Geochronology, geochemistry and Sr–Nd–Hf–S–Pb isotopes of the Early Cretaceous Taoxihu Sn deposit and related granitoids, SE China

Abstract

The Taoxihu deposit (eastern Guangdong, SE China) is a newly discovered Sn polymetallic deposit. Zircon U-Pb dating yielded 141.8±1.0Ma for the Sn-bearing granite porphyry and 145.5±1.6Ma for the biotite granite batholith it intruded. The age of the granite porphyry is consistent (within error) with the molybdenite Re–Os isochron age (139.0±1.1Ma) of the Sn mineralization, indicating a temporal link between the two. Geochemical data show that the granite porphyry is weakly peraluminous, contain high Si, Na and K, low Fe, Mg, Ca and P, and relatively high Rb/Sr and low K/Rb values. The rocks are enriched in Rb, Th, U, K, and Pb and depleted in Ba, Sr, Ti and Eu, resembling highly fractionated I-type granites. They contain bulk rock initial 87Sr/87Sr of 0.707371–0.707730 and εNd(t) of −5.17 to −4.67, and zircon εHf(t) values from −6.67 to −2.32, with late Mesoproterozoic TDM2 ages for both Nd and Hf isotopes. This suggests that the granite porphyry was likely formed by the partial melting of the crustal basement of Mesoproterozoic overall residence age with minor mantle input.δ34SCDT values of the Taoxihu chalcopyrite and pyrite range from 0.1 to 2.1‰ (average: 0.9‰), implying a dominantly magmatic sulfur source. The 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios of the Taoxihu sulfide ores are 18.497–18.669, 15.642–15.673 and 38.764–38.934, respectively, indicating a mainly upper continental crustal lead source with minor mantle contribution. The highly fractionated and reduced (low calculated zircon Ce4+/Ce3+ and EuN/EuN∗ values) nature of the ore-forming granitic magma may have facilitated the Sn enrichment and played a key role in the Sn mineralization. We propose that the ore-forming fluids at Taoxihu were of magmatic-hydrothermal origin derived from the granite porphyry, and that both the granite porphyry and the Sn mineralization were likely formed in an extensional setting, possibly related to the subduction slab rollback of the Paleo-Pacific Plate.