Geochemistry, U-Pb zircon geochronology, and Fe isotopes of the Shanzhuang banded iron formation in the North China Craton: Implications for genesis and depositional environment

Abstract

The Shanzhuang banded iron formation (BIF) occurs in the Shancaoyu Formation, Taishan Group, in the western Shandong Province (WSP), eastern North China Craton (NCC). We constrained the Shanzhuang BIF depositional age of ∼2.50 Ga based on the zircon U-Pb dating of the leptynite interlayers and the cross-cutting metagranitoid. After deposition, the Shanzhuang BIF was subsequently metamorphosed into amphibolite facies at 2.50–2.45 Ga. According to different mineral assemblages, the Fe ores can be divided into three types: magnetite + quartz ± hornblende (type-1 ore), magnetite + quartz + hornblende + garnet ± hematite (type-2 ore), and quartz + hematite ± magnetite ± hornblende (type-3 ore). In the Post-Archean Australian Shale (PAAS)-normalized rare earth element and yttrium (REY) patterns, the three ore types show consistent flat REY curves. All ore types have moderate ƩREY concentrations (27.24–143 ppm), (La/Yb)N values of 0.29–2.31, significant positive Eu anomalies (1.05–3.47), slightly negative or positive Ce anomalies (0.87–1.26), slightly positive Y anomalies (1.16–1.48), and no apparent fractionation between light REEs (LREEs) and heavy REEs (HREEs), indicating mixing of hydrothermal fluid and seawater. The similar REY patterns and heavy Fe isotopes (0.47–1.02‰) of the three ore types suggest a certain amount of continental detritus was incorporated during the precipitation of the Fe phases in the Neoarchean-Paleoproterozoic oceans. The post-depositional metamorphism did not significantly affect the original REY geochemical signature of the BIF. The Shanzhuang BIF ores are not highly pure chemical sediments, but the type-1 ore is relatively pure and more representative of the original sedimentary composition. By contrast, the type-3 ore tends to have higher δ56Fe ratios (0.74–1.02‰) but lower δEu (1.27–1.97‰), implying substantial post-depositional hydrothermal alteration. The Shanzhuang Fe deposit is an Algoma-type BIF, and the surrounding rock consists of pyroclastic materials. Our model indicates that the Shanzhuang BIF was probably deposited in a redox stratified paleo-ocean environment.