Mineral chemistry and geothermobarometry of Moshirabad pluton,Qorveh, Kurdistan,western Iran

The Moshirabad pluton is located southwest of the Sanandaj–Sirjan Metamorphic Belt, Qorveh, western Iran. The pluton is composed of diorite, monzodiorite, quartz diorite, quartz monzodiorite, tonalite, granodiorite, granite, aplite, and pegmatite. In this study 31 samples from various rocks were chosen for whole‐rock analyses and 15 samples from different lithologies were chosen for mineral chemical studies. The compositions of minerals are used to describe the nature of magma and estimate the pressure and temperature at which the Moshirabad pluton was emplaced. Feldspar compositions are near the binary systems in which plagioclase compositions range from An₅ to An₅₃ and alkali‐feldspar compositions range from Or₉₁ to Or₉₇. Mafic minerals in the plutonic rocks are biotite and hornblende. Based on the composition of biotites and whole‐rock chemistry, the Moshirabad pluton formed from a calc‐alkaline magma. Amphiboles are calcic amphiboles (magnesio‐hornblende or edenite). Temperatures of crystallization, calculated with the hornblende–plagioclase thermometer, range 550–750°C. These temperatures indicate that plutonic rocks have undergone some retrogressive changes in their mineral compositions. Aluminum‐in‐hornblende geobarometry indicates that the Moshirabad pluton was emplaced at pressures of 2.3–6.0 kbar, equal to depths of 7–20 km, but with consideration of regional geology, lower pressures than the above pressure range are more probable. Alteration of amphiboles can be the reason for some overestimation of pressures.