h fault. The troughs were infilled
by erosion products derived locally from basement horsts in the
rift phase. The marginal faults show their greatest amount of
throw in the Talangakar Formation, and die out upwards into the
overlying Gumai Formation. Depocentres during the deposition
of the Talangankar Formation were situated in areas which later
became the sites of uplifted blocks (Pulunggono 1986). The
rift phase was followed by thermal subsidence in a sag phase,
which led to marine incursion and the deposition of fine grained
marine sediments throughout the basin, with the formation of
carbonate reefs on the horst blocks. Continued subsidence led to
the drowning of the carbonate reefs and the deposition in deep
water of the anoxic shales and marls of the Gumai Formation.
Study of microfossils and strontium isotopes in the Baturaja and
the Gumai formations from boreholes in the Muaraenim to
Baturaja area showed that the drowning of the carbonate platform
in a ' maximum flooding stage' was diachronous, and progressed
from west to east (Pannetier 1994). The shallowing upwards
sequence in the Gumai Formation is correlated with a cooling
event and a world-wide fall in sea level due to the formation of
ice sheets (Pannetier 1994). Contrary to the earlier pattern, the
greatest thickness of the Gumai Formation, occurred in the areas
which are now depressions (Pulunggono 1986). Pulunggono
(1986) attributes this tectonic inversion to the onset of com-
pression in the South Sumatra Basin in the early Mid-Miocene,
due to the renewal of the subduction of the Indian Plate beneath
west Sumatra.
Marine deposition continued throughout the region in the
Mid-Miocene, extending westwards into the forearc and eastwards
STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL HISTORY 233
into the Sunda basins. As the subduction system became
established, volcanicity and uplift of the basement in the Barisan
Mountains led to a marine regression, with the deposition of
terrestrial sediments late in the Mid-Miocene, which gradually
extended eastwards to cover the whole of the South Sumatra
Basin by the Pleistocene. Perhaps commencing in the Late Plio-
cene, but completed during the Pleistocene, the basin became
subject to NE- SW compression, reactivating basement faults,
uplifting basement blocks and generating folds on NW- SE axes
in the overlying sediments. Variations in the vergence of the
fold structures, from NE to SW, are attributed to the movement
of the developing folds in the Airbenakat and Muaraenim for-
mations away from the areas of basement uplift on decollement
surfaces within the underlying Gumai Formation (Pulunggono
1986). Locally, particularly on the Barisan Front along the
western margin of the basin, both the basement and the overlying
sediments have been affected by NE- SW dextral strike-slip faults
related to movements along the Sumatran Fault System.
Origin of basins in the Sumatran backarc basins
The review of the structural development of the linear belt of
Tertiary sedimentary basins in eastern Sumatra given above
shows that they were initiated as rift systems generated by
extension and thinning of the crust. The resulting high heat flow
was followed, after extension had ceased, by the development
of sag basins due to thermal relaxation, enhanced by sediment
loading. In the literature these basins have generally been
described as ' backarc basins' , as they occupy a backarc position
relative to the active volcanic arc of Sumatra. The implication is
that these basins developed directly as the result of the activity
of the arc. For example Eubank & Makki (1981) have suggested
that backarc extension was due to the establishment of convection
cells and diapirism in the mantle set up by the subduction of the
Indian Plate. The implication is, that if extension had continued
the continental crust would have ruptured, with the generation
of oceanic crust, to form a backarc marginal basin, similar to
those associated with the subduction systems of the Western
Pacific.
One problem with this interpretation, evident from the foregoing
account, is that the formation of basins in Sumatra in the early
Tertiary was not restricted to the backarc region. Outlying rem-
nants of Tertiary deposits within the Barisan Mountains indicate
that these basins once extended across the site of the mountains
to join with similar and contemporaneous forearc basins to the
west. The term ' backarc basins' as applied to the Tertiary basins
of the Sumatran backarc area is therefore a misnomer. The
present position of these basins is due to the subsequent rise
of the mountains and the construction of the volcanic arc that
separated the basins so that they now occupy forearc and
backarc positions. Morley (2002b) has suggested that the for-
mation of basins across Sumatra was due to ' subduction roll-
back' caused by the sinking of the incoming Indian Plate,
drawing the whole subduction system forward, causing extension
in both the forearc and backarc areas.
Another problem with hypotheses that relate the formation of
the sedimentary basins in the Sumatran backarc area to their
relationship to the present subduction system is that these basins
are not restricted to Sumatra, but form part of a network of exten-
sional rift basins, originating in the early Tertiary which formed
at about the same time throughout the whole SE Asian region.
These basins are therefore the result of processes which affected
the whole of SE Asia. The precise age of formation of these
basins is difficult to determine, as the earliest deposits are
usually of terrestrial origin and do not contain age-diagnostic
fossils. However, it appears that during the Late Eocene to Early
Oligocene extensional basins were formed across the area from
the Java Sea in the south, through Sumatra and the Malay Basin
and to Vietnam in the east.
The regional extent of basin formation during the Palaeogene
has encouraged the search for a regional rather than a local expla-
nation. The model proposed by Tapponnier et al. (1986) for the
southeastward extrusion of SE Asia following the collision
of the Indian continent with the southern margin of Eurasia,
commencing in the Eocene, seemed to provide such a solution.
In this model SE Asia was extruded as a set of continental
slivers separated by strike-slip faults, opening up pull apart
basins between the continental fragments as they moved away
differentially from the site of the collision.
Attempts have been made to interpret the basins in the Sumatran
backarc area as pull-apart basins formed during strike-slip move-
ments (e.g. Davies 1984; Daly et al. 1987, 1991). Davies (1984)
for example, attributed the formation of the Sumatran basins
to pull-aparts between strike-slip faults which changed their orien-
tation in response to the rotation of a Sunda Plate, including
Sumatra, and variations in the direction and rates of subduction
along the Sumatran margin. However, the consensus view is that
the basins developed initially as extensional rifts, controlled
by the orientation of pre-existing lineaments in the Pre-Tertiary
basement. The orientation of these lineaments is different in the
three basins, being nort h-sout h in the North Sumatra Basin,
NW- SE and NE- SW in the Central Sumatra Basin and NNW-
SSE and NE- SW in the South Sumatra Basin. Strike-slip move-
ment in the backarc area is superimposed on these earlier trends
and coincides with the uplift of the Barisan Mountains, the
inversion of structures in the sedimentary basins and movements
along the Sumatran Fault System.
Apart from specific problems with the application of the extru-
sion/strike-slip model to the basins in the Sumatran backarc,
there are general problems in its application to SE Asia as a
whole. Many of the these basins, particularly on the Sunda
Shelf in the South China Sea and the Java Sea are not correctly
oriented to have originated as pull-apart basins related to dextral
movements on strike-slip faults (Hall & Morley 2004). The
impression given by the distribution of the basins is that there
was overall expansion of the whole SE Asian area during
the Palaeogene. Hall & Morley (2004) point out that the area
between Sumatra, including the backarc area, and eastern
Borneo has a very high surface heat flow >80 mW m -z, com-
pared with the average for continental crust of 40 mW m-2. The
highest surface heat flow, up to 180mWm -2, occurs in the
Central Sumatra Basin, the Malacca Strait and the adjacent part
of the Malay Peninsula. Hall & Morley (2004) suggest that the
high heat flow is due to high temperatures in the mantle, as indi-
cated by low seismic velocities below the region, the result of
long continued subduction. A contribution may also come from
the upper crust, which in the SE Asian region contains a high pro-
portion of radiogenic granites, insulated by a thick sedimentary
pile including shales and coals. They go on to suggest that the
opening of the Tertiary sedimentary basins in SE Asia was due
to mantle/lower crustal flow.
Chapter 14
Tectonic Evolution
A. J. BARBER, M. J. CROW & M. E. M. DE SMET
The concept that SE Asia, and indeed Asia as a whole, has been
built up during the Phanerozoic by the amalgamation of allochtho-
nous terranes derived from the northern margin of East Gondwana,
is now well established in the literature (e.g. Audley-Charles 1988;
Sengor et al. 1988; Metcalfe 1996, 1999 and references therein).
In Early Permian time all the major continental land masses,
including East and West Gondwana, were joined together in the
supercontinent of Pangaea (Fig. 14.1). At this time the continental
blocks of North and South China, Indochina and Simao had
already separated from East Gondwana. In Metcalfe' s (1999)
version of the concept a series of elongated terranes separated suc-
cessively from the northern Gondwana margin by the development
of ocean basins behind them. These oceans are referred to as
Palaeo-Tethys, Meso-Tethys and Ceno-Tethys.
The Indochina Block, with East Malaya, forms the core of SE
Asia and is considered to have separated from Gondwana by
Late Devonian times to amalgamate with the South China Block
by the Early Carboniferous. Indochina is characterized by an
Upper Palaeozoic to Mesozoic fauna and flora of Cathaysian
and Tethyan type, exemplified by the Gigantopteris flora of
Jengka Pass (Kon' no & Asama 1970; Hutchison 1994), related
to those of the North and South China blocks, but with no relation-
ship to the flora and fauna of Gondwana. To this core was added
the Shah-Thai or Sibumasu Block, which separated from
Gondwana in the Permian and amalgamated with the Indochina
Block in the Late Permian or Triassic (Metcalfe 1999).
With the wealth of new data provided by the completion of the
reconnaissance mapping of Sumatra and the follow up palaeonto-
logical studies, attempts were made in the 1980s to identify the
crustal blocks that make up Sumatra, their relationship to adjacent
parts of SE Asia and to determine the timing of their separation
from Gondwana and their incorporation into Asia.
Pulunggono & Cameron (1984) model
Following the completion of the Integrated Geological Survey of
Northern Sumatra the new data were integrated with pre-existing
data from the literature, and information from boreholes acquired
during petroleum exploration, to compile a plate model to explain
the distribution of stratigraphic units in Sumatra and the adjacent
part of Malaysia (Pulunggono & Cameron 1984; Pulunggono
1985) (Fig. 14.2).
In this synthesis Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula are are inter-
preted as composed of a series of microplates. The East Malaya
Microplate to the east, characterized by Permo-Triassic magma-
tism, is separated from the Malacca Microplate, forming the
western part of the Malay Peninsula, by the Bent ong-Raub
Line, marked by a zone of basic and ultrabasic rocks and
m61ange, which represents the suture where the two microplates
collided in the Triassic (see Metcalfe 2000). The southwards
extension of this line is shown passing between the Kundur and
Karimun islands, and through Singkep and the NE corner of
Bangka into the Java Sea (Fig. 14.2).
To the west and SW the Malacca Microplate is limited by
the Kerumutan Line, interpreted as a thrust (Pulonggono &
Cameron 1984), or possibly a major strike-slip fault (Eubank &
Makki 1981), which marks the boundary between a 'quartzite
terrain' , regarded as the continental margin of the Malacca Plate
and the deep-water deposits of the Mutus Assemblage
(Fig. 14.2). The Mutus Assemblage is characterized by radiolarian
cherts, red-mauve shales and rhythmic thin-bedded sandstone and
shale sequences with Late Triassic fossils. Basalts, chlorite schist,
gabbro and serpentinite encountered in boreholes in the southeast-
ern extension of this zone suggested to Pulunggono & Cameron
(1984) that the Mutus Assemblage represented another suture,
marking the zone of collision between the Malacca Plate and the
Mergui Plate to the west. However, the characteristic rock types
of the Mutus Assemblage are not restricted to this narrow zone,
but are widespread, being identical to those of the Mi ddl e-
Upper Triassic Kualu and Tuhur formations of Sumatra and the
Semanggol Formation of Peninsular Malaysia. These rock units
have been interpreted in the present account as deep water deposits
laid down in rifts developed during a Triassic phase of extension.
The concept of separate Malacca and Mergui Plates, as proposed
by Pulunggono & Cameron (1984), is no longer tenable.
The Mergui Microplate, characterized by the Carboniferous-
Permian ' pebbly mudstones' and a Permian arc assemblage, is
shown extending across the greater part of Sumatra, including
the outcrops of the Bohorok, Alas, Kluet and Kuantan formations
(Fig. 14.2). The Permian volcanic arc, represented by the Palepat
and Mengkarang formations with a Cathaysian flora, is shown
overlying the southwestern margin of the Mergui Plate. In the
northern part of Sumatra the Situtup Formation near Takengon
is shown as a tectonic outlier of this arc, on the basis of the
volcanics associated with limestones. Mid-Permian fusulinids
Pseudodoliolina sp. and Neoschwagerina sp. (Fontaine & Gafoer,
1989), considered to be typical Cathaysian forms (Ueno Pers.
Comm. 2002) have been obtained from the Situtup limestones
(Cameron et al. 1983), supporting this interpretation.
Oceanic and Arc assemblages of the Jurassic-Cretaceous
Woyla Group are shown as the ' Woyla Terrains' along the west
coast of Sumatra, thrust under (rather than over) the Permian arc
and southwestern margin of the Mergui Plate (Pulunggono &
Cameron 1984) (Fig. 14.2). These terranes include areas in
Sikuleh, Natal and Bengkulu (not named in Fig. 14.2) identified
as microcontinental blocks.
Fontaine & Gafoer (1989) model
Comprehensive palaeontological studies of the Carboniferous-
Permian stratigraphic units in Sumatra by Fontaine, Gafoer and
their colleagues (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989), prompted a reassess-
merit of their age, environment of deposition and their provincial
affinity (see Fig. 4.9). As has already been described, Fontaine &
Gafoer (1989) interpreted the Carboniferous rocks in the northern
part of Sumatra as a series of contemporaneous sedimentary facies
formed on a continental margin, with littoral and shelf facies sands
in the east, the glacial pebbly mudstones interbedded with turbidi-
tic sands and shales, passing into distal turbidites and deep water
shales in the Kluet Formation. The limestones of the Alas For-
mation represent shallow-water carbonates deposited on a ' high'
in the continental shelf environment.
234
TECTONIC EVOLUTION 235
WC -West Ci mmeri an Blocks; QI - Qi angt ang terrane; WB - West Burma Terrane
Fig. 14.1. Plate reconstruction and
palaeogeography in the Early Permian from
Metcalfe (1996).
Fig. 14.2. Microplates in western Indonesia from Pulunggono (1985), after Pulunggono & Cameron (1984).
236 CHAPTER 14
Fontaine & Gafoer (1989) relate the fauna and flora of the
Vis6an Alas limestones to those found elsewhere in the Sibumasu
Block, in western Peninsular Malaya, Thailand and Burma. On the
other hand, they relate the fauna and algal flora of the limestones in
the Vis~an Kuantan Formation to those of the eastern Peninsular
Malaya and the Indochina Block in Thailand, Laos and
Vietnam. In contrast, Fontaine & Gafoer (1989, p. 24) point out
that the microfauna of the Kuantan Formation shows affinities
not only with that of the Indochina Block, Central Asia and
Western Europe, but also with the microfauna of NW Australia,
where a similar assemblage has been described from well cores
in the Bonaparte Basin (Mamet & Belford 1968), highlighting
the provinciality of the benthic macrofauna compared with the
universal distribution of planktonic micofossils throughout the
world.
Fontaine & Gafoer (1989) concluded that the Alas limestones
were deposited on the Sibumasu Block in a cool environment,
while the Kuantan limestones were deposited in a tropical environ-
ment on a separate plate related to the Indochina Block. In their
interpretation the Vis6an Alas and Kuantan formations were
deposited on separate plates, and were brought together in
Sumatra by post-Carboniferous movements. This relationship is
indicated on the Carboniferous palaeogeographic reconstruction
of Sumatra (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989) (Fig. 4.9) by an arbitrary
WNW- ESE boundary, which has no present structural exp-
ression, separating the Kuantan Formation from the outcrops of
the Kluet, Alas and Bohorok formations to the north.
As part of the study of the fauna and flora of Sumatra by
Fontaine & Gafoer (1989), Vozenin-Serra (1989) reviewed the
Jambi flora of West Sumatra and confirmed its Cathaysian affinity.
Fontaine & Gafoer (1989), from the fusulinid fauna in the marine
sediments interbedded with the plant beds, were able to date the
Jambi flora very precisely as earliest Permian (Late Asselian to
Sakmarian).
The relative lack of deformation in the Mengkarang Formation,
compared with adjacent isoclinally folded and cleaved Jurassic
and Cretaceous units, led geologists of the Netherlands Indies
Geological Survey, who mapped the area in the 1920s and
1930s to suggest that these rocks had been overthrust into their
present position as the ' Djambi Nappe' (Tobler 1917; Zwierzijcki
1930a) (Fig. 14.3). Zwierzijcki (1930a) suggested that the Djambi
Nappe was emplaced during the Varangian Stage of the Cretac-
eous. Tobler (1917) proposed that the nappe had been overthrust
from the SW, but the Cathaysian flora, together with Permian vol-
canics which he correlated with the Pahang Volcanics of East
Malaya, led Zwierzijcki (1930a) to propose that the root zone
lay in the Riau Islands to the east. In this interpretation unme-
tamorphosed Permian rocks of the nappe rest on a thrust plane
above metamorphic rocks of the ' Schiefer Barisan' (Zwierzijcki
1930a) (Fig. 14.3). The concept of the Jambi Nappe has not
been accepted in recent syntheses of the structure of Sumatra
(Cameron et al. 1980; Pulunggono & Cameron 1984; McCourt
et al. 1993; Hutchison 1994). The low-angle fault shown by
Zwierzijcki (1930a) as the base of the Jambi Nappe was sub-
sequently re-interpreted by Katili (1970) as a strike-slip fault
(Fig. 4.13).
Nevertheless, the Cathaysian flora and the similarities of the
Permian sequence to that of the eastern part of the Malay
Peninsula shows that in the Early Permian West Sumatra formed
part of the Cathaysian continental block. It also shows that the affi-
nities of eastern Sumatra to the Sibumasu Terrane and of West
Sumatra to Cathaysia continued from the Carboniferous into the
Mid-Permian, so that the the two blocks can only have come
together after this period.
Metcalfe (1996) model
Metcalfe has published many versions of his interpretation of the
distribution of tectonic blocks in SE Asia, of which that published
in the Geological Society' s volume on the ' Tectonic Evolution of
Southeast Asia' may be taken as representative (Hall & Blundell
1996). in this model, although Sumatra is not discussed in the
Fig. 14.3. The Jambi Nappe and the Lematang Line, from Pulunggono & Cameron (1984), after Zwierzijcki (1930a) and Katili (1970).
TECTONIC EVOLUTION 237
text, the map showing the terranes and sutures in East and SE Asia
shows the major part of Sumatra as part of the Sibumasu Terrane
(Metcalfe 1996) (Fig. 4.14). In the Malay Peninsula the Bent ong-
Raub Line, which separates the Indochina/East Malaya from the
Sibumasu Terrane bisects the peninsula from north to south.
Metcalfe (2000) describes the Bent ong-Raub Line as a 13 km
wide zone made up of ribbon-bedded cherts, schists and elongated
bodies of serpentinized mafic and ultramafic rocks. A character-
istic feature is the occurrence of bodies of m~lange composed of
blocks of chert, limestone, and volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks
in a fine-grained mud/ si l t matrix. The cherts contain radiolarian
faunas that range in age from Late Devonian to youngest Early
Permian; the limestones contain conodonts of Early to Late
Permian age (Spiller & Metcalfe 1995). No Triassic clasts have
been found in the melange.
The Bent ong-Raub line is regarded as the suture zone marking
the site of subduction of a Devonian to Late Permian ocean,
Palaeotethys, which once separated the Indochina Block from
the Sibumasu Terrane. The suture also marks the site of the
collision of the two adjacent crustal blocks. Collision occurred
following the Late Permian, the age of the youngest rocks incor-
porated in the suture zone, and had been completed by the Late
Triassic, the age of the Malayan Main Range Granites which are
intruded into the suture zone (Metcalfe 2000).
There has been no consensus concerning the extension of
the Bent ong-Raub Line southwards into Sumatra. Several alterna-
tive positions have been proposed using different criteria. The
problem is that nowhere in Sumatra is there exposed a zone that
has the characteristics of the Bent ong-Raub Line. Hamilton
(1979) based the position of the line on the western limit of the
tin granites in Malaya, but further granites have been found to
the west of this line (see Chapter 5). Tjia (1989) suggested
that the Bent ong-Raub Line crosses the Malacca Strait, passes
into the Bengkalis Graben, seen on oil company seismic data in
the Central Sumatra Basin, and abuts against the Tigapuluh
massif. On Metcalfe' s (1996) map the Bentong-Raub Line is
shown continuing into Central Sumatra, following the Bengkalis
Graben, as proposed by Tjia (1989) and then turns sharply to the
NW, following the boundary, proposed by Fontaine & Gafoer
(1989), between the Kuantan Formation and Carboniferous
rocks of the Tapanuli Group to the north. As already pointed out
this line has no structural expression in Sumatra.
Metcalfe' s (1996) map shows the Sibumasu Terrane extending
northwards from eastern Sumatra through the Langkawi Islands
and Perlis, the adjacent part of Peninsular Malaya, Phuket in
Peninsular Thailand, Mergui and Tenessarim on the west coast
of Burma and through eastern Thailand to Southern China
(Fig. 14.4). All these areas are characterized by the occurrence
of the glacigenic pebbly mudstones. In Sumatra, Metcalfe' s
(1996) map shows a group of microcontinental blocks, the
Woyl a Terranes, on the southwestern margin of the Sibumasu
Terrane. Metcalfe (1996, Fig. 2), follows Cameron et al. (1980),
in identifying these terranes as the Sikuleb, Natal and Bengkulu
terranes. This problem has been discussed by Barber (2000 and
in Chapter 4) who concludes that there is no convincing evidence
for microcontinental blocks in these areas.
Hutchison (1994) model
The whole problem of the distribution, relationships and tectonic
history of the Gondwana and Cathaysian terranes in Sumatra
and the Malay Peninsula has been reviewed by Hutchison
(1994). He recognizes three terranes in the Malay Peninsula and
Sumatra (Fig. 14.5). The East Malaya Terrane in the east, linked
to Indochina and South China, is characterized by limestones
with fusulinids in the Lower Permian, Mi d- Lat e Permian arc
volcanics and an Upper Permian Cathaysian flora at Jengka Pass
Fig. 14.4. Accreted terranes in SE Asia after Metcalfe (1996).
and Linggiu. East Malaya is separated from the Sinoburmalaya
Terrane to the west by the Medial Malaya Line ( =Bent ong-
Raub Suture of earlier literature). The use of the new terminology
is due to the recognition of a ' Palaeotethys Suture Zone' shown as
occupying much of the western part of the Malay Peninsula,
marking the collision zone between East Malaya and the Sinobur-
malaya terranes (Hutchison 1994) (Fig. 14.5).
To the east, Sinoburmalaya (cf. Sibumasu of Metcalfe 1996) is
characterized by quartz sandstones, occupying the western part of
the Malay Peninsula and the Malacca Strait, and tilloid (pebbly
mudstone)-bearing (=Si nga and Bohorok) formations to the
west. Hutchison (1994) (Fig. 14.5) shows the Bent ong-Raub
Suture following a sinuous course through southern Sumatra, fol-
lowing reported occurrences of basic and ultrabasic rocks. This
course leaves the islands of Bangka and Billiton in the East
Malayan Terrane, consistent with the presence of Permian sedi-
ments containing schwagerinid fusulinids in the northern part of
the Bangka (De Roever 1951) and offshore Billiton (Strimple &
Yancey 1976) and the presence of poorly preserved plant
remains, tentatively identified as belonging to the Cathaysian
flora (van Overeem 1960). However, as has already been reported,
in the southern part of the island, where De Roever (1951)
described an arkosic conglomerate, Ko (1986) identified a
' pebbly mudstone' which may be correlated with the Bohorok For-
mation. Hutchison (1994) acknowledges the uncertainty of the
course adopted in his model by a liberal sprinkling of question
marks. If Ko' s (1986) identification of the pebbly mudstone is
correct the Bent ong-Raub Suture must pass through Bangka,
where it had been placed in several earlier syntheses (Hutchison
1975, 1983; Mitchell 1977; Pulunggono & Cameron 1984). As
yet, no distinct lineament marking the trace of the Bent ong-
Raub Suture has been identified in Bangka.
i f the pebbly mudstones in southern Bangka and the Mentulu
and Bohorok formations are correctly identified as glacial deposits
then the whole of the Sinoburmalaya Terrane is clearly related to
Gondwana (Northern Australia).
