Re–Os dating of sulphides from the Yushui Cu-polymetallic deposit in eastern Guangdong Province,South China

The Yushui Cu-polymetallic deposit, which is associated with Ag, Pb, and Zn, is located in the middle part of the Yongan–Meixian Late Paleozoic Hercynian depression. It was discovered in eastern Guangdong Province in the late 1980s and is one of the richest copper deposits in China with high-grade copper averaging 3.25% and locally reaching 50–60%. The main ore body is located along the unconformity between the Upper Carboniferous Hutian Group limestone and the Lower Carboniferous Zhongxin Formation quartz sandstone with a bedded and lenticular morphology. The ores exhibit massive textures dominated by chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite, pyrite, sphalerite, galena, and a trace amount of argentite. Although researchers began studying the Yushui deposit in the early 1990s, the ore genesis remains controversial because of the lack of precise mineralisation age constraints. In this study, direct Re–Os dating of Cu sulphides aided in facilitating a better understanding of the timing of formation of the Yushui deposit. This study is the first attempt to use the Re–Os isotopic system for directly dating chalcopyrite and bornite ores for the Yushui deposit. The contents of Re, common Os, ¹⁸⁷Re and ¹⁸⁷Os in nine sulphides are 1.68–219.35 ppb, 0.003–0.427 ppb, 1.05–137.31 ppb, and 0.045–0.734 ppb, respectively. The isotope data yielded an isochron age of 308 ± 15 Ma (mean square weighted deviates = 2.4) using the ⁸⁷Re/¹⁸⁸Os–¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os plot, which is interpreted to represent the age of formation for these sulphides, suggesting that the mineralisation age of the Yushui deposit is close to the age of the host rocks. The ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os initial value obtained from the Re–Os isochron is 1.81 ± 0.34, which corresponds to the γOs value of + 1349. This value indicates that the ore-forming materials were derived from the crust without mixing with materials from the mantle, and that the Yushui massive sulphide deposit may be of sedimentary exhalative origin.     

Sulfur Isotope Composition of Ru–Os Sulfides from the Verkh-Neivinsky Dunite-Harzburgite Massif (Middle Urals,Russia): New Data

Doklady Earth Sciences - This study presents the first data set of sulfur isotope compositions of primary Ru–Os sulfides, represented by laurite (RuS2) – erlichmanite (OsS2) series,...     

Geochemistry and tectonic significance of peridotites from the South Sandwich arc–basin system, South Atlantic

Petrographic and geochemical studies of peridotites from the South Sandwich forearc region provide new evidence for the evolution of the South Sandwich arc–basin system and for the nature of interactions between arc magma and oceanic lithosphere. Peridotites from the inner trench wall in the north-east corner of the forearc vary from clinopyroxene-bearing harzburgites, through samples transitional between harzburgites and dunites or wehrlites, to dunites. The harzburgites are LREE depleted with low incompatible element abundances and have chromites with intermediate Cr# (ca. 0.40). Modelling shows that they represent the residues from 15–20% melting at oxygen fugacities close to the QFM buffer. The dunites have U-shaped REE patterns, low incompatible element abundances and high Cr# (0.66–0.77). Petrography and geochemistry indicate that the latter are the product of intense interaction between peridotite and melt saturated with olivine under conditions of high oxygen fugacity (QFM + 2). The transitional samples are the product of lesser interaction between peridotite and melt saturated with olivine ± clinopyroxene. The data demonstrate that the harzburgites originated as the residue from melting at a ridge (probably the early East Scotia Sea spreading centre), and were subsequently modified to transitional peridotites and dunites by interaction with South Sandwich arc magmas. The second dredge locality, near the South Sandwich Trench–Fracture Zone intersection, yielded rocks ranging from lherzolite to harzburgite that could similarly have resulted from a two-stage melting and enrichment process, but involving a more fertile mantle residue and a reacting melt that is transitional between MORB and island arc tholeiite. The South Sandwich peridotites have a similar petrogenetic history to those from Conical Seamount in the Mariana forearc in the sense that both involved interaction between arc magma and pre-existing mantle lithosphere of different provenance. However, the precise compositions of the magma and mantle components vary from location to location according to the precise tectonic setting and tectonic history. Overall, therefore, data from the South Sandwich and Izu–Bonin–Mariana systems emphasise the potential significance of peridotite geochemistry in unravelling the complex tectonic histories of forearcs past and present. Received: 31 August 1999 / Accepted: 3 December 1999     

