Metallogenesis related to Mesozoic Granitoids in the Nanling Range, South China and Their Geodynamic Settings

Affected by the compressive stress from the South-Central （Indo-China） Peninsula, the Indosinian orogenesis, characterized by collision, thrust and uplifting, took place inside the South China Plate during 250-230 Ma. The ages of the Indosinian granitoids in the Nanling Range and vicinity areas are mostly 240-205 Ma, indicating that they were emplaced in both late collision and post-collision geodynamic environments. No important granite-related metallogenesis occurred in this duration. A post-orogenic setting started at the beginning of the Yanshanian Period, which controlled large-scale granitic magmatism and related metallogenesis. This paper makes the first attempt to divide the Yanshanian Period into three sub-periods, i.e. the early, middle and late Yanshanian Periods, based mainly on the features of magmatism, especially granitoids and related metallogenesis and their geodynamic environments. The magmatic association of the Early Yanshanian （about 185-170 Ma） comprises four categories of magmatism, i.e. basalt, bimodal volcanics, A-type granite and intraplate high-K calc-alkaline （HKCA） magmatism, which indicates an extension-thinning of lithosphere and upwelling of mantle material to a relative small and local extent. Pb-Zn, Cu and Au mineralizations associated with HKCA magmatism represents the first high tide of Mesozoic metallogenesis in the Nanling Range area. During the middle Yanshanian, the lithosphere was subjected to more extensive and intensive extending and thinning, and hence mantle upwelling and basaltic magma underplating caused a great amount of crust remelting granitoids. This period can be further divided into two stages. The first stage （170-150 Ma） is represented by large-scale emplacement of crust remelting granites with local tungsten mineralization at its end. The second stage （150-140 Ma） is the most important time of large-scale mineralizations of non-ferrous and rare metals, e.g. W, Sn, Nb-Ta, Bi, Mo, Be, in the Nanling Range area. The late Yanshanian （140-65 Ma） was generally characterized by full extension and breakup of the lithosphere of South China. However, owing to the influence of the Pacific Plate movement, the eastern part of South China was predominated by subduction-related compression, which resulted in magmatism of calc-alkaline and shoshonite series and related metallogeneses of Au, Ag, Pb-Zn, Cu and （Mo, Sn）, followed by extension in its late stage. In the Nanling Range area, the late Yanshanian magmatism was represented by granitic volcanic-intrusive complexes and mafic dikes, which are genetically related to volcanic-type uranium and porphyry tin deposits, and the mobilization-mineralization of uranium from pre-existing Indosinian granites.

Timing and Tectonic Setting of the Gaoaobei TungstenMolybdenum Deposit in Nanling Range, South China