In Hutchison' s (1994) synthesis, Sinoburmalaya is separated to
the SW from the West Sumatra Terrane by a Medial Sumatra Line
(Fig. 14.5). In identifying the West Sumatra Terrane, Hutchison
(1994) follows Fontaine & Gafoer (1989) who related the
238 CHAPTER 14
I :9~o I00~ I I~)2~ 1( { 4~
-WEST SUMATRA~ SlNOBURMALAYA EAST MALAYA
(Cathaysian) ~Yg::~~ (eondwana) (Cathaysian)
I
106 ~ 108 ~
6 o
"Situtu
- 4 ~
Group
4 ~ _
"~~o~,~<3Si:#i~'i~i:i:i:i:~::...~ \ "<~x~,, Mersing Beds
Q ' ~: O, ' ~' ~. - ~' . ' . ' , ' , ' , ' . ' . ".
- 0 o
- 2 o
96 ~,
I
WEST SUMATRA
0 9
~gka
<~ % Me~~. Li ' ahg~i . ~~ " ?' ~~Y" ~ .""/ - ' ~" ~
98 ~ loo ~ ,,~----.~EM [
I I 102 ~ (I
/
/
[ ~] Lower to Mid Permian ",x",56 o'~ '1106~
with volcanic arc " -
Carboniferous
I . i
Mid to Upper Permian
with volcanic arc
EAST MALAYA ~ Carboniferous
Carboniferous-Permian without ~ Kluang Limestone
Diamictite (sand dominant) (age unknown)
SINOBURMALAYA~I:~ ~- Carboniferous-Permian with ~ Mutus Assemblage
Diamictite (Pebbly mudstone) (of unknown age)
4 ~ -
108 ~ _
I
, Medial Sumatra Line
~) , Medial Malaya Line
(Bentong-Raub Suture)
Fig. 14.5. Tectonic units which have
amalgamated to make up Sumatra and the
Malay Peninsula, after Hutchison (1994).
limestone fauna of the Vis6an Kuantan Formation in Central
Sumatra to those of East Malaya, Laos, Vietnam and eastern
Thailand. While acknowledging that the limestones of the
Vis6an Alas Formation do not contain the same fauna as the
Kuantan, and that during mapping the surveyors had concluded
that there were sedimentary facies transitions between the
Bohorok, Kluet and Alas Formation (Cameron et al. 1980), Hutch-
ison (1994), extends the West Sumatra Terrane northwards to
include the outcrops of the Kluet and Alas formations
(Fig. 4.15). He suggests that the Medial Sumatra Line is a major
strike-slip fault, parallel to the Main Sumatran Fault, which
brought the Alas and Kluet formations into juxtaposition with
the Bohorok Formation (Hutchison 1994). Hutchison (1994)
suggested that this strike-slip fault movement occurred during
the Cenozoic, but the Middle to Upper Triassic Kualu and
Tuhur Formations, with similar lithologies and faunas, occur on
either side of the fault suggesting that the two plates were juxta-
posed prior to the mid-Triassic.
Hutchison (1994) strengthens his case for the recognition of a
Cathaysian West Sumatra Terrrane by incorporating the Lower
TECTONIC EVOLUTION 239
Permian Jambi Series (Zwierzijcki 1930a) (cf. ' Jambi Nappe'
refered to above), which includes the Menkarang Formation
containing a tropical Cathaysian flora and interbedded fusulinid-
bearing limestones, in this terrane. The Mengkarang Formation
is associated with volcanic rocks of the Palepat and Silungkang
formations forming a NW-SE-t rendi ng belt along the south-
western margin of the West Sumatra Terrane (Fig. 4.15). Follow-
ing Pulunggono & Cameron (1984), Hutchison (1994) identifies
an outlier of this volcanic belt in the volcanics of the Situtup
Formation near Takengon, where the limestones have yielded
mid-Permian fusulinids of Cathaysian type.
As Hutchison (1994) points out, the West Sumatra and East
Malaya terranes ' have similar volcanic arc characteristics, are
rich in fusulinid limestones and contain a Cathaysian flora, but
all these features are of different age' . The West Sumatra
Terrane is not therefore demonstratively a detached part of the
East Malaya Terrane, although both were evidently once part of
Cathaysia.
Hutchison (1994) follows Pulunggono & Cameron (1984) in
identifying the Mutus Assemblage, here shown as separating the
quartzites and pebbly mudstones through Central and southern
Sumatra (Fig. 14.5). Reasons have been given earlier in this
volume for interpreting this assemblage as a zone of deeper
water sediments occupying the site of a Triassic extensional rift.
Also, in southern Sumatra Hutchison (1994) illustrates the
subcrop of the Kluang Limestone identified from borehole
records (De Coster 1974). De Coster (1974) suggested a Cretac-
eous age for this massive limestone formation. Hutchison (1994)
by analogy with the Kuala Lumpur Limestone in Malaya suggests
a Silurian age. From the position of this occurrence, along strike to
the southeast of the outcrop of the Kuantan Formation, a more
reasonable correlation is with limestone units of the Carboniferous
Kuantan Formation, as suggested earlier in this volume (see
Fig. 4.18).
Revised tectonic model for Sumatra
Barber & Crow (2003) have presented a revised plate tectonic
model for the tectonic development of Sumatra, modified from
earlier models in the light of the data and the discussion above,
and this model is further refined in the present account.
The Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic stratigraphy of the
eastern part of Sumatra is illustrated diagrammatically in
Figure 14.6 where it is correlated with the stratigraphy of West
Malaysia and Thailand, and with NW Australia. The characteristic
features of the stratigraphy of eastern Sumatra are the occurrence
of Vis6an temperate floras and faunas in the limestones of the Alas
Formation, the tilloids of the Bohorok and Mentulu formations and
the Pangururan Bryozoan Bed in the Lower Permian. These fea-
tures link eastern Sumatra firmly to the rest of Sibumasu in
Fig. 14.6. Comparison of the Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic sequences in the Sibumasu terranes of eastern Sumatra (after Cameron et al. 1980 and GRDC map
sheets), West Malaysia and Thailand (after Metcalfe 2000) and the Gondwana Terrane in NW Australia (Roberts & Veevers 1973).
240 CHAPTER 14
West Malaysia, Peninsular Thailand and areas further north in
Southeast Asia (Metcalfe 1996).
Sibumasu has long been considered to have been originally
attached to Gondwana in the region of NW Australia and to
have separated in the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian (e.g.
Metcalfe 1996) (Fig. 14.1). Faunas in the Sibumasu Terrane in
Thailand and western Malaysia during the Palaeozoic, from the
Late Cambrian to the Early Permian from many fossil groups,
show very close affinities to the Palaeozoic rocks of Western
Australia, right down to the species level (e.g. Cambro-Ordovician
trilobites, Ordovician nautiloids--Burrett & Stait 1985; Devonian
fishes--Burrett et al. 1990 and Permian brachiopods--Shi &
Waterhouse 1991). This correspondence between the faunas
continues into the Early Permian but has broken down by the
Late Permian.
It is not surprising therefore that a correlation can be made
between eastern Sumatra and the Bonaparte Gulf region of north-
western Australia in the Carboniferous and Early Permian
(Roberts & Veevers 1973) (Fig. 14.6). In the Bonaparte Gulf the
Lower Carboniferous, Tournaisian and Visdan sequence encoun-
tered in boreholes in the offshore area is composed of dark
shales and siltstone of the Bonaparte Beds, comparable to the
turbidite sequence in the Bohorok Formation of northern
Sumatra. The Tamnurra Formation includes algal and oolitic lime-
stones of late Vis6an age, comparable to the Alas Formation of
Sumatra. These limestones are followed by sandstone, siltstones
and crinoidal limestones of probable Namurian and Westphalian
ages. No rocks of these ages have been recognised in Sumatra,
but might well be hidden among the unfossiliferous sandstones
and shales of the Bohorok Formation.
At the top of the Bonaparte Gulf sequence the Lower Permian
Kulshill and Sugarloaf formations contain glacial tillites, as well
as sandstones, shales and minor coals, which may be correlated
with the Bohorok and Mentulu formations of Sumatra. As has
already been pointed out the Carboniferous to Early Permian
Tapanuli Group in eastern Sumatra is interpreted as showing a
continental margin sequence with littoral facies in the east
passing into deeper water towards the west (Cameron et al.
1980; Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). The Carboniferous to Lower
Permian sequence in the Bonaparte Gulf region of NW Australia
has the opposite polarity, with terrestrial-littoral facies on
shore, passing into deeper water facies in boreholes offshore to
the north (Fig. 14.7). The Bonaparte Gulf sequence is the mirror
image of the Tapanuli Group, suggesting that these sequences
developed on the opposite sides of the same opening gulf. The pre-
sence of tillites in both Sibumasu and northwest Australia suggests
that Sibumasu did not finally separate from the margin of
Gondwana until after the Early Permian.
In Figure 14.8 the Carboniferous to Early Permian stratigraphy
of eastern Sumatra is contrasted with that of western Sumatra. The
temperate Vis6an fauna of the Alas Limestone Formation contrasts
with the tropical Vis~an fauna and flora of the limestones in the
Kuantan Formation, tilloids are absent in western Sumatra and
the Permian sequence contains a Cathaysian flora and voluminous
volcanics. These features link western Sumatra to the East Malaya
Terrane which also contains a Cathaysian fauna and voluminous
volcanics (Fig. 14.8), although as Hutchison (1994) points out,
these are not of exactly the same age. These similarities indicate
that the West Sumatra Block formed part of the Cathaysian
Block, although the differences in the stratigraphy suggest that
West Sumatra was not immediately adjacent to East Malaya.
West Sumatra may have separated from Gondwana with the rest
of Cathaysia in the Devonian. However, in the Triassic both
East and West Sumatra show similar sequences, suggesting that
by mid-Triassic time they had been amalgamated and formed
part of the same crustal block with their present relationship.
Our interpretation of the distribution of crustal blocks in the
Malay Peninsula and Sumatra is illustrated in Figure 14.9. The
East Malaya Block, characterized by a Cathaysian flora and
fauna, as proposed by Hutchison (1994) and Metcalfe (1996)
lies to the east, limited to the west and south by the Bent ong-
Raub Line, which separates it from Hutchison' s (1994)
Palaeotethys Suture and the Sibumasu Block. The Bent ong-
Raub Suture Zone has been regarded as a narrow linear belt but
Metcalfe (2000) has modified this concept. He reports that
bedded cherts of Permian and Triassic age that were included in
the Semanggol Formation in the western part of the Malay Penin-
sula are divisable into two units. Cherts containing Upper Permian
radiolaria are tightly folded and repeated by thrusting, while cherts
of Middle Triassic age in the same area do not show this defor-
mation. He therefore suggests that the Semanggol Formation con-
tains a major unconformity with Upper Permian cherts forming
part of an accretionary complex, overlain unconformably by unde-
formed Middle Triassic cherts. The implication of this discovery is
that the suture, marking the zone of collision between the East
Malaya and Sibumasu, is a broad zone extending we!! to the
west of the traditional site of the Bent ong-Raub Suture (Metcalfe
2000). This conclusion was anticipated by Hutchison (1994) by his
recognition of the ' Palaeotethys Suture Zone' (Fig. 14.5). This
zone is shown as an ' accretionary complex' in Figure 14.9.
The Lower Palaeozoic to Carboniferous stratigraphy of the
Langkawi Islands, NW Malaya and adjacent parts of Peninsular
Thailand is described in Gobbett & Hutchison (1973) and has
recently been reviewed by Cocks et al. (2005) and Meor & Lee
(2005). Shallow-water sequences with trilobite-brachiopod
faunas occur in Langkawi, Perlis and Kedah to the west, while
deeper water facies with graptolites and Tent acul i t es in occur in
Perak to the east. These sequences represent the shelf on the
eastern margin of the Sibumasu Block passing into the oceanic
deposits of the Palaeo-Tethys. If the Tapanuli Group in northern
Sumatra represents the western margin, then the Sibumasu
Block is only 500 km wide in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.
A major thrust mapped in the Langkawi Islands, bringing Lower
Palaeozoic rocks over the Permian, and field photographs of
quarry sections in northwest Malaya in Meor & Lee (2005)
show that the rocks of the shelf facies are imbricated by
westerly-directed thrusts. The rocks in Langkawi and northwest
Malaya are also gently folded on north-south axes, the intensity
of the folding increasing eastwards, until in central Malaya the
folding becomes isoclinal on easterly dipping axial planes
(Gobbett & Hutchison 1973). These observations suggest that
the continental margin sediments of Sibumasu were deformed
into a foreland fold-and-thrust belt as the result of the collision
between Sibumasu and East Malaya. The apparent random ages
of the rocks in the western part of Peninsular Malaysia, ranging
from Devonian through Carboniferous to Lower Permian (e.g.
Metcalfe 2000, Fig. 1), where no coherent sequences have been
recognized, is due to deformation in the thrust belt and the accre-
tionary complex.
The map and description of the geology of the island of Bangka
given by Ko (1986) suggests that the accretionary complex recog-
nized by Metcalfe (2000) in western Malaya extends southwards
into Bangka. Here, isoclinally folded and thrust Permian rocks,
including radiolarian cherts, of the Pemali Group are overlain by
undeformed sandstones of the Tempilang Formation. The
Bent ong-Raub Suture (+Palaeo-Tethys Suture Zone) and the
Bangka-Bi l l i t on accretionary complex mark the collision zone
along which the East Malaya and Sibumasu blocks were
amalgamated.
The Sibumasu Block to the west, characterized by a temperate
Vis6an fauna in the Alas Formation and the occurrence of
' pebbly mudstones' in the Bohorok and Mentulu formations,
extends into southern part of the the island of Bangka to include
the pebbly mudstone occurrence at Toboali described by Ko
(1986).
As illustrated by Hutchison (1994), the West Sumatra Block,
lies to the SW of the Sibumasu Block and is separated from it
by the ' Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone' (MSTZ). This zone is
TECTONIC EVOLUTION 241
Fig. 14.7. Early Permian palaeogeography
of the Bonaparte Gulf region of NW
Australia (after Roberts & Veevers 1973).
buried beneath Tertiary sediments in the south, but in central
Sumatra is marked by outcrops of tremolite schists and associated
highly deformed rocks of the Pawan and Tanjung Puah members
of the Kuantan Formation (Fig. 14.9). In northern Sumatra the
zone of deformed rocks including mylonites (Cameron et al.
1983), can be traced on SAR imagery through the area of
outcrop of the Alas Formation as a zone of tectonic disruption
and shearing. Further north the zone has been traced through out-
crops of phyllites, schists and gneisses, recognized in the primary
mappping, but not incorporated in the published 1:250 000 Quad-
rangle Sheets, through Takengon to the Andaman Sea (Cameron
et al. 1983; Keats et al. 1981) (see Fig. 13.10). In several places
along the outcrop the MSTZ includes relatively undeformed
Middle to Upper Triassic sediments and is interpreted as an
Early Triassic shear zone along which the West Sumatra Block
was emplaced against the Sibumasu Block.
The West Sumatra Block is characterized by a tropical Vis6an
fauna in the Kuantan limestones, Early Permian volcanics in the
Palepat and Silungkang formations, and an Early Permian Cathay-
sian flora (Jambi Flora) in the Mengkarang Formation. The block
also includes the fossiliferous Middle Permian limestones of
Silungkang, Ngaol and Pendopo. In Figure 14.9 the block is
shown extending to the NW to include the Sibolga Granite, con-
sidered to form part of the Early Permian magmatic arc, the
Kluet Formation and the Situtup Formation. In an earlier interpret-
ation (Barber & Crow 2003), following Cameron et al. (1980) we
considered that the Kluet and Alas Formations in northern Sumatra
formed part of the Sibumasu Block, because of the temperate
fauna in the Alas Formation. However, the recognition of a
major structural lineament (MSTZ) passing through the outcrop
of the Alas Formation has led us to reconsider this interpretation,
and to include in the West Sumatra Block that part of the Kluet
242 CHAPTER 14
Fig. 14.8. Comparison of the Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic sequences of the eastern Sumatra Sibumasu Terrane, after Cameron et al. (1980) and GRDC map
sheets, the Indochina Terranes of West Sumatra (after GRDC map sheets) and the eastern Malay Peninsula, alter Hutchison (1994) and Metcalfe (2000).
outcrop which lies to the west of the MSTZ, and was found to be
indistinguishable from the Kuantan Formation during the mapping
(Aspden et al. 1982b). Because of its temperate fauna the Alas
Formation itself is still considered to form part of the Sibumasu
Block. The Situtup Formation with its typical Middle Permian
Cathaysian fusulinids is considerd to form part of the West
Sumatra Block, as Pulonggono & Cameron (1984) and Hutchison
(1994) already proposed. There is no necessity to regard these out-
crops as klippen overthrust on the Sibumasu Block as we pre-
viously suggested (Barber & Crow 2003).
Further to the SW, and occupying the whole of the western part
of Sumatra, is the volcanic island arc and imbricated ocean floor
materials of the Jurassic-Cretaceous Woyla Group, thrust over
the western margins of the Sibumasu and West Sumatra blocks
in the ' Woyla Nappe' which will be described in the following
section.
Permo-Triassic palaeogeographic reconstructions
In Figure 14.10 a series of cartoons represents the major tectonic
events in the development of Sumatra during the Late Carbonifer-
ous, Permian and Early Triassic. According to Seng6r et al. ( 1988)
and Metcalfe (1996) the blocks which constituted Cathaysia,
North and South China and Indochina/East Malaya separated
from the northern margin of Gondwana with the development of
the Palaeo-Tethys in the Devonian. By the Early Carboniferous
Cathaysia, with the West Sumatra Block forming part of its
southern continental margin, lay in tropical latitudes. The conti-
nental margin sediments are represented by the Kuantan For-
mation with its tropical Vis~an coral -al gal fauna and flora.
The section in Figure 14.10a shows the situation in the Early
Permian with the West Sumatra Block attached to Cathaysia. At
this stage subduction of the Palaeo-Tethys had commenced
beneath the southern margin of Cathaysia, generating an
Andean-type magmatic arc in the West Sumatra Block. The arc
is represented by intrusive granites, volcanic rocks and associated
sediments with their tropical faunas and floras, of the Palepat,
Mengkarang and Silungkang Formations. The geochemistry of
the Early Permian granitic and volcanic rocks has not yet been
studied in detail, so that it is possible that this magmatism
is related to the separation of the West Sumatra Block. Subduction,
with related volcanism, also commenced in the Early Permian
along the section of the Cathaysian margin represented by the
East Malaya, but it is unlikely that the West Sumatra Block lay
immediately adjacent to East Malaya, as in East Malaya volcanism
continued into the Late Permian, but in West Sumatra ceased in
the mid-Permian.
The section in Figure 14.10b illustrates the separation of the
Sibumasu Block from Gondwana in NW Australia during Late
Carboniferous and Early Permian times by extension, rifting and
TECTONIC EVOLUTION 243
- 2ON
- 0 o
- 2os
_4 ~
%
~
~PADANG~
KUALA t l
<EOI ~PUR
BENGKU
~J
11 I I 1 11 i ! 1 o ~ 1 1 I t I I I
1311 i I I 104i i r l 1 ! i 1~1111106~
I ] l l I l i l l l I I I I I 11 !
t I I ! I 1 I'1' ! I I i I i ! I I I I I I
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r l I i I I
I NI I l i ~ I I i
l ~! I\1 1 i l l I 1 I i i l i i i I
I kl , , , ~! 1 1 11 I 1 i I I I I
I - H- FH r,,,'' ' ' ' '
11t 111111. 1 l ~
i l i i l l l l i l l l
::111tI
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[' 1 ! I l J I I ....
I
I I ' H 7i I i~lJ~.d ! 1111~
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l 17- 1111111
I I 1~[ i kl 1 I I 1 I I I 1 1 11_
, ~- , 1' / I I I I I 1/ i l l 1
,SINGAPORE~-t I i f
1 7~ ( L- ' ~- Ri Ai Jt t i 7] i ~ _
~~~LZI SLAN DS~: ~
i ,--" l l i l ~
0 100 200 300 400 500km "" ~2~.~~;
' . ' / / I . , .. ~..< ~, f / . BANDAR'
............. , ...................................... IIIIIIII II IIII " / " / ../7/i/I~~IL;4MOUNI
( ~ ,e'-- " J / ~ e e ~- / .
- 6~ 96~ 98 ~ 100 ~ 102 ~ " /
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Fig. 14.9. Pre-Tertiary tectonic blocks in Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia, modified from Hutchison (1994) and Barber & Crow (2003). ' P' and 'Tp' along the Medial
Sumatra Tectonic Zone mark the position of the Pawan and Tanjungpuah members of the Kuantan Formation (Clarke et aI. 1982b).
the formation of new oceanic crust on the floor of the opening rift.
This new ocean crust formed part of Meso-Tethys. Volcanism
related to this extension may be represented by metabasics in
the Bohorok and Mentulu formations. The separation of Sibumasu
occurred at a time when northern Gondwana was covered by con-
tinental glaciers and ice sheets. It is visualized that ice sheets
extended as ice shelves across the opening gulf. As the ice
shelves and icebergs melted they released boulders and finer
grained materials to form tillite deposits on the developing conti-
nental shelves in the Bonaparte Gulf area of NW Australia and the
' pebbly mudstones' of the Bohorok Formation in Sibumasu.
During the Permian Sibumasu drifted northwards into a more tem-
perate environment as Meso-Tethys expanded (Shi & Archbold
1995).
The situation described above is illustrated in a palaeogeogra-
phical map of the northern margin of northern East Gondwana
and the SE Asia terranes for the Early Permian (Fig. 14.11).
Sibumasu, at high latitudes between 50 ~ and 60~ is shown begin-
ning to separate from NW Australia and ' Argoland' , a block which
separated from Australia in the Late Jurassic and identified by
Metcalfe (1996) as West Burma, with the development of
Meso-Tethys. The opening gulf extended into the region of
Timor and the Bonaparte Gulf as two rift systems forming aulaco-
gens (Charlton 2001). To the north, Sibumasu was separated from
Cathaysia (Indochina Block) by the Palaeo-Tethys which was
being subducted beneath the southern and western margins of
Cathaysia. The broad Palaeo-Pacific extended to the north of
Cathaysia and Gondwana.
In the sequence of events postulated by Seng6r et al. (1988) and
Metcalfe (1996) for the separation of continental blocks from
Gondwana, West Sumatra, like the other Cathaysian blocks had
separated at an earlier stage and now lay to the north of Palaeo-
Tethys and therefore to the north of Sibumasu. In Figure 14.11
West Sumatra, with its Jambi Flora, is shown linking Cathaysia
244 CHAPTER 14
(a) EARLY PERMIAN
Palaeo-Tethys subducting beneath the margin of Cathaysia
Palepat Magmatic Arc Continental block
-- Gondwana volcaniclastics and carbonates including Indochina and
Palaeo-Tethys Silunkang and Mengkarang East Malaya
t\_:~ I.J__Ll oLLI~,,LJ_L_I_I I i I I I I I I I I I I ! I.
