The Petrology Laboratories at Hyderabad (Headquarters) and the Regional Centres at Bangalore, New Delhi, Shillong, Nagpur, Jaipur and Jamshedpur are engaged with the petromineralogical studies of different geological materials, with emphasis on radioactive minerals.  They have a large work-spectrum ranging from characterisation of radioactive and associated non-radioactive rocks, minerals, soils, sands and stream sediments in the front-end to the ore characterisation for mineral processing in the back-end of the whole gamut in the exploration for atomic minerals. The laboratories cater to the needs of multidisciplinary scientists of AMD like geologists, geophysicists, geochemists and geochronologists. The laboratories are equipped with Advanced research polarising microscopes of Leitz-make (Germany) for transmitted and reflected light studies with attachments for many specialized studies viz. reflectivity and microhardness of ore minerals, microthermometry apparatus of Chaixmeca-make (France) for study of fluid inclusions. Facilities are also available for image analysis, automatic photography and fluorescence studies. Some of the attachments for specialised studies are also available at regional centers. Nearly thirty microscopes are available.

The laboratories are engaged in: 

petrographic and mineragraphic characterisation of common rock forming minerals and ore minerals;

petromineralogical and petrometallographic  studies of ores and gangue minerals of uranium,  thorium, and rare metals;

heavy mineral identification of river and beach  placers;

petromineralogical  characterisation of rocks and minerals for radioisotopic dating;

fluid inclusion studies to decipher geotherms and geobarometric; and

solid state nuclear track detection (SSNTD) using alpha-sensitive cellulose nitrate film.