Multiple-pulse magmatic intrusion and fluid metasomatism in Mesozoic Qianlishan rare metal granite, South China: Records from apatite geochemistry

Abstract

South China block contains abundant rare metal resources that have widely been considered to be associated with highly evolved granitic magmatism and related fluid metasomatism. Here we perform detailed geochemical analyses on apatite and bulk rock from the ore-bearing granites (equigranular zinnwaldite granite) and ore-barren granites (porphyritic biotite granite and granitic dyke) at Qianlishan pluton, South China, to decipher the respective roles of magmatic and fluid processes and further understand the petrogenesis of rare metal granite (RMG). Apatites from both granite types are F-rich, displaying heterogeneous textures and large compositional variations in Cl, Sr, rare earth elements (REEs), Ga, Th, and U. Relative to the ore-barren granite, the apatites from ore-bearing granite contain lower Sr but higher ∑REE, Th + U and Ga, reflecting more evolved features. The oscillatory compositional zonation and bimodal O-Nd isotopic compositions in apatite from the ore-barren granite indicate multiple-pulse intrusion instead of other open-system processes such as magma mixing and/or crustal assimilation during magmatic evolution, while the additional occurrence of monazite and lower δ18O (< 8‰) in half of the apatite crystals from the ore-bearing granite require further influence of hydrothermal metasomatism. In combination with their high W + Sn concentrations and La tetrad effect in chondrite-normalized REE patterns, the ore-bearing granite experienced extensive metasomatism, during which the fluids in equilibrium with the metasomatic apatite were likely magmatic in origin. We therefore suggest that multiple-pulse magmatic intrusion and fluid metasomatism are two predominant factors during the formation of highly evolved RMG, such as the Qianlishan pluton in South China. Our results demonstrates that apatite geochemistry can be a potential approach to monitoring the magmatic evolution and fluid metasomatism during rare metal mineralization.