. . _~. ~. \ \ ' xt , . [ LI WEST SUMATRA. ! [ L :; ! CATHAYSI A I i ! !.
i i i i 4b~\ \ \ \ \ ~l i ~t i i i i i ~1 i i i i i I l i E - i i i i i ~ ~ t ' l I ! I
"<'--i',,\,',,',~- U 7- [ - ! 1 i ~i ! - r !117] iiii ~.,]_.]_%7]17 r I I I~_.LTL:
~ ' ~ ~ Site of future
q~-..~ strike-slip fault
"-. ~. . . . Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone)
(b) LATE CARBONIFEROUS - EARLY PERMIAN
Separation of Sibumasu from Gondwana
Transient Ice Shelf
Continental Prograding Continental Ocean-floor Transient Ice Shelf C
ontinental,
Glaciers and Shelf Sediments Spreading Prograding Continental
I ce Sheets Bonaparte, Tanamurra Opening Gulf Shelf Deposits u aclers an(]
and tillites with icebergs Bohorok (titlites), Alas Ice Sheets
MESO- TETHYS
(c) END PERMIAN - EARLY TRIASSIC Collision of West Sumatra and
Sibumasu with East Malaya (Indochina) Block
Magmatic Arc
No sedimentary record BRS Volcanics
I ! i l L I ~ . ~4~. Subduct ed
! " ~. ~L segment of
Medial Sumatra " ~Pa l a e o-
Tectonic Zone Tethys
BRS - Bentong-Raub Suture
Fig. 14.10. (a) Cartoon to show the
relationship between Palaeo-Tethys, the
West Sumatra Block and Cathaysia
(Indochina Block) in the Early Permian. (b)
The break-up of northern Gondwana (NW
Australia) and Sibumasu and the formation
of the Meso-Tethys in the Late
Carboniferous to Early Permian. (c)
Sibumasu collides with East Malaya along
the Bentong-Raub Suture and West Sumatra
is emplaced against Sibumasu by strike-slip
faulting along the Medial Sumatra Tectonic
Zone in the period from the Late Permian to
the Early Triassic.
to Gondwana in the region of West Papua, the Bird' s Head and the
Sula islands. These were all areas of subduction-related magma-
tism in the Early Permian (Charlton 2001), and the occurrence
of mixed Gondwana and Cathaysian floras in West Papua (Irian
Jaya) (Li & Shen 1996; Rigby 1998) suggests that Cathaysia
and Gondwana were linked at this point. The Cathaysia flora is
considered to indicate a tropical to subtropical environment, the
Jambi flora, for instance does not show annual tree rings. West
Papua and West Sumatra are therefore shown at between 30 <'
and 40~ latitude. Charlton (pers. comm. 2002) has suggested
that warm ocean currents in the Palaeo-Pacific may also have ame-
liorated the climate.
The problem to be addressed is: how did the West Sumatra
Block arrive in its present position on the southern side of
Sibumasu? The only plausible explanation is that proposed by
Hutchison (1994): that West Sumatra arrived in its present pos-
ition outboard of the Sibumasu Block by strike-slip faulting
along the Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone. The position of this
zone is indicated in Figure 14.10(a, c). A model for the translation
of continental blocks along active continental margins is provided
by the history of Wrangellia, translated along the Pacific margin of
North America by oblique subduction during the Late Mesozoic
and Cenozoic (e.g. Coney et al. 1980).
From a study of the brachiopod faunas from southern Thailand
and the Kinta Valley region of Perak, Peninsular Malaysia, Shi &
Waterhouse ( 1991 ) demonstrate that there was a very rapid change
in the climatic conditions in Sibumasu, in Early Permian times,
from cold temperate to subtropical. This change occurred rela-
tively abruptly over a few million years within the Sakmarian,
indicating either that there was a dramatic shift in climatic
zones, or that Sibumasu underwent a very rapid northwards trans-
lation in the Early Permian, or possibly both. A similar climatic
change is seen in the West Australian Basins, suggesting that
there was a general climatic amelioration in early Permian
times, and palaeomagnetic evidence shows that Australia as
whole moved northwards away from the pole in the period from
the Early Permian to the Jurassic (Klootwijk 1996).
In the palaeogeographic reconstruction for the Mid-Permian
(Fig. 14.12) it is suggested that Sibumasu moved rapidly north-
wards with the expansion of the Meso-Tethys. The Meso-Tethys
is also shown extending northwards, to separate West Sumatra
from northern Gondwana. A connection was made between the
Meso-Tethys and the Palaeo-Pacific across a transform fault. A
large part of Palaeo-Tethys had now been subducted beneath
Cathaysia, and the northern margin of Sibumasu was approaching
the southern margin of Cathaysia.
TECTONIC EVOLUTION 245
Fig. 14.11. Palaeogeographic map of NE Gondwana and the SE Asian terranes in the Early Permian.
Fig. 14.12. Palaeogeographic map of NE Gondwana and the SE Asian Terranes in the Mid-Permian.
246 CHAPTER 14
Fig. 14.13. Palaeogeographic map of NE Gondwana and the SE Asian Terranes in the Late Permian.
Fig. 14.14. Pataeogeographic map of NE Gondwana and the SE Asian Terranes in the Early Triassic.
TECTONIC EVOLUTION 247
In Figure 14.10c it is suggested that during the Late Permian or
the very Early Triassic the final segment of Palaeo-Tethys, which
lay between the Sibumasu Block and Cathaysia, was subducted
beneath Cathaysia until East Sumatra and West Malaya (Sibumasu)
collided with East Malaya (Indochina). This is also illustrated in the
Late Permian palaeogeographic map (Fig. 14.13). The site of the
collision is marked by the Bent ong-Raub Suture and its western
extension in the Semanggol -Bangka accretionary complex. Fol-
lowing collision, the site of the collision zone was invaded by
granite plutonism, accompanied by tin mineralization.
Hutchison (1994) suggested that translation of the West Sumatra
Block into its present position, outboard of Sumatra, occurred
during the Cenozoic, but the continuity of Middle to Upper
Triassic sediments across the West Sumatra Block, the MSTZ,
Sibumasu and East Malaya indicates that these blocks had their
present relationships before Mid-Triassic times. The translation
of West Sumatra to its present position must therefore have
occurred in very Late Permian or Early Triassic times; as
pointed out earlier in this account there is no record of sediments
of this age anywhere in Sumatra. Accordingly, in the palaeogeo-
graphic map for the Early Triassic (Fig. 14.14), West Sumatra is
shown displaced westwards from its position at the far eastern
extremity of Cathaysia, along a trancurrent strike-slip fault
(MSTZ), driven by seafloor spreading in the Meso-Tethys, to
arrive in its present position against East Sumatra.
During the Mid- and Late Triassic, the whole of Sumatra
and Peninsular Malaya were subjected to NE- SW extension,
with the formation of several north-south and NW- SE graben
structures, the Kualu and Tuhur basins in Sumatra, and the
Semantan and Semanggol Basins in Malaya, separated by inter-
vening horst blocks (Fig. 14.15). As the result of extension the
whole area, apart from East Malaya, subsided below sea level.
Fig. 14.15. Palaeogeographic map of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula in the Mid- and Late Triassic.
248 CHAPTER 14
Carbonates were deposited on the horst blocks, while the graben,
cut off and far from sources of terrigenous sediment, accu-
mulated bedded cherts and thin shales. The record of Middle to
Upper Permian cherts in the Semanggol Formation (Sashida
et al. 1995), which suggests that the Semanggol Basin originated
at an earlier stage than envisaged here, has been explained by
Metcalfe (2000), who reports that the Permian cherts and were
deposited on the ocean floor, incorporated in the accretionary
complex were deformed by the collision event, while Middle to
Upper Triassic cherts in the same area, were deposited in a succes-
sor basin and show only tilting and open folding. Towards the end
of the Triassic, uplift of the eastern part of the Malay Peninsula,
perhaps associated with the intrusion of the granites, provided a
source of terrigenous sediments. Turbiditic sands and shales
were deposited in the graben, the sands becoming coarser and
more conglomeratic towards the end of the Triassic in the more
easterly of the graben.
The Woyla Nappe and the Mesozoic evolution of the
Sundaland margin
The Jurassic-Cretaceous Woyla Group, composed of an ' arc
assemblage' of volcanics with associated carbonates, and an
' oceanic assemblage' of imbricated ocean floor materials, occurs
in the Barisan Mountains and extends all along the west coast of
Sumatra. These rocks are refered to as the Woyla Terrains in
Figure 14.2 (Pulunggono & Cameron 1984), but in this account,
since they are considered to be thrust over the western margin of
Sumatra, they are described as the Woyla Nappe (Fig. 14.9). As
has been explained earlier in this volume it was originally con-
sidered that the volcanics had formed on a sliver of continental
crust that had separated from the margin of Sumatra and had col-
lided with the Sumatran margin with the collapse of the
intervening marginal basin (Cameron et al. 1980). Subsequently
Wajzer et al. (1991) and Barber (2000) presented arguments for
interpreting the Woyla Group as an intra-oceanic arc with an
associated accretionary complex constructed in the Meso-Tethys
to the west of Sumatra. In the original model, based on the evi-
dence from northern Sumatra, a single subduction system
beneath the arc was visualised (Barber 2000). Subsequently it
was appreciated that a contemporaneous magmatic arc, marked
by granitic intrusions, was present in central and southern
Sumatra. Therefore a revised model for the origin and accretion
of the Woyl a Group to the margin of Sundaland is proposed
here, with a double subduction system (Fig. 14.16a); a modern
analogue would be the Molucca Sea (Hall 2002, fig. 10).
Mi d- J ur as s i c - Ear l y Cret aceous Andean Ar c
Following the strike-slip emplacement of the West Sumatra Block
in the Early Triassic, a segment of the Meso-Tethys Ocean lay off
the western coast of Sundaland (Fig. 14.14). This ocean had origi-
nated in the Permian by the separation of the Sibumasu continental
block from the northern margin of Gondwana. In the Mid-Jurassic
the Meso-Tethys began to subduct eastwards beneath the western
margin of Sumatra, with the accretion of ocean floor materials
against Sumatra (Fig. 14.16a). As mentioned above evidence for
this phase of subduction is provided by the remnants of an
Andean arc in central Sumatra, identified by a belt of Mid-Jurassic
to Early Cretaceous subduction-related I-type granitoid intrusions
McCourt et al. (1996) (Fig. 14.16a). These intrusions include the
Sulit Air Suite (203 + 6 Ma) and the Bungo Batholith (169 +
5 Ma) (see Chapter 5). Volcanic rocks related to this Andean arc
may be represented by the andesitic and basaltic lavas and volca-
niclastic sediments in the Jurassic-Cretaceous Rawas, Tabir and
Siulak formations of central Sumatra and the tufts in the
Menanga Formation of southern Sumatra.
krn
50
WOYLA ARC SEGMENT OF MESO- TETHYS MARGI N OF SUNDALAND
Late Jurassic- Triassic - Mid-Cretaceous Ocean Middle Jurassic-
Early Cretaceous Early Cretaceous
Oceanic Arc Seamount Magmatic Arc
_~ Accr et i onar y wi t h car bonat e Accr et i onar y Asai - Rawas- Penet a
sea, ._c7 ~ r eef s Complex can Complex Forearc Basin / b. .
(a) MID-CRETACEOUS
km
50
ACCRETED WOYLA TERRANE SUNDALAND CONTI NENT
Renewed Oceanic island arc Late Cretaceous Inverted Triassic Basins
Woyl a
Subduction overthrust onto Magma afitic Arc 9
Accretlonary
continental mar i n Semanggol Basra Semant an Basra
sea " g ~ _ ~,,, . . - / Com; l ex "
level ~ ~ - - ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , . . . . .
, ",* 9 ~* v ' ~" V V *~ V ~ V V " r V t i i i i l l l l l l i i ~ . 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I I 1 "
. . l l I till ............ ~ , ...... III .... ~ ~ I t i J I ii
, ^, , - , , , , ^, , , , , ,-, ;-, i 7. , - _._.,, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , , ,
i~r~\X-~"~'%,\'~.\ Yi l l , . , , . #l L, i i ~l t l %l #" %PPEo . . i " l l l ~ t I Al ~l , , , , . ; I I I . . 1t ! 1. t 11111" 1111111111111111i 111 . ~, ~. - - ' 1" I I I I i ! I I J, I
, .. , ,,.,.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l,~,t ~
............ ~SIBUMASU+t+H-I- - EAST
. E ~ = ~ = s ~ ~ IVI#"%L#'% l #'%
(b) LATE CRETACEOUS
Fig. 14.16. Conceptual cross-sections to illustrate the origin of the Woyla Terranes and their role in the evolution of the southwestern margin of Sundaland in the Late
Mesozoic.
TECTONIC EVOLUTION 249
Lat e J ur as s i c - mi d- Cr e t ac e ous oceani c i sl and arc
In the Late Jurassic, subduction also commenced towards the west,
probably initiated along a north-south transform fault within
Meso-Tethys, generating a mid-oceanic island arc constructed
on oceanic crust (Fig. 14.16a). The island arc volcanics are rep-
resented by basalts and andesites of the 'arc assemblage' of the
Bentaro Formation in Aceh (Bennett et al. 1981a). Ocean-floor
material was imbricated into an accretionary complex against
the island arc to form the ' oceanic assemblage' of the Woyla
Group. The oldest material found within the Woyla Group is a
limestone block containing Triassic foraminifers found in
m~lange in Natal. This block is considered to be a remnant of
the carbonate capping of a seamount within Meso-Tethys that
has been subducted (Wajzer et al. 1991). The youngest fossils
found in units correlated with the Woyla Group, are the Apt i an-
Albian foraminifer Orbitulina, which occurs in the Menanga
Formation near Bandarlampung and the Sepingtiang Limestone
Formation of the Gumai Mountains. Evidently ' Woyla Ocean'
lasted from the Triassic to the late mid-Cretaceous, when the
last remnants were subducted. By the early Late Cretaceous, due
to the combination of subduction beneath the island arc and sub-
duction beneath Sumatra, the segment of the Meso-Tethys
which lay originally between the oceanic island arc and West
Sumatra had been completely subducted into the mantle. The
island arc and its associated accretionary complex then collided
with, and was thrust over, the margin of Sumatra to form the
Woyla Nappe (Fig. 4.34b). Fragments of this mid-oceanic volca-
nic arc are now represented in Sumatra by the extensive Bentaro
Formation of Aceh, arc volcanics in the Batang Natal section,
arc volcanics at Indarung (McCarthy et al. 2001), the Saling and
Garba formations in the Gumai and Garba Mountains (Gafoer
et al. 1986, 1994).
It is suggested that arc collision and the emplacement of the
Woyla Nappe over the western margin of Sumatra produced an
amphibolite facies metamorphic footprint in the Kluet Formation
in the neighbourhood of Tapaktuan. It may also have been respon-
sible for folding and the development of slaty cleavage in pelitic
rocks throughout the Tapanuli Group in northern Sumatra and
the Kuantan Formation and Tigapuluh Group in Central
Sumatra. Folding and cleavage development in the Asai, Rawas
and Peneta formations, the Jurassic-Cretaceous forearc basin
deposits in central Sumatra can also be attributed to this event
(cf. the ' Jambi Nappe' Fig. 14.3). The collision may also have
been responsible, as a ' far-field' effect, for folding Triassic
rocks in the island of Bangka and the Semanggol and Semantan
basins in the Malay Peninsula (Fig. 14.16b).
Lat e Cret aceous cont i nent al margi n
With the accretion of the island arc to the southwestern margin of
Sundaland, subduction of the Meso-Tethys oceanic plate recom-
menced outboard of the Woyl a Terrane (Fig. 14.16b). This is
the situation illustrated in Figure 14.17 where the Woyla Group
arc assemblage and oceanic assemblage are returned to their orig-
inal position along the Sundaland margin by reversing the post-
Miocene dextral movements along the Sumatran Fault system.
On Sundaland, the development of a Late Cretaceous magmatic
arc, represented by granitoid intrusions from Sikuleh to Sekam-
pung, provides evidence for continued subduction outboard of
the accreted terranes. All these granitoid intrusions are of I-type
and were intruded through continental crust (McCourt et al.
1996). This Late Cretaceous arc lies oceanward of the preceding
mid-Jurassic to Early Cretaceous arc, and is largely intruded
through the recently accreted arc and oceanic asemblages of the
Woyla Group and its equivalents (Fig. 14.16b). In Aceh
the younger element of the Sikuleh Batholith (97 Ma) is intruded
into the Bentaro Arc (Bennett et al. 1981b), in Natal the
Manunggal (87 Ma) and Kanaikan batholiths are intruded into
the oceanic assemblage, including mantle peridotite, of the
Woyla Group (Rock et al. 1983). In the Gumai and Garba Moun-
tains the accreted oceanic assemblage and the arc rocks are thrust
over the West Sumatra Block and are now situated to the NE of the
Sumatran Fault Zone. In Gumai granitic rocks are intruded into the
Saling Formation of the arc assemblage and in the Garba Moun-
tains the Garba Pluton ( 115- 90 Ma) is intruded into both arc
and oceanic material, and also into the Tarap Formation, regarded
as metamorphosed Palaeozoics belonging to the West Sumatra
Block (Gafoer et al. 1994). In Bandarlampung the Sulan Pluton
( l l 3Ma ) and the Sekampung Complex (89Ma) are intruded
into the Gunungkasih Complex, again interpreted as Palaeozoic
basement rocks of the West Sumatra Block (Amin et al. 1994b;
Andi Mangga et al. 1994a).
As has been described earlier in this account, detailed obser-
vations in the Sekampung Gneiss Complex provide evidence
that granitic and basic rocks of the Late Cretaceous arc were
intruded into an active shear zone, suggesting that the Late Cretac-
eous arc, like the present arc, was developed during a phase of
oblique subduction and was intruded into an active transcurrent
fault system (Fig. 14.17). Reports of 'flow foliation' in the
Sikuleh Batholith (Bennett et al. 1981b) and of gneissose rocks
in other Late Cretaceous plutons, may also have the same signifi-
cance. Kinematic indicators at Sekampung show that this transcur-
rent fault system operated in a sinistral sense, in the opposite sense
to the present system. This interpretation is illustrated in Figures
14.16b and 14.17.
Tertiary palaeogeography of Sumatra
Following the emplacement of the Woyla Nappe in the late mid-
Cretaceous the whole of Sumatra appears to have been exposed
to subaerial erosion, as no Late Cretaceous or early Palaeogene
sediments have yet been recognized in situ, and the earliest
Tertiary rocks rest unconformably on all the older units.
However, volcanic activity occurred during this period, rep-
resented by the Kikim Volcanics from which Palaeocene ages
have been obtained, cropping out in the Garba Mountains and
encountered beneath Tertiary sediments in oil company boreholes
in southern Sumatra (see Chapter 8).
From the review of Tertiary stratigraphy earlier in this volume
(Chapter 7), a series of paleogeographic maps and cross-sections
have been prepared for the Tertiary of Sumatra (Figs 14.18 and
14.19). Reconstructions of Tertiary palaeogeography have pre-
viously been published by Adinegoro & Hartoyo (1974), covering
the northern part of Sumatra. Company reports have sometimes
included palaeogeographic reconstructions for localized areas
(e.g. Koning & Aulia 1985; Whateley & Jordan 1989). The
present reconstructions cover the whole of Sumatra, including
the offshore islands. The maps have been refined in the light of
later published work and also take into account present under-
standing of the effects of movements along the Sumatran Fault
System which were taking place contemporaneously with the
deposition of the Tertiary sediments (Curray 1989; McCaffrey
1996; McCarthy & Elders 1997).
The emer gence of the Bari san Mount ai ns
From evidence of metamorphic rocks in Tanahbala (Nas &
Supandjono 1994), Eocene Nummulitic limestone clasts in Nias
(Douville 1912) and Oligocene conglomerates and quartz sand-
stones, derived from the Sumatran mainland, or from within the
forearc area itself, in Nias (Moore & Karig 1976; Samuel et al.
1997), the pre-Tertiary basement of Sundaland, extends as far as
the present forearc islands (Fig. 14.18a). Apart from a brief
marine incursion during the Eocene in which Nummulitic
250 CHAPTER 14
Fig. 14.17. The structure of the southwestern margin of Sundaland in Late Cretaceous times, according to the interpretation given in the text. Data from sources quoted in
the text. MSTZ: Median Sumatra Tectonic Zone. Note that the effects of post-Mid-Miocene movements along the Sumatran Fault Zone have been removed.
limestones were deposited, the basement, most probably the distal
part of the Woyla Nappe, was exposed to erosion throughout the
Late Cretaceous and Early Palaeogene.
In the Late Eocene and Early Oligocene, the formation of horsts
and graben controlled stratigraphic developments. Sedimentation
occurred in isolated rift basins which developed within the base-
ment and received sediments eroded from the local horsts. These
rifts extended across the area of the present Barisan Mountains
(Ombilin Basin) into the forearc region (e.g. Bengkulu). This
same history is evident throughout much of Southeast Asia at
this time with the development of rift basins in the Sunda Shelf,
Borneo, the Malay and Gulf of Thailand Basins (Longley 1997;
Hall & Morley 2004). This regional extension coincided with
the collision of India with the southern margin of the Asian
continent and has been attributed to the extrusion and rotation of
continental blocks to the southeast of the site of collision
(Tapponnier et aL 1982) (see discussion Chapter 13).
During the Horst and Graben Stage (Fig. 14.18a, b) deposition
in Sumatra was characterized by sediment transport over short
distances, while subsidence in the graben was faster than sediment
input, leading to the accumulation of thick organic-rich lake
deposits with sedimentologically immature sediments along the
lake shorelines. In Sumatra this localized distribution of
the sediments in the rift stage is reflected in a localized stratigraphic
nomenclature. Although the thick euxinic lake deposits and paralic
deposits in the graben play an important role in the petroleum
geology of the backarc basins, the development of the graben
preceded the formation of the present basins.
In the latest Oligocene (Fig. 14.18b), there was a major change
in regional geography. Regional sediment source areas and broad
depositional areas replaced the former horst and graben landscape.
In addition to the major source area to the NE, in the Malayan
Shield, the Barisans provided one of the sediment sources. This
conclusion is supported by the significant amount of volcaniclastic
material in latest Oligocene sediments and by the occurrence
of sedimentologically immature deposits of this age in the foothills
of the Barisan Mountains. The stratigraphy reflects the development
of wider basins that extended across both grabens and horsts alike,
TECTONIC EVOLUTION 251
Fig. 14.18. (a-d) Palaeogeographic maps for the Tertiary of Sumatra. The development of forearc and backarc basinal areas, separated by the Barisan Mountains
occurred in the latest Oligocene to earliest Miocene. Regional sag resulted in the gradual submergence of the Barisan Mountains and the deepening of the basins in
both the forearc and backarc areas. (e-h) Marine transgression continued until the Mid-Miocene when only a few isolated peaks of the Barisan Mountains still rose
above sea level. The Barisan Mountains were uplifted and eroded from the Mid-Miocene onwards. Uplift was accompanied by marine regression and dextral
movements on the Sumatra Fault System, until Sumatra gradually took on its present outline.
and interconnected river systems that transported sediments from
larger and more distant source areas. The thick overburden of
younger sediments in the backarc basins i nduced maturity in
organic material in pet rol eum source rocks within the grabens,
and provided sands and limestones which constitute the mai n
reservoir horizons for oil and gas. Again, similar envi ronment s
extended t hroughout the whol e of SE Asia (Longl ey 1997).
The concl usi on t hat the Barisan Mount ai ns commenced their
devel opment as a maj or structural el ement in the latest Ol i gocene
is at variance with much of the literature emanat i ng from t he
petroleum industry. It is considered that Middle Mi ocene turbidite
formations represent the first significant influx of sediments into
the basins in the backarc region from the Barisan Mountains,
with the maj or influx OCCUlTing during the Pliocene. There is no
contradiction, however, between these two interpretations. In the
Late Ol i gocene the Barisan Mount ai ns were still restricted in
height and extent. Fol l owi ng the marine transgression in the
Early to Mi d-Mi ocene the emergent peaks became even more
restricted. The maj or Mi d-Mi ocene to Pl i ocene influx from
the mount ai ns into the sedimentary basins was due to the
re-emergence and growth of the Barisans during the fol l owi ng
period of regression, rather than to their initial appearance.
The Mari ne transgression during the latest Ol i gocene and Early
Mi ocene (Fig. 14. 18b-e) was the result of a regional sag, not only
in Sumatra, but t hroughout much of Sundaland (e.g. in the Gul f of
Thailand). In Sumatra, basins in the forearc and backarc areas
deepened so that the early Barisan Mount ai ns were almost com-
pletely submerged, indicated by the occurrence of reef limestones
in the i nt ramont ane Ombi l i n Basin.
