Dr. Sunder Raju P. V

Scientist-G , Geochronology

Dr. Sunder Raju P. V

pvsraju.ngri@csir.res.in

Academic Identity
              

Specialization

Precambrian Geology , Mineral Exploration.

Research Area

 Dr. P.V. Sunder Raju, Chief Scientist and Professor at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), CSIR, Hyderabad, has made transformative contributions to geosciences over three decades, particularly in REE mineral exploration, Precambrian geology, and critical minerals research. His work has advanced India's mineral resource mapping, from gold and platinum-group elements (PGE) in the Dharwar Craton to rare earth elements (REE) and chromitite in eastern shields, With over 100 peer-reviewed publications, leadership in funded projects, and mentorship of global scholars, Raju's career exemplifies excellence in basic and applied geosciences.  Raju spearheaded discoveries that reshaped mineral prospectivity in India. He identified platinum (Pt) and Skaergaardite (Pd-Cu) in Hutti Underground Gold Mines, Eastern Dharwar Craton—a rare occurrence with implications for precious metal enrichment. In Jonnagiri, Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh, his team found the S02 meteorite, analyzed via X-ray Computer Tomography (XCT) and Raman spectroscopy. He uncovered REE resources in Ananthapuram District, Andhra Pradesh, and nickel deposits in Kadapa Basin, alongside natural potassium fertilizer alternatives from glauconites. Concealed chromitite extensions in Sukinda Valley, Odisha, were delineated using integrated gravity, magnetics, and electrical resistivity tomography, enhancing Ni-Cr-PGE potential. These findings, reported in media like Times of India and The Print, highlight Telangana and Andhra Pradesh's scope for rare minerals, directly aiding national resource security. His methodological innovations include ED-XRF and XRD lab development for precise geochemical analysis, enabling NAS-1, REE-2 and SY-5 International certified reference materials. In Gadarwara, Madhya Pradesh, integrated SWIR, XRD, and geophysical surveys revealed IOCG-like mineralization with Ni-Cu-Co-REE enrichment, targeting copper metallogeny. As project leader, Raju secured and completed high-impact grants from several funding bodies on merit. The SERB-CRG project employs AI and deep convolutional neural networks for gold prospectivity in G.R. Halli, Chitradurga Schist Belt, Western Dharwar Craton, integrating geology, geochemistry, and geophysics. Ministry of Mines-funded work with IIT Mumbai characterized glauconites for potassium fertilizers, promoting sustainable agriculture. DST-SERB projects delineated chromitite in Nuggihalli Schist Belt for Ni-Cu-PGE and gold in Dharwar Craton greenstone belts. CSIR-FBR initiatives explored East Indian Shield geodynamics for diamond, iron ore, and chromitite-PGE, while SHORE imaged shallow subsurface for resources especially REE and critical minerals. International collaborations, like Cu-Ni-PGE in Voisey's Bay, Canada, and Carlsberg and Indian Ocean ridges expedetions of SK-194 & 195, underscore his global footprint. Raju's publications dominate high-impact journals: Earth-Science Reviews (IF 12+) on Archean sedimentation and Dharwar Craton evolution; In "Minerals" on IOCG signatures; Journal of the Geological Society of India on meteorites and PGMs. His publications cover over AI/ML in exploration, REE budgets in syenites, and BIF-hosted gold genetics, with innumerable key note and poster presentations at Goldschmidt, SGA, AGU, and SEG 2025.  Raju mentored 4 PhDs (e.g., TWAS scholars on Ghanaian gold and Nigerian radionuclides), postdocs  works on Singhbhum Craton paleo-processes, and spearheaded 22 interns from IITs and universities on domains like chromite geochemistry and ED-XRF. As AcSIR Professor, he trained JRFs, evaluated theses internationally (Pretoria, Oulu), and served as DST-SERB expert, UPSC subject expert, and on boards like Telangana/AP State Geological Programming. Awards include Prof. C. Mahadevan Mineral Science (2010), BOYSCAST (South Africa), Raman (Canada), and fellowships from SITRA (Finland), NSERC (Canada), Indo-Australian. He is Fellow of NASI, SEG (USA), Geological Society of London (UK), ISAG, ISC, and Associate Fellow of AP/Telangana Academies of Sciences; life member of IAGOD, ICDD. Delivered keynote lectures at WIHG, EAGE, and GSI, plus session convening at AOGS 2022,2023,2024,2025 and SGA-2022,2023,2024,&25, amplify his influence. Raju's integration of geophysics (gravity, magnetics, ERT), geochemistry (LA-ICP-MS, EMPA), and AI has democratized exploration, fostering self-reliance in REE and critical minerals amid global supply chain shifts. His outputs—standards, maps, and human capital—bolster India's geoscience ecosystem, meriting national accolade for advancing mineral sovereignty and scientific diplomacy. He is a elected member of the International union of Forensic geology (IUGG) form India.