Cordierite IV: structural heterogeneity and energetics of Mg–Fe solid solutions

The local structural heterogeneity and energetic properties of 22 natural Mg–Fe cordierites, ideal formula (Mg,Fe)₂Al₄Si₅O₁₈·x(H₂O,CO₂), were investigated at length scales given by powder infrared spectroscopy (IR) and also by published electronic absorption spectra. The studied samples have iron mole fractions from X_Fe = 0.06 to 0.82 and cover most of the Mg–Fe cordierite binary. Variations in wavenumbers and line widths of the IR bands were determined as a function of composition. Most modes shift linearly to lower wavenumbers with increasing X_Fe, except those at high wavenumbers located between 900 and 1,200 cm^-1. They are vibrations that have a large internal (Si,Al)O₄ character and are not greatly affected by Mg–Fe exchange on the octahedral site. The lower wavenumber modes can be best characterized as lattice vibrations having mixed character. The systematics of the wavenumber shifts suggest small continuous variations in the "average" cordierite structure with Mg–Fe exchange and are consistent with an ideal volume of mixing, V^mix= 0, behavior (Boberski and Schreyer 1990). IR line broadening was measured using the autocorrelation function for three wavenumber regions in order to determine the range of structural heterogeneity between roughly 2 and 100 Å (0.2–10.0 nm) in the solid solution. In order to do this, an empirical correction was first made to account for the effect that small amounts of channel Na have on the phonon systematics. The results show that between 1,200 and 540 cm^-1 the line widths of the IR bands broaden slightly and linearly with increasing X_Fe. Between 350 and 125 cm^-1 nonlinear behavior was observed and it may be related to dynamic effects. These results suggest minimal excess elastic enthalpies of mixing for Mg–Fe cordierite solid solutions. Channel Na should affect measurably the thermodynamic properties of natural cordierites as evidenced by variations in the IR spectra of Na-containing samples. Occluded H₂O (Class I) and CO₂ should have little interaction with the framework and can be considered nearly "free" molecules. They should not give rise to measurable structural heterogeneity in the framework. The contribution of the crystal field stabilization energy (CFSE) of octahedral Fe²⁺ to the energetics of Mg–Fe cordierites was also investigated using published electronic absorption spectra (Khomenko et al. 2001). Two bands are observed between 8,000 and 10,500 cm^-1 and they represent electronic dd-excitations of octahedral Fe²⁺ derived from the ⁵T_2g ⁵E_g transition. They shift to higher wavenumbers with increasing X_Mg in cordierite. An analysis gives slightly asymmetric excess -CFSE across the Mg–Fe cordierite join with a maximum of about –550 J/mole towards iron-rich compositions.Editorial responsibility: J. Hoefs     

New constraints on the auriferous Witwatersrand sediment provenance from combined detrital zircon U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotope data for the Eldorado Reef (Central Rand Group,South Africa)

Combined U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotope analyses of detrital zircon grains from the auriferous Eldorado Reef conglomerate, upper Central Rand Group, reveal new insights into the provenance of the sediments and thus, by implication, possibly also into that of the gold. Most of the detrital zircon grains, which are of magmatic origin, yielded Mesoarchaean ages clustering around 2.94 and 3.06 Ga. A subordinate zircon population gave ages with maxima at 3.28 and 3.44 Ga. The Mesoarchaean zircon grains mostly show super-chondritic ?Hf_t of up to +5.2, whereas the Palaeoarchaean zircon grains have nearly chondritic composition with ?Hf_t between −1.3 and +2.0. The new dataset of the Mesoarchaean zircon populations provides the first unambiguous evidence of the formation of juvenile crust not only at 3.06 but also at 2.94 Ga. As the analysed zircon grains are from the ruditic fraction, they must be derived from a comparatively proximal source in close vicinity to the Central Rand Basin. Based on currently available data, this source was most likely a magmatic arc that existed at the northern edge of the Witwatersrand Block at 3.06 Ga. An additional source might be the 2.94 Ga magmatic rocks of the Kraaipan Greenstone Belt that occurs to the west of the Witwatersrand Block. The minor fraction of Palaeoarchaean zircon grains in the Eldorado Reef perhaps stem from sources that are isotopically similar to the Barberton Greenstone Belt and the Limpopo Belt but were more proximal to the Central Rand Basin.     

