Data to determine new age constraints on the Ediacaran Salt Range Formation of Pakistan

The Neoproterozoic–Early Cambrian Salt Range Formation (SRF) of Pakistan is a sequence of salt, gypsum, marl, dolomite, fine-grained siliciclastic rocks (shale, siltstone and sandstone), oil shale, and hydrothermally altered extrusive volcanics. The formation occurs in the Salt Range physiographic feature, a mountain range rising 750 to 1000 m above alluvial plains of northwestern Pakistan, between the petroleum-producing Potwar Basin to the north and Punjab Platform to the south. We examined 12 SRF samples from 3 localities located over a distance of ~30 km in the eastern Salt Range at Sohan Nala (SN, 32.66176N, 72.72819E), Makrach Nala (MN, 32.64976N, 72.85527E), and Khewra Gorge (KG 32.64972N, 73.01246E). Samples included 7 thinly bedded SRF oil shales and 5 SRF marls comprised of clays and carbonates. Samples were analyzed by multiple approaches. Data from the analyses are included here in the following tables: Table S1 - X -ray diffraction (XRD) mineralogy Table S2.csv - Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry/Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS/MS) analysis Table S3 - Organic geochemical screening Table S4 - Elemental analysis and Organic ratios analysis on samples as received Table S5 - Reflectance measurements from organic petrographic analysis on solid bitumen and bituminite Tables S6 through S11 - One csv file reporting organic molecular data for 4 SRF oil shale, including SARA (saturate, aromatic, resin, asphaltene) fractionation and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry saturate and aromatic biomarker analysis Table S12 - Stable carbon and oxygen isotopic measurements on carbonate in select marl samples Table S13 - Qualitative Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy compositions from the analysis of clay ovoids Table S14 - Sixty-one major and trace element concentrations for all samples Table S15 - Platinum Group Elements (PGE) from the analysis of 8 SRF oil shale and marl samples. Refer to the Data Quality section of the dataset's metadata for complete method and sample data descriptions.