Saghro Group in the Ougnat Massif (Morocco), an evidence for a continuous Cadomian basin along the northern West African Craton

The Saghro Group (SG) is a folded, low-grade volcano-sedimentary series up to 8 km thick that crops out within and to the north of the Pan-African suture zone in the central and eastern Anti-Atlas. Here we describe the SG of the Ougnat inliers that are exposed in the easternmost Anti-Atlas beneath the unconformable, Late Ediacaran Ouarzazate Group (OZG) volcanic rocks. The Ougnat SG mostly consists of volcaniclastic greywackes accumulated in a peritidal-to-shallow basin. The basin infilling was deformed by NNE-trending, mostly upright folds with axial-planar slaty cleavage and low-grade metamorphism. The deformed SG rocks were intruded by the ～550 Ma Mellab hypovolcanic granodiorite. The latter also crosscuts the lowest OZG rocks that are dated to 574–571 Ma in the western Saghro region. The SG rocks that form the Siroua and Saghro inliers have an oldest age of 620–610 Ma and were folded at ～610–580 Ma at the onset of the Cadomian orogenic events. We show that the SG rocks are similar to the “Série verte” (SV) rocks that are exposed in the Ougarta and western Hoggar east of the Pan-African suture. We infer that the SG and SV rocks accumulated in a same, continuous basin that was bounding the West African Craton to the north and the east. This strongly subsiding basin formed close to a volcanic arc and was folded during the last Pan-African synmetamorphic events. Fold orientation and age of folding differ however along the edge of the West African Craton. The orogenic greywackes that form the remnants of the SG-SV basin thus constitute a precious record of the diachronic Cadomian event s.l. along the West African Craton northern margin.     

Contribution to a geodynamic reconstruction of the Anti-Atlas (Morocco) during Pan-African times with the emphasis on inversion tectonics and metallogenic activity at the Precambrian–Cambrian transition

New geochronological analyses (U–Pb SIMS zircon ages) have yielded ages of 552 ± 5 Ma for the Bou Madine rhyolitic dome (Ougnat, eastern Anti-Atlas), 543 ± 9 Ma for the Tachkakacht rhyolitic dyke (Saghro–Imiter, eastern Anti-Atlas), and 531 ± 5 Ma for the Aghbar trachytic sill (Bou Azzer, central Anti-Atlas). Inherited zircon cores from the Aghbar trachytic sill and from the Bou Madine rhyolitic dome have been shown to be of Statherian age (ca. 1600–1800 Ma) and Palæoproterozoic (>2100 Ma) age, respectively, suggesting that a significantly older protolith underlies the Pan-African rocks in the Central and Eastern Anti-Atlas. Granodiorites and rhyolites from the Saghro–Imiter area have similar low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.702–0.706) and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd (0.5116–0.5119) initial ratios, suggesting a mixture of mantle and lower crust sources. This can also be inferred from the low ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios obtained on pyrite crystals from the rhyolites.A recently published lithostratigraphic framework has been combined with these new geochemical and geochronological data, and those from the literature to produce a new reconstruction of the complex orogenic front that developed at the northern edge of the Eburnian West African craton during Pan-African times. Three Neoproterozoic magmatic series can be distinguished in the Anti-Atlas belt, i.e., high-K calc-alkaline granites, high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonitic rhyolites and andesites, and alkaline-shoshonitic trachytes and syenites, which have been dated at 595–570, 570–545 and 530 Ma, respectively.The accretion of the Pan-African Anti-Atlas belt to the West African super continent (WAC) was a four-stage event, involving extension, subduction, moderate collision and extension. The calc-alkaline magmatism of the subduction stage was associated with large-scale base metal and gold mineralisation. Metallogenic activity was greatest during the final extensional stage, at the Precambrian–Cambrian boundary. It is characterised by world-class precious metal deposits, base–metal porphyry and SEDEX-type occurrences.     

