Geology and geochronology of the Xilamulun molybdenum metallogenic belt in eastern Inner Mongolia, China

Abstract

The Xilamulun molybdenum metallogenic belt, located in eastern Inner Mongolia, China, has great economic potential as a major producer of molybdenum. Four major types of Mo deposits have been recognized in the Xilamulun molybdenum metallogenic belt: porphyry, quartz vein, volcanic-hosted, and greisen. These Mesozoic Mo deposits are closely related to Si- and K-rich intrusives and are usually hosted by granite plutons or located at the endo- or exo-contact zones of the granite porphyry. SHRIMP zircon U–Pb dating gives the emplacement ages of the intrusions related to Mo mineralization as 245.1 ± 4.4, 152.4 ± 1.6, and 139.1 ± 2.3 Ma. Re–Os analysis of five molybdenite samples from the Chehugou porphyry Mo deposit yields an isochron age of 245 ± 5 Ma (2σ), indicating that the mineralization age of the porphyry Mo deposit is about 245 Ma. Re–Os analyses of six molybdenite samples from the Nianzigou quartz-vein-type Mo deposit yield an isochron age of 154.3 ± 3.6 Ma (2σ), constraining the mineralization age of the quartz-vein Mo deposit to 154 Ma. Our results suggest that the Mo mineralization in the Xilamulun belt formed during at least three stages, i.e., the Triassic, Late Jurassic, and Early Cretaceous, and is coeval with the granitic magmatism. The corresponding geodynamic background covers the syncollision between the North China and Siberian plates during the Early to Middle Triassic, a compression setting related to the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific plate during the Jurassic and lithospheric thinning during the Early Cretaceous in eastern China.