Geochemistry and Nd isotopes of the François Lake plutonic suite, Endako batholith: host and progenitor to the Endako molybdenum camp, central British Columbia

2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 603-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph B Whalen ◽  
Robert G Anderson ◽  
Lambertus C Struik ◽  
Michael E Villeneuve

The Endako low-F granodiorite-type porphyry Mo deposit is hosted by the Triassic to Eocene Endako batholith, which comprises five temporally distinct plutonic suites, only one of which is mineralized. Pre-mineralization suites range in composition from diorite to granodiorite. The synmineralization Jurassic–Cretaceous François Lake suite includes two granodiorite- to monzogranite-bearing subsuites. Postmineralization phases include the Eocene Sam Ross Creek monzogranite. The batholith spans a silica range of 44–80 wt.% and consists of metaluminous to slightly peraluminous, low- to high-K, I-type granitoids; the Sam Ross Creek phase is an A-type granite. Positive ε Nd(T) values (+1.1 to +7.2) indicate derivation predominately from juvenile source materials, but with variable input from an older crustal component. Evidence suggests generation of older plutonic suites in a juvenile arc-type setting and younger K-rich felsic suites via recycling of juvenile arc crust without significant mantle-derived contributions. Three distinct Mo-deposition events in the Endako camp are linked to repeated generations of oxidized, highly evolved monzogranitic phases (pre-ore dykes, aplitic Nithi and Casey intrusions) belonging to both François Lake subsuites. Late pre-ore dykes with "Casey-like" geochemical signatures, along with massive unmineralized Casey intrusions near the Endako deposit, could reflect repeated injections from an underlying magma chamber that remained molten during the youngest Mo-deposition event. A genetic link may exist between the Sam Ross Creek phase, a pluton with Climax-type granite characteristics, and Eocene kaolinite alteration in the Endako deposit. Also, potential exists for Eocene-age Climax-type Mo mineralization within the Endako mining camp.

Author(s):  
Kai Xing ◽  
Qihai Shu ◽  
David R Lentz

Abstract There are more than 90 porphyry (or skarn) Mo deposits in northeastern China with Jurassic or Cretaceous ages. These are thought to have formed mainly in a continental arc setting related to the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific oceanic plate in the Jurassic and subsequent slab rollback in the early Cretaceous. The Jurassic Daheishan porphyry Mo deposit is one of the largest Mo deposits in NE China, which contains 1.09 Mt Mo with an average Mo grade of 0.07%. To better understand the factors that could have controlled Mo mineralization at Daheishan, and potentially in other similar porphyry Mo deposits in NE China, the geochemical and isotopic compositions of the ore-related granite porphyry and biotite granodiorite, and the magmatic accessory minerals apatite, titanite and zircon from the Daheishan intrusions, were investigated so as to evaluate the potential roles that magma oxidation states, water contents, sulfur and metal concentrations could have played in the formation of the deposit. Magmatic apatite and titanite from the causative intrusions show similar εNd(t) values from -1.1 to 1.4, corresponding to TDM2 ages ranging from 1040 to 840 Ma, which could be accounted for by a mixing model through the interaction of mantle-derived basaltic melts with the Precambrian lower crust. The Ce and Eu anomalies of the magmatic accessory minerals have been used as proxies for magma redox state, and the results suggest that the ore-forming magmas are highly oxidized, with an estimated ΔFMQ range of + 1.8 to + 4.1 (+2.7 in average). This is also consistent with the high whole-rock Fe2O3/FeO ratios (1.3–26.4). The Daheishan intrusions display negligible Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.7–1.1) and have relatively high Sr/Y ratios (40–94) with adakitic signatures; they also have relatively high Sr/Y ratios in apatite and titanite. These suggest that the fractionation of amphibole rather than plagioclase is dominant during the crystallization of the ore-related magmas, which further indicates a high magmatic water content (e.g., >5 wt%). The magmatic sulfur concentrations were calculated using available partitioning models for apatite from granitoids, and the results (9–125 ppm) are indistinguishable from other mineralized, subeconomic and barren intrusions. Furthermore, Monte Carlo modelling has been conducted to simulate the magmatic processes associated with the formation of the Daheishan Mo deposit, and the result reveals that a magma volume of ∼280 km3 with ∼10 ppm Mo was required to form the Mo ores containing 1.09 Mt Mo in Daheishan. The present study suggests that a relatively large volume of parental magmas with high oxygen fugacities and high water contents is essential for the generation of a giant porphyry Mo deposit like Daheishan, whereas a specific magma composition (e.g., with unusually high Mo and/or S concentrations), might be less critical.


