东昆仑东段清水泉辉长岩体LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb年龄、地球化学特征及其构造意义

清水泉辉长岩体位于东昆仑中缝合带清水泉蛇绿岩北侧,主要岩性为角闪辉长岩。该岩体的LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb测年结果为452.1±5Ma,形成时代为晚奥陶世。辉长岩体样品SiO_2含量为43.89%~45.99%,Na_2O含量为1.30%~2.32%,K_2O含量为0.68%~1.39%,P_2O_5含量为0.26%~0.40%,TiO_2含量较低,为0.74%~0.95%,MgO含量为5.72%~6.54%,Mg~#值较低,为53~54。岩石地球化学特征显示,该岩体属于拉斑玄武岩系列,稀土元素表现出轻稀土元素富集、重稀土元素亏损的特点,微量元素以富集大离子亲石元素(Cs、Rb、Ba等,尤其以Ba的正异常最为突出)、亏损高场强元素(Nb、Ta、Ti、Zr、Hf)为特征。微量元素构造判别显示,其形成于活动陆缘岛弧构造环境。结合区域地质资料研究表明,清水泉辉长岩体可能形成于以清水泉蛇绿岩为代表的东昆仑中弧后有限洋盆向北俯冲的初始阶段。     

Nature and timing of the Solonker suture of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt: insights from geochronology and geochemistry of basic intrusions in the Xilin Gol Complex,Inner Mongolia,China

The Solonker suture zone of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) records the final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. The nature and timing of final collision along the Solonker suture has long been controversial, partly because of an incomplete record of isotopic ages and differing interpretations of the geological environments of key tectonic units. The Xilin Gol Complex, consisting of strongly deformed gneisses, schists and amphibolites, is such a key tectonic unit within the CAOB. Lenticular or quasi-lamellar amphibolites are dispersed throughout the complex, intercalated with biotite–plagioclase gneiss. Both rock types experienced amphibolite-facies metamorphism. The protolith of the amphibolite is a basic rock that intruded into the biotite–plagioclase gneiss at 319 ± 4 Ma based on LA-ICPMS zircon U–Pb dating. The basic intrusion was sourced from a modified magma that experienced crystal fractionation and was admixed with slab-derived fluids. The slab-derived fluids, which formed during Early Paleozoic oceanic subduction along the north-dipping Sonidzuoqi–Xilinhot subduction zone, mixed with the magma source and produced subduction-related geochemical signatures superimposed on volcanic arc chemistry. After Early Paleozoic oceanic subduction and arc-continent collision, a transient stage of extension occurred between 313 and 280 Ma in the Sonidzuoqi–Xilinhot area. Deformation and recrystallization during the switch from compression to extension and reheating by the later magmatic intrusions reset the isotope systems of minerals in the Xilin Gol Complex, recorded by a 312.2 ± 1.5 Ma biotite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age from biotite–plagioclase gneiss, a 309 ± 12 Ma zircon intercept age and a 307.5 ± 3.5 Ma hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age from amphibolites in the complex. There was an arc/forearc-related marine basin at the southern margin of the Xilin Gol Complex during the Permian. The closure of the oceanic basin led to Late Paleozoic–Middle Triassic north-dipping subduction beneath the Xilin Gol Complex and induced the amphibolite-facies metamorphism of the complex. The final suturing of the Solonker zone occurred from 269 to 231 Ma. This latest amphibolite-facies metamorphism with pressures of 0.31–0.39 GPa and temperatures of 620–660 °C was recorded at 263.4 ± 1.4 Ma to the Xilin Gol Complex, as indicated by the hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age from the amphibolites, as well as several zircon ages of 260 ± 3–231 ± 3 Ma. The Xilin Gol Complex documented the progressive accretion of a single, long-lived subduction system at the southern margin of the south Mongolian microcontinent from the Early Paleozoic (~452 Ma) to Middle Triassic (~231 Ma). The CAOB shows protracted collision prior to final suturing.     

The Droimchogaidh sill,Connacht, Ireland

The Droimchogaidh sill, south-central Mayo, is sheeted at high-level in the Ordovician sedimentary pile of the South Mayo Trough. This association now lies raised on the eastern fringe of the Connemara-Murrisk Tertiary uplift. The sill is basin-shaped with a maximum thickness of about 100 m. It is composed of isotropic or weakly layered olivine gabbro, and subordinate, locally-developed picritic cumulates and syenitic differentiates. The chemistry of the gabbro reveals the effects of post-emplacement hydrothermal circulation, but the magma that supplied the sill was probably similar in composition to that of the analcime-olivine dolerite dikes further west. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁰Ar dating gives an age of 55 ± 1 Ma for the sill, consistent with a younger set of ages from the Irish/British Tertiary province.     