From the Mi d-Mi ocene onwards (Fig. 14. 18e-h), the uplift of
the Barisan Mount ai ns and the forearc island area was faster
than the cont i nui ng regional sag which caused further subsidence
along the axes of the backarc and forearc basins and also in the
Gul f of Thailand. These movement s coi nci ded with the inversion
of basin sediments during the Miocene, and cont i nued through the
Plio-Pleistocene, with the re-activation of faults, the folding of
basin sediments and the devel opment of unconformi t i es in the
sequence. These movement s may be related to variations in the
angle and rate of convergence in the Sumat ran subduction
system, leading to extension or compressi on in the backarc
(Cameron et al. 1980). They also coincide with activity of the
Sumatran Fault System in the Mi ocene and cont i nued transten-
sional and transpressional movement s along it from then until
the present day. Similar inversions in other parts of SE Asia
have been attributed to the rotation of Borneo (Hall 2002) or the
far field effect s of collisions in Eastern Indonesia.
Effects of movements along the Sumatran Fault System
In the pal aeogeographi c reconstructions movement s along
the Sumatran Fault System are taken into account (Fig. 14.18).
252 CHAPTER 14
Fig. 14.18. ( e - h) Continued.
The Fault System is connected to pull apart structures in the Sunda
Strait (Malod et al. 1995) in the south, along which displace-
ments of the order of 100 km have occurred, and to the spreading
centre in the Andaman Sea to the north, across which 460 km of
displacement is considered to have taken place (Curray et al.
1979).
Direct measurement of displacement across the fault in Sumatra
has proved difficult as most stratigraphic units trend parallel to the
fault trace. Possible offsets of 45 km on the basis of the displace-
ment of Permian granites (Hahn & Weber 1981a) and of up to
100 km from displacement of Tertiary basins (Beaudry & Moore
1985) and the displacement of 150 km for the Medial Sumatra
Tectonic Zone (see Chapter 13) have been postulated for various
strands of the fault. It is probable that movement along the fault
system have been taking place continuously at least since the
Mid-Miocene (14-11 Ma), when spreading in the Andaman Sea
is considered to have commenced (Curray et al. 1979). Presum-
ably, movements along various parts of the fault system have
continued from the time of initiation of the fault system until the
present day. Recent movements are shown by displacement of
Recent volcanics (Posavec et al. 1973), by the offset of stream
courses (Katili & Hehuwat 1967), by continued seismic activity,
by displacement of recent sediments along the fault trace (Sieh
et al. 1994) and by GPS measurements (McCaffrey 1996;
Sieh & Natawidjaja 2000). The difference in relative displacement
at either end of the fault system shows that the forearc area was
stretched over time and not displaced as a rigid block. Displace-
ment increases progressively northwards and is considered to
have occurred by cumulative strike-slip movements along a fault
system oriented in a SSE- NNW direction throughout the
forearc region (Curray 1989; McCaffrey 1996).
In the present reconstructions it is presumed that the origin of
the Sumatran Fault Zone coincided with the development of
Barisan Mountains and sedimentary basins in the backarc and
forearc areas during the Late Oligocene. All these regional struc-
tures have a NNW- SSE trend and are overprinted over horst and
graben structures that have a more nort h-sout h trend. The Barisan
Mountains acted as a sediment source area from the latest
Oligocene onwards and it is probable that transcurrent movements
along the Sumatran Fault trend started at about the same time. A
latest Oligocene age for first movements along the fault system
does not conflict with a Mid-Miocene age of spreading in the
Andaman Sea as documented by Curray et al. (1979) because
extension with movement along the fault traces in that area may
have occurred long before the commencement of ocean floor
spreading. The reconstruction suggests that the forearc region
has extended some 450 km northwestward, relative to the rest of
Sumatra, over the last 25 Ma and that the rate of extension has
- 1
been at a uniform rate of about 1.8 cm a
The reconstruction of the history of movement along the
Sumatran Fault System explains an obvious anomaly in the sedi-
mentary record of northern Sumatra. In the Late Oligocene and
Early Miocene the Barisan Mountains were an area of eroding ter-
ranes and shallow-water facies, while to the east deep-water
marine facies prevailed in the central parts of the North Sumatra
Basin (Fig. 14.18b, c). The reconstructions also explain why
thick Early Miocene sandstones in the Central and South
Sumatra Barisans have no equivalents in the North Sumatra
TECTONIC EVOLUTION 253
Basin. At that time the Barisan source area lay much further south,
and prior to its northward movement along the fault there was no
landmass immediately to the SW of the North Sumatra Basin
which could provide a source of sediments.
In their provenance study of the Mid-Miocene Keutapang For-
mation in the North Sumatra Basin Morton et al. (1994) found
that the sediments were derived from the west or the SW. Evi-
dently the Barisans were uplifted and in a position to act as a
source for the North Sumatra Basin by Mid-Miocene times.
They also found that chrome spinel was abundant in the lower
part of the Keutapang Formation, but rare in the upper Keutapang.
This spinel must have been derived from an ophiolitic terrain, but
there is no such terrain in a suitable position at the present time.
The Pasaman ophiolite is too far south, and the northern Aceh
ophiolites are too far north. Either the ophiolite which supplied
spinel to the lower Keutapang Formation has been removed com-
pletely by erosion, or it has been moved northwards since the
Mid-Miocene by dextral movements of the order of 100 km
along the Sumatran Fault System (Morton et al. 1994).
The Early Oligocene palaeogeographic reconstructions also
provides a more convincing geography for the southwestern
margin of the Sundaland continental margin at that time
(Fig. 14.18a). The removal of displacement along the Sumatran
Fault Zone gives the continental margin a smoother outline,
with the North Sumatra Basin and its rifted grabens lying along
the Sundaland continental margin, rather than forming a basin
within the continent. In this position it is clear why the North
Sumatra Basin is the only basin in the present backarc area that
contains Eocene continental margin deposits, including platform
limestones (Tampur Limestone).
Pal ynspast i c cross-sect i ons
Simultaneously with the palaeogeographic reconstructions, a
series of SW to NE cross-sections have been prepared across
Sumatra (Fig. l 4.19). Cross-sections and palaeogeographic recon-
structions are based on the same stratigraphic data set, and
although different interpretations are possible, the presented
cross-sections and reconstructions are compatible with the strati-
graphic data. The cross-sections are a model, in which an
attempt is made to find the simplest conditions that meet the strati-
graphic data set (sedimentation/erosion, fluvial/marine, sediment
thicknesses, source areas, proximity). The following assumptions
are needed to fit the data. (1) There has been a gradual and contin-
ual growth of the Sunda accretionary complex, the forearc basins,
the Barisan Mountains and the backarc basins from Late
Oligocene times until the Present. (2) A regional sag of about
2 km in the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene was faster than
the uplift of the Barisan Mountains. As a consequence the sea
transgressed across the whole area and left only the peaks of the
mountains above sea level. (3) From the Mid-Miocene onwards
the rate of regional sag declined, and while the central parts of
forearc and backarc basins subsided further, the Barisan Moun-
tains began to emerge, to become an increasingly important
source of sediments. (4) In the model a gradual shift of the axis
of maximum uplift of the mountains over about 30 km to the
NE is required, to account for the emergence and erosion of the
western parts of the backarc basins, while at the same time only
a few kilometres of the eastern margins of the forearc basins
have been exposed.
Important conclusions derived from the stratigraphic analysis
and the construction of the palaeogeographic maps and sections
are: the Sundaland pre-Tertiary basement extends across the
area of the forearc basins to the Sumatran offshore islands; the
Barisan Mountains first emerge as a structural element providing
a source area for clastic sediment in the latest Oligocene, and
not in the Mid-Miocene as many authors suppose. Also taken
into account in the reconstructions are dextral movements along
the Sumatran Fault System. Replacing the displaced forearc and
the southwestern segment of the Barisans in their original pos-
itions simplifies the outline of the Sundaland Margin and accounts
for the occurrence of marine sediments in the early stages of the
development of the North Sumatra Basin.
Tertiary rotation of Sumat ra
There has been a continuous controversy concerning the direction
and the extent of rotation of Sumatra during the Tertiary. Both
clockwise and anticlockwise rotations of Sumatra, together with
the rest of SE Asia have been proposed.
Ninkovich (1976) argued for clockwise rotation. He pointed out
that the Sunda Arc between the Banda Arc and Java follows a
small circle, but Sumatra is set back by 20 ~ relative to the west-
ward projection of this small circle. He suggests that the rotation
of Sumatra into its present position commenced in the Oligocene
due to the locking of the subduction zone, so that Sumatra was
driven northeastwards together with the Malay Peninsula, along
the Klong Marui and associated strike-slip faults which cut
across the peninsula, by the movement of the Indian Plate. He sup-
ported his interpretation by drawing attention to the difference in
the depth to which the Beni off-Wadat i Zone extends beneath Java
and Sumatra. Beneath Java the Benioff Zone plunges steeply to a
depth of 600 km, while beneath Sumatra it dips gently to only
c. 200 kin. He therefore suggested that subduction opposite Java
has been continuous over a long period, but subduction beneath
Sumatra commenced at a much later date. This argument has
been shown subsequently to be invalid, as the downgoing slab
can be traced by tomography to a greater depth in the mantle
beneath Sumatra than is indicated by the Benioff Zone
(Spakman & Bijwaard 1998).
Ninkovich (1976) points out that in the Oligocene subduction-
related volcanic activity was restricted to Java and southern
Sumatra (i.e. Lemat Formation). Volcanicity ceased during the
period of maxi mum transgression in the Mid-Miocene, but
resumed in the Late Miocene with explosive ignimbritic eruptions
(Lampung Volcanics) in the region of the Sunda Straits extending
progressively northwards, to Lake Toba in north Sumatra at
c. 4- 5 Ma. Ninkovich (1976) attributes the difference in the beha-
viour of Java and Sumatra to their different relationship to the
underlying mantle: Java was formed of accreted oceanic materials
only in the Cretaceous, whereas Sumatra has been a continental
block since at least the Carboniferous.
A clockwise rotation was also proposed by Daly et al. (1987,
1991). In this model Sumatra is visualized as lying in an approxi-
mately east - west position along the southern magin of Eurasia in
the Cretaceous with Meso-Tethys being subducted northwards
beneath it. The constraint on this reconstruction is the northern
azimuth of the Mesozoic palaeopole determined in the Khorat
Plateau, Thailand by Maranate & Vella (1986). Daly et al.
(1987) accept the model of Tapponnier et al. (1986) for the east-
ward extrusion of crustal blocks due the collision of India with
southern Asia, and the clockwise rotation of SE Asia, leading to
the Palaeogene opening of the South China Sea. During this extru-
sion numerous extensional basins, including the basins in the
Sumatran backarc area, were formed throughout SE Asia by the
differential movement of small microplates. Daly et al. (1987)
postulate that the Sumatran Basins originated as pull-apart
basins between major strike-slip faults, one in the position of the
Sumatran Fault system, and the other in the Malacca Strait.
From the evidence presented earlier in the present account this
model is unsatisfactory. There is no evidence that the Sumatran
Fault System was active during the Palaeogene, also, as has
been emphasized the basins in the Sumatran backarc area were
formed contemporaneously with the forearc basins, with a
254 CHAPTER 14
Fig. 14.19. Palinspastic cross-sections across Sumatra from SW to NE. Letters a - h correspond to the palaeogeographic maps in Figure 14.18. The palaeogeographic
conditions for the stratigraphy of Sumatra were set when the topographic distinction between the basins in the forearc and the back arc and the Barisan Mountains
emerged in the Late Oligocene and continuing to the present day. This differentiation was combined by a regional sag of the order of 2 km during the period from
the Late Oligocene to Mid-Miocene. An eastward shift of the axis of uplift of the Barisan Mountains of c. 30 km has occurred since the Mid-Miocene, accounting for
the broader exposure of the backarc sediments in the eastern foothills, compared with those of the forearc to the west.
TECTONIC EVOLUTION 255
similar orientation, and for the greater part of the Tertiary depo-
sition was continuous across both forearc and backarc areas.
There is, therefore, no necessity to propose different modes of
origin for the basins in the forearc and backarc areas. In addition
there is no evidence for a major strike-slip fault in the Malacca
Strait.
An anticlockwise rotation of the Sunda region was proposed by
Holcombe (1977a, b). From a detailed geometrical analysis of the
faults mapped in the Malay Peninsula and extrapolated throughout
Southeast Asia, he postulated that the region of the Sunda Plate
(Sumatra and West Malaysia) had changed its shape since
Oligocene times, by movements along a large number of closely
spaced sinistral strike-slip shears.
The results of palaeomagnetic studies have not so far been of
much assistance in resolving the rotation problem. Results from
the Malay Peninsula are confusing, with clockwise rotations of
40 ~ reported from northern Malaya and Thailand and anticlock-
wise rotations reported from further south (Richter et al. 1999).
In Sumatra, Haile (1979) found, from a limited number of sites,
that the palaeomagnetic data indicated a clockwise rotation of
40 ~ since the Triassic. Haile' s (1979) conclusions were based on
only one set of Triassic samples and two sets of samples of Early
Tertiary age. All of these sites lie adjacent to the Sumatran Fault
Zone, and Haile (1979) makes the caveat that the results may be
related to local rotations within the fault zone. Palaeomagnetic
studies in Borneo, which is also considered to be part of the
Sunda Plate, indicate 40 ~ of anticlockwise rotation since the Early
Cretaceous and 45~ ~ between 25 and 10 Ma (Fuller et al. 1999).
In his animated plate tectonic model for the tectonic evolution of
SE Asia, Hall (2002) adopted the conclusions of Fuller et al.
(1999) from Borneo. Hall' s (2002) Early Eocene reconstruction
shows Sumatra with a more nort h-sout h orientation; in later
reconstructions Sumatra is shown rotating anticlockwise together
with the Sunda Plate to reach its present NW- SE orientation.
On the other hand, recent GPS measurements suggest that the
Sunda Plate, including eastern Sumatra, is slowly rotating clock-
wise at a rate of c. 30 mm a- ~ with respect to the rest of Eurasia
(Rangin et al. 1999). The extent to which this movement could
be extrapolated back into the past is unknown. There is clearly a
need for more systematic palaeomagnetic studies, particularly of
Tertiary sediments in Sumatra, to resolve these ambiguities con-
cerning the direction of rotation of the Sunda Plate and perhaps
throw more light on the origin of the Sumatran backarc basins.
Davies (1984) from his study of the North Sumatra Basin has
made the most systematic attempt to explain the structural devel-
opment of Sumatran Backarc Basins in terms of regional tectonics.
He suggests that Sumatra forms the SW margin of a Sunda Micro-
plate bounded by the Sumatran Fault System, the Ci l et uh-
Meratus and North Borneo accretionary complexes, the Thai and
Malay Basins and the Ranong and Khlong Marui faults in Penin-
sular Thailand and the Andaman Sea. He suggests, following the
earlier suggestion by Holcombe (1977a, b), that this microplate
has been rotating anticlockwise throughout the Tertiary, driven
initially by extension in the Thai and Malay basins, and later,
after the Mid-Miocene, by extension and the formation of
oceanic crust in the Andaman Sea.
Davies (1984) suggests that during the Eocene, when the Indian
Ocean spreading system was oriented east - west , Sumatra had a
nort h-sout h orientation and India was moving past the SE
Asian peninsula at a rate of c. 9 cm a -~. The northwards move-
ment of the Indian Plate generated a series of overlapping
dextral transcurrent strike-slip faults along the Sumatran margin.
By the Oligocene the Indian Ocean spreading ridge had assumed
its present NW- SE orientation and Sumatra had rotated so that
the angle of convergence of the Indian Ocean Plate with the
Sunda Plate increased, and active subduction commenced along
the Sumatran margin. Differential rates of movement along the
transcurrent faults set up extensional stresses along the western
continental margin of Sundaland opening up the backarc basins.
These extensional faults trended in a NNE- SSW direction as at
this stage Sumatra had not yet reached its present orientation.
In the Early to Mid-Miocene the area was updomed, causing wide-
spread unconformity during the initial stages of the formation of
the opening of the Andaman Sea, followed by subsidence and
widespread marine transgression as the opening got underway.
According to Davies' s (1984) model, extension and the devel-
opment of oceanic crust with the opening of the Andaman Sea,
from the Late Miocene to the present day, caused further antic-
lockwise rotation of the Sunda Microplate so that the angle of
convergence with the Indian Ocean Plate gradually increased. At
the same time the Indian Ocean spreading rate increased to
c. 5 cm a-~. The events caused more rapid subduction, a more
active volcanic arc, compression of the margin and the uplift of
the Barisan Mountains, active movement along the Sumatran
Fault System and initiated regressive sedimentation in the
backarc area. As Sumatra rotated, the original extensional faults
which defined the horst and graben structure reached their
present nort h-sout h orientation. The effect of NE- SW com-
pression in the North Sumatra Basin was to produce structural
inversion, reactivate these normal faults as reverse and strike-
slip faults (transpression), and to generate positive flower struc-
tures and NE-SE folds throughout the backarc area.
Recommendations for future work on Sumatran geology
Hi gh-grade met amorphi c compl exes and the Sumat ran basement
Several areas of high-grade metamorphic rocks have been ident-
ified in Sumatra. High-grade rocks adjacent to intrusive plutons
have usually been interpreted as metamorphic aureoles. Where
they contain cordierite and sillimanite, or include skarns from
metamorphosed limestones, this explanation is most probably
correct.
Some occurrences of gneissose rocks, for example the
Gunungkasih Complex near Bandarlampung, were regarded as
part of a Precambrian basement, but gave Cretaceous ages, and
have been interpreted as syntectonic granitic intrusions (McCourt
et al. 1996; Barber 2000). Earlier in this chapter i t is suggested
that amphibolite-facies rocks that occur along the western margin
of the outcrop of the Kluet Formation near Tapaktuan have been
formed by burial beneath the Woyla Nappe. This hypothesis
could be tested by isotopic dating to determine whether or not
these rocks were metamorphosed during the Cretaceous.
It possible that some of these occurrences of amphibolite-facies
schists and gneisses represent the pre-Carboniferous crystalline
basement of Sumatra. High-grade metamorphic rocks associated
with the unmetamorphosed limestones in the Alas Formation are
probably the best candidates for representatives of such a
basement. According to the interpretation put forward earlier in
this chapter, these gneisses and schists occur within a major
shear zone (Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone) along which the
West Sumatra Block was juxtaposed with the Sibumasu Block
during the Triassic. Along t hi s shear zone rock units of different
origins and derived from different crustal depths have been
brought together by large scale transcurrent fault movements. A
systematic programme of structural, petrographic, mineralogical,
geochemical and isotopic studies would test the validity of this
hypothesis and would establish whether the high-grade rocks
represent a pre-Carboniferous basement.
Geophysical methods could provide information concerning the
deep structure beneath Sumatra, Neither deep reflection nor deep
refraction seismic surveys on shore are likely to prove logistically
feasible for some time to come, but the wider application of
tomographic methods, using natural seismicity, could provide
information on the nature of the crust and mantle and on the pre-
sence of structural discontinuities. Such information could also
256 CHAPTER 14
come from potential-field geophysics. Although almost the whole
of Sumatra has been covered by reconnnaissance gravity surveys,
there is considerable scope for more detailed work aimed at
addressing specific problems. The application of better terrain cor-
rections, perhaps based on satellite-derived 90m DEMs now avail-
able from the United States Geological Survey could considerably
advance our understanding of the controls on the gravity field in
mountainous areas. Aeromagnetic data could play a similarly
important role, and it is to be hoped that the
considerable commercially-confidential database, believed to
exist, will eventually be placed in the public domain.
Recent discoveries of oil in fractured crystalline rocks have
stimulated an interest by petroleum exploration companies in
defining more precisely the nature and structure of the basement
beneath the Tertiary sedimentary basins in the Sumatran backarc
area. Some indication of the nature of the crust and mantle
beneath Sumatra might be determined from xenoliths or xeno-
crysts in volcanic rocks and minor intrusions. Isotopic studies of
granitic intrusions would identify sources of magmatic material
within the crust or mantle.
Furt her pal aeont ol ogi cal studies
Palaeontological studies by Fontaine & Gafoer (1989) have led to
major advances in the determination of the ages of the strati-
graphic units, the definition of crustal blocks, palaeoclimatic con-
ditions and plate tectonic reconstructions. However, further
palaeontological studies would assist in the resolution of some
of the major problems which have emerged during the present
study concerning the relationships between Late Palaeozoic
units in Sumatra, and the terrane amalgamations proposed for
the mid-Permian to mid-Triassic interval.
In their synthesis of the geology of northern Sumatra, Cameron
et al. (1980) included the Bohorok, Alas and Kluet formations in
the Tapanuli Group. Fossils from limestones within the Alas
Formation showed that this unit was of Vis6an (Early Carbonifer-
ous) age. From the occurrence of ' pebbly mudstones' , regarded as
glacigenic deposits, in the Bohorok Formation this unit was
presumed to be Late Carboniferous to Early Permian, as similar
glacigenic deposits occur within palaeontologically-controlled
stratigraphic sequences of Lower Permian age in the NW Malay
Peninsula and Peninsular Thailand. These deposits define the
extent of the Sibumasu Block and are correlated with the
Late Carboni ferous-Earl y Permian Gondwanan glaciation of
the southern continents. The confirmation of ' pebbly mudstones'
in the Tobaoli area of southern Bangka Island (Ko 1986) would
extend Sibumasu to the SE of Sumatra.
More direct evidence of the age of the Bohorok Formation is
provided by the Pangururan Bryozoan Bed that crops out on the
shores of Lake Toba (Aldiss et al. 1983). Poorly preserved and
deformed fossils occur within a decalcified impure limestone.
From these fossils the age of the Bryozoan Bed was established
as possibly Late Carboniferous or Early Permian. During the
mapping programme, from the the absence of pebbly mudstones
among the adjacent sandstones and shales, the Bryozoan Bed
was considered to lie within the Kluet Formation, but in the tec-
tonic model proposed in this volume the Bryozoan Bed is con-
sidered to lie within the Bohorok Formation. Detailed mapping
of the area, to determine the stratigraphic position of the Bryozoan
Bed, together with an assiduous search for limestone beds or
lenses where age-diagnostic fossils may be better preserved,
may provide more precise age constraints for the Bryozoan Bed
and for the Bohorok Formation as a whole.
No fossils have so far been recorded from the Kluet Formation,
but because of its association in the field with the Bohorok and
Alas formations it was also presumed to be of Carboniferous
age (Cameron et al. 1980). Earlier in this chapter it is proposed
that the Kluet Formation forms part of the West Sumatra
(Cathaysian) Block. If this correlation is correct the Kluet For-
mation is most probably the same age as the Kuantan Formation
of central Sumatra, where limestones have also been dated
palaeontologically as Vis6an (Early Carboniferous) age. The
Alas and Kuantan formations are the same age but Fontaine &
Gafoer (1989) suggest that the fossils in the Alas Formation indi-
cate that these limestones were deposited in a temperate environ-
ment, whereas those in the Kuantan Formation indicate a tropical
environment; the Alas and Kuantan formations must have been
deposited on different plates in different climatic zones.
At present there is no direct evidence of the age of the Kluet
Formation from the area near Tapaktuan in which it was originally
defined. However, the geological map (Cameron et al. 1982)
shows limestone lenses within the Kluet Formation which
might yield age-diagnostic macrofossils or microfossils. Turner
(1983b) in his detailed study of the sandstones and shales of the
Kuantan Formation near Muarasipongi reported abundant frag-
mental plant remains with spores, and of sponge spicules in calcar-
eous concretions, providing the possibility that further searches for
spores and microfossils might yield age-diagnostic material from
both the Kluet and Kuantan formations.
In central Sumatra the Kuantan Formation with its tropical fauna
crops out adjacent to the Early Permian Mengkarang Formation
which contains the tropical Cathaysian ' Jambi Flora' . These two
formations define the West Sumatra Block. The Mengkarang
Formation and its flora was last studied systematically in the
1930s. Interbedded with the plant beds are limestones containing
fusulinids. Further palaeontological and palaeobotanical studies
to confirm the precise age and evolutionary and provincial
affinities of the flora are currently in progress (Isabel van
Waveren pers. comm. 2004).
