Petrogenesis of the Early Cretaceous Aolunhua Adakitic Monzogranite Porphyries, Southern Great Xing’an Range, NE China: Implication for Geodynamic Setting of Mo Mineralization

Xiaohu He,Yuchao Wang,Shucheng Tan,Zhongjie Bai,Zheng Liu,Xuance Wang,Hong Zhong

doi:10.3390/min10040332

Abstract

This paper reports on whole-rock major- and trace-elemental and Sr–Nd isotopic compositions of the Aolunhua adakitic monzogranite porphyries from the Xilamulun district in the southern Great Xing’an Range, Northeast (NE) China. The high-K calc-alkaline Aolunhua monzogranite porphyries are characterized by high Sr/Y ratios (34.59–91.02), Sr (362–809 ppm), and low Y contents (7.66–10.5 ppm), respectively. These rocks also show slightly enriched Sr and Nd isotopes ((87Sr/86Sr)i = 0.7051–0.7058; εNd(t) = −2.98–0.92), with young two-stage model ages (T2DM = 0.84–1.16 Ga). Such a signature indicates that these rocks were most likely formed by partial melting of juvenile mafic lower crust. Based on equilibrium melting and batch-melting equations, we performed incompatible trace elements modeling. Low FeOT/(FeOT + MgO) values indirectly reflect these adakitic rocks were derived from an oxidizing source related to magnesian granitoids. The decreasing content of TiO2, Fe2O3, Nb/Ta ratio, and moderately negative Eu anomalies suggest that minimal fractionation of Fe–Ti oxides and plagioclase may have occurred in their evolutionary history. The result shows that the Aolunhua adakitic porphyries and coeval adakitic intrusive rocks in this area had not experienced extensive fractional crystallization and were derived from 20%–40% partial melting of lower continental crust, which was composed of ~25%–40% and 5%–20% garnet-bearing amphibolite, respectively. Integrating with rock assemblages and regional tectonic evolutionary history in this regime, high (Sm/Yb)SN (SN—source normalized data, normalized to mafic lower continental crust with Yb = 1.5 ppm and Sm/Yb = 1.87 for continental adakite) and low YbSN ratios suggest that these rocks were generated in an extensional environment related to lithospheric delamination without crustal thickening. The collision between North China and Siberian cratons around 160 Ma blocked the westward movement of the lithosphere as a result of the subduction of Pacific plate, which then led to lithospheric delamination induced by asthenospheric upwelling and underplating. Subsequently, partial melting of mafic lower crust caused by mantle upwelling resulted in the Early Cretaceous magmatic activities of adakitic rocks and associated Mo mineralization in the southern Great Xing’an Range.

Highlights

Adakites with high Sr/Y ratios (≥20), Sr contents (≥400 ppm), and low Y (≤18 ppm) and Yb (≤1.9 ppm) contents were initially proposed to be melts derived from young subducted oceanic crust (≤25 Ma) by Defant and Drummond [1] and are usually interpreted to be indicators of convergent margin tectonic setting with slab subduction
The results indicate that Early Cretaceous adakitic rocks in the Xilamulun district are produced by partial melting of amphibolitic lower continental crust
The Aolunhua monzogranite porphyries in the Xilamulun district are characterized by high Sr and Sr/Y, low Y and HREE abundances, without significantly negative Eu anomalies and the depletion of HFSEs (e.g., Nb, Ta, and Ti), typically characteristic of adakites

Summary

Introduction

Adakites with high Sr/Y ratios (≥20), Sr contents (≥400 ppm), and low Y (≤18 ppm) and Yb (≤1.9 ppm) contents were initially proposed to be melts derived from young subducted oceanic crust (≤25 Ma) by Defant and Drummond [1] and are usually interpreted to be indicators of convergent margin tectonic setting with slab subduction. Subsequent studies demonstrated that a series of crustal processes related to subduction (e.g., melting of an oceanic slab and thickened lower crust of collision zones) may have occurred since the Neoproterozoic to produce adakitic magmas [2,3,4,5]. With geochemical characteristics similar to those of above–mentioned adakites related with young subducted oceanic crust. Recent studies have found numerous adakitic rocks that were thought to have been generated in subduction zones, rather may have formed by partial melting of basaltic rocks in thickened crust of collision zones [3,4] and even in intraplate settings without crustal thickening [2,5]. Adakites have played an important role in our understanding of the growth of continental crust and associated

Results

Discussion

Conclusion