Petrology and geodynamic significance of the post-collisional Pan-African magmatism in the Eastern Saghro area (Anti-Atlas, Morocco)

The Saghro Group consists of a thick volcanic-sedimentary sequence with intercalated basaltic lavas, the first magmatic event in eastern Saghro area. Nd isotopes of basaltic pillow lavas show T_DM model ages ranging from 640 to 580 Ma, which represent a maximum age for basalt eruption.Granitoids within the Saghro Group consist of a charnockitic suite, tonalites, granodiorites and monzogranites. They are high-K calc-alkaline (HKCA) with a post-collisional character, and were emplaced at high-levels in the crust. Their ages of emplacement are within the 580–560 Ma bracket, implying that the entire Saghro Group is slightly older than or partly coeval to granitoid emplacement and implying a common geodynamical setting. Sr–Nd isotopic compositions and Nd T_DM model ages point to a mixed origin, combining a juvenile mantle source and an Eburnean crustal component, which could be the West African Craton (WAC). The juvenile component in the Saghro granitoids could be the depleted upper mantle that has sourced the earlier basalts.Field observations, geochemical and geochronological data together support that, during the Pan-African orogeny, the Anti-Atlas was subjected to a regional transpressional to transtensional event. This event would have been responsible for the dissection of the northern margin of the WAC into several blocks, the development of deep sedimentary basins and the emplacement of HKCA magmas.     

Géochimie et signification géotectonique des volcanites du Cryogénien inférieur du Saghro (Anti-Atlas oriental,Maroc)

The Early Cryogenian groups of Sidi Flah, Kelaat Mgouna and Boumalne (Saghro, Anti-Atlas, Morocco) are constituted by turbiditic deposits and interbedded lavas, accumulated in tectonic basins. At Sidi Flah, volcanics are transitional showing initial rift tholeiites (IRT) fingerprint and alkali basalts of oceanic island basalt (OIB) compositions. At Kelaat Mgouna, volcanics consist of low-Nb continental tholeiites. At Boumalne, basalts are of IRT composition. The volcanic and sedimentary formations belong to a nascent rift caused by thermal doming along a SW-NE axis, the Saghro rift. The continental break-up occurred in the early Neoproterozoic and during the Rodinia supercontinent dislocation, within a continent called “Ibero-saharian Craton” which was in front of the West-African Craton located near the South Pole. The Saghro rift is contemporaneous to the opening of an oceanic domain represented by Central Anti-Atlas ophiolites and related to the extension of the Brazialiano Ocean.     

Typologie du zircon dans les granitoïdes de la boutonnière précambrienne de Sidi Flah-Bouskour, Saghro, Anti Atlas, Maroc

The Precambrian inlier at Sidi Flah-Bouskour is cut by several successive intrusions of Neoproterozoic granitoids, whose zircon crystal morphology allows precise definition of granite types (Pupin, 1976, 1980, 1988) and, by inference, an assessment of tectonic settings. The first intrusion consists of gabbro, quartz-diorite and amphibole-granodiorite, belonging to the Pan-African B1 phase related to a pre-collision domain. It shows a calc-alkaline granodioritic composition. The second intrusion includes the Bouskour biotite-granite, which belongs to the high-K calc-alkaline suite emplaced at the time of the second Pan-African B2 phase in the context of syn-collision. These units are intruded by a Late Proterozoic pink granite followed by injection of submeridian sigmoidal cracks of rhyolitic dykes that represent the last Precambrian magmatic event in this area.     

Les granitoïdes néoprotérozoïques de Khzama, Anti-Atlas central, Maroc: marqueurs de l''évolution d''un magmatisme d''arc à un magmatisme alcaline

Petrological study and zircon typology provide important information that is related to the classification and genesis of Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Khzama area (northeast Siroua). The Pan-African granitoids show a transition from island-arc magmatism to alkaline magmatism. A space and time zonation of magmatism from the north to the south is evident. Early Pan-African granitoids were generated from various magma sources through different petrogenetic mechanisms. The first association corresponds to the low-K calc-alkaline plutons of Ait Nebdas, the second one correponds to high-K calc-alkaline post-collisional granites (Tamassirte-Tiferatine and Ifouachguel). Finally, shoshonitic magmatism (Irhiri) ends the magmatic evolution of the region. Thus, the late Pan-African granitic plutonism began with calc-alkaline associations and ended with K-alkaline magmatism in a transtensional setting, heralding the onset of the Moroccan Palæozoic cycle.     