Re–Os dating of chalcopyrite from selected mineral deposits in the Kalatag district in the eastern Tianshan Orogen,China

The Kalatag Cu–Zn–Au district contains a number of economically important Cu deposits in eastern Tianshan in Xinjiang, NW China. Due to the lack of precise mineralization ages, the metallogenesis of this area has long been a matter of debate. In this study, chalcopyrite Re–Os isotope methods are used to date the South Meiling Cu–Zn and Hongshi Cu deposits in the eastern part of Kalatag area.The South Meiling Cu–Zn deposit is hosted in volcanic-sedimentary rocks of the Late Ordovician to Early Silurian Daliugou Formation. The deposit consists of two parts: a concordant massive sulfide ores and discordant vein-type ores located in the footwall strata. The principal ore minerals are pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, minor tetrahedrite, galena and pyrrhotite. Gangue minerals include quartz, sericite and barite, and minor chlorite, plagioclase and carbonate minerals. The Hongshi Cu deposit represents a hydrothermal vein system hosted in the mafic volcanic rocks of Daliugou Formation. The orebodies are associated with quartz veins and controlled by subsidiary faults of the Kalatag fault. The ore-forming process can be divided into the early, middle and late stages and is characterized by quartz–pyrite, quartz–chalcopyrite–pyrite and quartz–carbonate–gypsum veins, respectively.Re–Os analyses of chalcopyrite from the South Meiling Cu–Zn deposit yield an isochron age of 434.2 ± 3.9 Ma and initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratio of 0.647 ± 0.098 (MSWD = 0.59). Re–Os analyses of chalcopyrite from the Hongshi Cu deposit yield an isochron age of 431.8 ± 2.7 Ma and initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratio of − 0.165 ± 0.075 (MSWD = 0.77). Since chalcopyrite is the primary copper mineral, we interpret these isochron ages as the timing of Cu mineralization, based on field geology and petrographic evidence. These results suggest that the Re–Os ages presented here provide, for the first time, a direct constraint on an early Paleozoic Cu mineralization event of the eastern Tianshan Orogen. The high initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios (0.647 ± 0.098) ratio of ~ 434 Ma chalcopyrite from the South Meiling deposit suggest that the metal was sourced from a two end-member mixing of crust and mantle materials. Moreover, we propose that the VMS mineral system and hydrothermal vein system of the Kalatag district were related to the south-dipping subduction of the Kalamaili oceanic plate during the Late Ordovician–Silurian.     

Recalibrating the breakup history of SW Gondwana: U–Pb radioisotopic age constraints from the southern Cape of South Africa

