scholarly journals Petrogenesis of the Cretaceous Intraplate Mafic Intrusions in the Eastern Tianshan Orogen, NW China

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weifeng Zhang ◽  
Xin Deng ◽  
Bing Tu ◽  
Lianhong Peng ◽  
Xinbiao Jin
Keyword(s):  
Stability Field ◽  
Magma Evolution ◽  
Nd Isotope ◽  
Eastern Tianshan ◽  
Nw China ◽  
Late Mesozoic ◽  
Mafic Intrusions ◽  
Tectonic Significance ◽  
Regional Tectonic ◽  
Garnet Stability Field

In this study, we conducted zircon U-Pb dating, and whole-rock geochemical and Sr-Nd isotope analyses on the Late Mesozoic dolerite dykes in the Bailingshan Fe deposit (Eastern Tianshan Orogen, NW China) to unravel their petrogenesis and regional tectonic significance. Zircon U-Pb dating on the dolerite yielded an Early Cretaceous age of 129.7 ± 1.4 Ma. The dolerite is calc-alkaline sodic (Na2O/K2O = 4.71 to 6.80), and enriched in LILEs (Rb, K, Sr, and Pb) but depleted in HFSEs (Nb, Ta, and Ti). The intermediate Nb/U (16.7 to 18.5) and Ce/Pb (6.33 to 6.90) values, and the presence of xenocrystic zircons in these dolerite dykes suggest crustal assimilation during the magma evolution. Petrological modeling suggests fractionation of olivine, pyroxene, garnet, and spinel. All the dolerite samples have low initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.7041 to 0.7043) and positive εNd(t) (+ 4.6 to + 5.1) values, indicative of a depleted asthenospheric mantle source. Partial melting modeling suggests that the melting has occurred in the spinel-garnet stability field. Integrating the data from ore deposit geology, geochronology, geochemistry and Sr-Nd isotopes, we proposed that the Late Cretaceous Eastern Tianshan mafic magmatism was developed in an intraplate extension setting.

scholarly journals Petrogenesis and Tectonic Significance of the ~276 Ma Baixintan Ni-Cu Ore-Bearing Mafic-Ultramafic Intrusion in the Eastern Tianshan Orogenic Belt, NW China

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 348
Author(s):  
Minxin You ◽  
Wenyuan Li ◽  
Houmin Li ◽  
Zhaowei Zhang ◽  
Xin Li
Keyword(s):  
Orogenic Belt ◽  
Olivine Gabbro ◽  
Early Permian ◽  
Eastern Tianshan ◽  
Nw China ◽  
Tianshan Orogenic Belt ◽  
Tectonic Significance ◽  
Ultramafic Intrusion ◽  
Back Arc ◽  
Duke Island

The Baixintan mafic-ultramafic intrusion in the Dananhu-Tousuquan arc of the Eastern Tianshan orogenic belt is composed of lherzolite, olivine gabbro, and gabbro. Olivine gabbros contain zircon grains with a U-Pb age of 276.8 ± 1.1 Ma, similar to the ages of other Early Permian Ni-Cu ore-bearing intrusions in the region. The alkaline-silica diagrams, AFM diagram, together with the Ni/Cu-Pd/Ir diagram, indicate that the parental magmas for the Baixintan intrusion were likely high-Mg tholeiitic basaltic in composition. The Cu/Pd ratios, the relatively depleted PGEs and the correlations between them demonstrate that the parental magmas had already experienced sulfide segregation. The lower CaO content in pyroxenites compared with the Duke Island Alaskan-type intrusion and the composition of spinels imply that Baixintan is not an Alaskan-type intrusion. By comparing the Baixintan intrusion with other specific mafic-ultramafic intrusions, this paper considers that the mantle source of the Baixintan intrusion is metasomatized by subduction slab-derived fluids’ components, which gives rise to the negative anomalies of Nb, Ti, and Ta elements. Nb/Yb-Th/Yb, Nb/Yb-TiO2/Yb, and ThN-NbN plots show that the Baixintan intrusion was emplaced in a back-arc spreading environment and may be related to a mantle plume.

Genesis of gabbroic intrusions in the Arabian Shield, Saudi Arabia: mineralogical, geochemical and tectonic fingerprints of the Neoproterozoic arc magmatism

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Shehata Ali ◽  
Abdullah S. Alshammari
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Stability Field ◽  
Arabian Shield ◽  
Red Sea Rift ◽  
Nubian Shield ◽  
Najd Fault System ◽  
Garnet Stability Field ◽  
Arabian Nubian Shield

Abstract The Arabian Shield of Saudi Arabia represents part of the Arabian–Nubian Shield and forms an exposure of juvenile continental crust on the eastern side of the Red Sea rift. Gabbroic intrusions in Saudi Arabia constitute a significant part of the mafic magmatism in the Neoproterozoic Arabian Shield. This study records the first detailed geological, mineralogical and geochemical data for gabbroic intrusions located in the Gabal Samra and Gabal Abd areas of the Hail region in the Arabian Shield of Saudi Arabia. Geological field relations and investigations, supported by mineralogical and geochemical data, indicate that the gabbroic intrusions are generally unmetamorphosed and undeformed, and argue for their post-collisional emplacement. Their mineralogical and geochemical features reveal crystallization from hydrous, mainly tholeiitic, mafic magmas with arc-like signatures, which were probably inherited from the previous subduction event in the Arabian–Nubian Shield. The gabbroic rocks exhibit sub-chondritic Nb/U, Nb/Ta and Zr/Hf ratios, revealing depletion of their mantle source. Moreover, the high ratios of (Gd/Yb)N and (Dy/Yb)N indicate that their parental mafic melts were derived from a garnet-peridotite source with a garnet signature in the mantle residue. This implication suggests that the melting region was at a depth exceeding ∼70–80 km at the garnet stability field. They have geochemical characteristics similar to other post-collisional gabbros of the Arabian–Nubian Shield. Their origin could be explained by adiabatic decompression melting of depleted asthenosphere that interacted during ascent with metasomatized lithospheric mantle in an extensional regime, likely related to the activity of the Najd Fault System, at the end of the Pan-African Orogeny.

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