CASSERITE U-Pb GEOCHRONOLOGY OF THE SANTA BÁRBARA TIN DISTRICT, RONDÔNIA TIN PROVINCE, BRAZIL

The Mesoproterozoic Rondônia Tin Province of the Amazonian craton records a protracted history of about 600 m.y. of successive rare-metal granite intrusions and hosts the youngest known event of tin-granite emplacement of the craton—a rare-metal granite suite known as the Younger Granites of Rondônia intrusive suite. The ~1 Ga suite is currently interpreted as intracratonic magmatism resulting from a Grenvillian-age orogeny during the assembly of Rodinia. The Santa Bárbara massif is a tin-granite system of the Younger Granites of Rondônia intrusive suite that hosts Sn-Nb-Ta-W–bearing endogreisen and stockwork, as well as important placer deposits. The Santa Bárbara mine produces about 800 to 1,000 t Sn/year from placers and weathered greisen and represents about 20% of the tin mine output of the Rondônia Tin Province. Here, we report laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) cassiterite U-Pb ages of 989 ± 3 and 987 ± 6 Ma for the Santa Bárbara greisen and the cassiterite-quartz vein system, respectively. Alluvial cassiterite from placer mining has a U-Pb age of 995 ± 4 Ma, which is, within uncertainty, indistinguishable from those of primary cassiterite. These ages agree well with the previously published zircon and monazite U-Pb ages for the Santa Bárbara granite (978 ± 13 and 989 ± 13 Ma), which indicate a coeval relationship between hydrothermal tin mineralization and granite magmatism. The previously suggested 20- to 30-m.y. time span between granite magmatism and hydrothermal tin mineralization, which was based on mica K-Ar and Ar-Ar age data, is likely due to younger thermal disturbance of the isotopic systems.

Late to post-Variscan basement segmentation and differential exhumation along the SW Bohemian Massif, central Europe

The exposed Variscan basement in central Europe is well-known for its complex structural and lithological architecture resulting from multiple deformation phases. We studied the southwestern margin of the Bohemian Massif, which is characterized by major and long-lived shear zones, such as the Pfahl and Danube shear zones, extending over > 100 km and initiated during Variscan tectonics. We integrated Bouguer gravity anomaly and lidar topographic data analyses and combined our results with available data and observations from low-temperature thermochronology, metamorphic grades, and the exposed granite inventory to detect patterns of basement block segmentation and differential exhumation. Three NW–SE-striking basement blocks are bordered by the Runding, Pfahl, and Danube shear zones from the northeast to the southwest. Basement block boundaries are indicated by abrupt changes in measured gravity patterns and metamorphic grades. By applying high-pass filters to gravity data in combination with lineament analysis, we identified a new NNW–SSE-striking tectonic structure (Cham Fault), which further segments known basement blocks. Basement blocks that are segmented by the Cham Fault differ in the abundance and spatial distribution of exposed late Variscan granites and are further characterized by variations in apparent thermochronological age data. Based on our observations and analyses, a differential exhumation and tectonic tilt model is proposed to explain the juxtaposition of different crustal levels. Block segmentation along the NW–SE-striking Pfahl and Runding shear zones most likely occurred prior, during, and after late orogenic granite emplacement at ca. 320 ± 10 Ma, as some of the granites are cross-cut by the shear zones, while others utilized these structures during magma ascent and emplacement. In contrast, activity and block segmentation along the Cham Fault occurred after granite emplacement as the fault sharply truncates the granite inventory. Our study provides evidence of intense and continuous fault activities during late and post-orogenic times and highlights the importance of tectonic structures in the exhumation and juxtaposition of different crustal levels and the creation of complex lithological patterns in orogenic terrains.