Syn-rift deposits often provide the only means to determine the chronology of rift initiation and evolution. However, the earliest syn-rift packages deposited in Jurassic – Cretaceous rift basins that formed during the breakup of SW Gondwana are poorly understood because they are deeply buried beneath overlying passive margin sequences. The exhumed remnants of several such rift basins are exposed in the southern Cape of South Africa and contain the Suurberg and Uitenhage groups, which are predominantly continental, taphrogenic, fossiliferous strata interbedded with volcaniclastics. Here we present the first robust U–Pb chronostratigraphic framework for these groups by dating zircon in nine pyroclastic and five resedimented volcaniclastic deposits using Laser Ablation – Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICPMS). To further improve the precision and accuracy of the results, we utilize Chemical Abrasion – Thermal Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (CA-TIMS) on four selected samples minimizing the effects of Pb-loss and further constraining depositional uncertainties. We thereby show that the Suurberg Group was deposited rapidly during the emplacement of the Karoo Large Igneous Province in the Early Jurassic and likely predates the main phase of rifting, whereas the Uitenhage Group was deposited over a prolonged (>40 Ma) period beginning in the Early Jurassic and continuing into the Early Cretaceous. The Uitenhage Group records two phases of rifting: an initial Jurassic episode that roughly coincides with the separation of East and West Gondwana and is contemporaneous with widespread volcanism in SW Gondwana, and a subsequent period of renewed rifting during the Early Cretaceous opening of the South Atlantic and initiation of the Agulhas Falkland Transform. This framework illustrates the complexity of long-lived rift-basin sedimentation and highlights the importance of high-resolution chronostratigraphy when investigating and integrating the tectonic, palaeogeographic and palaeontological records from the final stages of a unified SW Gondwana.     

Spreading change of Africa–South America plate: insights from space geodetic observations

The results derived from geological data show that the half-spreading rate between the African and South American plates has remained relatively constant at 2 cm/year over the past 80 million years (Silver et al. in Science 279:60–63, 1998). In this paper, we have reestimated a new relative angular velocity of Africa–South America plates using the selected space geodetic station data through a new method. Our angular velocity estimates the spreading rates of Africa–South America plate over several years that are similar in azimuth but significantly slower in rate than the NUVEL-1A predictions averaged over the past 3 million years. The implied rates of deceleration coincide with longer-term trends over the past 35 million years and may reflect the effects of plate interaction and coupling of Africa–South America plates. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Sulfur Isotope Composition of Ru–Os Sulfides from the Guli Massif,Maimecha-Kotui Province,Russia: First Results

Doklady Earth Sciences - To gain further insight into the origin of Ru–Os sulfides, the first in-situ sulfur isotopic data for Ru–Os sulfides from different polyphase platinum-group...     

Re–Os dating and sulfur isotope composition of molybdenite from tungsten deposits in western Namaqualand, South Africa: implications for ore genesis and the timing of metamorphism

Both stratiform/stratabound and granite-related models have been used to explain the genesis of W(Mo) deposits in the Okiep copper district in western Namaqualand, South Africa. Apparently, stratabound mineralization (Fe-rich wolframite with accessory molybdenite) occurs in foliation-parallel quartz veins in high-grade (∼750 °C, 5–6 kbar) metapelites of the Wolfram Formation, and less commonly in small bodies of silicified leucogranites and pegmatites. Six Re–Os ages for molybdenites from four deposits (Nababeep Tungsten Far West, Kliphoog, Narrap, Tweedam) range between 1000 ± 4 and 1026 ± 5 Ma. These molybdenites define a well-constrained ¹⁸⁷Re–¹⁸⁷Os isochron with an age of 1019 ± 6 Ma, which is interpreted as the age of W(Mo) mineralization. This age is significantly younger than Proterozoic protolith ages for supracrustal rocks and the emplacement ages for the main intrusive suites, but geologic evidence requires overlap with a period of high-grade metamorphism. We suggest that W(Mo) mineralization is genetically linked to intra-crustal magmatic processes at ∼1020 Ma, thereby precluding the ∼1060 Ma Concordia granite as the source for mineralizing fluids. A narrow range of positive δ³⁴S compositions (+3.6 to +4.5‰) for eight molybdenites from five W(Mo) mines is consistent with a SO₂-rich fluid and a granite-related genetic model. Post-peak metamorphic deformation and metamorphism of W(Mo) ores is most likely related to the retrograde stage of the Namaquan orogeny, which overlaps emplacement of late-orogenic, evolved granites and pegmatites, and the formation of W(Mo) deposits in western Namaqualand. Therefore, the effects of retrograde Namaquan metamorphism extend at least to ∼1020 Ma or, alternatively, these W(Mo) veins were affected by a poorly constrained later event (e.g. early Pan-African). Received: 12 September 1999 / Accepted: 20 April 2000     