1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 556-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
P J Patchett ◽  
G E Gehrels ◽  
C E Isachsen

Nd isotopic data are presented for a suite of metamorphic and plutonic rocks from a traverse across the Coast Mountains between Terrace and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and for three contrasting batholiths in the Omineca Belt of southern Yukon. A presumed metamorphic equivalent of Jurassic volcanic rocks of the Stikine terrane gives epsilon Nd = +6, and a number of other metaigneous and metasedimentary rocks in the core of the Coast Mountains give epsilon Nd values from +3 to +7. A single metasedimentary rock approximately 3 km east of the Work Channel shear zone gives a epsilon Nd value of -9. Coast Belt plutons in the traverse yield epsilon Nd from -1 to +2. The Omineca Belt plutons give epsilon Nd from -10 to -17. All results are consistent with published data in demonstrating that (i) juvenile origins for both igneous and metamorphic rocks are common in the Coast Belt; (ii) representatives of a continental-margin sedimentary sequence with Precambrian crustal Nd are tectonically interleaved in the Coast Mountains; (iii) Coast Mountains plutons can be interpreted as derived from a blend of metamorphic rocks like those seen at the surface, or as arc-type melts contaminated with the older crustal component; and (iv) Omineca Belt plutons are dominated by remelted Precambrian crustal rocks.


Minerals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenfeng Wei ◽  
Chunkit Lai ◽  
Bing Yan ◽  
Xiaoxi Zhu ◽  
Shengqiong Song ◽  
...  

The newly discovered Shimensi deposit is a super-large tungsten-copper (W–Cu) deposit with a metal reserve of 742.55 thousand tonnes (kt) W and 403.6 kt Cu. The orebodies are hosted in Mesozoic granites, which intruded the poorly documented Shimensi granodiorite belonging to the Jiuling batholith, the largest intrusion (outcrop > 2500 km2) in South China. Our new SHRIMP (Sensitive High Resolution Ion MicroProbe) zircon dating revealed that the granodiorite at Shimensi (ca. 830–827 Ma) was formed coeval (within analytical uncertainty) or slightly earlier than those in many other places (ca. 819–807 Ma) of the Jiuling batholith. The Neoproterozoic Shimensi granodiorite is peraluminous and high-K calc-alkaline, and contains low P content with no S-type trend (positive P2O5 vs. SiO2 correlation) displayed, thus best classified as peraluminous I-type. The I-type classification is also supported by the zircon REE patterns, largely (93%) positive εHf(t) (−0.87 to 6.60) and relatively low δ18O (5.8–7.7‰). The Neoproterozoic Shimensi granodiorite was formed after the continental arc magmatism (ca. 845–835 Ma), but before the post-collisional S-type granite emplacement (ca. 825–815 Ma) in the Jiangnan Orogen. Therefore, we propose that the Shimensi granodiorite was formed in a collisional/early post-collisional setting. The δ18O increase from the Shimensi granodiorite to many younger (ca. 819–807 Ma) granodiorites (6.0–8.5‰) in the Jiuling batholith probably reflects an increase of supracrustal rock-derived melts with the progress of collision. The Shimensi granodiorite contains low zircon Ce4+/Ce3+ and Eu/Eu*, suggesting a relatively reducing magma that does not favor porphyry Cu–Au mineralization. This left a high background Cu concentration (avg. 196 ppm) in the Neoproterozoic granodiorite, which may have contributed to the Mesozoic W–Cu mineralization, when the granodiorite is intruded and assimilated by the Mesozoic granites.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Zhendong Wang ◽  
Yuanyuan Zhang ◽  
Xiangjiang Yu ◽  
Zhaojie Guo