Géochimie et signification géotectonique des volcanites du Cryogénien inférieur du Saghro (Anti-Atlas oriental,Maroc) / Geochemistry and geotectonic significance of Early Cryogenian volcanics of Saghro (Eastern Anti-Atlas,Morocco)

Abstract

The Early Cryogenian groups of Sidi Flah, Kelaat Mgouna and Boumalne (Saghro, Anti-Atlas, Morocco) are constituted by turbiditic deposits and interbedded lavas, accumulated in tectonic basins. At Sidi Flah, volcanics are transitional showing initial rift tholeiites (IRT) fingerprint and alkali basalts of oceanic island basalt (OIB) compositions. At Kelaat Mgouna, volcanics consist of low-Nb continental tholeiites. At Boumalne, basalts are of IRT composition. The volcanic and sedimentary formations belong to a nascent rift caused by thermal doming along a SW-NE axis, the Saghro rift. The continental break-up occurred in the early Neopro- terozoic and during the Rodinia supercontinent dislocation, within a continent called “Ibero-saharian Craton” which was in front of the West-African Craton located near the South Pole. The Saghro rift is contemporaneous to the opening of an oceanic domain represented by Central Anti-Atlas ophiolites and related to the extension of the Brazialiano Ocean. © 2001 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS     

The Anti-Atlas Pan-African Belt (Morocco): Overview and pending questions

Between the High Atlas and the Saharan platform, the Anti-Atlas of Morocco offers large exposures of Precambrian rocks beneath the moderately folded Paleozoic series. These inliers allow reconstructing a segment of the Pan-African Belt and of its foreland at the northern outskirts of the West African Craton (WAC). From ∼ 885 Ma to ∼ 540 Ma, three periods are recognized in the Pan-African cycle. The Tonian–Cryogenian period ends with the obduction of supra-subduction ophiolite and oceanic arc material at ∼ 640 Ma. The Early Ediacaran period is marked by the development and subsequent closure of a wide marginal basin next to a likely Andean-type arc. The Late Ediacaran period is recorded by subaerial molasse deposits associated with post-collisional high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonitic magmatism. Although a wide consensus has been reached based on the number of new robust datings, several questions still remain pending, which we address taking into account relevant African and European correlations.     

Field, geochemistry and Sr-Nd isotopes of the Pan-African granitoids from the Tifnoute Valley (Sirwa, Anti-Atlas, Morocco): a post-collisional event in a metacratonic setting

In the Tifnoute Valley, three plutonic units have been defined: the Askaoun intrusion, the Imourkhssen intrusion and the Ougougane group of small intrusions. They are made of quartz diorite, granodiorite and granite and all contain abundant mafic microgranular enclaves (MME). The Askaoun granodiorite and the Imourkhssen granite have been dated by LA-ICP-MS on zircon at 558?±?2 Ma and 561?±?3 Ma, respectively. These granitic intrusions are subcontemporaneous to the widespread volcanic and volcano-detrital rocks from the Ouarzazate Group (580–545 Ma), marking the post-collisional transtensional period in the Anti-Atlas and which evolved towards alkaline and tholeiitic lavas in minor volume at the beginning of the Cambrian anorogenic intraplate extensional period. Geochemically, the Tifnoute Valley granitoids belong to an alkali-calcic series (high-K calc-alkaline) with typical Nb-Ta negative anomalies and no alkaline affinities. Granitoids and enclaves display positive ε_Nd-560Ma (+0.8 to +3.5) with young Nd-T_DM between 800 and 1200 Ma and relatively low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr initial ratios (Sr_i: 0.7034 and 0.7065). These values indicate a mainly juvenile source corresponding to a Pan-African metasomatized lithospheric mantle partly mixed with an old crustal component from the underlying West African Craton (WAC). Preservation in the Anti-Atlas of pre-Pan-African lithologies (c. 2.03 Ga basement, c. 800 Ma passive margin greenschist-facies sediments, allochthonous 750–700 Ma ophiolitic sequences) indicates that the Anti-Atlas lithosphere has not been thickened and was never an active margin during the Neoproterozoic. After a transpressive period, the late Ediacaran period (580–545 Ma) is marked by movement on near vertical transtensional faults, synchronous with the emplacement of the huge Ouarzazate Group and the Tifnoute Valley granitoids. We propose here a geodynamical model where the Tifnoute Valley granitoids as well as the Ouarzazate Group were generated during the post-collisional metacratonic evolution of the northern boundary of the West African craton. The convergence with the peri-Gondwanan active margin produced brittle fracturing of the cratonic boundary without thickening, allowing rising of magmas. The Tifnoute Valley granitoids display a metasomatized lithospheric mantle source mixed with a minor ancient (2 Ga) continental crust component from the underlying WAC.     