Sulfur sources of sedimentary “buckshot” pyrite in the Auriferous Conglomerates of the Mesoarchean Witwatersrand and Ventersdorp Supergroups,Kaapvaal Craton,South Africa

Large rounded pyrite grains (>1 mm), commonly referred to as “buckshot” pyrite grains, are a characteristic feature of the auriferous conglomerates (reefs) in the Witwatersrand and Ventersdorp supergroups, Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa. Detailed petrographic analyses of the reefs indicated that the vast majority of the buckshot pyrite grains are of reworked sedimentary origin, i.e., that the pyrite grains originally formed in the sedimentary environment during sedimentation and diagenesis. Forty-one of these reworked sedimentary pyrite grains from the Main, Vaal, Basal, Kalkoenkrans, Beatrix, and Ventersdorp Contact reefs were analyzed for their multiple sulfur isotope compositions (δ³⁴S, Δ³³S, and Δ³⁶S) to determine the source of the pyrite sulfur. In addition, five epigenetic pyrite samples (pyrite formed after sedimentation and lithification) from the Middelvlei and the Ventersdorp Contact reefs were measured for comparison. The δ³⁴S, Δ³³S, and Δ³⁶S values of all 41 reworked sedimentary pyrite grains indicate clear signatures of mass-dependent and mass-independent fractionation and range from ?6.8 to +13.8?‰, ?1.7 to +1.7?‰, and ?3.9 to +0.9?‰, respectively. In contrast, the five epigenetic pyrite samples display a very limited range of δ³⁴S, Δ³³S, and Δ³⁶S values (+0.7 to +4.0?‰, ?0.3 to +0.0?‰. and ?0.3 to +0.1?‰, respectively). Despite the clear signatures of mass-independent sulfur isotope fractionation, very few data points plot along the primary Archean photochemical array suggesting a weak photolytic control over the data set. Instead, other factors command a greater degree of influence such as pyrite paragenesis, the prevailing depositional environment, and non-photolytic sulfur sources. In relation to pyrite paragenesis, reworked syngenetic sedimentary pyrite grains (pyrite originally precipitated along the sediment-water interface) are characterized by negative δ³⁴S and Δ³³S values, suggesting open system conditions with respect to sulfate supply and the presence of microbial sulfate reducers. On the contrary, most reworked diagenetic sedimentary pyrite grains (pyrite originally precipitated below the sediment-water interface) show positive δ³⁴S and negative Δ³³S values, suggesting closed system conditions. Negligible Δ³³S anomalies from epigenetic pyrite suggest that the sulfur was sourced from a mass-dependent or isotopically homogenous metamorphic/hydrothermal fluid. Contrasting sulfur isotope compositions were also observed from different depositional environments, namely fluvial conglomerates and marine-modified fluvial conglomerates. The bulk of the pyrite grains from fluvial conglomerates are characterized by a wide range of δ³⁴S values (?6.2 to +4.8?‰) and small Δ³³S values (±0.3?‰). This signature likely represents a crustal sulfate reservoir derived from either volcanic degassing or from weathering of sulfide minerals in the hinterland. Reworked sedimentary pyrite grains from marine-modified fluvial conglomerates share similar isotope compositions, but also produce a positive Δ³³S/δ³⁴S array that overlaps with the composition of Archean barite, suggesting the introduction of marine sulfur. These results demonstrate the presence of multiple sources of sulfur, which include atmospheric, crustal, and marine reservoirs. The prevalence of the mass-dependent crustal sulfur isotope signature in fluvial conglomerates suggests that sulfate concentrations were probably much higher in terrestrial settings in comparison to marine environments, which were sulfate-deficient. However, the optimum conditions for forming terrestrial sedimentary pyrite were probably not during fluvial progradation but rather during the early phases of flooding of low angle unconformities, i.e., during retrogradational fluvial deposition, coupled in some cases with marine transgressions, immediately following inflection points of maximum rate of relative sea level fall.     

