^(40)Ar/^(39)Ar Dating of the Shaxi Porphyry Cu-Au Deposit in the Southern Tan-Lu Fault Zone, Anhui Province

Four samples of plagioclase and biotite from the Shaxi porphyry in the lower part of the Yangtze metallogenic belt were analyzed for age determination with the ^40 Ar/^39Ar method. The results yield reproducible ages of 126 Ma to 135 Ma with a high level of confidence according to the agreement between isochron and plateau ages. The four Ar-Ar ages are relatively consistent within the analytical error. These ages are also consistent with, but more precise than, previous K-Ar and Rb-Sr ages and thus provide better constraints on the time of porphyry formation and associated Cu-Au mineralization along the middle to lower part of the Yangtze metallogenic belt. The ages of 126 to 135 Ma are interpreted to represent the intrusive time of the Shaxi porphyry, so that the Cu-Au mineralization should have occurred later due to the post-magmatic hydrothermal event.

Deformation Stages and Ar-Ar Age Data of the Wan-Zhe-Gan Tectonic Zone,Southeast China,and Their Tectonic Significance

The major tectonic zone that passes through the border regions of the Anhui, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi Provinces in southeast China has been commonly referred to as the Wan-Zhe-Gan fault zone. Geologically, this zone consists of several regional fault belts of various ages and orientations. We have categorized the faults into four age groups based on field investigations. The Neoproterozoic faults are northeast striking. They start from the northeast Jiangxi Province and extend northeastward to Fuchuan in Anhui Province, the same location of the northeast Jiangxi-Fuchuan ophiolite belt. The faults probably acted during the Neoproterozoic as a boundary fault zone of a plate or a block suture with melange along the faults. The nearly east-west- or east-northeast-striking faults are of Silurian ages （40Ar/39Ar age 429 Ma）. This group includes the Qimen-Shexian fault and the Jiangwang-Jiekou ductile shear belt. They represent a major tectonic boundary in the basement because the two sides of the fault have clear dissimilarities. The third group of faults is north-northeast striking, having formed since the early-middle Triassic with 40Ar/39Ar ages of 230-254 Ma. They form a fault belt starting from Yiyang in northern Jiangxi and connect with the Wucheng as well as the Ningguo-Jixi faults. This fault belt is a key fault-magmatic belt controlling the formation of Jurassic-Cretaceous red basins, ore distribution, magmatic activity, and mineralization. When it reactivated during the late Cretaceous, the belt behaved as a series of reverse faults from southeast to northwest and composed the fourth fault group. Therefore, classifying the Wan-Zhe-Gan fault zone into four fault groups will help in the analysis of the tectonic evolution of the eastern segment of the Jiangnan orogen since the Neoproterozoic era.

Geochronology and geochemistry of the W-Mo-ore-related granitic rocks from eastern Ningzhen,lower Yangtze river belt,eastern China

Here we present zircon U–Pb–Hf and wholerock major and trace element studies of eastern Ningzhen W-Mo-ore-related magmatic rocks,Yushan and Longwangshan granitic rocks,to constrain their form timing,magma sources,and tectonic settings.The results showed that the two plutons were formed in the Early Cretaceous with;Pb/;U ages of 107.8±1.2 and 105.2±1.5 Ma(;Pb/;U),respectively.The trapped/residual zircons are mainly distributed in 2.0–2.5 Ga.The two intrusions are characterized by high silicon(68.60–73.99%),high aluminum(13.56–15.02%),high Mg#(47–55),high Sr,Sr/Y,LaN/YN,and low Yb,falling into high Mg#adakitic rock region.The zirconεHf(t)values of the two intrusions range from-24.8 to-13.2,indicating an ancient continental crust in their magma sources.The average Ti-inzircon temperature is 689°C,slightly higher than those of other high-Mg adakitic rocks in the lower Yangtze River belt,but lower than those of high-Mg adakitic rocks in the Southern Tanlu Fault(STLF).Zircon Ce;/Ce;show low oxygen fugacity(LWS-1:3–400,average 92;sample ZYS-4:9–382,average 93).These geochemical features indicate a thickened lower continental crust in the Eastern Ningzhen region in a subduction setting.Comparing the geochemical characteristics of the eastern Ningzhen to the western Ningzhen and other areas in the Lower Yangtze River Metallogenic Belt(LYRMB)and the high-Mg ore-barren adakitic rocks of the STLF,we propose that the magmatic rocks from eastern Ningzhen may be mainly from a thickened lower continental crust that hybridized with a very small part of mantle sources,while the west Ningzhen magmatic rocks may have experienced a higher degree of mantle contaminations in their source.The metallogenic differences between the eastern(W–Mo)and western(Cu–Fe–Pb–Zn)parts of Ningzhen also indicate different proportions of crustal materials in their magma source.

Whole-rock Ar-Ar dating for low-grade metavolcanics within the Dabie orogen and its geological significance

The genetic relationship between low- grade and ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic units in the interior of the Dabie orogen has been controversial with respect to preservation of volcanic texture during continental subduction to mantle depths. In order to resolve this issue, whole-rock Ar-Ar dating was carried out for greenschist-facies metatuff that is in contact with UHP eclogite in Yuexi County, Anhui Province. One sample gave a plateau age of 784.4±2.0 Ma and an isochron age of 785.0± 4.7 Ma, and the other sample a plateau age of 770.9± 2.0 Ma and an isochron age of 769.5±3.1 Ma. It ap- pears that the Ar isotopic system was not disturbed since the volcanic eruption at the middle Neopro- terozoic. Because of the low closure temperature of Ar diffusion in volcanic rocks, retention of the Neo- proterozoic ages indicates that the low-grade metavolcanics did not experience high-grade meta- morphism up to eclogite-facies conditions during the Triassic subduction of continental crust. Furthermore, the Neoproterozoic Ar-Ar ages are also in agreement with protolith ages of UHP metaigneous rocks in the Dabie orogen. Therefore, the metatuff is interpreted as a tectonic relict that was scraped off during the Triassic subduction and thus was not subducted to mantle depths like the adjacent eclogite. This lends support to the model for crustal detachment between cover and basement during continental collision. A tectonic mélange model is proposed to explain theoccurrence of contrasting grades of metamorphic rock within the UHP metamorphic zone.