Geochronology and geochemistry of the Huilvshan gabbro in west Junggar (NW China): Implications for magma process and tectonic regime

Abstract

Gabbro plutons, consisting of clinopyroxene and plagioclase with trace amounts of magnetite, titanite, and apatite, intruded into Early Carboniferous volcanic-sedimentary strata in the Huilvshan gold mining region (west Junggar, China). Samples collected from two gabbro bodies are tholeiitic in composition with low concentrations of Na2O + K2O, showing weak depletions of light rare earth elements with insignificant Eu, Nb, and Ti anomalies. Zircon U-Pb analyses yield a weighted average U-Pb age of 296.1 ± 2.7 Ma (MSWD = 0.98), which could represent the time corresponding to mafic magma emplacement in the Huilvshan region. Geochemical calculations suggest that this mafic magma was derived from a depleted mantle source in a post-collisional tectonic setting corresponding to ~ 4% partial melting of spinel lherzolite.