The Gaoaobei tungsten-molybdenum deposit is a newly discovered large-scale quartzvein-type deposit in the Nanling metallogenic belt in South China.The ore bodies are hosted in the Indosinian granites and the Cambrian Xiangnan Group slates and are controlled by NWW-oriented faults,which are obviously different from the“five-story building”model in southern Jiangxi Province.The magmatic rocks in the study area are dominated by medium-to coarse-grained biotite monzogranite,with a few NW-oriented fine-grained granite dykes.The medium-to coarse-grained biotite monzogranite and fine-grained granite dykes have zircon U-Pb ages of 229.4±1.9 Ma(MSWD=1.5)and 164.9±3.3 Ma(MSWD=0.75),respectively,corresponding to the Indosinian and Yanshanian magmatism.The monzogranites have higher contents of FeO,CaO,K2O,P2O5,and TiO2,while the granite dykes have slightly higher contents of SiO2,Al2O3,MnO,and Na2O.Their A/CNK values are 1.11-1.75 and 1.19-2.25,and the contents of CIPW normative corundum are 1.71%-6.66%and 2.41%-9.50%,suggesting both the monzogranites and granite dykes are S-type granite.The total amount of rare earth elements in the monzogranites(from 84.7 ppm to 129 ppm)is slightly lower than that in the granite dykes(from 128 ppm to 133 ppm).The Eu/Eu*values range from 0.12 to 0.30 in monzogranites and from 0.0011 to 0.0013 in granite dykes,indicating the fine-grained granites underwent more intense fractional crystallization.The monzogranite and granite dykes have high 87Sr/86Sri values of 0.7169-0.7193 and 0.72825-0.72880,lowεNd(t)values ranging from-10.2 to-9.6 and from-11.5 to-11.4,and TDM2 ages of 1835-1785 and 1957-1946 Ma,respectively.These isotope data indicate their origin from the remelting of the Paleoproterozoic crustal materials.Combined with regional geology,it is concluded that the medium-to coarse-grained biotite monzogranite was formed in a post-collisional extensional environment.In addition,40Ar-39Ar dating of the greisen type tungsten-molybdenum ore gave consistent plateau age of 164.0±1.2 Ma,isochronal age of 162.0±2.4 Ma and anti-isochronal age of 161.4±1.8 Ma.Combined with the published molybdenite Re-Os age,the Gaoaobei tungsten-molybdenum deposit was formed at~164 Ma,which is inferred to be genetically related to the contemporaneous finegrained granite dykes(165 Ma).The deposit was likely formed during the large-scale magmatism and mineralization event in the early Yanshanian of the Nanling Range in an intra-continental extensional environment caused by the subduction of the paleo-Pacific plate.The late and small granite dykes within the large granite plutons thus require further attention during mineral prospecting in the regions.

Source Enrichment Control on the Scale of Magmatic-Hydrothermal W-Sn Mineralization:Insights from Triassic and Jurassic Magma Reservoirs in the Continental Crust,Xitian,South China

There are two factors,source composition and magmatic differentiation,potentially controlling W-Sn mineralization.Which one is more important is widely debated and may need to be determined for each individual deposit.The Xitian granite batholith located in South China is a natural laboratory for investigating the above problem.It consists essentially of two separate components,formed in the Triassic at ca.226 Ma and Jurassic at ca.152 Ma,respectively.The Triassic and Jurassic rocks are both composed of porphyritic and fine-grained phases.The latter resulted from highlydifferentiated porphyritic ones but they have similar textural characteristics and mineral assemblages,indicating that they reached a similar degree of crystal fractionation.Although both fine-grained phases are highly differentiated with elevated rare metal contents,economic W–Sn mineralization is rare in the Triassic granitoids and this can be attributed to less fertile source materials than their Jurassic counterparts,with a slightly more enriched isotopic signature and whole-rockεNd(226 Ma)of−10.4 to−9.2(2σ=0.2)compared withεNd(152 Ma)of−9.2 to−8.2(2σ=0.2)for the Jurassic rocks.The initial W-Sn enrichment was derived from the metasedimentary rocks and strongly enhanced by reworking of the continental crust,culminating in the Jurassic.

Grain-size distribution characteristics of red sandy sediments in Dongjiang River valley,southern Nanling Mountains,during the MIS2 stage

Layer LJ3 of Linjiang stratigraphic section in Dongjiang River valley in the south of the Nanling Mountains is a set of red sandy sediments.Measured by thermoluminescence(TL) dating,it was found to be formed in MIS2-9,500 ± 800 yr to 19,600 ± 1,800 yr B.P.After analy-sis of the grain sizes of the 16 samples(LJ3-100 to LJ3-85) in this layer,it was discovered that(1) The contents of each grain group in dif-ferent samples are similar.(2) The values of Md,Mz,,Sk,and Kg vary from LJ3-100 to LJ3-85 in a narrow range.(3) The segments of each sample in the accumulative curves extend parallel with similar slopes.All the three aspects reveal the Aeolian characteristics of Layer LJ3.Therefore,it is thought that Layer LJ3 consists of red sandy sediments formed in MIS2 in the south of Nanling Mountain,which reflects the arid climate at that time.