Neoproterozoic tectonic synthesis of Uruguay

Neoproterozoic–lower Palaeozoic successions in the Brasiliano fold belts are described and a brief synthesis of these terranes is presented in order to erect a tectonic framework for this region. Tectonic events that occurred around the Río de La Plata craton were diachronous and reflected successive stages of the Brasiliano orogenic cycle. They took place in mobile belts that constituted part of the Gondwana supercontinent. The most thoroughly investigated Neoproterozoic sections are located in the eastern and southeastern regions of Uruguay. The Dom Feliciano Belt shows a tectonic evolution from back-arc to foreland basin characterized by fold-and-thrust, thick-skinned belts developed during the Brasiliano/Pan-African orogenic cycle. The most conspicuous features were late-tectonic high-K calc-alkaline granitoids, HT-LP metamorphism, significant displacements along shear zones, and post-tectonic granitoids. The final stage was characterized by post-collisional basins (molassic sequences) and extensional magmatism related to a phase of crustal stretching. Several lithotectonic units are present as basement inliers in the Dom Feliciano Belt: these include a low-to-medium metamorphic grade sequence (the Zanja del Tigre Formation), granitoids and gneisses (the Campanero Unit), high-grade basement of the Cerro Olivo Complex (Palaeoproterozoic or Neoproterozoic), and a low-metamorphic grade orogenic belt (the Rocha Formation). This paper provides a simplified tectonic map of eastern Uruguay, which we use to describe tectonic evolution from Precambrian to early Palaeozoic time.     

The polymetallic Au–Ag-bearing veins of Bou Madine (Jbel Ougnat, eastern Anti-Atlas, Morocco): tectonic control and evolution of a Neoproterozoic epithermal deposit

The Bou Madine ore deposit is located SW of Jbel Ougnat, the easternmost inlier of the Anti-Atlas Pan-African belt in Morocco. The host rocks are high-K calc-alkaline volcanic rocks, that are part of the Neoproterozoic Tamerzaga-Timrachine Formation (TTF, lower PIII). The TTF consists of ignimbrites of rhyolitic to dacitic compositions, andesite flows and hypovolcanic bodies (andesite dykes and rhyolite chonoliths) emplaced along N160°E tension gashes associated with a regional N30°E sinistral fault system. The mineralization is related to a high enthalpy geothermal system, eventually evolving into a low temperature epithermal system. A regional propylitisation (T around 260 °C) overprinted the TTF rocks prior to the emplacement of the mineralization. There were two main hydrothermal stages. During the first stage, massive veins with pyrite, arsenopyrite and minor pyrrhotite and cassiterite were formed. The veins were emplaced along N160°E-trending en echelon joints related to N120°E dextral arrays. A quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration overprinted the propylites around the veins (“bleached haloes”), at temperatures up to 300–310 °C. The second stage of mineralization was coeval with dextral re-activation of the N160°E veins, in relation with a NE-ward shift of the shortening direction. First, polymetallic sulphides (sphalerite, chalcopyrite, stannite, galena) were deposited at temperatures 260 °C. Younger quartz veinlets contain arsenopyrite and minor micrometre-size sulphides and sulpho-salts, hosting the precious metals. This was the low temperature epithermal stage (≈150 °C), in relation with invading meteoric water.     

Age of the Wirgane granodiorite intrusions (Western High-Atlas, Morocco): New U–Pb constraints

U–Pb geochronological data, obtained on single zircon grains using the ion microprobe Cameca IMS 1270 (CRPG-CNRS, Nancy), indicate a Neoproterozoic age (625 ± 5 Ma) for the two intrusions of Wirgane granodiorite. This age is in variance with the previously published conclusions where the intrusions were supposed Variscan. Consequently, the Wirgane intrusions are interpreted as remnants of the Neoproterozoic basement of the Variscan belt. They are similar to the Anti-Atlas calc-alkaline intrusions of the collisional to post-collisional stages of the Pan-African orogeny. At that time, the Wirgane region was an area of continental growth to the north of the major South Atlasic Fault.     