Permian and Triassic fossils were reported from the limestones
of the Situtup, Kaloi and Batumilmil formations in northern
Sumatra, which were included within the Peusangan Group
(Cameron et al. 1980). Both Permian and Triassic fossils were
reported from the same outcrops, but the relationship between
limestones of different ages was not resolved during reconnais-
sance mapping. It has been suggested that important tectonic
events, including the collision of Sibumasu and Indochina and
the emplacement of the West Sumatra Block, occurred between
the Mid-Permian and the Mid-Triassic. Detailed study may
show that a major unconformity separates the Permian and
Triassic components of the Peusangan Group.
Very few radiolarian studies have been carried out in Sumatra.
Triassic bedded cherts occur in the Kualu Formation near Medan
and the Tuhur Formation near Solok, but their radiolarian fauna
has never been described. The ' oceanic assemblage' of the
Jurassic-Cretaceous Woyla Group, cropping out from Banda
Aceh in the north to the Garba Mountains in the south, frequently
includes bedded cherts. The age of these units was presumed to be
of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age from associated shelly
faunas. Only the chert outcrop at Indarung, near Padang, has
been studied for radiolaria, and unexpectedly yielded a Middle
Jurassic age (McCarthy et al. 2001). A systematic study of radi-
olaria from other occurrences of bedded chert in the Woyla
Group may extend the age of the segments of ocean floor (Meso-
Tethys) which were subducted to form the Woyla accretionary
complex.
Sedi ment ol ogi cal studies of pre-Tert i ary sediments
No systematic sedimentological studies have been made of the
Bohorok, Kluet or Kuantan formations to determine their petrogra-
phy and provenance, although a mixed continental provenance
was determined from clasts in the ' pebbly mudstones' (Cameron
et al. 1980). It has been suggested in this chapter that the
Bohorok Formation was deposited on Sibumasu, while the Kluet
Kluet Kuantan Formation was deposited on the West Sumatra
TECTONIC EVOLUTION 257
Block. A provenance study of the sandstones of the Bohorok and
Kluet/Kuantan formations may confirm that these units were
deposited on different continental blocks.
Cameron et al. (1982a), interpreted the alternation of sandstones
and shales, with slumped deposits and graded beds in the Bohorok
and Kluet formations as turbidites, but this suggestion has never
been examined critically, nor have current bedding and other indi-
cators of transport directions yet been studied. As has already been
mentioned, the ' pebbly mudstones' of the Bohorok Formation are
interpreted as glacio-marine deposits, by analogy with the Singa
Formation of the Langkawi Islands, where dropstones have been
described, but comparable features have not yet been described
from Sumatra.
Cameron et al. (1980) proposed that the westerly decrease in the
size of pebbles in the mudstones in the Bohorok Formation, and in
the conglomerates in the Alas and Kluet formations, indicate that
the Tapanuli Group was deposited on a continental margin facing
an ocean towards the west. Since it is proposed earlier in this
chapter that the Bohorok Formation was deposited on Sibumasu,
and the Kluet Formation on the West Sumatra Block, this
interpretation requires re-examination.
Sedimentological studies are also needed on the Permian and
Triassic units of northern and central Sumatra, including the
Silungkang, Mengkarang, Kualu and Tuhur Formations to estab-
lish their provenance, directions of transport and environments
of deposition. These studies will result in the improvement of
our present palaeogeographic models for these periods. A sedi-
mentological study of the Lower Permian Mengkarang Formation
is currently in progress (Isabel van Waveren pers. comm. 2004);
preliminary results have determined the palaeo-environments in
which the Jambi Flora was deposited.
Structural studies
Thrusts and refolded folds on vertical or steeply dipping axial
planes have been reported from the Bohorok Formation and equiv-
alent units in eastern Sumatra. These units were deposited on the
Sibumasu Block but it has not been established whether the struc-
tures were formed by the Late Permi an-Earl y Triassic collision
between the Sibumasu and Indochina Blocks.
It has been proposed earlier in this chapter that during the Early
Triassic the West Sumatra Block was emplaced against the
western margin of the Sibumasu Block along a major transcurrent
shear zone (Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone). The sense of move-
ment and the extent to which earlier structures within the adjacent
crustal blocks have been modified by strike-slip movements can be
determined by a study of minor structures within the shear zone.
Triassic rocks which were deposited during or shortly after the
time of emplacement have been mapped within the shear zone
and in adjacent areas. A study directed specifically at the structures
within these Triassic rocks might better constrain the extent and
the age of movements along the MSTZ.
Earlier in this chapter it has been proposed that Carboniferous -
Permian rocks of the Pemali Group on the island of Bangka, some
of which have an oceanic origin, form part of an accretionary
complex due to subduction of the Palaeo-Tethys Ocean which
lay between Sibumasu and Indochina, prior to their collision in
the Late Permian or Early Triassic. These rocks are described as
steeply dipping, highly deformed, folded and thrust, with the
development of slaty cleavage in argillaceous units (Ko 1986).
The Pemali Group is overlain by the more gently folded and
faulted Triassic Tempilang Formation, presumably unconform-
ably, although the unconformity has not yet been described. The
rocks on Bangka are much disrupted and altered to hornfels by
granitic intrusions which host tin deposits, so that relatively
little attention has been paid to the structure of the country
rocks. It should be straightforward to establish, by a close examin-
ation of the lithologies and structure, whether the Pemali Group
forms part of an accretionary complex.
Folding and the development of slaty cleavage in the Jurassi c-
Cretaceous Rawas, Alai and Peneta formations in central Sumatra
have been attributed in this account to the mid-Cretaceous col-
lision of the West Sumatran margin with an island arc, resulting
in the emplacement of the overthrust Woyla Nappe. A structural
study could be directed at determining the validity of this hypoth-
esis. In the West Sumatra Block, multiple folding and slaty
cleavage are developed in the Carboniferous Kluet/Kuantan For-
mation. Are these structures also the result of the overthrusting by
the Woyla Nappe, or is there any evidence of an earlier (?)Permian
deformation in these rocks?
Geochemical analysis and isotopic dating of pre-Quaternary
volcanic units and plutonic intrusions
The Tin Islands of Bangka and Billiton are the only parts of
Sumatra where a comprehensive geochemical and isotopic study
of the igneous rocks has been carried out. Here Cobbing et al.
(1992) made a thoroughly documented study of the granites
(summarized in Chapter 5), providing a sound basis for future
work. In compiling the geochemical database and the isotopic
ages of the igneous rocks of Sumatra for this volume it was
found that there are very few studies in which modern techniques
of geochemical and isotopic analysis have been used. The majority
of isotopic ages given in the literature are not supported by
detailed information concerning location, field relationships,
petrographic description or by complete geochemical analyses,
and very few of the ages have been confirmed using different
dating methods. In the absence of reliable modern data much of
the information and many of the interpretations on the ages of
volcanism, igneous intrusion, deformation and mineralization
that have been given in the earlier chapters in this volume are
based on inadequate geochemical and stratigraphic controls.
A systematic programme of isotopic dating using the available
techniques could provide precise ages for episodes of igneous
intrusion, volcanic activity, deformation and mineralisation
throughout Sumatra. There are large number of granitoids in
northern Sumatra which are presumed to be of Permo-Triassic
age, but they have never been dated. Isotopic dating of 13
samples from the Sibolga Granitoid Complex showed a wide
range of ages between 264 Ma (Early Permian) and 75 Ma
(Late Cretaceous). The significance of this wide age range is not
understood; the oldest age is taken to be the age of emplacement,
but it is not known whether the younger ages relate to alteration or
to the emplacement of younger intrusions coincidently in the same
area. The existing K- Ar and Rb- Sr database requires major
expansion and confirmation by the use of additional techniques,
such as 39Ar/4~ U- Pb and SHRIMP. For example Imtihanah
(2000) using the 39Ar/4~ method, dated the emplacement of
the Lolo Batholith earlier in the Miocene than the K- Ar mineral
ages obtained by McCourt et al. (1996), which presumably
relate to the tectonic uplift of the batholith.
There is scope for a systematic programme of chemical analysis
to determine the tectonic environments of formation of all the plu-
tonic intrusions and volcanic units in Sumatra to refine the
interpretations that have been presented in this account.
For example there is a problem concerning the environment of for-
mation of the Jurassic-Cretaceous Bentaro Volcanics of Aceh. It
was earlier suggested that this arc was built on a sliver of continen-
tal crust (Cameron et al. 1980). Earlier in this chapter it is
suggested that these volcanics were formed as an intra-oceanic
arc built on oceanic crust. This problem could be resolved easily
by a geochemical study.
258 CHAPTER 14
Neotectonics
GPS monitoring of recent crustal movements in Sumatra have so
far been concentrated on the Sumatran Fault Zone and the central
segment of the forearc region, defined by the Banyak Islands in the
north and the Batu Islands in the south. No information has been
obtained concerning the segmentation of the convergence zone,
which may prove to be crucially important in asssessing the
spatial distribution of hazards represented by Great Earhquakes.
It is particularly frustrating that there was only one station in the
segment ruptured during the 26 December 2004 earthquake
(where the pillar on a very small island may have been destroyed
by the tsunami) and there have been no repeat GPS measurements
in the Enggano region since the Magnitude 7.9 event in June 2000.
However, the spatial bias in the distribution of the stations that
have been established does at least mean that a start has been
made on monitoring the probable site of the next Great Earthquake
to the west of Sumatra. There is clearly an urgent need, in view of
the complexity of the forearc bathymetry, for predictive modelling
of likely tsunami travel paths from the sites of possible future rup-
tures. It is especially important that such methods be applied to the
very vulnerable central segment. Such an approach to hazard miti-
gation could well be more cost-effective, and could certainly be
more quickly implemented, than the full Indian Ocean tsunami
warning system now being proposed.
Vertical movements are more difficult to assess than horizontal
ones, but there is the intriguing possibility of obtaining significant
information in the forearc region by comparing the maps and
navigational charts from the Dutch colonial era with modern
observations. It is known that some smaller islands have been sub-
merged completely in the intervening period, but no systematic
survey has yet been attempted.
Sumatra also provides a potentially valuable, but so far under-
used field laboratory for studying the interactions between subduc-
tion zones and features on the downgoing plate. Sidescan sonar
and swathe bathymetric studies of trench and outer forearc
structures in areas such as the junction between the trench and
the Investigator Fracture Zone would add significantly to our
knowledge and understanding of the processes involved and the
hazards that they represent.
Exploration for gold and base metal deposits
Mineral exploration companies will continue the search for gold
and base metal deposits in Sumatra. There are few recent descrip-
tions of the more significant mineral deposits, and very few depos-
its have been dated adequately using modern techniques.
Recently a Pb- Zn sedex deposit of Mississippi Valley type has
been found at Dairi NW of Lake Toba and a gold deposit near
Sibolga, similar in size to the gold deposit in the Lebong mining
area near Bengkulu, has been located by the bulk leach analysis
technique. It seems that in spite of over 100 years of exploration,
it is still possible to discover Pb- Zn sulphide deposits of types
which had not previously been known in Sumatra and to find
sediment-hosted gold deposits using new exploration techniques.
Novel exploration methods and the targeting of new types of min-
eralization may lead to further discoveries. The development of
techniques for the more efficient exploitation of deposits already
discovered will continue to sustain the interest of the mining
companies in Sumatra, subject to the vagaries of the market, the
restrictions of conservation and government regulations on
mining activities.
Continued search f or energy resources (coal, oil and gas)
Expanding demand for energy within Indonesia and worldwide,
and diminishing reserves elsewhere, will encourage petroleum
companies to continue the search for accumulations of oil and
gas in the Tertiary sedimentary basins of Sumatra and in the
underlying basement. Now that Indonesia is a net importer of oil
it is becoming critical that exploration goes into a new phase.
The major producing basins are now mature and future reserves
are dependent on small structural and stratigraphic plays. These
will require advances in seismic techniques and the interpretation
of seismic data, and the more efficient exploitation of known
reserves, using more sophisticated recovery techniques. Success
will require innovation, thinking outside the box and, occasion-
ally, serendipity. This phase of exploration is usually taken over
by independents. New independent Indonesian companies are
entering the scene. This traditional petroleum area provides oppor-
tunities for innovative small companies that are not risk averse.
Prospects for the expansion of the coal industry are also excel-
lent. The demand for steam coal to supply generating stations is
expected to expand in response to increasing domestic demand
for electricity. The extensive reserves of coal in the Tertiary
basins of Sumatra will continue to be an important source of
energy for Indonesia and for export in the forseeable future.
Continued exploration for energy resources in Sumatra will lead
to a better understanding of the tectonic controls on the origin and
development of the Tertiary sedimentary basins and conditions
which led to the formation of coal and the accumulation of
economic deposits of oil and gas. Fission-track studies in the
basement rocks in the Barisan Mountains and in the Tertiary sedi-
mentary basins would provide better controls on the history of
uplift, erosion and sedimentation. Only one fission-track study has
so far been carried out in Sumatra (Moss & Carter 1996). This
study was conducted in the Ombilin Basin and on the margins of
the South Sumatra Basin. As expected, this study demonstrated
that the marginal sediments had never been deeply buried.
Palaeomagnetic studies to determine latitudinal
movement and rotation of crustal blocks
Very few palaeomagnetic studies have been carried out in
Sumatra. Early studies by Sasajima et al. (1978) and Haile
(1979) were very much at a preliminary reconnaissance level
and the results were mainly inconclusive. No studies using
modern palaeomagnetic techniques have yet been carried out.
Most of the pre-Tertiary units have been metamorphosed and
are unlikely to give useful palaeomagnetic results, but some of
the Permo-Triassic limestones and less altered Permian volcanic
rocks, and the volcanics, limestones and cherts of the Woyla
Group may provide evidence of latitudinal movement of crustal
blocks and provide constraints on the palaeogeographic recon-
structions proposed in this chapter.
One important problem that could be resolved easily by a
palaeomagnetic study is to establish whether Sumatra rotated to
any significant degree during the Tertiary. Both clockwise and
counter-clockwise rotations of up to 40 ~ have been proposed.
Tertiary limestones, siltstones and volcanic rocks, often with
good stratigraphic control on their age, may yield valuable palaeo-
magnetic results, and are well exposed in the forearc, intramontane
and backarc regions of Sumatra. By collaboration with the oil
companies it should be possible to obtain oriented samples from
borehole cores for a palaeomagnetic study.
Conclusion
This volume is the first attempt to provide a comprehensive
review of all that is presently known about the geology of
Sumatra since the synthesis prepared by van Bemmelen (1949,
TECTONIC EVOLUTION 259
1970). The authors hope that it provides a sound foundation upon
which future research can be based. Many of the interpretations
proposed are highly speculative and will provide ample scope
for future research programmes on all aspects of the geology.
Hopefully, some of the suggestions put forward above will be
taken up by institutions in Indonesia or elsewhere in the world,
leading to a new synthesis in which some of the problems
raised have been resolved.
Appendix
Radi ometri c age data for Sumatra
A s ummar y of K- Ar , Rb- Sr and Ar - Ar age dat a for whi ch
met hods and l ocat i ons are document ed. The s ummar y is updat ed
f r om the compi l at i ons by McCour t et al. (1996; Suppl ement ar y
Publ i cat i on), and the SEAges Dat abase (2004) ht t p: / / www. gl .
r hul . ac. UK/ seasi a. Addi t i onal i nf or mat i on ki ndl y pr ovi ded by
Professors Rober t Hal l and Herv6 Bel l on.
Table AI. Radiometric age dates of volcanics and f or the intrusion and cooling of plutons related to the Palaeozoic volcanism and plutonism in Sumatra
Lithology Dating method Age (Ma) Reference
Granite clast, Cucut No. l well (source rock not identified) K-Ar, ? 348 10 Koning & Darmono ([984)
East Sumatra Plutonic Arc
Kiri Well, Granite
Kiri Well, Granite
Set177 4 well, Granite*
Idris No. 1 well
Set177 5 well Granite*
Rb-Sr, ?
Rb-Sr, ?
Rb-Sr, feldspar
Rb-Sr, ?
Rb-Sr, feldspar
427 42 Eubank & Makki (1981)
335 43 Eubank & Makki (1981)
298 39 Katili (1973)
295 3 Koning & Darmono (1984)
276 20 Katili (1973)
West Sumatra Volcanic and Plutonic Belt
VOLCANICS
Silungkang area, andesite K-Ar, ? 248 l0
PL UTONS
Singkarak (Ombilin) Granite* K-Ar, muscovite 287 3.5
Singkarak (Ombilin) Granite K-Ar, ? 277 13
Sibolga Granite Rb-Sr, isochron 264 _+6
Sibolga Granite Rb-Sr, ? whole rock 257 24
Singkarak (Ombilin) Granite Rb-Sr, muscovite 256 6
Singkarak (Ombilin) Granite K-Ar, ? 246 7
Sijunjung Granite K-Ar, biotite 246 12
Nishimura et aI. (1978)
Hahn & Weber (1981b)
Suwarna et al. (2000)
Aspden et al. (1982b)
Fontaine & Gafoer (1989)
Silitonga & Kastowo (1975)
Koning & Aulia (1985)
Sato (1991)
*Suspected presence of de|brmation
Locations in Figs 5. l & 6. l
Table A2. Radiometric age dates of volcanics and / br the intrusion and cooling plutons related to the Triassic-Early Jurassic" Plutonic Episode in Sumatra
Lithology Dating method Age (Ma) Reference
West Sumatra Plutonic Arc" (Eastern Province-type granites)
Sibolga Granite
Sibolga Granite
Sibolga Granite t
Sibolga Granite
Sibolga Granite t
Sibolga satellite Granite
Sibolga satellite Granite
Sumpur Granite t
Sumpur Granite ~
Sumpur Granite 1-
Tantan-Dusunbaru Granite
Tantan-Dusunbaru Granite
Tantan-Dusunbaru Granite
Singkarak Granite
SE Padangsimpuan*
Sulit Air Diorite
Sulit Air (98/8) no plateau
Sulit Air (98/7) steps 1050- 1175~
Sulit Air Diorite
Sulit Air Diorite
Padang Ganting Granite (Sulit Air)
K-At,
K-Ar,
K-Ar.
K-Ar
K-Ar
K- At
K-Ar
Rb-Sr
Rb-Sr.
K-Ar
K- At
hornblende
biotite
biotite
biotite
biotite
biotite
biotite
feldspar
biotite
biotite
feldspar
K- At amphibole
K-Ar whole rock
K-Ar, biotite
K-Ar, biotite
K-Ar, biotite
4~ hornblende
4~ hornblende
K-Ar, hornblende
K-Ar, hornblende/biotite
K-At, ?
219 4 Hehuwat (1976)
211 5 Aspden et al. (1982b)
211 3 Hehuwat (1976)
206 _ 3 Fontaine & Gafoer (1989)
206 + 2 Fontaine & Gafoer (1989)
217 4 Fontaine & Gafoer (1989)
212 _+3 Fontaine & Gafoer (1989)
216 Hehuwat (1976)
215 Hehuwat (1976)
215 ___3 Hahn & Weber (1981b)
209 3 Fontaine & Gafoer (1989)
201 5 Fontaine & Gafoer (1989)
199 4 Fontaine & Gafoer (1989)
206 3 Fontaine & Gafoer (1989)
202 2 Wikarno et al. (1993)
203 6 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
193 4 Imtihanah (2000)
192 0.4 hntihanah (2000)
183 13 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
149 5 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
149 3 Koning & Aulia (1985)
(cont i nued)
260
APPENDIX 261
Table A4. Continued
Lithology Dating method Age (Ma) Reference
Atar (Sulit Air) Granodiorite K-Ar, biotite 147 2
Sulit Air Diorite K-Ar, hornblende/biotite 141 5
Sulit Air Diorite K-Ar, hornblende 138 3
(Main Range Province type granites)
Sijunjung Granite K-Ar, hornblende, biotite 206 3
Muarasipongi Granite K-Ar, biotite 197 2
Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone (Main Range Province granites)
Kayumambang Granite K-At, biotite
Sungai Isahan Granite-greisen K-Ar, muscovite
Sungai Isahan Granite-greisen K-Ar, muscovite
Rokan Granite* K-Ar, biotite
Rokan Granite* K-Ar, biotite
East Sumatra, Indosinian Foreland (Main Range Province granites)
Idris No. 1 well, Granite K-At, muscovite
Idris No. 1 well, Granite K-Ar, albite
Idris No. 1 well K-Ar, albite
Beruk NE No. 4 well K-Ar, ?
Garnet-muscovite-tourmaline microgranite
Indosinian Collision Zone in Riau Archipelago, Bangka and Bill
(Main Range & Eastern Province granites)
Penangas-Belinyu Granite, Bangka
Belinyu Granite, Bangka
East Bintang Granite, Bintan
Lagoi Granite, Bintan
Toboali Granite, Bangka
Pading Granite, Bangka
Menumbing Granite, Bangka
Menumbing Granite, Bangka
Tanjong Pandang Granite, Belitung
Parangbuloh Granite 2sp, Belitung
Parangbuloh Granite, Belitung
Parangbuloh Granite, Belitung
Kelapa Granite, Bangka
Kelapa Granite, Bangka
Kelapa Granite, Bangka
Menumbing Granite, Bangka
Menumbing Granite, Bangka
Permisan Granite, Bangka
Pemali Megacrystic Granite, Bangka
Pemali Granite, Bangka
Parangbuloh Granite, Belitung
Tikus Granite greisen Belitung
B. Pancur Granite greisen Belitung
Dabo Granite, Singkep
Rb-Sr. isochron
Rb-Sr. isochron
Rb-Sr. isochron
Rb-Sr. isochron
Rb-Sr. isochron
Rb-Sr. isochron
Rb-Sr. biotite
Rb-Sr. whole rock
Rb-Sr. isochron
K-Ar, biotite
Rb-Sr, biotite
Rb-Sr whole rock
K-Ar, biotite
Rb-Sr, biotite
Rb-Sr whole rock
K-Ar, biotite
Rb-Sr isochron
Rb-Sr isochron
Rb-Sr errorchron
K-Ar, biotites
Rb-Sr, biotite
K-Ar, muscovite
K-Ar, muscovite
Rb-Sr, 'errorchron'
198 2
197 2
193 + 2
189 2
186+ 2
208 7
206 8
206 8
203 + 4
Hahn & Weber (1981b)
McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
Silitonga & Kastowo (1975)
Rock et al. (1983)
Schwartz et al. (1987)
Schwartz et al. (1987)
Schwartz et al. (1987)
Rock et al. (1983)
Rock et al. (1983)
Koning & Darmono (1984)
Koning & Darmono (1984)
Koning & Darmono (1984)
Koning & Darmono (1984)
252 8 Cobbing et al. (1992)
251 l0 Cobbing et al. (1992)
229 7 Cobbing et al. (1992)
226 8 Cobbing et al. (1992)
225 -I- 9 Cobbing et al. (1992)
223 16 Cobbing et al. (1992)
217 5 Priem & Bon (1982)
217 _+5 Priem & Bon (1982)
216 3 Cobbing et al. (1992)
216 6 Priem & Bon (1982)
216 6 Priem & Bon (1982)
216 6 Priem & Bon (1982)
216 6 Priem & Bon (1982)
215 5 Priem & Bon (1982)
215 5 Priem & Bon (1982)
214 6 Priem & Bon (1982)
200 + 4 Cobbing et al. (1992)
213 4 Cobbing et al. (1992)
2! 1 3 Schwartz & Surjono (1991)
159 - 95 Schwartz et al. (1995)
206 6 Priem & Bon (1982)
200 6 Jones et al. (1977)
195 6 Jones et al. (1977)
193 12 Cobbing et al. (1992)
*Deformation suspected.
tLocation of sample point uncertain.
Locations in Figs 5.1, 5.2 & in references.
