Geochemistry of late Palaeozoic granitoids of the Balkhash metallogenic belt, Kazakhstan: implications for crustal growth and tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe Balkhash metallogenic belt (BMB) in Kazakhstan is a famous porphyry Cu–Mo metallogenic belt in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). The late Palaeozoic granitoids in the BMB are mainly high-K calc-alkaline and I-type granites, with shoshonite that formed during a late stage. Geochemical analyses and tectonic discrimination reveal a change in the tectonic environment from syn-collision and volcanic arcs during the Carboniferous to post-collision during the Permian. The late Palaeozoic granitoids from the Borly porphyry Cu deposit formed in a classical island-arc environment, and those from the Kounrad and Aktogai porphyry Cu deposits and the Sayak skarn Cu deposit are adakitic. The εNd(t) values for the late Palaeozoic granitoids are between −5.87 and +5.94, and the εSr(t) values range from −17.16 to +51.10. The continental crustal growth histories are different on either side of the Central Balkhash fault. On the eastern side, the εNd(t) values of the granitoids from the Aktogai and Sayak deposits are very high, which are characteristic of depleted mantle and suggest that crustal growth occurred during the late Palaeozoic. On the western side, the εNd(t) values of the granitoids from the Borly and Kounrad deposits are slightly low, which suggests the presence of a Neoproterozoic basement and the mixing of crust and mantle during magmatism. The granitoids have initial 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 208Pb/204Pb values of 18.335–20.993, 15.521–15.732, and 38.287–40.021, respectively, which demonstrate an affinity between the late Palaeozoic magmatism in the BMB and that in the Tianshan, Altai, and Junggar orogens.