Genesis of the Tashan porphyry host tin deposit, eastern Guangdong, Southeast China: Constrains from geology, geochronology, and geochemistry

Abstract

The medium-sized Tashan Sn deposit, mainly hosted in the Tashan granite porphyry, is located in eastern Guangdong, Southeast China. Zircon U–Pb dating of the granite porphyry yielded a concordant age of 138.0 ± 1.1 Ma, which is consistent with the cassiterite U–Pb age of 138.0 ± 2.3 Ma from the Sn ores, indicating a temporal link between the emplacement of granitic pluton and Sn mineralization. The contents of Fe3+, Fe2+, and Mg2+ in biotite, low calculated zircon Ce4+/Ce3+ of 4.4–71.6, low Eu/Eu* ratios of 0.06–0.35, and low whole-rock Fe2O3/FeO of 0.04–0.13 of the granite porphyry reveals its low oxygen fugacity, which may have facilitated the Sn enrichment during magma evolution and played a key role in the Sn mineralization. Low K/Rb (150–175, aver. = 160), Nb/Ta (7.3–8.2, aver. = 7.8), and Zr/Hf (23.2–25.1, aver. = 23.9) values were observed for the granite porphyry, indicating its high fractionation and probable interaction with an aqueous fluid phase to some extent. The reduced and highly fractionated features and high F and Sn contents of the granite porphyry thus indicate it is a typical Sn-fertile granite. The granite porphyry is weakly peraluminous and belongs to high-K calc-alkaline type. The rocks are characterized by high SiO2, K2O + Na2O, F, and Zr + Nb + Ce + Y (360–410 ppm) contents; and 10000 Ga/Al (2.31–3.06) ratios and low CaO, MgO, TiO2, and P2O5 contents; Rb, Cs, Th, and U enrichment; and Ba, Sr, Zr, Ti, and P depletion, exhibiting an A-type affinity. Moreover, the rocks display whole rock initial 87Sr/86Sr values of 0.70927–0.71218, εNd(t) of − 6.5 to − 6.3, and zircon εHf(t) values from − 5.7 to − 1.5 with Mesoproterozoic TDM2 ages for both Nd and Hf isotopes, indicating their formation by partial melting of a crustal source of Mesoproterozoic overall residence ages with minor input of mantle materials. By integrating new and published data on tectonic evolution, we suggest that the granite porphyry and associated Sn mineralization in the Tashan deposit that was formed in a back-arc extensional environment started before ∼ 141 Ma, related to the rollback of the paleo-Pacific Plate.