Relationship between magmatic, metamorphic and hydrothermal processes within the Baikal-Muya terrane (Eastern Siberia): constraints from a high-precision geochronological study of the Kedrovsky granitoid massif

High-precision dating of granitoids is significant for identification the ages of the main stages of crust formation in various blocks of the continental crust. In this work, we dating the Kedrovskiy diorite-granodiorite massif localized within the South Muya block of the Baikal-Muya accretion terrane (BMT) (Eastern Siberia) among the Neoproterozoic gabbroids of the Kedrovskiy complex and metasedimentary rocks of the Kedrovskaya Formation. The results of U-Pb (ID TIMS) and 39Ar-40Ar geochronological studies of the Kedrovskiy massif are discussed. The formation of the massif (781 3 Ma) occurred at an early stage formation of the Proterozoic continental crust of BMT during accretion of Baikalids with the Siberian craton. A later thermal event (626 11 Ma) of the Ediacaran stage evolution BMT is reflected in the formation of of biotite-quartz-feldspar veins that cut through the granitoids of the Kedrovka massif. The obtained geochronological data show that the gold mineralization of the Kedrovskiy deposit (273 4 Ma) was not generated by the Kedrovskiy massif granitoids.

Petrogenesis of Ore-Hosting Diorite in the Zaorendao Gold Deposit at the Tongren-Xiahe-Hezuo Polymetallic District, West Qinling, China

The newly discovered Zaorendao gold deposit is in the Tongren-Xiahe-Hezuo polymetallic district in the westernmost West Qinling orogenic belt. The estimated pre-mining resource is approximately 13.6 t of Au at an average grade of 3.02 g/t. Mineralization is predominantly controlled by NW-trending and EW-trending faults within diorite intrusions and surrounding sedimentary rocks. In the present study, in situ zircon U–Pb geochronology and Lu–Hf isotopic analyses of the ore-hosting diorite at Zaorendao were measured using LA-ICP-MS. The data suggest that the diorite was emplaced at ca. 246.5 ± 1.9 Ma. The large variation of zircon Hf isotopic composition (ɛHf(t) values ranging from −12.0 to −1.8) indicates a two-stage model age (TDM2) that ranges from 1.4 Ga to 2.0 Ga. Such Lu–Hf isotopic compositions indicate that the diorite was dominantly derived from a Paleo- to Meso-Proterozoic continental crust. The wide range of εHf(t) and the presence of inherited zircon can be interpreted to suggest the mixing of Paleo- to Meso-Proterozoic continental crust with a mantle component. Combining such characteristics with the geochemistry of coeval rocks that are associated with the diorite, we therefore proposed that the gold-hosting Triassic diorite in the Zaorendao gold deposit formed in an active continental margin that was associated with the northward subduction of the paleo-Tethyan ocean.

A Discussion on global tectonics in Proterozoic times - Introductory remarks

Palaeomagnetic measurements show that horizontal displacements of the crust occurred throughout the Proterozoic at rates comparable to those recorded from the Mesozoic to the present day. However, examination of Proterozoic continental crust reveals some structures which cannot be matched precisely at the present time. Proterozoic stable blocks are smaller and more numerous than the plates of the present day. Those blocks were surrounded by belts in which deformation and igneous activity occurred during times when the blocks behaved as rigid masses. When the apparent polar wander paths of these stable blocks are compared, they are seen to follow rather similar tracks implying that a number of isolated blocks followed approximately the same course. Bearing in mind the uncertainties in establishing pole positions and in dating the rocks concerned, Precambrian apparent polar wander paths are still not precisely located. Despite these uncertainties it would appear that a genuine phenomenon has been revealed which can be described in these terms. During Proterozoic times rates of divergence between stable blocks within a continental mass were an order of magnitude smaller than the overall rate of horizontal displacement of that mass.