Table A3. Radiometric age dates of volcanics and f or the intrusion and cooling of plutons related to the Mesozoic Volcanic and Plutonic Episodes and Phases in Sumatra
Lithology Dating method Age (Ma) Reference
Mid Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Volcanic and Plutonic Episode (180-129 Ma)
VOLCANICS
Tanjung Siantu, metabasalt, Belitung K-Ar, whole rock*
Palangki, andesite K-Ar, ?
Silungkang area, andesite K-Ar, ?
Gumai Mts, basic volcanic K-Ar, ?
Lembak AI well, andes K-At , ?
PLUTONS
Kayumambang Granite K-Ar, whole rock
Kayumabang Granite K-At, biotite
181 5 Priem et al. (1975)
143 4 Koning & Aulia (1985)
140 10 Suwarna et al. (2000)
122 + 4 Gafoer et al. (1992c)
121 2 Pulunggono & Cameron (1984)
180+ 7
124_ 5
Simandjuntak et al. (1991)
And Mangga et al. (2000)
( c ont i nue d)
262 APPENDIX
Table A4. Continued
Lithology Dating method Age (Ma) Reference
Kayumabang Granite K-Ar,
Beruk NE No. 2 muscovite-tourmaline granite K- At ,
Lubuk Terap Granite
Bungo Batholith Granite
Bungo Batholith Granodiorite
Bungo Batholith Granodiorite
Bungo Batholith Granite
Bungo Batholith Quartz diorite
Bungo Batholith Quartz diorite
Bungo Batholith Granite
Berhala Island, gabbro
S. Salai Porphyritic Granite*
Tebingtinggi 1 well, Granite
biotite
?
K-Ar, ?
K-Ar, biotite
K-Ar, hornblende
K-Ar, hornblende
K-Ar, biotite
K- At , biotite
K-Ar, hornblende
K- At , biotite
K-Ar, ?
K-Ar, whole rock
K-Ar, ? whole rock
Duabelas Mts. Granite
Muarasipongi Granite
Kluang Utara-49 well Granite
Way Sulan Gabbro
Bungsu-1 well Granite, Beruk
Tanjung Laban-1 well Granite
Sibolga satellite Granite
Tanjung Gadang Granite
Sibolga satellite Granite
S. Mentaus, Porphyritic Granite t
S. Muara, Porphyritic Granite Tigapuluh Mrs.
Kiri Granite*
S. Manggajahan Biotite Granite
Pakning No. 1 well, Granite
Panyabungan Batholith
K- At , ?biotite
Rb-Sr, isochron
K- At , ?
K-Ar, hornblende
K- At , muscovite
K-Ar, ?
K-Ar, biotite
Rb-Sr, ?
K- At , hornblende
K- At , whole rock
K-Ar, whole rock
K- At , ?
K-Ar, whole rock
K-Ar, muscovite
K-Ar, biotite
Late Cretaceous Volcanic and Plutonic Episode (120-75
VOLCANI CS
Lubuk Paruku, tuff
Tambak Baru Volcanic Unit
Gumai area, andesite
Palepat area, andes
Ma)
K-Ar, ?
K-Ar, whole rock
K-At , ?
K-Ar, ?
PL UTONS
Gunung Mang Diorite, Belitung
Tanjung Gadang
Garba Pluton Monzodiorite
Garba Pluton Monzodiorite
Garba Pluton Monzograbbro*
Garba Pluton Monzograbbro*
Garba Pluton
Garba Pluton Granite
Garba Pluton Monzogranite
Garba Pluton Granite
Gumai Mrs Diorite
Sulan Pluton Tonalite
Sulan Pluton Granodiorite
Lass Granite
Guntung No. 1 well Granite
Sibolga satellite granite
Idris No. 1 Granite
Palepat Granite t
Seumayam Complex granodiorite
Susoh intrusion
Sikuleh Granite
Well 100 km NW Pakanbaru,
Granite
Ulai (Sontang) Granite
Aroguru foliated diorite
Lampung Granite
Manunggal Granite
Brant Granodiorite
K-Ar, whole rock
K-At , ?
K-Ar, biotite
K-Ar, biotite
K-Ar, hornblende
K-At , biotite ?
? K-Ar, biotite
K-At , biotite
K-At , biotite
K-Ar, biotite
K-At , ?
K-Ar, biotite
K- At , biotite
Rb-Sr, biotite ?
K-Ar, muscovite
K-Ar, biotite
K-Ar, re177
K-At , ?
K-Ar, biotite
K-Ar, ?
K- At , mean of 2 biotite &
1 hornblende determination
Rb-Sr, ?
K- At , biotite
K- At , biotite
Rb-Sr, 4 determinations on
biotite & muscovite
K-Ar, K-feldspar
K-Ar, biotite
123 1 And Mangga et al. (2000)
179 5 Koning & Darmono (1984)
175 + 5 Koning & Aulia (1985)
169 -4- 5 McCourt & Cobb (1993)
156 + 6 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
154 + 7 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
153 4 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
148 -4- 4 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
131 -4- 7 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
129 -4- 4 McCourt & Cobb (1993)
167 Katili (1973)
166 -4- 3 Suwarna et at. (1991)
160 -4- 3 Anon (1983)
159 -4- 6 Simandjuntak et al. (1991)
158 -4- 23 Beddoe-Stephens et al. (1987)
153 -4- 5 Pulunggono et al. (1992)
151 + 4 McCourt & Cobbing (1993; map)
150 -4- 2 Koning & Darmono (1984)
149 -4- 4 Putunggono et at. (I992)
147 -4- 2 Aspden et al. (1982b)
145 -4- 4 Pulungonno & Cameron (1984)
144 2 Aspden et al. (1982b)
144 4- 3 Suwarna et al. ( 1991 )
135 3 Suwarna et al. (1991)
134 -4- I Eubank & Makki (1981)
128 +_ 3 J1CA (1990)
122 2 Eubank & Makki (1981)
121 -4- 1 Rock et al. (1983)
105 3 Koning & Aulia (1985)
78.4 2.5 Wajzer et ell. (1991)
78 + 3 Suwarna et al. (2000)
75 _+ I Suwarna et ell. (2000)
120 4 Priem et al. (1975)
118 + 4 Koning & Aulia (1985)
117 3 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
115 _+ 4 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
104 _+ 3 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
100 3 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
89 2 Pulunggono et al. (1992)
86 3 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
82 3 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
80 1 Pulunggono et al. (1992)
116 3 Gafoer e t a/ . (1992c)
113 3 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
111 3 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
112 24 Katili (1962)
I 12 2 Eubank & Makki (1981)
105 + 1 Hehuwat (1976)
101 i- 4 Koning & Darmono (t984)
100 1 Suwarna et al. (2000)
99 4 Kallagber (1990)
98 -t- 2 McCourt & Cobbing (1993, map)
98 1 Bennett et al. (1981b)
95 3 Eubank & Makki (1981)
89.6 Rock et al. (1983)
89 3 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
88 Katili (1973)
87.0 Kanao et al. (1971)
86 + 3 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
( c ont i nue d)
APPENDIX 263
Table A4. Continued
Lithology Dating method Age (Ma) Reference
Batu Madingding Diorite K-Ar, whole rock 85 ___4
Padean Granite K-Ar, muscovite 84.7 + 3.6
Padean Pluton Microdiorite K-Ar, muscovite (2 dets.) 82 + 2
Padean Monzogranite K-Ar, biotite 82 _+ 3
Padean Monzogranite K- At , biotite 82 + 2
Padean Monzogranite K-Ar, biotite 81 + 2
Padean Granite K-Ar, muscovite 79 _ 2
Senawar Quartz Diorite K-Ar, whole rock 83.6 _+ 4.2
Hatapang Granite Rb-Sr, isochron 80 _+ 1
Sibolga satellite granite K-Ar, biotite 75 _+ 1
Wajzer et al. (1991)
McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
JICA (1988)
Clarke & Beddoe-Stephens (1987)
Hehuwat (1976)
*Deformed sample.
+Location of sampling point uncertain.
Locations on Fig 5.1 & in references.
Table A4. Radi omet ri c age dates of volcanics and Jbr the intrusion and cooling of plutons related to the Tertiary Volcanic Episodes and Phases in Sumatra
Lithology Dating method Age (Ma) Reference
PALAEOCENE VOLCANIC EPISODE (65-50 Ma)
VOLCANICS
Basalt tuff, Bentaro Volcanic Formation (LM 116A)
Basalt dyke in Lhoong Formation (LM 124)
Basalt flow, SW of Banda Aceh (LM 118)
Basalt dyke in Bentaro Volcanic Formation
Basalt dyke, Natal area (SU 49)
Andesite dyke in Woyla Group, Batang Natal (NL 41)
Basalt dyke, Tambak Barn Volcanics (NL 40)
Gabbro dyke in Silungkang Formation (RDC 11)
Basalt flow, Silungkang Formation (RDC 13A2)
Basalt flow, Silungkang Formation (RDC 13A l)
Andesite, Gunung Dempu
Basalt, Garba Mountains
Tuff, Tamiang 2-well
PL UTONS
Padangpanj ang
Jatibaru microgranite
Jatibaru microgranite
Well in N Sumatra Basin, Granite
Lassi Pluton gabbro
Lassi Pluton biotite tonalite
Lassi Pluton (98/3) Steps 1100-1250~
Lassi Pluton quartz diorite
Lassi Pluton (98/2)
Lassi Pluton (98/2) Steps 1100-1300~
Lassi Pluton diorite
Lassi Pluton granite
Lassi Pluton quartz diorite
Lassi Pluton (98/4)
Lassi microdiorite
Lassi Pluton (98/1) 750-900~ steps
Meulaboh-Meuko granodiorite
Meulaboh-Meuko granodiorite
Granite in well in N Sumatra Basin
Bungo Batholith quartz diorite
Bungo Batholith quartz diorite
Nagan granodiorite
Nagan granodiorite
Nagan granodiorite
Bukit Raja Pluton
Bukit Raja Pluton
Ulai (Sopan) granite
Ulai (Panti) pegmatitic granodiorite
Ulai granodiorite
Samadua granite
4~176 51.3 + 1.5 Bellon et al. (2004)
4~176 55.5 _+ 1.5 Bellon et al. (2004)
4~176 57.9 + 1.4 Bellon et al. (2004)
4~176 63.1 _ 1.5 Bellon et al. (2004),
4~176 52.1 -t- 1.2 Bellon et al. (2004)
4~176 59.6 _ 1.4 Bellon et al. (2004)
4~176 62.5 _ 1.4 Bellon et al. (2004)
4~176 62.9 _+ 1.5 Bellon et al. (2004)
4~176 63.1 + 1.5 Bellon et al. (2004)
4~176 63.7 _ 1.5 Bellon et al. (2004)
K-Ar, whole rock? 63.3 + 1.9 Amin et al. (1994b)
K-Ar, whole rock? 60.3 Gafoer et al. (1994)
K- At , '?whole rock 55 De Coster (1974)
K-Ar, biotite, mean 2 dets.
K-Ar, biotite
K-Ar, biotite
Rb-Sr, ?
K-Ar, hornblende
K-Ar, biotite mean 2 dets
4~ hornblende
K-Ar, biotite
Rb-Sr, biotite
4~ biotite
K-Ar, hornblende
K-Ar, biotite
K-Ar, biotite
Rb/Sr, biotite
K-Ar, ?
4~ K-feldspar
K-Ar, biotite
K-Ar.
K-Ar.
K-Ar.
K-Ar.
K-Ar.
K-Ar.
K-Ar.
K-Ar.
K- Ar
K- Ar
K- Ar
K-Ar,
K-Ar,
biotite
biotite
hornblende
biotite
biotite
mafic
biotite
9
?
biotite
biotite
biotite
biotite
63.6 _+ 3.2 Sato (1991)
62 + 3 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
56 _+ 3 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
58 Wikarno et al. (1993)
57 _+ 2 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
56.2 + 2.8 Sato (1991)
56.06 +_ 0.19 Imtihanah (2000)
55 _ 2 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
55.02 + 0.7 Imtihanah (2000)
54.78 _ 0.10 Imtihanah (2000)
54 + 2 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
53 _+ 2 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
53 _+ 2 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
52.2 + 0.7 Imtihanah (2000)
52 -t- 1.6 Koning & Aulia (1985)
,-~48.5 Imtihanah (2000)
56.2 _+ 2.2 Kallagher (1990)
53.2 _+ 3.3 Kallagher (1990)
56 + 1 Hehuwat (1976)
54 + 2 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
54 + 2 McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
54.4 _+ 0.5 Kusnama et al. (1993b)
53.5 +_ 0.9 Kusnama et al. (1993b)
51.5 _ 0.7 Kusnama et al. (1993b)
54.1 + 2.7 JICA (1988)
51.9 _ 2.6 JICA (1988)
52.2 Hahn & Weber (1991b)
52.4 + 0 Kanao et al. (1971)
47.7 Rock et al. (1983)
52 ___1 Cameron et al. (1982b)
( c ont i nue d)
264 APPENDIX
Table A4. Continued
Lithology Dating method Age (Ma) Reference
Samadua (Tapaktuan) granite
Batang Natal microdiorite dyke
Sibubung granite
Well in N Sumatra Basin
Gle Seukeun Complex granodiorite
Gle Seukeun Complex granodiorite
Gle Seukeun Complex hb diorite
Gle Seukeun Complex
Granite in well 100 km NW Pakanbaru
LATE MID-EOCENE VOLCANIC EPISODE (c. 46- 40 Ma)
VOLCANI CS
Andesite dyke, Langsat Volcanic Formation (NL 36)
Basalt dyke, Indarung Calcareous Formation (RDC 20)
Shoshonite dyke, Tanjungkarang area (PCE 13)
PLUTONS
*Gabbro in ophiolite, P. Simeulue
*Gabbro in ophiolite, P. Simeulue
S. Tuboh Quartz Monzonite
Andes dyke in Sikumbu Fm
Andesite dyke in Sikumbu Fm
K-Ar, biotite 51 1 Cameron et al. (1982b)
K-Ar, whole rock 49.5 2.5 Wajzer (1986)
K-Ar, ? 50.9 + 1 Wikarno et al. (1993)
K-Ar, biotite 50 4- 1.2 Hehuwat (1976)
K- At , hornblende 50 1 Van Leeuwen et al. (1987)
K- At , biotite 47.2 0.7 Van Leeuwen et al. (1987)
K-Ar, hornblende 47.6 1.0 Van Leeuwen et al. (1987)
K-Ar, mean of analyses of a 42 3 Bennett et al. (1981a)
hornblende and a biotite
K-Ar, ? 45 1 Eubank & Makki (1981)
4~176 41.1 0.9 Bellon et al. (2004)
4~176 45.8 _+ 1.1 Bellon et al. (2004)
4~176 43.5 1 Bellon et al. (2004)
K-Ar, whole rock 40.1 2.7 Kallagher (1990)
K-Ar, whole rock 35.4 3.6 Kallagher (1990)
K- At , ? 40.1 2.0 JICA (1988)
K-Ar, whole rock 40.1 + 1.6 Wajzer (1986)
K- At , whole rock 37.6 1.3 Wajzer (1986)
LATE EOCENE- LATE OLIGOCENE VOLCANIC EPISODE (c. 38- 24 Ma)
Late Eocene-Early Oligocene phase (c. 35-30 Ma)
VOLCANI CS
Basaltic andesite dyke, Blang Pidie, Tapaktuan (TT 148)
Basalt dyke, Langsat village, Natal area (NL 37)
Basalt dyke in Silungkang Formation (RDC 13)
PL UTONS
Air Bangis Granite
Air Bangis Granite
Late Oligocene-Early Miocene phase
VOLCANI CS
Basalt dyke in Woyla Group north of Tapaktuan (TT 144)
Basalt flow, Painan Formation (PN 26)
Andesite dyke in Painan Formation (TP 34)
Dacite dyke in Painan Formation (TP 33)
PL UTONS
Way Bambang Granite
Way Bambang Granite
Way Bambang Granite
Raya Diorite
40K_40Ar
40K 40Ar
40K_40Ar
K-At , hornblende
K-Ar, whole rock
4~ K_40Ar
40K_40Ar
40K_40Ar
40K_40Ar
K-Ar, biotite + hornblende
duplicate Ar
K-Ar, biotite + hornblende
K-Ar, hornblende, mean of 6 dets.
LATE EARLY MIOCENE-MID-MIOCENE VOLCANIC EPISODE (22-8 Ma)
VOLCANI CS
Late Early Miocene volcanic phase (c. 22-14 Ma)
Basalt block in Indrapuri melange, Banda Aceh (IP 113)
Basalt dyke in Lhoong Formation (LM 126)
Basalt flow, in Calang Volcanic Formation (CL 140)
Andesite dyke, Calang area (CL 135C)
Andesite dyke, Calang area (GB 15)
Basalt dyke in Tangla Formation (CL 135B)
Basalt flow in Calang Volcanic Formation (CL 141A)
Andesite dyke in Calang Volcanic Formation (CL 132)
Basalt, Sayeung Volcanic Formation
Andesite dyke, Calang area (CL 136)
Basalt, Sayeung Volcanic Formation
Basalt dyke, Sayeung Volcanic Formation
Basalt, Sayeung Volcanic Formation
Basalt dyke, Sayeung Volcanic Formation
Basaltic andesite dyke, Calang Volcanic Formation (CL 131)
Basalt, Sayeung Volcanic Formation
Andesite dyke in Barus Formation, Sibolga (SB 27B)
Andesite flow in Angkola Volcanic Formation (SB 85)
Andesite dyke in Angkola Volcanic Formation (SB 84)
Andesite dyke in Angkola Volcanic Formation (SB 83)
Andesite, P. Musala
4OK_4OAr
4OK_4OAr
4o K_4oAr
4OK_4OAr
4OKr_4OAr
~o K J 0Ar
4OK_4OAr
4OK_4OAr
K-Ar, whole rock
4OK_4OAr
K-Ar, whole rock
K-Ar, whole rock
K-Ar, whole rock
K-Ar, whole rock
40K_40Ar
K-Ar, whole rock
40K_40Ar
40K_40Ar
40K_40Ar
40K_40Ar
K-Ar, whole rock
31.6 0.85
37.4 _+ 0.9
37.3 1
29.7 + 1.6
28.2 1.2
26.9 0.72
23.7 0.55
24.3 + 0.60
25.5 + 0.59
19.8 0.8
20.1 _+0.7
18.7 1.9
18.9 1.2
18.8 + 0.49
14.5 1.17
21.4 0.59
21.1 0.60
18.7 0.44
18.8 + 0.59
18.8 0.45
18.3 + 0.44
17.7 0.7
17.5 0.42
17.1 0.9
16.4 0.6
16.1 3.9
15.9 + 1.0
15.0 + 0.38
13.7 + 2.7
19.6 0.58
18.2 0.45
16.8 +_ 0.47
16.8 0.39
17.2 + 5
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Wajzer (1986)
Wajzer (1986)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
Bennett et a/ . ( 1981 a)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Kallagher (1990)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Kallagher (1990)
Kallagher (1990)
Kallagher (1990)
Kallagher (1990)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Kallagher (1990)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Aspden et al. (1982b)
( c ont i nue d)
APPENDlX 265
Table A4. Continued
Lithology Dating method Age (Ma) Reference
Basalt meta-tuff, Simpang Gambir, Natal area (NL 42)
Absarokite in Sikarara Volcanic Formation (NL 34)
Andesite, Sarik Lawas
Andesite flow in Painan Formation (PN 31)
Andesite flow in Painan Formation (PN 22)
Basalt flow in Painan Formation (PN 24)
Basalt lava or tuff?, well N Pekanbaru
Andesite flow in Painan Formation (TP 32)
Andes flow, Bukit Sulap, Bengkulu (BSU 170)
Andesite in Hulusimpang Fornmtion (MN 116)
Rhyolite dyke in Hulusimpang Formation (MN 118)
Basaltic andesite dyke in Hulusimpang Fornmtion (MN 117)
Rhyolite tuff in (?)Tarahan Formation (TR 33)
Basalt dyke in Sulan batholith (WS 5)
Andesite dyke in Hulusimpang Formation (SMK 40)
Basalt dyke in Hulusimpang Formation (SMK 39)
Dacite flow in Sabu Formation (PCE 9A)
4~176 19.7 0.48
4~176 18.2 0.44
K-Ar, ? 22 1.5
4~176 19.2 0.54
4~176 19.1 0.45
4~176 19.0 0.45
?KAr 17.5
4~176 14.3 0.34
4~176 16.5 + 0.38
4~176 13.2 0.43
4~176 12.8 0.31
4~176 12.8 + 0.38
4~176 19.7 0.47
4~176 17.1 + 0.44
4~176 16.9 + 0.44
4~176 15.1 _ 0.38
4~176 14.4 0.35
Middle Miocene Volcanic Phase (c. 12- 8 Ma)
Basalt, Alem Fm
Basalt, Alem Fm
Basalt dyke, Alem Fm
Basalt dyke in Hulusimpang Formation (SMK 37)
K-Ar, whole rock 11.2 0.7
K-Ar, whole rock 10.3 0.4
K-Ar, whole rock 8.;74 0.82
4~176 10.9 0.43
PLUTONS
Granite, SE Padang
Lolo Pluton (98/13)
Lolo Pluton (98/13) Steps 900-1150' C
Lolo granodiorite
Lolo Pluton (98/11) Steps 1100-117P'C
Lolo Pluton (98/9)
Lolo Pluton (98/11)
Lolo Pluton (98/10)
Lolo Pluton (98/9) Steps 800-1250<C
Lolo Pluton (98/10) Steps 900-1100~
Lolo Pluton (98/11) Steps 1100-1200~
Lolo Pluton
Lolo Pluton (98/9) no plateau
Geunteut granodiorite
Tangse stock, quartz diorite porphyry
Tangse stock, dacite porphyry
Timbahan granite
Medan granite
Diorite in well in N Sumatra Basin
Sigalagala granite
Air Bangis granite
Granodiorite in well in N Sumatra Basin
Sigalagala granite
Lampung granite
Binail microdiorite
Granite in well near Baturaja
K-Ar 16 0.7
Rb-Sr, biotite 15.12 0.18
4~ biotite 15.06 0.13
K-At, hornblende ! 1 1
4~ hornblende 9.0 0.1
Rb-Sr, biotite 7.89 0.1
Rb-Sr, biotite 6.03 0.07
Rb-Sr, biotite 5.82 0.07
4~ biotite 5.81 0.13
4~ biotite 5.8 0.1
4~ biotite 5.66 0.04
K-Ar, biotite 5 0.2
4~ plagioclase 4.67 0.1
K-At, biotite, mean of 3 analyses 14.3 1
K-Ar, hornblende 13.1 0.25
K-At, hornblende 9.97 0.50
K-Ar, hornblende 13.0 0.5
K-Ar, whole rock 12 1
K-At, hornblende 12.1 0.5
K-Ar, whole rock I1 0.6
K-Ar, whole rock 10.4 0.9
K-Ar, biotite 9.77 0.7
K-Ar, biotite 9.1 2
K-Ar, biotite 8 0,1
K-Ar, biotite 8.5
K-Arl biotite 7.9 0.2
LATE MIOCENE-PLIOCENE VOLCANIC EPISODE (6-1.6 Ma)
VOL CA NI CS
Andesite flow, Lain Teuba Volcanics (UB 110)
Diorite dyke in Bohorok Formation (PR 61)
near Parapat, Lake Toba
Andesite flow in Haranggoal Formation (PR 70)
Andesite flow in Sibayak Complex (BR 104)
Basalt dyke in Sipiso-piso lava dome (PR 101B)
Andes flow in Angkola Formation, Sibolga (SB 28)
Andesite, Suliki
Basaltic andesite flow, Merapi volcano area (PY 82)
Andesite flow, north border of Lake Maninjau (MNJ 55)
Basalt flow in Bal Formation east of Bengkulu (BN 111)
Basaltic andesite flow in Bal Formation (KP137)
Basalt dyke, boulder in Gumai mountains (LH 173)
Basaltic andesite flow in Pliocene volcanic
4OK_4OAr
40K_4OAr
4OK_4OAr
4OK_4OAr
4OK_4OAr
4OK_4OAr
K-Ar, ?
