Petrology and petrogenesis of the older and younger granitoids of Wadi Beizah area, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt

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The studied granitoids of Wadi Beizah area, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt, are represented by older arc-granitoids intruded by a post-collisional stock of younger pink granite. The arc-granitoids (I-type) cover a wide compositional spectrum from meladiorites, diorites, quartzdiorites/monzodiorites and tonalites, to leucogranodiorites. Their distribution pattern is unimodal dominated by diorites. They are of low-K calc-alkaline character and represent the plutonic rocks of the mature, ensimatic island arc stage. Three models for the geotectonic environment of the younger granites of the Eastern Desert of Egypt have been suggested: (1) Within-plate, rifting, tensional environment similar to the Oslo Rift of Norway (Greenberg, 1981) Stern et al., 1984, 1986), (2) Extensive crustal anatexis during collisional tectonics, compression, thickening of the crust and thrust imbrication (Hussein et al., 1982; Ragab, 1987b), (3) Active continental margin geotectonic environment (Abdel-Rahman and Martin, 1987). These three models are discussed in detail. The present workers believe that the Younger Granites in general are the products of extensive crustal anatexis at the culmination of the Pan-African orogenic cycle when arc-arc suturing is complete. Recent studies revealed a low-angle thrust event in the Central Eastern Desert followed the initial arc-arc collision and continued after the deposition of the molasse-type sediments (Ries et al., 1983; El-Ramly et al., 1984; Greiling et al., 1984; Habib et al., 1985; Greiling and El-Ramly, 1985) which indicate thickening of the crust and compression regime at the time of emplacement of the Younger Granites. The dominance of ⪡granite minimum⪢ composition of these late orogenic granites suggests extensive crustal anatexis. Their low Nb-content (< 40 ppm) precludes within-plate hot-spot related magma, in comparison with: (1) The post-Pan-African (400-100 M.a.) granitic rocks from the NE Sudan which on a geochemical evidence are the products of within-continental plate ⪡hot-spot⪢ magmatism with Nb-content of about 50–300 ppm (Gass, 1979); (2) The Oslo Rift within-plate granites with Nb-content of 226 ppm (Pearce et al., 1984). A post-collision model showing the formation of the ⪡petrotectonic assemblage⪢ of this stage (molasse-type sediments deposited in fault-bounded troughs, and calc-alkaline bimodal intermediate and felsic magmas) as well as the heat sources in the geotectonic environment of thrust imbrication and the mode of formation of the Younger Granites by crustal anatexis is suggested. K/Ar dating of a younger granite sample gave an age of 584 ± 5 M.a. which is compatible with several similar ages of younger pink granites in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. An older granite sample gave an age of 591 ± 7 M.a. (K/Ar method) indicating resetting of its isotopic clocks probably as a result of the extensive crustal anatexis event.