Dating the giant Zhuxi W–Cu deposit (Taqian–Fuchun Ore Belt) in South China using molybdenite Re–Os and muscovite Ar–Ar system

The recently discovered Zhuxi W–Cu ore deposit is located within the Taqian–Fuchun Ore Belt in the southeastern edge of the Yangtze Block, South China. Its inferred tungsten resources, based on new exploration data, are more than 280 Mt by 2016. At least three paragenetic stages of skarn formation and ore deposition have been recognized: prograde skarn stage; retrograde stage; and hydrothermal sulfide stage. Secondly, greisenization, marmorization and hornfels formation are also observed. Scheelite and chalcopyrite are the dominant metal minerals in the Zhuxi deposit and their formation was associated with the emplacement of granite stocks and porphyry dykes intruded into the surrounding Carboniferous carbonate sediments (Huanglong and Chuanshan formations) and the Neoproterozoic slate and phyllites. The scheelite was mostly precipitated during the retrograde stage, whereas the chalcopyrite was widely precipitated during the hydrothermal sulfide stage. A muscovite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau age of about 150 Ma is interpreted as the time of tungsten mineralization and molybdenite Re–Os model ages ranging from 145.9 ± 2.0 Ma to 148.7 ± 2.2 Ma (for the subsequent hydrothermal sulfide stage of activity) as the time of the copper mineralization. Our new molybdenite Re–Os and muscovite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating results, along with previous zircon U–Pb age data, indicate that the hydrothermal activity from the retrograde stage to the last hydrothermal sulfide stage lasted up to 5 Myr, from 150.6 ± 1.5 to 145.9 ± 1 Ma, and is approximately coeval or slightly later than the emplacement of the associated granite porphyry and biotite granite. The new ages reported here confirm that the Zhuxi tungsten deposit represents one of the Mesozoic magmatic–hydrothermal mineralization events that took place in South China in a setting of lithospheric extension during the Late Jurassic (160–150 Ma). It is suggested that mantle material played a role in producing the Zhuxi W–Cu mineralization and associated magmatism.     

Re–Os isotopic ages of pyrite and chemical composition of magnetite from the Cihai magmatic–hydrothermal Fe deposit, NW China

The Eastern Tianshan Orogenic Belt of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and the Beishan terrane of the Tarim Block, NW China, host numerous Fe deposits. The Cihai Fe deposit (>90 Mt at 45.6 % Fe) in the Beishan terrane is diabase-hosted and consists of the Cihai, Cinan, and Cixi ore clusters. Ore minerals are dominantly magnetite, pyrite, and pyrrhotite, with minor chalcopyrite, galena, and sphalerite. Gangue minerals include pyroxene, garnet, hornblende and minor plagioclase, biotite, chlorite, epidotite, quartz, and calcite. Pyrite from the Cihai and Cixi ore clusters has similar Re–Os isotope compositions, with ～14 to 62 ppb Re and ≤10?ppt common Os. Pyrrhotite has ～5 to 39 ppb Re and ～0.6 ppb common Os. Pyrite has a mean Re–Os model age of 262.3?±?5.6 Ma (n?=?13), in agreement with the isochron regression of ¹⁸⁷Os vs. ¹⁸⁷Re. The Re–Os age (～262 Ma) for the Cihai Fe deposit is within uncertainty in agreement with a previously reported Rb–Sr age (268?±?25 Ma) of the hosting diabase, indicating a genetic relationship between magmatism and mineralization. Magnetite from the Cihai deposit has Mg, Al, Ti, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Mn, Zn, Ga, and Sn more elevated than that of typical skarn deposits, but both V and Ti contents lower than that of magmatic Fe–Ti–V deposits. Magnetite from these two ore clusters at Cihai has slightly different trace element concentrations. Magnetite from the Cihai ore cluster has relatively constant trace element compositions. Some magnetite grains from the Cixi ore cluster have higher V, Ti, and Cr than those from the Cihai ore cluster. The compositional variations of magnetite between the ore clusters are possibly due to different formation temperatures. Combined with regional tectonic evolution of the Beishan terrane, the Re–Os age of pyrite and the composition of magnetite indicate that the Cihai Fe deposit may have derived from magmatic–hydrothermal fluids related to mafic magmatism, probably in an extensional rift environment.     