Crystal transfer from magma to wallrock during syntectonic granite emplacement

Field, microstructural and mineral compositional evidence from the Mesoproterozoic K-feldspar megacrystic Red Granite at Oncócua Platform (southwestern Angola) is consistent with crystal transfer from magma to wallrock during syntectonic intrusion. K-feldspar megacrystic Red Granite intruded during folding of wallrock tonalite. Enclaves of the wallrock tonalite are elongated parallel to Red Granite intrusive contacts, a K-feldspar megacryst and hornblende defined magmatic foliation, and a gneissosity in the Red Granite. Stromatic layering present in the tonalite is crosscut by the Red Granite intrusive contacts or is isoclinally folded with fold axial planes and hinges filled with Red Granite. K-feldspar megacryst clusters and curved grain boundaries (i.e., contact melting), as well as thin Red Granite fold axial planar sheets containing K-feldspar megacrysts that are typically wider than the sheets themselves, are all consistent with melt loss and crystal accumulation during solidification. The wallrock tonalite also hosts K-feldspar megacrysts and hornblende phenocrysts that are interpreted to be the same population to those in Red Granite, on the basis of their size, shape, nature of inclusions, compositions, and compositional zoning. We propose that these crystals were transferred from the intrusive Red Granite magma to the wallrock tonalite via magmatic conduits that subsequently collapsed due to external stresses, leaving behind the larger crystals. The pristine preservation of intrusive relations at Oncócua Platform may mean that crystal transfer from magma to wallrock is more common in incrementally assembled granitoid plutons than previously thought.Supplementary material: [Mineral chemical data] available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5448664

A Lower Devonian age for the Corvock Granite and its significance for the structural history of South Mayo and the Laurentian margin of western Ireland

The Silurian Croagh Patrick succession, which crops out just south of a fundamental Caledonian structural zone near Clew Bay, western Ireland, is a series of psammites and pelites with a strong penetrative cleavage. These rocks are intruded by the Corvock granite. A suite of minor intrusions associated with the granite contains the regional cleavage whereas the Corvock granite is undeformed. New U-Pb dates are 413 + 7 / -4 Ma for a strongly cleaved sill and 410 ± 4 Ma for the main granite and closely constrain the age of crystallization of the granite and coeval cleavage formation as Lower Devonian (Lochkovian or Pragian), implying syn- to late-kinematic granite emplacement. These data are consistent with evidence for strong sinistral shear shown by the Ox Mountains granodiorite just to the north-east dated at 412.3 ± 0.8 Ma. This Devonian cleavage is superimposed on Ordovician rocks of the South Mayo Trough. The localisation of the strong deformation is interpreted as being due to its position at a restraining bend during regional sinistral motion on a segment of the Fair Head-Clew Bay Line to the north. Contemporaneous deformation in the syn-kinematic Donegal batholith suggests a transfer of sinistral motion to this intra-Grampian structure rather than simple along-strike linkage to the Highland Boundary Fault in Scotland. Our new data indicate diachronous deformation during the late Silurian and early Devonian history of the Irish and Scottish Caledonides and also support previous interpretations of diachronous deformation between these areas and the Appalachian orogens.

Late to post-Variscan differential uplift and basement segmentation along the SW Bohemian Massif, Central Europe

The exposed Variscan basement in Central Europe is well-known for its complex structural and lithological architecture resulting from multiple deformation phases. We study the southwestern margin of the Bohemian Massif, which is characterized by major and long-lived shear zones, such as the Pfahl and Danube shear zones, extending over > 100 km and initiated during Variscan tectonics. We integrate Bouguer gravity anomaly and LiDAR topographic data analyses and combine our results with available data and observations from low-temperature thermochronology, metamorphic grades, and granite intrusion depths to detect patterns of basement block segmentation and differential uplift. Three NW-SE striking basement blocks are bordered by the Runding, Pfahl, and Danube shear zones from the northeast to the southwest. Basement block boundaries are indicated by abrupt changes in measured gravity patterns and metamorphic grades. By applying high-pass filters to gravity data in combination with lineament analysis, we identified a new NNW-SSE striking tectonic structure (Cham Fault), which further segments known basement blocks. Basement blocks that are segmented by the Cham Fault differ in the abundance and spatial distribution of exposed late Variscan granites and are further characterized by variations of apparent thermochronological age data. Based on our observations and analyses, a differential uplift and tectonic tilt model is proposed to explain the juxtaposition of different crustal levels exposed at the surface. Block segmentation along the NW-SE striking Pfahl and Runding shear zones most likely occurred prior, during, and after late-orogenic granite emplacement at ca. 320 ± 10 Ma, as some of the granites are cross-cut by the shear zones while others utilized these structures during magma ascent and emplacement. In contrast, activity and block segmentation along the Cham Fault occurred after granite emplacement as the fault sharply truncates the granite inventory. Our study provides evidence for intense and continuous fault activity during late and early post-orogenic times and highlights the importance of tectonic structures in the juxtaposition of different crustal levels and the creation of complex lithological patterns in orogenic terrains.