祁连山地区花岗质岩浆作用及构造演化

祁连山在构造上是一条经历了多期构造旋回叠加的早古生代复合型造山带,花岗质岩浆作用研究对揭示其构造演化具有重要意义。锆石U-Pb年代学统计结果表明,祁连地区花岗质岩浆活动可以分为7个大的阶段,包括古元古代早期(2 470~2 348 Ma)、古元古代晚期(1 778~1 763 Ma)、中元古代晚期-新元古代早期(1 192~888 Ma)、新元古代中期(853~736 Ma)、中寒武世-志留纪(516~419 Ma),泥盆纪-早石炭世(418~350 Ma)以及中二叠世-晚三叠世(271~211 Ma)。其中古元古代早期发育强过铝质高钾钙碱性S型和准铝质低钾拉斑-高钾钙碱性I型花岗岩,记录了早期的陆壳增生及改造事件。古元古代晚期为准铝质-弱过铝质高钾钙碱性-钾玄质A型花岗岩,是Columbia超大陆裂解事件的产物。中元古代晚期-新元古代早期以过铝质-强过铝质钙碱性-钾玄质S型花岗岩为主,新元古代中期以准铝质-强过铝质钙碱性-高钾钙碱性A型花岗岩为主,分别对应Rodinia超大陆的汇聚和裂解事件。中寒武世-志留纪花岗岩是洋陆转换过程中的产物,约440 Ma加厚基性下地壳部分熔融形成的低Mg埃达克岩的广泛出现指示祁连地区全面进入碰撞造山阶段。泥盆纪-早石炭世花岗岩代表后碰撞伸展阶段岩浆岩组合,发育准铝质-强过铝质低钾拉斑-钾玄质等一系列花岗岩。中二叠世-晚三叠世花岗岩以准铝质-弱过铝质钙碱性-高钾钙碱性I型花岗岩为主,有少量弱过铝质高钾钙碱性A型花岗岩,是宗务隆洋俯冲消减以及碰撞后伸展过程的产物。     

Modélisation magnétique de la suture ophiolitique de Bou Azzer–El Graara (Anti-Atlas central,Maroc). Implications sur la reconstitution géodynamique panafricaine

Aeromagnetic data of the Anti-Atlas Mountains show an important magnetic anomaly along the ‘Major Anti-Atlas Fault’, produced by different mafic and ultramafic rocks of a Neoproterozoic ophiolite complex. The magnetic modelling of Bou Azzer–El Graara ophiolitic suture shows a deep-seated anomaly through the upper continental crust corresponding to a north-dipping subduction. The polarity of the Pan-African subduction in the Anti-Atlas is therefore compatible with the contemporaneous Pan-African orogenic belts, where polarity of subduction dipped away from the West African Craton during the amalgamation of Western Gondwana. To cite this article: A. Soulaimani et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Long-lived Neoproterozoic high-K magmatism in the Pernambuco–Alagoas Domain,Borborema Province,northeast Brazil

The Pernambuco–Alagoas (PE–AL) Domain contains major granitic batholiths typified by a wide range of T_DM model ages (Archaean to Neoproterozoic), reflecting the important role of quartzofeldspathic plutons attending the Brasiliano (Pan-African) Orogeny. U/Pb zircon data for eight syn- to post-collision to syn-transcurrent granitic intrusions of the PE–AL Domain allow the studied plutons to be divided into two groups: (1) granitoids with crystallization ages older than 600 Ma (Água Branca, Serra do Catú, Serra da Caiçara, and Mata Grande plutons) and (2) granitoids with ages of ca. 590 Ma (Correntes, Águas Belas, Viçosa, and Cachoeirinha plutons). The intrusions of group 1, except for the Mata Grande Pluton, all show Nd T_DM model ages ranging from 1.5 to 1.2 Ga, whereas the granitoids from group 2 and the Mata Grande Pluton have Nd T_DM model ages ranging from 2.2 to 1.7 Ga. The studied granitoids are in part high-K, calc-alkaline, shoshonitic, and in part transitional high-K calc-alkaline to alkaline in terms of their bulk chemistry. Volcanic arc signatures associated with the Palaeoproterozoic T_DM model ages are interpreted as inherited from the source rocks. The oldest ages and higher Nd T_DM model ages recorded in the granitoids intruded in the southwestern part of the PE–AL Domain suggest that these intrusions are associated with slab-tearing during convergence between the PE–AL and Sergipano domains. The investigated plutons are coeval with high-K granitoids intruded within the Transversal Zone Domain of Borborema Province and calc-alkaline granitoids of the Sergipano Domain. This suggests that these geologic realms belonged to the same crustal block during the Brasiliano Orogeny. However, such large volumes of high-K granitoids with crystallization ages older than 600 Ma are not recorded in the Sergipano and Transversal Zone domains, suggesting differences in the crustal evolution of these three areas.     