SHRIMP U–Pb (zircon), Ar–Ar (muscovite) and Re–Os (molybdenite) isotopic dating of the Taoxikeng tungsten deposit,South China Block

The Taoxikeng tungsten deposit is located in the Jiangxi Province in the southern part of China, and is one of the largest wolframite quartz-vein type tungsten deposits in the country. The deposit is situated in Sinian (Neoproterozoic) to Permian strata at the contact with the buried Taoxikeng Granite. Sensitive High Mass Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) zircon U–Pb analysis of the granite has yielded dates of 158.7 ± 3.9 and 157.6 ± 3.5 Ma, which are interpreted as the emplacement age of the granite. Molybdenite separated from ore-bearing quartz-veins yields a Re–Os isochron age of 154.4 ± 3.8 Ma, and muscovite separated from greisen between the granite and country rocks yields ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of 153.4 ± 1.3 and 152.7 ± 1.5 Ma. These dates obtained from three independent geochronological techniques constrain the ore-forming age of the Taoxikeng deposit and link the ore genesis to that of the underlying granite. The Taoxikeng deposit is an example of a Jurassic regional-scale tungsten–tin ore-forming event between 160 and 150 Ma in the Nanling region of the South China Block. The deposit's strikingly low rhenium contents (4.9 to 13.0 × 10^? 3 μg/g) in molybdenite suggests that the ore was derived from a crustal source. This conclusion is consistent with previously published constraints from S, D and O stable isotopes, Sr–Nd systematics, and petrogenetic interpretations of spatially related granites.     

The lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary in the eastern part of the Dead Sea Basin (DSB) from S-to-P receiver functions

Clear S-to-P converted waves from the crust–mantle boundary (Moho) and lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) have been observed on the eastern part of the Dead Sea Basin (DSB), and are used for the determination of the depth of the Moho and the LAB. A temporary network consisting of 18 seismic broad-band stations was operated in the DSB region as part of the DEad Sea Integrated REsearch project for 1.5 years beginning in September 2006. The obtained Moho depth (～35 km) from S-to-P receiver functions agrees well with the results from P-to-S receiver functions and other geophysical data. The thickness of the lithosphere on the eastern part of the DSB is about 75 km. The results obtained here support and confirm previous studies, based on xenolith data, geodynamic modeling, heat flow observations, and S-to-P receiver functions. Therefore, the lithosphere on the eastern part of the DSB and along Wadi Araba has been thinned in the Late Cenozoic, following rifting and spreading of the Red Sea. The thinning of the lithosphere occurred without a concomitant change in the crustal thickness and thus an upwelling of the asthenosphere in the study area is invoked as the cause of the lithosphere thinning.     

The U–Pb SHRIMP age of zircons from diorites of the Tomino–Bereznyaki ore field (South Urals,Russia): evolution of porphyry Cu–epithermal Au–Ag system

The Tomino–Bereznyaki ore field lies in the western part of the East Urals volcanic megazone (20–30 km southwest of Chelyabinsk). The commercial Tomino porphyry (Mo, Au)–Cu deposit is localized in the east of the field, within a small mesoabyssal intrusion of quartz–diorite composition. The epithermal Au–Ag Bereznyaki deposit is confined to subvolcanic dioritic porphyrites in the west of the field. The western and eastern parts of the ore field have a tectonic boundary. Granitoids belong to a single volcanoplutonic complex of K–Na-quartz–diorite composition. The U–Pb concordant age of zircons from the ore-bearing dioritic porphyrite of the Tomino and Bereznyaki deposits is 428 ± 3 Ma (MSWD = 0.9) and 427 ± 6 Ma (MSWD = 1.1), respectively. A Silurian absolute age has been established for the Urals porphyry Cu ore-magmatic system for the first time. The diorites and acid metasomatites of both deposits contain a unique three-mica assemblage (Mu, Pa, and Mu0.36Pa0.64). The metasomatized diorites are of similar isotope-petrogeochemical compositions; they have close total REE contents (24–52 ppm) and REE patterns. Their Zr–Hf, Nb–Ta, and La–Ce diagrams show similar trends. The obtained data indicate the close time of formation of the porphyry and epithermal deposits and their probable genetic unity. The vertical evolution of the porphyry Cu column from meso- and hypabyssal to subvolcanic level includes the isotope (Sr, S, and O) crust–mantle interaction. The deposits formed at different depths expose on the modern surface as a result of the block tectonic processes in the ore field.     