Flow of Devonian anatectic crust in the accretionary Altai Orogenic Belt, central Asia: Insights into horizontal and vertical magma transfer

Flow of partially molten crust is a key contributor to mass and heat redistribution within orogenic systems, however, this process has not yet been fully understood in accretionary orogens. This issue is addressed in a Devonian migmatite-granite complex from the Chinese Altai through structural, petrological, and geochronological investigations presented in this study. The migmatite-granite complex records a gradual evolution from metatexite, diatexite to granite and preserves a record of two main Devonian phases of deformation designated D1 and D2. The D1 phase was subdivided into an early crustal thickening episode (D1B) and a later extensional episode (D1M) followed by D2 upright folding. The D1M episode is associated with anatexis in the deep crust. Vertical shortening, associated with D1M, gave rise to the segregation of melt and formation of a sub-horizontal layering of stromatic metatexite. This fabric was reworked by the D2 deformation associated with the migration of anatectic magma in the cores of F2 antiforms. Geochronological investigations combined with petro-structural analysis reveal that: (1) D1M partial melting started probably at 420−410 Ma and formed sub-horizontal stromatic metatexites at ∼30 km depth; (2) The anatectic magma accumulated and migrated when a drainage network developed, as attested by the pervasive formation of massive diatexite migmatites, at 410−400 Ma; (3) Soon after, massive flow of the partially molten crust from orogenic lower to orogenic upper crustal levels, assisted by the interplay between D2 upright folding and magma diapirism, led to migmatite-granite emplacement in the cores of regional F2 antiforms that lasted until at least 390 Ma; (4) a terminal stage was manifested by the emplacement of 370−360 Ma granite dykes into the surrounding metamorphic envelope. We propose that Devonian anatexis assisted by deformation governed first the horizontal and then the vertical flow of partially molten orogenic lower crust, which drove crustal flow, mass redistribution, and crustal differentiation in the accretionary system of the Chinese Altai.

The corundum conundrum: Constraining the compositions of fluids involved in metasomatic corundum formation.

<p>Corundum, including the variety ruby, is found in numerous locations in the Archaean North Atlantic Craton of southern Greenland. Corundum owes its occurrence to fluid-induced interaction among high-grade metamorphic lithologies of contrasting chemistry. Here, we present constraints on the conditions of corundum formation and the compositions of the fluids involved for the Storø and Maniitsoq ruby localities. We use thermodynamic modelling of mineral and mineral-fluid equilibria, and complement these with experimentally obtained data on mineral solubility to show that metasomatism took place at 650-725˚C and 7 kbar, involving a boron-rich, acidic fluid of low <em>f</em>O<sub>2</sub> and low X(CO<sub>2</sub>). Aqueous concentrations of aluminium are low and indicate that corundum saturation is the result of residual aluminium enrichment rather than aluminium mobilisation. Intrusion of the <em>ca.</em> 2.55 Ga Qôrqut granite and associated fluid release is the likely source of boron, and U-Pb dating of rutile inclusions is consistent with a temporal link between ruby formation and granite emplacement. Interaction with meta-dunite and Fe-sulfides modified the oxidized magmatic fluid, introduced SO<sub>4</sub>, and produced the reduced, high X<sub>Mg</sub> and K-rich fluid recorded by the corundum-bearing samples. These results highlight a complex interplay among lithologies involved in corundum-formation, but also demonstrate that corundum formation is a predictable part of the geological history where a magmatic intrusion expels a pulse of fluid through its lithologically heterogeneous carapace.</p>

Petrology, phase equilibria and In-situ U-Th-Pbtotal monazite geochronology of metasedimentary rocks from Pranhita-Godavari Basin and its implication in Mesoproterozoic-Neoproterozoic Supercontinent Assembly