 

Ongoing Research Projects

Sl.No

Title of Project

Project Category

Participating Agencies

Your Role as defined

1

"New Mineral Prospectivity for harnessing Gold resources in GR
Halli prospect, Chitradurga Schist belt, Karnataka ,Western Dharwar Craton using Machine Learning and Deep
Convolutional Neural net works

Core Research Grant (CRG) SERB

NGRI and Unvt of Hyd 

Project leader

2

Mineralogical and Geological Characterization of Indian Glauconites For alternative potassium fertilizers, .

 Ministry of Mines , GOI

NGRI and

IIT, Mumbai

Project Leader

3

A targeted Integrated approach for Gold through Geological, Geochemical and Geophysical Studies in Greenstone belts of Eastern and Western Dharwar Craton

  DST,  GOI

NGRI

Project Leader

4

Integrated Geological, Geochemical and Geophysical Studies for the delineation of Chromitite extensions in Nuggihalli Schist Belt, and Implications for Ni-Cu-PGE Mineralization

Ministry of Mines, GOI

NGRI and

IISC, Bengaluru

Project Leader

5

Petrology and Geochemistry of chromite hosting mafic-ultramafic layered intrusion in Holenarsipur-Nuggihalli schist belt, Western Dharwar Craton, Karnataka: Implications for Ni-Cr±PGE mineralization

DST

NGRI

Project Leader

Honors & Awards

  1. Dr Mahadevan Mineral Science Award 

  2. BOYSCAST Fellowship (DST)

  3. Raman Fellowship (CSIR)

  4. NSERC -FELLOWSHIP ( NRC Canada)

  5. SITRA (Finland Govt) 

  6. Indo-Australian Fellowship by (Australian Academy of Sciences)

Publications

Raju, P. V. S., Mudili, V. S., (2025). A Hybrid Framework for Detecting Gold Mineralization Zones in G.R. Halli, Western Dharwar Craton, Karnataka, India. Minerals, 15(11), 1125. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15111125

Satish K and P V Sunder Raju (2025) Integrated Gravity and Magnetic approaches for concealed Chromitite Exploration in Sukinda Valley, Orissa, India Geological Journal. DOI:1002/gj.70074

Raju PVS (2024) Gallium and REE in red mud of east coast bauxite, India. Goldschmidt Conference 2024 https://doi.org/10.46427/gold2024.21618 

PVS Raju(2025) The Mineralogy and REE budget in Syenites around Eastern Dharwar Craton, India, In: Proceedings of the 18th SGA Biennial Meeting, August 3-7 2025, 3: 944-946.,

Benjamin Boadi, P.V. Sunder Raju and David Dotse Wemegah (2022) Analysing Weighted Overlay and Fuzzy Logic Models for Lode Gold Prospectivity Mapping in the Ahafo Area- Southwest Ghana. Ore Geology Reviews, 149, 105059 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2022.105059 

P V Sunder Raju and P C Lightfoot (2023) The Exploration potential of the Cuddapah-Pulivendla sill complex, Andhra Pradesh, India: mineral chemistry constraints on sulfide saturation history of the magmas. The Canadian Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology, The Canadian Journal of Mineralogy and PetrologyDecember 28, 2023, Vol.61, 1175-1576. doi:https://doi.org/10.3749/AB00031 

Shuvabrata De, P.V. Sunder Raju (2022). Mesoarchean terrestrial sedimentation in a continental rift setting and its provenance implications: An example from the Bisrampur Formation, Singhbhum craton, India. Earth Science Reviews, 234, 2022104205.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.104205  IF 12.038

