Geochronology and geochemistry of lithium-rich tuffs in the Sichuan basin, western Yangtze: Implication for the magmatic origin and final closure of eastern Paleo-Tethys

Abstract

The felsic volcanogenic tuffs named “green-bean rocks” (GBRs), characterized by a green or yellowish green color, are widely distributed in the western Yangtze platform and have a high lithium content (286–957 ppm). This paper studies the ages, origin and tectonic setting of the GBRs in the Sichuan basin on the western margin of the Yangtze platform through the whole-rock geochemistry and zircon trace elements by using U–Pb dating and Hf–O isotopes. The GBR samples from the Quxian and Beibei sections yielded zircon U–Pb ages of 245.5 ± 1.8 Ma and 244.8 ± 2.2 Ma. These samples can be used as the isochronous stratigraphic marker of the Early–Middle Triassic boundary (EMTB) for regional correlation. The whole-rock and zircon geochemistry, and zircon Hf–O isotopes exhibited S-type geochemical affinities with high positive δ18O values (9.28‰–11.98‰), low negative εHf(t) values (−13.87 to − 6.79), and TDM2 ages of 2150–1703 Ma, indicating that the lithium-rich GBRs were generated by the remelting of the pre-existing ancient Paleoproterozoic layer without mantle source contamination in the arc-related/orogenic tectonic setting. The results of this study demonstrate that the lithium-rich GBRs in the western Yangtze platform were derived from arc volcanic eruptions along the Sanjiang orogen, triggered by the closure of the eastern Paleo-Tethys Ocean and the syn-collision between the continental Indochina and Yangtze blocks at ca. 247 Ma. This was marked by a major shift from I-type magmas with intermediate εHf(t) values to S-type magmas with low negative εHf(t) values. Collectively, our results provide new insights into the origin of the GBRs and decodes the closure of the eastern Paleo-Tethys.