Geochronology and petrogenesis of Miocene granitic intrusions related to the Zhibula Cu skarn deposit in the Gangdese belt, southern Tibet

Abstract

The Zhibula Cu skarn deposit (19.5Mt ore @ 1.64%), near the Qulong porphyry Cu–Mo deposit, is located in the Gangdese porphyry copper belt in southern Tibet. The deposit is a typical metasomatic skarn that is related to the interaction of magmatic-hydrothermal fluids and calcareous host rocks. Stratiform skarn orebodies are mainly distributed in the contact between tuff and marble in the lower part of the Jurassic Yeba Formation. Endoskarn zonations for an outward trend are observed in the granodiorite, which grade from a fresh granodiorite to a weakly chlorite-altered granodiorite, a green diopside-bearing granodiorite, and a dark red-brown garnet-bearing granodiorite. The Zhibula granodiorite and monzogranite have similar secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) zircon U–Pb ages of 16.9±0.3Ma and 17.0±0.2Ma, respectively. They exhibit different fractional crystallization from granodiorite (SiO2=64.8–69.3wt.%) to monzogranite (SiO2=72.3–76.8wt.%). Both the granodiorite and monzogranite are characterized by high Al2O3 (12.6–16.7wt.%) and K2O (1.5–5.5wt.%) contents, high Sr/Y (35–151) and La/Yb (19–48) ratios, and variable MgO (0.16–3.91) and Mg# (31–61) values. They display features of enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs, e.g., Rb, Ba, Sr, and K), depletion in high field strength elements (HFSEs, e.g., Nb, Ta, Ti, and P), and moderate negative Eu anomalies (δEu=0.58–0.98). They show restricted in situ zircon Hf isotopic compositions (+6.7 to +8.8; only one sample is +4.5) and consistent δ18O values (+6.0‰ to +6.6‰). The geochemical data indicated that the Miocene Zhibula granitic intrusions formed by the magma that were characterized by high Sr/Y ratios and were derived from the partial melting of the thickened juvenile lower crust, which may have been metasomatized by the slab melts during subduction of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic crust and were induced by the convective removal of the thickened lithosphere. In addition, the Zhibula Cu skarn deposit and the Qulong Cu–Mo deposit form a significant porphyry–skarn ore system.