Rajat Mazumder,Shuvabrata De, P.V. Sunder Raju, (2022), Paleoarchean surface processes and volcanism: Insights from the eastern Iron Ore Group, Singhbhum craton, India, Earth-Science Reviews, Volume 232, 2022, 104122, ISSN 0012-8252, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.104122  IF 12.038

Sunder Raju P V, Mazumder R, (2020) Archean Sedimentation on Dharwar Craton, India and its implications, “Earth-Science Reviews” vol 202 F, Article No 102999 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.102999 IF  141

Rajat Mazumder, Shuvabrata De, P.V. Sunder Raju, (2020), Archean-Paleoproterozoic transition: The Indian perspective. Earth-Science Reviews ,Vol 202 F, Pg 427-440 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.11.013    IF 12.41

Sunder Raju P.V. and Satish Kumar.K (2020), Magnetic Survey of Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold ( IOCG) and Alkali Calcic alteration system in Gadarwara, M.P, India :Implications on Copper Metallogeny ,“Minerals” Pgs 67-85  10, 671, doi:10.3390/min10080671 IF 3.00

Raju, PVS  (Raju, P. V. Sunder) Kathal, PK  (Kathal, P. K.); Hart, C  (Hart, Craig)Integrated SWIR spectral and XRD studies on core samples from Gadarwara, Central India craton, Madhya Pradesh, India-footprints for IOCG mineralisation, MINERAL RESOURCES TO DISCOVER, VOLS 1-4 Edited by: MercierLangevin, P ; Dube, B ; Bardoux, M ; Ross, PS ; Dion, C  Pages:963-966. Proceedings of the 14th SGA Biennial Meeting, 20-23 August 2017, Québec City, Canada, 1628 pages.ISBN: 978-2-9816898-0-1

Sunder Raju, P. V. & Eriksson, P. G. (2015). Evolution of _3.5–2.5 Ga basins of the Dharwar Craton. In: Mazumder, R. & Eriksson, P. G. (eds) Precambrian Basins of India: Stratigraphic and Tectonic Context. Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 43, 223–230, http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/M43.15 .(Book Chapter).

 

Books

Gold in Banded Iron Formations in Western Dharwar Craton Geology, Geochemistry and Genesis of Gold in Banded Iron Formations, Western Dharwar Craton, Karnataka, India 978-3-8433-7364-7 

Raju, P.V.S.; Kumar, K. S. 2020. "Magnetic Survey for Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold (IOCG) and Alkali Calcic Alteration Signatures in Gadarwara, M.P, India: Implications on Copper Metallogeny." Pgs 67-87 Minerals 2020, 10, 671, doi:10.3390/min10080671

In Book _Geophysics for Mineral Exploration Edited by MZMichael S. ZhdanovMichael S. Zhdanov August 2021 204 pages ISBN 978-3-0365-1740-7 (Hardback)  ISBN 978-3-0365-1739-1 (PDF) https://doi.org/10.3390/books978-3-0365-1739-1 

 Sunder Raju, P. V *. & Eriksson, P. G. (2015). Evolution of _5–2.5 Ga basins of the Dharwar Craton. In: Mazumder, R. & Eriksson, P. G. (eds) Precambrian Basins of India: Stratigraphic and Tectonic Context. Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 43, 223–230, http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/M43.15 .(Book Chapter).

Sunder Raju, P.V., Merkle, R.K.W. (2012). Högbomite Associated with Vanadiferous–Titaniferous Magnetite Bands at Bhaktarhalli, Nuggihalli Schist Belt, Western Dharwar Craton, Karnataka, India. In: Broekmans, M. (eds) Proceedings of the 10th International Congress for Applied Mineralogy (ICAM). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27682-8_79

Research Scholars

Doctoral - 3 

Post doctoral - 2 

TWAS - 4 

ASEAN -2

Educational Qualification

M.Sc., M.Tech., PhD.,PGDEM

Proffessional Experience

More than 35 Years of Professional Experience in R & D at both National and International levels and is a learned member of prestigious Academies and Societies in Geology.

Hard core Field Geologist 

Proffessional Affiliations

  • Fellow Society of Economic Geologist (SEG, USA)

  • Fellow ICDD (USA)

  • Fellow IAGOD

  • Member-National Academy of Sciences (NASI)

  • Member GSSA 
  • Fellow MGMI