西昆仑地区元古宙岩浆侵入作用及构造-岩浆演化过程

通过对西昆仑地区元古代侵入岩的岩石类型、形成时代和岩石地球化学资料的综合分析,探讨各个构造单元侵入岩形成期次、岩石成因及构造-岩浆演化过程。铁克里克断隆带元古宙中酸性侵入岩以A型花岗岩为主,是塔里木板块古老基底在高温低压条件下发生部分熔融的产物。西昆仑造山带古元古代和中元古代早期中酸性侵入岩为钙碱性I型花岗岩,是变玄武岩在低温条件下部分熔融条件下形成的,而古元古代晚期和新元古代中酸性侵入岩则是高温条件下老基底岩系部分熔融而形成的A型花岗岩。甜水海地块仅发育新元古代侵入岩,为S型花岗岩,是高温高压环境下甜水海地块古老基底部分熔融而形成。根据侵入岩岩浆演化规律,将西昆仑地区元古宙划为4个演化阶段:12 426~1 567Ma:以铁克里克断隆带A型花岗岩为代表的塔里木板块陆内演化,以西昆仑造山带钙碱性-拉斑质I型花岗岩为代表的陆缘弧。21 301~1 000Ma:铁克里克断隆带和西昆仑造山带均以陆内演化性质的A型花岗岩为主。31 000~851 Ma:甜水海地块S型花岗岩可能是陆-陆碰撞导致地壳加厚的产物,指示甜水海地块可能作为Rodinia超大陆的一员发生聚合拼接作用。4815~644 Ma:铁克里克断隆带和西昆仑造山带均存在碱性基性岩浆岩和A型花岗岩的双峰式侵入岩组合,指示塔里木地块和西昆仑地块可能作为Rodinia超大陆组成部分,在该阶段发生了裂解作用。通过对元古宙侵入岩的系统分析,西昆仑地区不同构造单元地壳演化有一定差异,经历了不同演化过程。     

Petrogenesis of peraluminous magmas from the Akum-Bamenda Massif,Pan-African Fold Belt,Cameroon

Peraluminous intrusives of the Akum-Bamenda Massif, Pan-African Belt, Central Cameroon, were synkinematically emplaced in a Pan-African sinistral strike-slip shear zone. The rock sequences consist of medium-grained leucogranites, fine-grained leucogranites, and orthogneisses of biotite granite composition; in aggregate, they cover a range from about 65 to 74 wt.% SiO₂, defining a continuous chemical evolutionary trend and displaying characteristics of the high-K and medium calc-alkaline series. Leucogranites are strongly peraluminous (A/CNK > 1.1) and plot in the field of S-type granites, whereas orthogneisses are metaluminous and plot in the field of I-type granitoids. Major and trace element compositions and the Rb/Sr isotopes of the leucogranites indicate crustal derivation by remelting of a composite metapelite?+?metagreywacke protolith similar to the metasedimentary rocks of the central domain of the Cameroon Pan-African North-Equatorial fold belt.     

