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U–Pb geochronology and trace-element composition of zircons from the Jinchang Au–Ni deposit, SW China, and their implications for tectonics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2021

Lingang Xu Open the ORCID record for Lingang Xu [Opens in a new window] ,
Zhigang Kong ,
Jianfei Qu ,
Zhiyin Qiu  and
Jianfeng Gao
Lingang Xu*
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geoscience, 100083Beijing, China
Zhigang Kong
Affiliation:
Faculty of Land Resource Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, 650093Kunming, China
Jianfei Qu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geoscience, 100083Beijing, China
Zhiyin Qiu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geoscience, 100083Beijing, China
Jianfeng Gao
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang550002, China
*
Author for correspondence: Lingang Xu, Email: xulingang@cugb.edu.cn
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Abstract

Situated between the South China Block and the Simao Block, the Ailaoshan Belt is a significant component of the Jinshajiang–Ailaoshan tectonic-magmatic-metallogenic belt of southwestern China. The formation of the Ailaoshan Belt is closely related to the evolution of the Palaeo-Tethys Ocean. In this study, we constrain ages of sedimentation in the Jinchang Au–Ni deposit in the Ailaoshan Belt, using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U–Pb ages of the youngest populations of detrital zircons separated from a chert layer and two uncomfortably overlying meta-sandstones. The combined data of the meta-sandstone samples from the Yiwanshui Formation yielded a concordant age of 250.8 ± 0.6 Ma (mean square weighted deviation (MSWD), 2.8; n = 26). The chert sample from the Jinchangyan Formation yielded a concordant age of 347.0 ± 1.5 Ma (MSWD, 2.8; n = 16). Detrital zircons from the meta-sandstone are characterized by low rare earth element contents (∑REE) and low Y, and high U and U/Yb ratio, suggesting a continental crustal origin. Zircons in the meta-sandstones were derived mainly from pre-collision subduction zone magmatic rocks related to the closure of the Palaeo-Tethys Ocean. In contrast, detrital zircons from the chert contain relatively high ∑REE and Y, and low U and U/Yb ratio, suggesting an oceanic crust origin. Zircons in the chert bed were derived mainly from ophiolites related to seafloor spreading in a branch of the Palaeo-Tethys Ocean.

Keywords

zircon U–Pb datingtrace elementsJinchang Au–Ni depositAilaoshanPalaeo-Tethys
Type
Original Article
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 158 , Issue 7 , July 2021 , pp. 1269 - 1288
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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