<p>The Pakhal basin occurs as two parallel NW-SE trending sub-basins (Western and Eastern) located at the East-Dharwar Craton (EDC) and the Bastar Craton junction. The metasedimentary rocks exposed at the western side of the basin are known as the Pakhal belt, whereas those exposed on the eastern sides are known as the Albaka belt. The aggregate thickness of the sediments is nearly 6000 meters. Researchers have studied the geochemical affinities of Pakhal and Albaka rock, which proved to be crucial to understand the basin-architecture, source of sediments, and basin evolution in the context of rifting of the Dharwar and the Bastar craton However, the timing of inversion of tectonics and subsequent basin convergence is not studied.</p><p>Xenoliths of metasedimentary rocks are exposed within the EDC granites near the Pakhal basin. Aggregates of biotite, muscovite, plagioclase, and quartz constitute these metasedimentary rocks. Monazite, zircon, and iron-oxide are present as accessory minerals. The X<sub>Mg</sub> Biotite (22 Opfu) varies from 0.86-0.10 and Ti content of biotite varies between 0.26-0.34 apfu. The mica is mostly muscovite with mean Si (22 Opfu.) content of 6.28 apfu. The X<sub>Ab</sub> of plagioclase is constrained to be 0.97 apfu. The P-T conditions of metasedimentary xenoliths are constrained by using conventional geothermobarometers and P-T pseudosection analysis. The Ti content in biotite yield peak temperature 650<sup>0</sup>C for the stabilization of biotite. The P-T pseudosection analysis and subsequent modeling of compositional parameters imply a temperature window of 600-700 <sup>0</sup>C and pressure 0.6-1.0 GPa for the stability of biotite-muscovite-plagioclase-quartz assemblages. ~ 50 μm monazites grains are dispersed throughout the studied sample. The ThO<sub>2</sub> content in the monazite grains varies between 1.7-5.8 wt%. Compositionally, the monazite grains are mostly La-Ce-Nd monazite in a tripartite classification. In a histogram distribution, the U-Th-Pb total spot ages exhibit two prominent peaks, at ~ 1295 Ma and ~ 1111 Ma. When combined with the P-T pseudosection analysis, the monazite ages imply rifting and opening the basin at ~ 1295 Ma. The ~ 1111 Ma monazite growth is correlated with granite emplacement and amalgamation of the Dharwar and the Bastar craton during Neoproterozoic Rodinia assembly.</p>

Neogene tectonics during granite emplacement in Northern Apennines: the case of the Gavorrano monzogranite (southern Tuscany, Italy)

<p>The tectonic setting of Neogene is under debate, being interpreted as a contractional, pulsing or extensional framework. On the key-areas to unravel this issue is the Gavorrano monzogranite, located  nearby the Tyrrhenian seacoast, in the inner zone of the Northern Apennines (southern Tuscany), where a Neogene monzogranite body (estimated in about 3 km long, 1.5 km wide, and 0.7 km thick) emplaced during early Pliocene. This magmatic intrusion is partially exposed in a ridge bounded by regional faults delimiting broad structural depressions. A widespread circulation of geothermal fluids accompanied the cooling of the magmatic body and gave rise to an extensive Fe-ore deposit (mainly pyrite) exploited during the past century. Data from a new fieldwork dataset, integrated with information from the mining activity, have been integrated to refine the geological setting of the whole crustal sector where the Gavorrano monzogranite was emplaced and exhumed. Our review, implemented by new palynological, petrological and structural data pointed out that: i) the age of the Palaeozoic phyllite (hosting rocks) is middle-late Permian, thus resulting younger than previously described (i.e. pre-Carboniferous); ii) the P-T conditions at which the metamorphic aureole developed are estimated at about 660 °C and at a maximum depth of c. 5 km; iii) the tectonic evolution which determined the emplacement and exhumation of the monzogranite is constrained in a transfer zone, in the frame of the extensional tectonics affecting the area continuously since Miocene.</p>

Magmatic and Tectonic Setting of Archean Granitoids in the Southeastern Singhbhum Craton, India: Developing constraints with major and trace element geochemistry and geochronology

The Singhbhum craton is one of five Archean nuclei comprising Peninsular India. It is a composite Archean block that includes the Older Metamorphic Group, the Older Metamorphic Tonalite Gneisses, the Singhbhum Granite, and the Iron Ore Group as its major units. The ages of these components range from ~3.5 to ~3.1 Ga, although overlapping ages and similar rock types confound their genetic relationships. Plutonic felsic rocks from the southeastern Singhbhum craton (BK1: a foliated tonalite, KP1: a non-foliated granite, and SG14: a non-foliated granite) yield U-Pb (zircon) ages of 3321 ± 2 Ma (BK1), 3301 ± 1 Ma (KP1), and 3261 ± 1 Ma (SG14) that coincide with a pulse of Singhbhum Granite emplacement at 3.27 to 3.33 Ga. REE patterns and tectonic discrimination diagrams based on major and trace element ratios suggest a subduction zone setting for these rocks. We report major and trace element data for and compare them to previous works in order to characterize the Archean felsic plutonic history of the craton.