4OK_4OAr
4OK_4OAr
4OK_4OAr
4o K_4oAr
4OK_4OAr
4OK_4OAr
4OK_4OAr
1.76
5.66
2.88 _
2.09
1.89 _+
5.35
5.4 _+
2.99
1.76
6.45
5.40
5.47
5.21
4.23
0.06
0.14
0.07
0.29
0~23
0.23
0.3
0.08
0.05
0.2
0.14
0.14
0.5
0.15
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Koning & Aulia (1985)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Eubank & Makki ( 1981 )
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
KalIagher (1990)
Kallagher (1990)
Kallagher (1990)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Wikarno et al. (1993)
Imtihanab (2000)
Imtihanah (2000)
McCourt & Cobbing (1993)
Imtihanah (2000)
Imtihanah (2000)
Imtihanah (2000)
hntihanah (2000)
Imtihanah (2000)
Imtihanah (2000)
Imtihanah (2000)
McCourt & Cobb (1993)
Imtihanah (2000)
Bennett et al. (1981a)
Van Leeuwen et al. (1987)
Van Leeuwen et al. (1987)
Aspden et al. (1982b)
Hehuwat (1976)
Wikarno et al. (1993)
Hebuwat (1976)
Wajzer (1986)
Wikarno et al. (1993)
Hehuwat (1976)
Hehuwat (1976)
Rock et al. (1983)
Hehuwat (1976)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Koning & Aulia (1985)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
Belion et al. (2004)
Bellon et al. (2004)
( c ont i nue d)
266 APPENDIX
Table AS. Continued
Lithology Dating method Age (Ma) Reference
Formation, NW of Curup (CR 145)
Andesite dyke in Air Benakat Formation (LH 178)
Basaltic andesite dyke in Lemau Formation (BS 129)
Andesite, Gunung Batu
Andesite flow in ?Lakitan Formation (PC 16)
PLUTONS
Langkup Granodiorite (* ?)
Sungeipenuh, no plateau
Sungaipenuh granitoid*
Granite in well N Sumatra Basin
4~176 2.91 0.09 Bellon et al. (2004)
4~176 2.41 0.08 Bellon et al. (2004)
K- Ar 4.76 _+ 0.32 Gafoer et al. (1992c)
4~176 4.93 0.13 Bellon et al. (2004)
K-Ar, hornblende 3.48 0.5 Kusnama et al. (1993b)
4~ biotite ~5.5 Imtihanah (2000)
K- At , ?biotite, mean 2 dets. 3.5 Kusnama et al. (1993b)
K-Ar, plagioclase 2.5 1 Hehuwat (1976)
*Suspected deformation age.
*Location of sample position uncertain.
Locations on Figs 5.1, 8.4-8.7 & details in references.
Table AS. Radiometric dates of deformed and metamorphosed rocks f rom Sumatra
Unit Method Age (Ma) Reference
Beruk NE No. 1 well micaceous material in K-Ar, mica 276 10 Koning & Darmono (1984)
shears in brecciated quartzite
INDOSINIAN OROGENY
Berembang well, phyllite
Berembang well, phyllite
90 km NNW Pakanbaru, 'quartzite'
Talawi, hornfels (?contact metamorphism)
BENTARO-SALING ARCS COLLISION
Beruk NE No. 4 hornfelsed argillite
Tanjungan amphibolite
Tanjungan amphibolite
Tanjungan amphibolite
Beruk NE No. 3 well argillite
S. Mundaran, schist
Early Eocene event
Beruk No. 2 well, shale
K-Ar, muscovite 251 10
K-Ar, feldspar 247 + 10
K-Ar, ? 222 _ 3
K-Ar, ? 154 _ 5
K-Ar, muscovite 123 _ 6
K-Ar, amphibole 125 5
K-Ar, amphibole 115 6
K-Ar, amphibole 108 + 5
K- Ar , ? 116 5
K-Ar, ? 95 3
K-Ar, ? 54.5 + 0.6
Katili (1973)
Katili (1973)
Eubank & Makki (1981)
Koning & Aulia (1985)
Koning & Darmono (1984)
And Mangga et al. (1994a)
And Mangga et al. (1994a)
And Mangga et al. (1994a)
Koning & Darmono (1984)
Koning & Aulia (1985)
Koning & Darmono (1984)
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Index
Page numbers in italics refer to figures; page
A-type granites 60, 61, 159
accretionary complex 4, 5, 13
models of evolution 179-183
seismic section 178, 179
tectonic evolution 186-187
Aceh
Woyla Accretionary Complex 76
Woyla Group exposures 40-43
Aceh Fault 206, 207
Actiastraea minima 43
administrative boundaries 1, 2
Agam Formation 214
Agathammina /Agathaminoides 35
Agathiceras sundaicum 38
Ai Manis Limestone 91
Air Bangis granite 115, 265
Air Benakat Formation 90, 95, 101,
138, 139, 140, 141,231,266
Air Kuning Formation 67
Air Mabara granite 209, 210
Airbangis Volcanic Formation 110, 111
Akul Volcanic Formation 107, 108, 109
Alas Formation
palaeontology 256
stratigraphic setting 25, 26, 27, 28, 32
structural setting 190, 191, 194, 195
tectonic setting 234, 236, 238, 241,242
volcanic setting 63,66, 66, 71
Alem Formation 101, 110, 114, 265
Alloclionites timorensis 37
Allotriophyllum chinese 27
alluvial gold 171, 175
Aman Basin 135, 136
Areas Formation 110, 111
Andaman Basin 19
Andaman Sea, opening 121
Angkola Fault 208
Angkola Volcanic Formation
100, 101, 110, 116, 264, 265
anthracite 145
Anu Batee Fault 206
4~ dating 260, 263, 264,
265, 266
arc volcanoes 124-125
Archaediscus 30
Arminina asiatica 38
Aroguru granite-diorite pluton 55,
58, 59, 60, 262
arsenic mineralization 160
Arun Field 132, 134
numbers in bold refer to tables.
Arun High 132
Arun Limestone 89, 92, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135
Asahan Arch 135, 136, 214, 217
Asai Formation 48, 78, 200, 218, 249
Atar granodiorite 261
Auran Volcanic Formation 110, 111
Babahrot Formation 42, 75, 81
Bacinella 43
back-arc basins 214, 233
Tertiary
Central Sumatra 217-223, 225
North Sumatra 214-217
Ombilin Basin 94, 223-228
South Sumatra 228-233
structure 216, 217
tectonic setting 215
back-arc volcanism
Quaternary 125-130
Tertiary
Central Sumatra 99
North Sumatra 99
South Sumatra 99, 100
Bakasap Formation 136
Bal Formation 101, 110, 111, 108, 265
Balam Basin 135, 136
Balam Trough 219, 220-223
Bale Formation 42
Bampo Formation 88, 89, 133,
134, 142, 216, 218
Bandan Formation 105, 106
Bandar Jaya Basin 105, 141
Bangka Island 74, 158, 237, 240
Bangkaru Ophiolite Complex 113, 182
Bangko Formation 89, 93, 136, 219, 221
Banjalarang adamellite 104
Banyak Basin 22
Banyak Group 21
Banyak Islands 9, 11, 14, 177, 180, 185
Baong Formation 88, 94, 95, 215,218
Baong Sandstone 131, 132, 133, 134
Baong Shale 134, 135
Barisan Formation 29, 37, 39, 39, 69, 200
Barisan Mountains 1, 187-188
East Sumatra 190-195
emergence 249-251
gravity 16, 18
history 96
Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone 195-196
Pre-Tertiary history 188-190
Sumatran Fault Zone 203-214
Tertiary volcanism 99, 100
West Sumatra 196-200
Woyla Nappe 200-203
Barisan Schiefer 24
Barogang Island 182
Baru M~lange 91
Baruman Basin 219
Barumun Fault 208
Barus Formation 94, 100, 264
basalts, first recognised 125
base metals
exploration, future potential 258
map 148
basement 24-25, 214, 217, 218-219, 220
Batam Island 71, 72
Batang Natal Megabreccia Formation 47, 77
Batang Natal microdiorite 264
Batang-Natal Section 80
Batee Fault 13, 177, 184
Batu Group Islands 185
Batu Madingding diorite 263
Batu Mandi Field 131
Batu Nabontar Limestone Unit 47, 77, 77
Batu Raja Limestone 90, 92, 93, 138,
139, 139, 140, 231
Batumilmil Formation 27, 35-36, 39,
40, 190, 194, 239, 242, 257
Beatang Ultramafic Complex 41, 76
Bekasap Formation 89, 221
Belimbing pluton 60
Belinyu granite 54-55, 261
Belirang-Beriti volcano 127
Belok Gadang Formation 43-44, 44
Belok Gadang Siltstone Formation 47, 75
Belumai Formation 88, 92, 94, 216, 217, 218
Belumai Sandstone 131, 132, 133, 134, 135
Bengal Fan 1, 3, 175, 186
Bengkalis Graben 135,222
Bengkalis Trough 136, 219, 220, 223,222
Bengkulu Basin 17, 20, 131, 140, 141, 186
Benioff Zone see Wadati Benioff Zone
Bentaro-Saling arc collision 65, 266
Bentaro Volcanic Formation 42, 81,100,
159, 201,203,263
Bentong-Billiton Accretionary Complex
70-73, 148, 188, 189, 190
Bentong-Raub Line 234, 235, 237
Bentong-Raub Suture (Medial Malaya Line)
63, 64, 188, 189, 237, 238
283
284 INDEX
Berhala Island gabbro 262
Beruk granite 262
Besar volcano 127
Billiton Island 72
mineralization 148, 158
Binail microdiorite 265
Binio Formation 89, 95, 137
Bintan Island 71, 73
mineralization 157-158
Blangkejeren Fault 206, 209
Bohorok Formation 256, 257
radiometric age 101, 265
stratigraphic setting 25, 26, 27, 28, 32, 33
structural setting 190-192, 190, 191,
192, 194, 195
tectonic setting 234, 235, 237, 238, 239,
240, 242, 243
volcanic setting 63, 66, 67, 67
Border Clay 88
Boueina 43
Brani Formation 90-91, 104
Branti granite pluton 55, 59, 262
Brawan Volcanic Formation 108, 109, 116
Breueh Volcanic Formation 88, 102, 104
Bruksah Formation 88, 89, 133, 135, 214, 218
Bukit Batu granite pluton 55, 57, 58, 59,
61, 150
Bukit Batu syenite 150
Bukit Daun volcano 127
Bukit Lumut Balai volcano 127
Bukit Pancur granite 261
Bukit Pendopo Formation 39, 67
Bukit Raja granite pluton 159, 263
Bukit Susah Trough 219
Bukit Telor basalt 125, 129
Bungo batholith 55, 59, 60, 159, 248, 262, 263
Bur ni Telong volcano 126
Cahop serpentinite 41, 76
Calamites 29
Calang Formation 100, 108, 110, l I l,
114, 116, 264
Campang Formation 105, 106
Cancellina praeneoschwagerinoides 38
Carboniferous
history of Tapanuli Group
distribution maps 26, 27, 28, 191
palaeogeography 34- 35
stratigraphy 25-29
structure 190-193
volcanism 64-66, 82
Cathaysian (Indochina Block) affinities 188,
236, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246
Central Sumatra Basin
basement 220
coal 142-144, 145
petroleum exploration history 135
petroleum systems 137
reservoir rocks 136
seismicity 14, 15
source rocks 137
stratigraphy 89-90, 92-93, 136
structure 217-223, 225
tectonic setting 135
volcanism 99
cerium mineralization 161
chemical analyses 113, 114, 116
chromium mineralization 160, 161
Ciletuh Formation 102, 104
Citilim Island 71, 73
Clay Formation 90
Cleiothyridina 27
Clyeina 43
coal resources
analytical data 144
distribution map 143
first discovery 142
geographical distribution 142-145
production 145-146, 146
quality 145
reserves 145
stratigraphic age 142
coal exploration, future potential 258-259
Condong Member 66, 66
copper mineralization
contract of work signings 149
Eocene-Miocene 161
Jurassic-Cretaceous 158-159, 160
Late Cretaceous 161
Miocene-Pliocene 159-165, 163-164
Palaeocene 159, 161
Palaeozoic basins 152
Woyla Group 160
Cordaites 38
Cretaceous
mineralization 158-159
plutonic-volcanic belt 65, 74, 84-85
radiometric dating 261-263
Woyla Group stratigraphy 40-53
Crystalline Schists 24
Cubadak Formation 28, 37, 39, 40
Dabo granite 55, 261
Daoella 37
Dayung Field 131
Dempo volcano 127
Denpo, Mt 188
Devonian sediments 24
diamictite see Bohorok Formation
Doliolina lepida 37
Duabelas Mts granite 262
Dumai High 219
Duri Formation 89, 136, 137, 221
earthquakes 120
Central area (2004-2005) 14-15
Enggano (2000) 11, 12-13
Simuelue (2004)9, 11, 12, 13-14
see also seismicity
East Bintang granite 261
East Malaya Microplate 234, 235
East Sumatra Block 63
East Sumatra plutonic-volcanic
belt 66-67
Encrinus 38
Enggano Great Earthquake (June 2000)
11, 12-13
Entrochus 38
Eocene
mineralization 159
stratigraphy 87- 88
volcanism 102, 105
radiometric dating 100, 264
tectonic relations 113
Eoendothyranopsis 30
Epigondondolella postera 35
extension events 110
extension rate 96
extrusion tectonics 110-111
fault slip rates 205-206
Fenestella retiformis 35
fission track dating 123
fold structures
Ombilin Basin 226-228
Tertiary back-arc basin 215- 217
forearc basins 4, 176, 177
basement 185
depositional history 185-186
gravity 20-22
seismic section 178
setting 184-185
tectonic evolution 186-187
volcanism 99
forearc ridge and islands
m61ange origin 183-184
models of evolution 179-183
role of Mentawai Fault 184
volcanism 99
fossil suites
Carboniferous-Early Permian 27, 30, 38
Jurassic-Cretaceous 41, 43
Permo-Triassic 35, 36, 37
Triassic 38
fuel resources see coal; petroleum
Fusulina 38
Fusulinella 38
Fusulinella lantenoisi 37
Gadang granite 55
Gadis Fault 209, 210
Ganggsal Formation 71
Gangsal Formation 30-31, 31, 71,
192-193, 195
Garba Formation 31, 50, 249
Garba granite batholith 55, 59, 159, 262
Garba inlier 50
Garba Mts basalt 263
gas see petroleum resources
gas exploration, future potential 258-259
Gawo Formation 107, 108, 109, 183
Genako Trough 219
geochemistry
future researches 258
granites 58- 60
volcanics
Permian 69-70
Tertiary 109-110, 113, 114, 116
Woyla Group 79, 81
geological maps 6
geological research, history of 1-6
Geological Survey of Indonesia (GSI) 3
Geumang Line 201
Geumpang Formation 41-42, 75, 76
Geunteut granodiorite 55, 265
INDEX 285
Geureudong volcano 126
Geureuggand Fault 208
Gigantopteris 38, 234
Gle Seukeun complex 264
Gnathodus girtyi rhodesi 27, 30
gold mineralization 148, 258
alluvial 171, 175
contract of work signings 149
Eocene-Miocene 161
Jurassic-Cretaceous 158-159, 160
Late Cretaceous 159, 160, 161
Miocene-Pliocene 163-164
Palaeocene 159, 161
Woyla Group 160
Golok Tuff Formation 78, 262
Gomo Formation 95
Gondwana terrane 188
affinities 123,237, 239, 240, 242, 243-244
breakup 65, 82, 82, 83
palaeogeography 244, 245-248
granites
distribution maps 55, 71, 72, 157
isotopic ages 54-55
recent research 58-60
Sundaland compared 60-61
tin suite 56-57
volcanic arc suite 57-58
gravity
East Sumatra 19
forearc basin 20-22
long wavelength field 22-23
regional patterns 16-19, 122
sedimentary basins 19-20
Toba-Tawar low 19
gravity field 17
gravity stations 18
Guguchina pluton 60
Gumai andesite 262
Gumai Formation 90, 92, 93, 94, 138,
139, 140, 231
Gumai-Garba Line 80, 80
Gumai inlier 50
Gumai Mts basic volcanics 261
Gumai Mts diorite 262
Gume Formation 42
Gunung Batu andesite 264
Gunung Dempu andesite 263
Gunung Mang diorite 262
Gunungkasih Complex 25, 31, 78, 80
Gunungsitoli Formation 95, 183
Halobia 35, 36, 37
Haranggoal Volcanic Formation 101, 108, 265
Hatapang granite pluton 55, 56, 57, 57,
58, 58, 60, 61, 159, 263
Helatoba-Tarutung volcano 126
Hemogordius 37
Hindeodella 27
Hindeodella triassica 36
Hippogriffe rocks 63, 66, 66
hot springs 212
Hulubelu volcano 127
Hulusimpang Formation 101, 106, 108,
109, 114, 115, 265
Hutapanjang volcano 127
hydrocarbon resource see petroleum
Itydrocorallinae 48
I-type granites 55, 56, 57-58, 60
Indarung Formation 46, 48, 75, 78, 100, 264
Indian Ocean, magnetic anomalies 7
Indochina Block 189
see also Cathaysian affinities
Indonesian Petroleum Association (IPA) 4, 214
Indosinian orogeny, radiometric dates 266
Indrapuri Complex 41,264
Insu Member 75
Intermontane petroleum basins 141
Intervening Sandstone 88
Investigator Fracture Zone 7, 8, 10, 17
Investigator Ridge 3, 7, 121,123, 175, 185, 187
Involutina 35
lpciphyllum 37
iron mineralization 160, 161, 163-164
isotopic ages see radiometric dating
Jaleuem Formation 42
Jambi Depression 138
Jambi Flora 241,257
Jambi Nappe 236, 236
Jambo Aye Group 88
Jambor Baru Formation 47, 75, 77
Jatibarang Formation 105
Jatibaru granite pluton 55, 59, 106, 263
Julu Rayeu Formation 88, 95,215, 218
Jurassic
mineralization 158-159
plutonic-volcanic arc 65, 74-76, 84-85
radiometric dating 260-261
Woyla Group stratigraphy 40-53
K- Ar dating 54-55, 124
problems 98
results 69, 151 100, 101, 260-266
Kaba volcano 127
Kaloi Limestone Formation 27, 35, 39,
40, 66, 190, 194, 239, 242, 257
Kampar Basin 223
Kampar High 219
Kampar Kanan Basin 141
Kanaikan batholith 249
Kanaikan granitoid 44
Kanan Basin 223
Karimun Besar Island 71
Kasai Formation 90, 108, 112, 139
Kayumabang granite 261, 262
Kayumambang granite 261
Kedurang Graben 20
Kelapa granite 261
Kelesa Formation 89, 89, 104, 106, 144
Kembar volcano 126, 208, 209
Kemiki Formation 108, 110
Kenyaran Volcanic Formation 81
Kerinci, Mt 1, 187
Kerinci volcano 127, 211
Kerumutan Line 234
Keutapang Formation 88, 95,215,
216-217, 218, 253
Keutapang Sandstone 131, 132, 133, 134, 135
Kieme Formation 88, 100, 104
Kikim Tufts 88, 90, 98, 104, 248
Kikim Volcanics 98, 99, 100, 111
Kiri basin 135, 136
Kiri granite 262
Kiri Trough 219
Kla-Alas Fault 206, 209
Kla Line 201
Klabat batholith 55
Kluang Limestone 24-25
Kluet Fault 100
Kluet Formation
mineralization 148, 149
palaeontology 258- 259
stratigraphic setting 25, 26, 27-28, 32, 33
structural setting 190, 191, 192, 195,
196-197, 198
tectonic setting 234, 236, 238, 241
volcanic setting 63, 66, 66, 68
Kompas Volcanic Member 108, 109
Koninckopora 30
Korinci Formation 89, 137, 144
Kotabakti Volcanic Formation 110, 111
Krakatau volcano 127, 130, 213
Kuala Lansa High 132, 133
Kualu Formation
palaeontology 257
stratigraphic setting 24, 28, 36-37, 39, 40
structural setting 194, 195, 196
tectonic setting 239, 242
Kuantan Formation
palaeontology 256-257
stratigraphic setting 29-30
structural setting 190, 192, 193, 197,
199, 218
tectonic setting 234, 236, 238, 241
volcanic setting 64, 64, 66, 82
Kuantan granite 54, 55
Kubu High 136, 219
Kundur granite 55
Kunyit volcano 127
Kutacane Graben 208, 209
Lagoi granite 261
Lahat Formation 90, 90, 92, 103, 104,
105, 109, 114, 140, 144, 230
Lahomie Formation 110, 111, 183
Lakat Formation 89, 92
Lakitan Formation 112, 266
Lam Minet Formation 42, 75, 76
Lain Teuba Volcanics 101, 265
Lamno Limestone Formation 43, 81
Lampung, Woyla Accretionary Complex 33, 78
Lampung granite 262, 265
Lampung Formation 112
Lampung High 19, 138, 138
Lampung tufts 123
Langkat Formation 136
Langkup granodiorite 112, 266
Langsat Volcanic Formation 47, 100,
103-104, 106, 113, 115, 264
Lassi granite batholith 54, 55, 57, 59,
60, 100, 103, 262, 263
Latoceandra ramosa 41
lead mineralization
Eocene-Miocene 161
286 INDEX
lead mineralization (Continued)
Jurassic-Cretaceous 160
Miocene-Pliocene 163-164
Palaeocene 161
Palaeozoic basins 148-149, 152
Woyla Group 159, 160
Lehat Formation 139
Lelematua Formation 91, 95
Lemat Formation 70, 90, 90, 92, 103,
104, 144, 230
Lemat Sandstone 138, 139, 139
Lematang Line 236
Lemau Formation 101, 110, i l l , 266
Leuser, Mt 187
Lho Sukon Limestone 92
Lhok Sukon Deep 132, 133
Lhok Sukon High 132, 133
Lhok Sukon Trough 132
Lhoksukon Group 88
Lho'nga Formation 43
Lhoong Formation 43, 81, 100, 263, 264
lignite 145
Limau Manis Formation 37, 39, 40
Lingga Island 71, 73, 73
Lingsing Formation 49, 51, 76, 81,201,203
Lirik Field 135
Lithocodium 43
Loftulisa 48
Lokop-Kutacane Fault 208, 209
Lolo granite pluton 55, 59, 60, 118-119, 265
Loser Formation 107, 142
Lovfenipora 45
Lubuk Paraku tuff 78, 262
Lubuk Terpa granite 262
Lubukraya volcano 126
Lubuksikaping Fault 208, 210
magnetic anomalies, Indian Ocean 7
Malacca Microplate 234, 235
Malarco Formation 73, 73
Malintang Volcano 225
Mandian Basin 141,223
Mandian Trough 220
manganese mineralization 161
Mangani Formation 112
Maninjau Lake 123
mantle xenoliths 129
Manunggal batholith 44, 249
Manunggal granite 262
Marapi volcano 126
Marginatia 27
Masmambang High 20
Maurosoma Turbidite Formation 47
Medan granite 265
Medial Malaya Line (Bentong-Raub Suture)
237, 238
Medial Sumatra Line 238
Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone (MSTZ) 70, 71,
150-151, 191, 193, 195-196,
240-241,261
Menanga Formation 51-52, 75, 78, 249
Menggala Formation 89, 92, 136, 137, 219, 221
Mengkarang Formation
stratigraphic setting 38, 39
structural setting 218
tectonic setting 234, 236, 239, 241,242
volcanic setting 67, 68, 68
Mentawai Basin 131, 140, 141
Mentawai Fault 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 22, 177, 184
Mentulu Formation
stratigraphic setting 30, 31
structural setting 190, 192
tectonic setting 237, 239, 243
volcanic setting 66, 66, 67
Menumbing granite 261
Mergui Basin 132
Mergui Microplate 234, 235
Mergui Ridge 19, 132
Mergui Shelf 19
metals see mineral deposits (metallic)
metamorphic rocks
dating 266
future researches 256
grade 47
Metapolygnathus polygnatoformis 37
Meucampli Formation 88, 99, 102, 104,
133, 214
Meukek Gneiss Complex, 81, 86
Meulaboh granodiorite 263
Meureudu Group 88
Minas Formation 89, 95, 136, 13Z 221
Minas High 136, 219
mineral deposits (metallic)
distribution map 148
Eocene magmatic arc 159
future economic potential 172-173