Abstract The Duobagou Permian–Triassic granites of the Dunhuang orogenic belt are of great importance in understanding the tectonic evolution of the southernmost Central Asian Orogenic Belt. LA-ICP-MS U–Pb zircon ages indicate that Permian–Triassic granitic intrusions from the Duobagou area formed at 276–274 Ma and 246 ± 1 Ma. These granites have high SiO2, Na2O and K2O, but low Al2O3, CaO and MgO contents and belong mainly to the high-K calc-alkaline I-type granite series. Based on whole-rock geochemistry and Sr–Nd and zircon Hf isotopes, the Duobagou Permian–Triassic granites were dominantly derived from the partial melting of lower continental crust formed during late Palaeoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic times in a post-collisional extensional setting. Permian granites with zircon ϵHf(t) values of −5.4 to +3.1 and Hf model ages of TDM2 = 1.14–1.70 Ga indicate the involvement of a mantle component in their petrogenesis. Triassic granites with higher zircon ϵHf(t) values (+0.5 to +3.8) and TDM2 = 1.08–1.31 Ga suggest more juvenile sources caused by a greater contribution of mantle-derived melts, indicating a significant crustal growth. Regional extension from lithospheric delamination and heating from asthenospheric upwelling were proposed to have triggered the partial melting of lower crust, resulting in the generation of the Permian–Triassic magmatism. This may have been the mechanism for the significant crustal growth during Permian and Triassic times in the southernmost Central Asian Orogenic Belt.


1996 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. V. Mikhalsky ◽  
J. W. Sheraton ◽  
A. A. Laiba ◽  
B. V. Beliatsky

Fisher Massif consists of Mesoproterozoic (c. 1300 Ma) lower amphibolite-facies metavolcanic rocks and associated metasediments, intruded by a variety of subvolcanic and plutonic bodies (gabbro to granite). It differs in both composition and metamorphic grade from the rest of the northern Prince Charles Mountains, which were metamorphosed to granulite facies about 1000 m.y. ago. The metavolcanic rocks consist mainly of basalt, but basaltic andesite, andesite, and more felsic rocks (dacite, rhyodacite, and rhyolite) are also common. Most of the basaltic rocks have compositions similar to low-K island arc tholeiites, but some are relatively Nb-rich and more akin to P-MORB. Intermediate to felsic medium to high-K volcanic rocks, which appear to postdate the basaltic succession, have calc-alkaline affinities and probably include a significant crustal component. On the present data, an active continental margin with associated island arc was the most likely tectonic setting for generation of the Fisher Massif volcanic rocks.


2020 ◽  
Vol 115 (6) ◽  
pp. 1195-1212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kreshimir N. Malitch ◽  
Elena A. Belousova ◽  
William L. Griffin ◽  
Laure Martin ◽  
Inna Yu. Badanina ◽  
...  