青海祁漫塔格中晚三叠世花岗岩:年代学、地球化学及成矿意义

地处柴达木盆地西南缘的青海祁漫塔格地区不仅是一个特征显著的构造-岩浆岩带,而且也是重要的多金属成矿带。本文对该区中晚三叠世花岗岩开展了详细的年代学、岩石地球化学及Sr-Nd-Pb同位素组成研究,并探讨了成矿意义。结果表明,本区中晚三叠世花岗岩均系准铝质到弱过铝质高钾钙碱性花岗岩类,晚三叠世花岗岩具有更高的K2O/Na2O比值,富集大离子亲石元素(LILE)和轻稀土元素(LREE),明显亏损高场强元素(HFSE),中等初始锶比值和偏负的εNd(t)值表明它们主要源于古老地壳物质的深熔或重熔,并可能有幔源物质的加入;发育闪长质暗色微粒包体的中三叠世花岗岩锆石U-Pb年龄为230～237Ma,大多具斑状或似斑状结构的晚三叠世高分异富钾花岗岩形成于204～228Ma,表明大约240Ma祁漫塔格主造山已由挤压转入伸展并伴有幔源岩浆活动,晚三叠世后演化到后碰撞阶段;中晚三叠世花岗岩与本区密集产出的矽卡岩型和斑岩型多金属矿床的时空与成因关系密切,具有重要找矿指示意义。     

Post-collisional granite magmatism in the central Damaran (Pan-African) Orogenic Belt,western Namibia

The central Damaran (Pan-African) Orogenic Belt in western Namibia is dominated by elongated granite-gneiss domes, surrounded by Neoproterozoic Damaran cover as periclinal synclinoria, mainly composed of amphibolite-facies metasedimentary rocks. The domes consist of remnants of pre-Damaran gneissic basement and/or Damaran granitoids. There is a high strain zone along the margin between the granite-gneiss domes and the Damaran cover, interpreted in terms of a late extensional mid-crustal detachment, following oblique north-south collision of the Kalahari and Congo Cratons (ca 550 Ma). The present paper focusses on two granite-gneiss domes (Khan and Ida) in western-central Namibia, where a previously unrecognised generation of early post-collisional Damaran granitoids (ca 530 Ma old), have invaded the pre-Damaran basement and cross-cut the detachment zone. These granitoids are classified as syeno-monzogranites with peraluminous high-K calc-alkaline compositions and I/S-type signatures. Geochemical data suggest that the syeno-monzogranites were derived from a lower crustal source, tentatively ascribed to the pre-Damaran gneissic basement. The granitoids also show evidence for magma contamination through partial assimilation with dark, amphibolitic cover rocks. As a result of this hybridisation of the syeno-monzogranites, granitoids with more dioritic compositions were developed. The syeno-monzogranites were then cross-cut by Damaran pegmatitic leucogranites (ca 510 Ma). Further evidence of episodic post-collisional magmatic activity is provided by late-stage mineralisation, and by a ca 465 Ma (⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar) thermal overprint in the cover rocks. It is proposed that the post-collisional magmatic activity emanated from the endogenic part of a mid-crustal Damaran granitic batholith, whose cupola-like emplacement in dome structures coincided with regional uplift, and subsequent cooling before ca 465 Ma.     

Geochemical characteristics and origin of the Neoproterozoic high-K calc-alkaline granitoids in the northern part of Mandara hills,northeastern Nigeria

The high-K calc-alkaline granitoids in the northern part of the Mandara Hills are part of the well-exposed post-collisional plutons in northeastern Nigeria. The calc-alkaline rock association consists of quartz monzodiorite, hornblende biotite granite, biotite granites and aplite which intruded the older basement consisting mainly of low-lying migmatitic gneisses and amphibolites during the Neoproterozoic Pan-African Orogeny. Petrological and geochemical studies have revealed the presence of hornblende, iron oxide, and metaluminous to slightly peraluminous characteristics in the granitoids which is typical of I-type granite. The granitoids are also depleted in some high field strength elements (e.g. Nb and Ta) as well as Ti. Plots of Mg# versus SiO₂ indicate that the granite was derived from partial melting of crustal sources. Lithospheric delamination at the waning stage of the Pan-African Orogeny possibly triggered upwelling of hot mafic magma from the mantle which underplated the lower crust. This, in turn, caused partial melting and magma generation at the lower to middle-crustal level. However, the peculiar geochemical characteristics of the quartz monzodiorite especially the enrichment in compatible elements such as MgO, Cr, and Ni, as well as LILE element (e.g. K, Ce, Cs, Ba, and Sr), signify that the rock formed from an enriched upper mantle source. The emplacement of high-K granites in the Madara Hill, therefore, marked an important episode of crustal reworking during the Neoproterozoic. However, further isotopic work is needed to confirm this model.