history of discoveries 147
Jurassic-Cretaceous magmatic arc
158-159, 162
Late Cretaceous magmatic arc 159
Miocene- Pliocene magmatic arc 159-165
Neogene magmatic arc 165-175
Palaeocene magmatic arc 159
Palaeozoic basins 148-149, 152
timing of deposition 147, 151
Triassic-Jurassic magmatic arc 149-158
Miocene
mineralization 159
palaeogeography 251, 252
stratigraphy 91-95
volcanism 102-106, 110, 111, 112, 112
radiometric dating 100, 101,264
tectonic relations 115-119
Mirah Volcanic Formation 110, 111, 114
molybdenum mineralization
Jurassic-Cretaceous 159, 160
Late Cretaceous 160
Miocene-Pliocene 159, 163-164
Palaeocene 161
Montlivaltia 43
Montlivaltia molkkana 38
Moscovicrinus 38
Muara Enim Formation 90, 138, 139,
140, 144, 231
Muarasipongi granite batholith 55, 55,
57, 58, 261, 262
Muarasoma Formation 43, 44
Muarasoma Turbidite Formation 75, 77
Muereubo Volcanic Formation 110, 111
Multidiscus padangensis 36
Musala Volcanic Formation 110, 111
Musi Fault 100, 103
Mutus Assemblage 36, 196, 217, 234, 235, 238
Myriopora 43
Nabana Volcanic Unit 47, 75, 77, 78, 79
Nabirong Formation 110, 119
Nagan granodiorite 263
Nankinella 37
Natal
Woyla Accretionary Complex 76-78
Woyla Group exposures 43-48
Nb + Y discriminant diagram 57, 59
eNd 124
Neoproetus indicus 35
Neoschwagerina 35,234
Neoschwagerina multiseptata 37
Neoschwagerina simplex 38
neotectonics, future researches 258
Ngaol Formation 25, 29, 38, 39, 67, 68-69
Nias Beds 91, 179, 183
Nias Elbow 7, 8, 21, 185
Nias Island 14, 180
model of evolution 179-183
Nicobar Fan l, 3, 4, 7, 175, 186
Nilo Formation 89, 137
Ninety-East Ridge 1, 3, 175, 186
Nodasaria 36
North Pulai Field 131, 135
North Sumatra Basin
coal 142, 145
drilling hazards 135
petroleum exploration history 131
petroleum reserves 131 - 132
petroleum systems 135
reservoir rocks 134
source rocks 134-135
stratigraphy 88-89, 92, 133-134, 214-216
structure 132, 132, 216-217
tectonic setting 132-133
volcanism 99
oil see petroleum resources
Old Andesites 98, 104
Old-Slates Formation 24
Oligocene
palaeogeography 253
stratigraphy 88-91
volcanism 105-107
radiometric dating 100, 264
tectonic relations 113-115
Olodano Formation 183
Ombilin Basin 94, 107, 131, 141
coal resources 142, 145
compression 225-226
extension 225
faulting 228
folding 226-228
gravity 17, 18, 20
origin 224-225
sedimentary history 223-224
Ombilin Formation 94, 225, 227 -~
Ombilin granite 54, 55, 260
ophiolite 18, 22, 251
outer arc islands
INDEX 287
mdlange origin 183-184
models of evolution 179-183
role of Mentawai Fault 184
Outer Arc petroleum basins 140-141
Oyo Complex 91
Oyo Formation 183
Oyo Mdlange Complex 179
Pachiploia 36
Padang, Woyla Accretionary Complex 78
Padang Ganting granite 260
Padang tufts 123
Padangpanjang batholith 57
Padangpanjang granite 55
Padean granite 55, 59, 159, 263
Pading granite 261
Pagarjati Graben 20
Pahang Volcanic Belt 73
Painan Formation 100, 106, 108, 264, 265
Pait Island 72
Palaeobotanic Expedition to Djambi 1
Palaeocene
mineralization 159
palaeogeography 117
volcanism 98-102, 103
radiometric dating 263
tectonic relations 111
palaeogeography
Carboniferous 34- 35
Early Permian 65, 241, 245
Miocene 251
Palaeocene 117
Permian 241, 245, 246
Permo-Trias 242-247
Pliocene 253
Triassic 65, 250, 251
palaeomagnetism, future researches 259
palaeontology, future researches 256-257
Palaeotextularia 30
Palangki andesite 261
Palembang batholith 150
Palembang Beds 89
Palembang Depression 138
Palembang Formation 90, 144
Palembang Group 90
Palembang High 138
Palepat andesite 262
Palepat Formation
stratigraphic setting 29, 37-38, 39, 39
structural setting 190, 218
tectonic setting 234, 242
volcanic setting 66, 67, 68, 69-70,
70, 71, 82
Palepat granite 262
palinspastic cross sections 253, 254
Panangas-Belinyu granite 261
Pangabuhan Formation 30, 31
Panglong M~lange Formation 47, 78
Pangururan Bryozoan Bed
palaeontology 256
stratigraphic setting 25, 28-29, 32, 36, 39
structural setting 190, 191, 195
tectonic setting 239
volcanic setting 67, 68, 69-70, 70, 71, 82
Panti Formation 68, 69
Panyabungan batholith 262
Panyabungan Graben 209, 210
Papan Formation 36
Parafusulina 35, 37
Parangbuloh granite 261
Parapat Formation 88
Parlumpangan Volcanic Unit 47, 75, 77
Pasaman Ultramafic Complex 75, 77, 84
Pasumah Formation 112
Patah volcano 127
Pavastehphyllum 37
Pawan Member 71
Payakumbuh Basin 223
Payumbah granite 150
Pemali granite 261
Pemali Group 32, 38, 72, 73 188-190, 190
Pematang Formation 89, 89, 104, 136,
137, 137, 144, 221
Pematang Group 89, 104
Penangas granite 54-55
Penarum Formation 41
Peneta Formation 48, 200, 218, 249
Permian
coal 142
palaeogeography 241, 247- 249
plate setting 235
plutonic-volcanic belt 84, 261
East Sumatra 66-67
West Sumatra 67-69, 68, 83
stratigraphy
Peusangan Group 27, 28,
35-40, 191, 193-195
Tapanuli Group 25-29, 34-35,
190-193
Permocalculus ampullacea 43
Perodinella 38
Persing Complex 32, 63
Petani Formation 89, 95, 110, I11, 136, 137,
220, 221
petroleum basins
Central Sumatra Basin 135-137
intermontane 141
North Sumatra Basin 131 - 135
outer arc 140-141
South Sumatra Basin 137-140
petroleum resources 131
first discovered 86, 131
future potential 258-259
tectonic setting 131
petroleum systems
Central Sumatra Basin 137
North Sumatra Basin 135
South Sumatra Basin 140
Peuet Sague volcano 126
Peunulin Sandstone 88
Peusangan Group 35-40, 257
distribution maps 27, 28, 191
structure 193-195
Peusangan High 132
Peutu Formation 88, 92, 94, 133, 134,
206, 214
Phillipsia 35
Pinang Conglomerate 91, 94
Pinapan Formation 110, 111,116, 119
Pini Basin 22
Pini Island, gravity 20, 21
placer tin 158
Planinvolutina 35
plate motions 1, 7, 10, 110, 187
horizontal 10-14
rotation 253-256
vertical 14
plate reconstructions 234, 235
platinum mineralization 160
Pliocene
mineralization 159-165
palaeogeography 253
stratigraphy 95
volcanism 108-109, 112
radiometric dating 100, 265
tectonic relations 119
plutonism
radiometric age data
Mesozoic 260- 263
Palaeozoic 260
Tertiary 263- 266
see also granites
Precambrian basement 25
Pseudocyclammina 41
Pseudocyclammina lituus 43
Pseudodoliolina 35, 37, 234
Pseudofusulina padangensis 37
Pulau Weh volcano 126
Pulaugadang granite 195
Pungkut-Barilas Fault 209, 210
Pungut Field 223,224
pyroclastics, Quaternary 123-124
Quartzite Terrain 24, 26, 32, 34, 63, 234
Quaternary volcanic events
arc volcanics 124-125
back-arc volcanism 125-130
hazard analysis 128, 129, 130
history of research 120
pyroclastics 123-124
relation to Sumatra Fault System 213-214
tectonic setting 120-123
Raba Limestone Formation 43, 81
radiometric dating
igneous rocks 24, 54-55
Mesozoic 260-263
Palaeozoic 260
Tertiary 98, 263-266
metamorphic rocks 266
Rajabasa volcano 127
Rampong Formation 107
Ranau, Lake 123,211,212
Ranau Formation 112
Ranau tufts 123
Ranau volcano 127
Ranau-Suwoh Fault 211,212
Ranto Sore Formation 47, 75
Rantobi Sandstone Formation 47, 75, 77
Rau Graben 208, 210
Raub-Bentong Line 55, 57, 60, 61
Rawas Formation 48, 75, 78, 200, 218, 249
Raya diorite 101, 108, 264
Raya stock 100
Rayeu Hinge 132
288 INDEX
Rb- Sr dating 24, 54, 260-264
reservoir rocks
Central Sumatra Basin 136
North Sumatra Basin 134
South Sumatra Basin 139-140
Riau-Billiton Accretionary Complex 83
rifting, and petroleum generation 131
Robulina Clay 88
Rokan granite 55, 151, 157, 261
Rokan Uplift 219
Rotalia Sandstone Formation 88
Rupat Island 24
S-type granites 55, 56-57, 60
S. Manggajahan granite 262
S. Mentaus granite 262
S. Muara granite 262
S. Salai granite 262
Sabu Formation 101, 105, 106, 265
Salibi Volcanic Formation 110, 111
Saligaro Volcanic Formation 110, 111
Saling Formation 49, 51, 81, 81,201,203, 248
Samadua granite 264
Sanduduk Formation 116
Sangkarewang Formation 90-91, 104, 106,
224, 228
Sapi Volcanic Formation 108, 109
Sarik-Gajah volcano 126
Sawahlunto Formation 93-94, 106, 144,
224, 227, 228
Sawahtambang Formation 93-94, 106,
108, 109, 224, 227, 228
Sayeung Volcanic Formation 100, 110,
111,114, 264
Schiefer Barisan Unit 200
Schwagerina 37
SEATAR programme 3-4, 175
Seblat Formation 94, 106, 108, 109
Securai Shale 88
sedimentary basins, gravity 19-20
seismic sections 13, 14
forearc 178
seismic tomography 22-23
seismicity 7, 8, 9- 10
Central area (2004-2005) 14-15
Enggano (2000) 11, 12-13
Simuelue (2004) 9, I 1, 12, 13-14
Sekincau-Belirang volcano 127
Semanggoi Formation 188, 240
Semanka Depression 211
Semanko Fault see Sumatran Fault System
Sembilan High 136
Sembuang Formation 27, 35
Semelit Formation 88, 100, 104
Senawar quartz diorite 263
Sepintiang Limestone Formation 49-50, 51,
81, 201- 203, 248
Serbadjadi batholith 55, 154
Setiti granite batholith 66, 260
Seulawah Agam volcano 126
Seulimeum Fault 206
Seumayam Complex diorite 262
Seumpo Formation 95
Seureula Formation 88, 95, 112, 215,
216, 218
Seurula Sandstone 131, 132, 133
Shan Thai Block see Sibumasu Block
Si Gala Gala Schist Unit 47, 75, 77
Si Kumbu Turbidite Formation 47, 102,
104, 264
Siabu granite 55, 157
Sial) Formation 112
Sibaganding Formation 239, 242
Sibau Gabbro Group 91, 182
Sibayak Complex 101, 265
Sibayak volcano 126
Sibigio Limestone 91
Sibolga Basin 131, 140, 141
Sibolga Formation 104, 142
Sibolga granite batholith 54, 55, 67, 150, 260,
262, 263
Sibualbuali volcano 126
Sibumasu Block 64, 65, 189, 190, 191, 234,
237, 240, 241,242, 243, 244
Sibumasu Terrane 25, 120, 122, 123, 188, 195,
239, 242, 244
Sigala Complex 91
Sigalagala granite 265
Sigli High 132
Sigulai Formation 91
Siguntur Formation 46, 48, 75, 78, 203
Sihapas Formation 89, 107, 108, 109, 221
Sihapas Group 89, 92, 93, 136, 137, 219,
220, 221
Sijunjung granite batholith 55, 56, 150, 260,
261
Sikarara Volcanic Formation 100, 110,
111,116, 265
Sikubu Formation 44
Sikuleh granite batholith 43, 52, 55, 57, 159,
248, 249, 262
Sikumbu Formation 104, 264
Silungkang andesite 261
Silungkang Formation 28, 37, 39, 39, 66,
67, 67, 68, 69-70, 70, 83, 100,
190, 242, 263, 264
silver mineralization
Jurassic-Cretaceous 160
Late Cretaceous 159, 161
Miocene-Pliocene 163-164
Palaeocene 159, 161
Palaeozoic basins 148, 149, 152
Woyla Group 158, 160
Simarobu Turbidite Formation 47, 75, 77
Simbolon Formation 112
Simeulue Basin 14
Simeulue Island 18, 22, 180, 182
seismicity 9, 11, 12, 13-14
Simpang Gambir Megabreccia
Formation 47, 75
Sinabung volcano 126
Singkarak, Lake 210, 211
Singkarak Fault System 211
Singkarak (Ombilin) granite 260
Singkel Basin 22
Singkep granite 55
Singkep Island 32-35, 56, 61, 71
Sipakpahi Fault 100
Siphenodendron 30
Siphoneae 38
Sipiso-piso lava dome 101, 265
Sise Limestone Formation 43, 81
Sitaban Formation 100, 104
Situtup Formation 64, 69, 76
Situtup Limestone Formation 27, 35, 39,
39, 40, 190, 194, 234, 239, 257
Siulak Formation 48, 76, 247
skarn 69, 149, 157, 158
Smeten Volcanic Formation 108
Sontang granite 262
Sopan granite 208-209, 210, 263
Sorik Merapi Volcanic Centre 101, 126, 209
source rocks
Central Sumatra Basin 137
North Sumatra Basin 134-135
South Sumatra Basin 140
South Sumatra Basin
coal 142-145
drilling hazards 140
petroleum exploration history 137-138
petroleum systems 130
reservoir rocks 139-140
source rocks 140
stratigraphy 90-91, 93-95, 138-139,
228-231
structure 229, 230, 231-233
subcrop 78
tectonic setting 138
volcanism 99
Spathognatyodus campbelli 27
87Sr/86Sr ratio 124, 150
stick-slip cycle 13
Stromatopora japonica 41
structural researches, future work 257
structures, Batang Natal section 47
Stylina girodi 41
Stylosmilia corallina 43
subduction
angle 121
rate 86, 120, 175
roll-back 111
Sugi Island 71, 72
Sukadana basalt 125, 129-130
Sukadana Plateau 125-129
Sulan tonalite pluton 55, 59, 60, 101,
262, 265
Sulit Air Suite 55, 59, 60, 249, 260, 261
Sumatra, name origin 147
Sumatran Fault System (Semanko Fault)
1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 120-121, 123, 211,212
displacement 96
motion 252-254
Sumatran Fault Zone 203-204, 204
age 204-205
displacement 205
geographical character
equatorial bifurcation 208- 210
north 206-208
Ranau section 212- 213
Singkarak section 210-211
Sunda Strait 212-213
motion 205-206, 207
relation to Quaternary volcanic arc 213-214
Sumatran Subduction System 4
Sumatrina 38
INDEX 289
Sumbing volcano 127
Sumpur granite 260
Sunda Craton (Sundaland) 1, 3, 4
Sunda Forearc see accretionary complex;
forearc basins; forearc ridge; Sunda
Trench
Sunda Shelf 2, 19
Sunda Strait 122
extension 110
faults 212-213
Sunda Trench 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 176
gravity 22
seismic section 178
subduction processes 175-176
subduction and volcanism 120, 125
Sundaland 188
evolution of 247-249, 251
granite affinities 60-61
Sungai Durian granite 60
Sungai lsahan granite 55, 151,261
Sungaipenuh granitoid 102, 266
Suoh volcano 127
Surungan Formation 112
Susoh intrusion 262
Syringopora 30
Tabir Formation 48, 67, 68, 68, 69, 248
Takengon Line 208
Takung Fault 225,226
Takur-Takur Formation 112
Talakmau volcano 126
Talang Akar Sandstone 138, 139, 139, 140
Talang volcano 126
Talangakar Formation 90, 92, 93,230, 231
Tambak Baru volcanic unit 47, 75, 77,
78, 100, 262, 263
Tampur Formation 133
Tampur Limestone Formation 87-88,
88, 214, 216
Tanahbalah Complex 91
Tandikat volcano 126
Tandun Field 223, 224
Tangla Formation 100, 107, 108, 109,
116, 264
Tangse serpentinite 41, 76
Tangse stock 102, 265
Tanjong Pandang granite pluton 55, 61,
154, 261
Tanjung Gadang granite 262
Tanjung granite 55
Tanjung Siantu metabasalt 261
Tanjungan amphibolite 266
Tantan granite 150, 153, 260
Tapaktuan Formation 42, 81
Tapaktuan granite 81,263
Tapaktuan Volcanic Formation 159
Tapanuli Group
distribution maps 26, 27, 28, 191
palaeogeography 34-35
stratigraphy 25-29
structure 190-193
Tarahan Formation 101, 106, 109,
114, 265
Tarantam Formation 31
Tarap Formation 31, 197
Tarikan M41ange 91
Tawar Formation 27, 35, 39
tectonics
models for evolution
evaluated 234-239
revised 239-242
role in igneous events
Eocene 113
Eocene-Miocene 113-118
extrusion 110-111
Miocene 118-119
Miocene-Pliocene 119
Palaeocene 111
Palaeogene rotation 110
Telaga Limestone 92
Telaga Said Field 86, 131
Telaga Tiga Field 86
Telisa Beds 90
Telisa Formation 89, 92, 93, 94, 110,
111, 136, 137, 219, 220, 221
Telisa Group 90
Telukkido Formation 28, 37, 39
Tempilang Sandstone 38, 154, 190
Tertiary see Palaeocene; Eocene;
Oligocene; Miocene; Pliocene
Tetehosi Formation 183
Teunom Limestone Formation 43, 81,201
Thaumatoporella porvosiculifera 43
Thecosmilia 35
Tigapuluh Arch 214, 217
Tigapuluh Group 30-31
Tigapuluh High 135, 136, 138
Tigapuluh Mts 30, 31, 151
Tikus granite 261
Timbahan granite 265
tin front 154, 158
tin islands 1
granites 54, 60-61, 147
mineralization 148, 152, 155-156
tin mineralization
association with granite 149-150
contract of work signings 149
Cretaceous magmatic arc 159, 160, 161
Late Triassic-Early Jurassic arc
Indosinian foreland 154
Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone 150-153
SE belt 154-158
West Sumatra 150
Toba Caldera 8, 9-10, 18, 121 - 122, 124
Toba Lake 123
Toba tufts 108, 123, 124, 214
Toba volcano 126
Toba-Tawar gravity low 19
Tobali granite 261
Tolopulai Formation 91
topography 2
Toru Fault 206, 209
Toru Formation 110, 111,116, 119
Toweren Member 76
trace element analyses 113, 114
transcurrent faulting 187
Transition Formation 89
Triassic
mineralization 149-158
palaeogeography 65, 246, 247
Plutonic-Volcanic Belt 73, 83-84
radiometric dating 260- 261
stratigraphy 35-38
Tripa Volcanic Formation 110, 111
Trumon Volcanic Formation 110, 111
Tualang Formation 89, 136
Tuhur Formation 28, 37, 39, 190, 200
tungsten mineralization 154, 155-156, 161
U-Pb dating 54
Ujeuen Limestone Formation 27, 35
Ulai granite 111, 262, 263
Umu Mrlange 91
Uneun Unit 27, 35, 195
Unga diorite 55
Veerbeekina 38
volcanic rocks, dating of 260- 265
volcanism, we-Tertiary
Carboniferous 64-66, 82
Jurassic-Cretaceous 74-780, 84-85
Permian
East Sumatra 66-67
West Sumatra 67-69, 83
Triassic 73, 83- 84
volcanism, Quaternary
arc volcanics 124-125
back-arc volcanism 125-130
hazard analysis 128, 129, 130
history of research 120
pyroclastics 123-124
relation to Sumatra Fault
System 213-214
tectonic setting 120-123
volcanism, Tertiary
Eocene 102-103, 104, 105
geochemistry 109-110, 113, 114,
115, 116, 117
history of research 98
Miocene 106-108, 110, 111
Oligocene 103-106, 108, 109
Palaeocene 98-102, 103
Pliocene 108-109, 112, 112
relation to tectonics
Eocene 113
Eocene-Miocene 113-118
Miocene 118-119
Palaeocene 111
Palaeogene rotation 110
Pliocene 119
volcanoes, active 2, 5, 121, 207, 213
Vorbarisan Tectonic Unit 197- 200
Wadati Benioff Zone (WBZ) 7, 8-9, 120
Wampu Field 131
Way Bambang granite 55, 59, 115,264
Way Sulan gabbro 59, 262
Wentzzelloides 37
West Andaman Fault 177, 184
West Java Sea 80
West Sumatra Block 63
West Sumatra plutonic-volcanic
belt 67-69, 73, 83
Wharton Spreading Axis 111, 115, 185
Wood Horizon 90
290 INDEX
Woyla Accretionary Complex 76-80, 84
Aceh 76
Danau Diatas 76
geochemistry 79, 81
Gunung Kerinci 78
Lampung 78
Natal 76-78
ocean arc fragments 80-81
Padang 78
South Sumatra Basin subcrop 78
Tembesi-Rawas Mts 78
West Java Sea 80
Woyla Group 52-53
arc assemblage 42-43, 200, 201-203
correlated exposures
Central Sumatra 46-48
Natal 43- 46
Southern Sumatra 48- 52
distribution maps 41, 191
limestone assemblage 43
mineralization 159, 160
oceanic assemblage 4l - 42, 190,
200- 201,234
radiometric age 263
structure and tectonic setting 189,
200-203, 248-249
Woyla Nappe 200- 203, 248- 249
Woyla Terranes 235, 237
Zaphrentites 27
zinc mineralization
Eocene-Miocene 161
Jurassic-Cretaceous 160
Late Cretaceous 161
Miocene-Pliocene 163-164
Palaeocene 161
Palaeozoic basins 148-149, 152
Woyla Group 159, 160
zircon ages 54
Sumatra
Geology, Resources and Tectonic Evolut,on
Edited by A. J. Barber, M.J. Crow and J. S. Milsom
This volume provides the first comprehensive account of the geology of Sumatra since the
masterly synthesis of van Bemmelen (1949). Following the establishment of the Geological Survey
of Indonesia, after WW II, the whole island has been mapped geologically at the reconnaissance
level, with the collaboration of the geological surveys of the United States and the United
Kingdom. The mapping programme, completed in the mid-1990s, together with supplementary
data obtained by academic institutions and petroleum and mineral exploration companies, has
resulted in a vast increase in geological information, which is summarized in this volume. The
synthesis of structural controls on sedimentation and magmatism during the tectonic evolution
of Sumatra since the late Palaeozoic has provided a background for the formation of economic
deposits of metallic minerals, coal, oil and gas. The volume provides a sound basis for future
geological research and for the exploration of the energy and mineral resources of the island.
Visit our online bookshop: http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/bookshop
Geological Society web site: http:llwww.geolsoc.org.uk
Cover illustration:
Main image: topographic map of Sumatra, courtesy NASAIJPL-Caltech.
Top right: eruption of Merapi from Bukit Tinggi, 19 July 1993; photograph
by A. J. Barber. Bottom right: oil-drilling rig in the jungle, central Sumatra;
photograph by Chuck Gaughey, Caltex Pacific, Indonesia.
ISBN 1-86239-180-7
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