Abstract The ultramafic-mafic Talnakh intrusion in the Norilsk province (Russia) hosts one of the world’s major platinum group element (PGE)-Cu-Ni sulfide deposits. This study employed a multitechnique approach, including in situ Hf-O isotope analyses of zircon combined with whole-rock Nd isotope data, in order to gain new insights into genesis of the Talnakh economic intrusion. Zircons from gabbrodiorite, gabbroic rocks of the layered series, and ultramafic rocks have similar mantle-like mean δ18O values (5.39 ± 0.49‰, n = 27; 5.64 ± 0.48‰, n = 34; and 5.28 ± 0.34‰, n = 7, respectively), consistent with a mantle-derived origin for the primary magma(s) parental to the Talnakh intrusion. In contrast, a sulfide-bearing taxitic-textured troctolite from the basal part of intrusion has high δ18O (mean of 6.50‰, n = 3), indicating the possible involvement of a crustal component during the formation of sulfide-bearing taxitic-textured rocks. The Hf isotope compositions of zircon from different rocks of the Talnakh intrusion show significant variations, with ɛHf(t) values ranging from –3.2 to 9.8 for gabbrodiorite, from –4.3 to 11.6 for unmineralized layered-sequence gabbroic rocks, from 2.3 to 12 for mineralized ultramafic rocks, and from –3.5 to 8.8 for mineralized taxitic-textured rocks at the base of the intrusion. The significant range in the initial 176Hf/177Hf values is ascribed to interaction of distinct magma sources during formation of the Talnakh intrusion. These include (1) a juvenile source equivalent to the depleted mantle, (2) a subcontinental lithospheric source, and (3) a minor crustal component. Initial whole-rock Nd isotope compositions of the mineralized taxitic-textured rocks from the base of the intrusion (mean ɛNd(t) = –1.5 ± 1.8) differ from the other rocks, which have relatively restricted ranges in initial ɛNd (mean ɛNd = 0.9 ± 0.2). The major set of ɛNd values around 1.0 at Talnakh is attributed to limited crustal contamination, presumably in deep magma chambers, whereas the smaller set of negative ɛNd values in taxitic-textured rocks is consistent with greater involvement of a crustal component and reflects an interaction with the wall rocks during emplacement.


Lithosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 834-854 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Zhao ◽  
Wenhao Ao ◽  
Hong Zhang ◽  
Qian Wang ◽  
Mingguo Zhai ◽  
...  

Abstract Latest Paleoproterozoic (ca. 1.8–1.6 Ga) magmatic rocks outcrop in the Dunhuang terrane, represented by A-type granites and mafic (basaltic) rocks that have metamorphosed into amphibolites. The A-type granites, emplaced at ca. 1.79–1.77 Ga, are geochemically characterized by high Na2O + K2O, Fe2O3T, Zr, Nb, and Ce contents, as well as high Fe2O3T/(Fe2O3T + MgO) and Ga/Al ratios. Furthermore, they have Nb/Ta, Y/Nb, Rb/Nb, and Sc/Nb ratios of 12.10–15.56, 1.45–1.79, 3.52–6.51, and 0.11–0.19, respectively, showing affinity to A2-type granite. The A-type granites have negative εNd(t) values (−5.4 to −4.8) with Neoarchean depleted mantle (TDM2) ages (2591–2494 Ma), corresponding to coupling between εHf(t) values (−4.85 to -0.92) and TDM2 ages (2817–2556 Ma) of zircons. Therefore, the A-type granite pluton was mostly generated by partial melting of Neoarchean tonalitic to granodioritic basement rocks of the Dunhuang Complex in a postcollisional tectonic setting following a late Paleoproterozoic continent-continent collisional event. The metamafic rocks have a protolith age of 1605 ± 45 Ma and metamorphic age of 317 ± 20 Ma, indicating a Paleozoic tectonic event. The metamafic rock samples are geochemically characterized by relatively high alkali (Na2O + K2O = 4.39–4.81 wt%) contents and low Nb/Y (0.63–0.66) ratios, and they show steep rare earth element (REE) patterns with light REE enrichment and insignificant Eu anomalies and Nb-Ta, Zr-Hf, and Ti anomalies, resembling subalkaline oceanic-island basalt affinity. They have positive εNd(t) values (+0.8 to +1.8) close to the chondrite evolutionary line and variable εHf(t) values (-1.09 to +9.06) of zircons. Hence, the protolith of the metamafic rocks may have been produced by magma mixing processes between a depleted mantle source and a metasomatized lithospheric mantle source during the initial rifting stage in an extensional setting, completing the formation of the Precambrian Dunhuang Complex. Considering the ca. 1.85–1.80 Ga regional metamorphism in the Dunhuang terrane, the latest Paleoproterozoic (ca. 1.8–1.6 Ga) A2-type granitic magmatism and mafic magmatism documented the postorogenic to initial rifting processes following the global-scale late Paleoproterozoic collisional event, which is comparable with ca. 1.80–1.67 Ga postcollisional and ca. 1.60–1.53 Ga anorogenic magmatism in the North China craton, but different from that of the Tarim craton.