Petrography and geochemistry of the Shilu Fe–Co–Cu ore district,South China: Implications for the origin of a Neoproterozoic BIF system

The Shilu Fe–Co–Cu ore district is situated in the western Hainan Province of south China. This district consists of the upper Fe-rich layers and the lower Co–Cu ores, which are mainly hosted within the Neoproterozoic Shilu Group, a dominantly submarine siliciclastic and carbonate sedimentary succession that generally has been metamorphosed to greenschist facies. Three facies of metamorphosed BIFs, the oxide, the silicate–oxide and the sulfide–carbonate–silicate, have been identified within the Shilu Group. The oxide banded iron formation (BIF) facies (quartz itabirites or Fe-rich ores) consists of alternating hematite-rich and quartz-rich microbands. The silicate–oxide BIF facies (amphibolitic itabirites or Fe-poor ores) comprises alternating millimeter to tens of meter scale, magnetite–hematite-rich bands with calc-silicate-rich macro- to microbands. The sulfide–carbonate–silicate BIF facies (Co–Cu ores) contain alternating cobaltiferous pyrite, cobaltiferous pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite macrobands to microbands mainly with dolomite–calcite, but also with minor sericite–quartz bands. Blasto-oolitic, pelletoidal, colloidal, psammitic, and cryptocrystalline to microcrystalline textures, and blasto-bedding structures, which likely represent primary sedimentation, are often observed in the Shilu BIF facies.The Shilu BIFs and interbedded host rocks are generally characterized by relatively low but variable ∑ REE concentrations, LREE depletion and/or MREE enrichment relative to HREE, and no Ce, Gd and Eu anomalies to strongly positive Ce, Gd and Eu anomalies in the upward-convex PAAS-normalized REY patterns, except for both the banded or impure dolostones with nil Ce anomaly to negative Ce anomalies and negative La anomalies, and the minor sulfide–carbonate–silicate BIF facies with moderately negative Eu anomalies. They also contain relatively low but variable HFSE abundances as Zr, Nb, Hf, Th and Ti, and relatively high but variable abundances of Cu, Co, Ni, Pb, As, Mn and Ba. The consistently negative ε_Nd(t) values range from − 4.8 to − 8.5, with a T_DM age of ca. 2.0 Ga. In line with the covariations between Al₂O₃ and TiO₂, Fe₂O₃ + FeO and SiO₂, Mn and Fe, Zr and Y/Ho and REE, and Sc and LREE, the geochemical and Sm–Nd isotopic features suggest that the precursors to the Shilu BIFs formed from a source dominated by seafloor-derived, high- to low temperature, acidic and reducing hydrothermal fluids but with variable input of detrital components in a seawater environment. Moreover, the involved detrital materials were sourced dominantly from an unknown, Paleoproterozoic or older crust, with lesser involvement from the Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic Baoban Group underlying the Shilu Group.The Shilu BIFs of various facies are interpreted to have formed in a shallow marine, restricted or sheltered basin near the rifted continental margin most likely associated with the break-up of Rodinia as the result of mantle superplume activity in South China. The seafloor-derived, periodically upwelling metalliferous hydrothermal plume/vent fluids under anoxic but sulfidic to anoxic but Fe^2 +-rich conditions were removed from the plume/vent and accumulated in the basin, and then variably mixed with terrigenous detrital components, which finally led to rhythmic deposition of the Shilu BIFs.