Late Mesozoic post-collisional intermediate to silicic magmatism in the Badjal area, Far East of Russia

Abstract

The Late Cretaceous Badjal intrusive suite at the Far East of Russia includes a spectrum of rocks having emplaced successively in four phases, from (i) diorite and quartz diorite to (ii) granodiorite, (iii) granite and (iv) high-silica granite, various facies being distinguished within the phases. The generation of these rocks took place after the collision of a number of island arcs and a terrane now locally preserved in Sikhote-Alin region with the Asian continent, that had happened in the end of Early to the beginning of Late Cretaceous. The massifs intrude in Early Mesozoic sedimentary and volcanic–sedimentary rocks topping the basement, and in comagmatic volcanic rocks. Chemically, the granitoid rocks have high-K calc-alkaline character and form continuous and regular trends of most of major oxides and trace elements with the SiO 2 contents ranging from 55 to 77 wt.%, that favors the concept of crystal fractionation. Major oxides and REE have a break at 70 wt.% SiO 2 pointing to a change of precipitating mineral assemblage. Such change is also documented by the negative Eu anomaly. We believe that the fractionation of mafic minerals had to take place at the first stage of fractionation, whereas plagioclase and possibly biotite began precipitating later, as supposed by abrupt decrease of Ba. This hypothesis is in accordance with the mass balance calculations. Diorite magma compositionally similar to the first intrusive phase rocks should be taken for parental for the entire Badjal suite. Small volume of these oldest rocks makes us suggest that the parental magma was a mixture of silicic liquid and restite mineral phases that would result from the partial melting of a heterogeneous metapelite–basaltic or metapelite–amphibolitic protolith. Almost total absence of basalt and gabbro of close age in the area makes a suggestion of crustal silicic contamination of a mantle-produced basic magma unlikely. After the melting, the differentiation of the derived magmatic mixture during ascent and the separation of mineral phases acquired from the protolith (restite phases) and of newly formed ones are believed to produce the entire range of rocks of the Badjal intrusive suite, provided the progressive succession of emplacement from less to more silicic species.