2008 ◽  
Vol 145 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
SHEN LIU ◽  
RUI-ZHONG HU ◽  
CAI-XIA FENG ◽  
HAI-BO ZOU ◽  
CAI LI ◽  
...  

AbstractGeochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic data are presented for volcanic rocks from Zougouyouchaco (30.5 Ma) and Dogai Coring (39.7 Ma) of the southern and middle Qiangtang block in northern Tibet. The volcanic rocks are high-K calc-alkaline trachyandesites and dacites, with SiO2 contents ranging from 58.5 to 67.1 wt % The rocks are enriched in light REE (LREE) and contain high Sr (649 to 986 ppm) and relatively low Yb (0.8 to 1.2 ppm) and Y (9.5 to 16.6 ppm) contents, resulting in high La/Yb (29–58) and Sr/Y (43–92) ratios, as well as relatively high MgO contents and Mg no., similar to the compositions of adakites formed by slab melting in subduction zones. However, the adakitic rocks in the Qiangtang block are characterized by relatively low εNd(t) values (−3.8 to −5.0) and highly radiogenic Sr ((87Sr/86Sr)i=0.706–0.708), which are inconsistent with an origin by slab melting. The geochemistry and tectonics indicate that the adakitic volcanic rocks were most likely derived from partial melting of delaminated lower continental crust. As the pristine adakitic melts rose, they interacted with the surrounding mantle peridotite, elevating their MgO values and Mg numbers.


2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (10) ◽  
pp. 1479-1494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek J Thorkelson ◽  
James K Mortensen ◽  
Robert A Creaser ◽  
Garry J Davidson ◽  
J Grant Abbott

Northwestern Laurentia, after cratonization at about 1.85 Ga, underwent a series of tectonic and magmatic events during the Proterozoic that were followed by separation of Laurentia from another landmass, probably Australia. The oldest magmatic event produced the Bonnet Plume River Intrusions (BPRI), which intruded the Wernecke Supergroup as short dikes and small stocks. The BPRI are hydrothermally altered tholeiitic diorites, gabbros, and subordinate anorthositic and syenitic rocks, with trace element signatures consistent with a rift origin. Depleted mantle model ages range from 2.29 to 2.57 Ga and εNdvalues range from +0.7 to –1.7. An increasing crustal component is apparent in rocks with more evolved compositions. Four U–Pb zircon ages (1705.9 ± 0.7, 1709.4 ± 1.4, 1711.1 ± 5.1, and 1713.6 ± 12.7 Ma) indicate a Paleoproterozoic age for the BPRI. These dates constrain the age of the Wernecke Supergroup to [Formula: see text] ca. 1710 Ma, making it the oldest supracrustal succession in western Laurentia, e.g., >240 Ma older than the Belt Supergroup of southeastern British Columbia and the northwestern United States. The Wernecke Supergroup was deposited in the first rift basin to open along the western margin of Laurentia, but was later inverted by the pre-1.6 Ga Racklan Orogeny, an event possibly influenced by transmission of compression from the Yavapai and Mazatzal orogenies in southern Laurentia. The Neoproterozoic southwestern United States – east Antarctica (SWEAT) reconstruction, which places Australia next to northwestern Laurentia, is supported by linkages between Paleoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic geological features in northwestern Canada and Australia.


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