Petrogenesis and tectonic implications of Early Cretaceous andesitic-dacitic rocks,western Qinling(Central China):Geochronological and geochemical constraints

~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar and zircon U-Pb geochronological and whole-rock geochemical analyses for the Laozanggou intermediate-acidic volcanic rocks from the western Qinling orogenic belt,Central China,constrain their petrogenesis and the nature of the Late Mesozoic lithospheric mantle.These volcanic rocks yield hornblende or whole-rock ~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar plateau ages of 128.3-129.7 Ma and zircon U-Pb age of131.3±1.3 Ma.They exhibit Si02 of 56.86-66.86 wt.%,K_2 O of 0.99-2.46 wt.% and MgO of 1.03-4.47 wt.%,with Mg# of 42-56.They are characterized by arc-like geochemical signatures with significant enrichment in LILE and LREE and depletion in HFSE.All the samples have enriched Sr-Nd isotopic compositions with initial ~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr ratios ranging from 0.7112 to 0.7149 and ε_(Nd)(t) values from 10.2 to 6.3.Such geochemical signatures suggest that these volcanic rocks were derived from enriched lithospherederived magma followed by the assimilation and fractional crystallization(AFC)process.The generation of the enriched lithospheric mantle is likely related to the modification of sediment-derived fluid in response to the Triassic subduction/collision event in Qinling orogenic belt.The early Cretaceous detachment of the lithospheric root provides a reasonable mechanism for understanding the petrogenesis of the Laozanggou volcanic sequence in the western Qinling orogenic belt.     

The age of camptonite dikes of the Agardag alkali-basalt complex (western Sangilen): results of Ar/Ar and U/Pb dating

A camptonite dike swarm (Agardag alkali-basalt complex) in the western part of the Sangilen Upland abounds in mantle xenoliths. Mineralogical, petrographic, and petrochemical studies show that the dikes are composed of lamprophyres of two groups, basic and ultrabasic. Ar/Ar dating of amphibole and phlogopite megacrysts gives an intrusion age for the dikes of 443.0 ± 1.3 Ma. ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U dating of zircon from a glomeroporphyritic intergrowth in camptonite from one of the dikes yielded a core age of 489.0 ± 5.4 Ma. This corresponds to the time of formation of the Chzhargalanta granite–leucogranite complex (489.4 ± 2.6 Ma). The ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of the zircon rim is 444.0 ± 7.5 Ma. The ages obtained by Ar/Ar dating of amphibole and biotite megacrysts and by U/Pb dating of the magmatic rim of zircon crystal from the camptonite coincide within the dating error, which indicates that the camptonite dikes formed in the Late Ordovician. These dikes are the oldest-known example of mantle-derived xenoliths in mafic volcanic rocks from an off-craton setting. These are samples of the Upper Ordovician lithospheric mantle.     

Geochemical features and geodynamic setting of formation of the Lukinda dunite–troctolite–gabbro massif (southeastern framing of the Siberian Platform)

The Lukinda dunite–troctolite–gabbro massif in the Selenga–Stanovoy superterrane on the southeastern framing of the Siberian Platform was earlier considered Precambrian. The performed ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of the massif plagioclase yielded an Early Permian age (285 ± 7.5 Ma). The main specific petrochemical features of the intrusion rocks during their crystallization differentiation are an increase in SiO₂ and CaO contents and a decrease in FeO_tot content, with TiO₂ content remaining low and showing minor variations. A specific geochemical feature of the Lukinda massif ultrabasite–basites is a slight domination of LREE over HREE, with (La/Yb)_N= 1.0–8.2. The depletion of the massif rocks in LILE (except for Sr and Ba), REE, and HFSE suggests that the massif formed on an active continental margin.     

A comparative U–Th–Pb (zircon–monazite) and 40Ar–39Ar (muscovite–biotite) study of shear zones in northern Victoria Land (Antarctica): implications for geochronology and localized reworking of the Ross Orogen

Mylonitic granites from two shear zones in northern Victoria Land (Antarctica) were investigated in order to examine the behaviour of the U–Th–Pb system in zircon and monazite and of the ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar system in micas during ductile deformation. Meso‐ and micro‐structural data indicate that shear zones gently dip to the NE and SW, have an opposite sense of shear (top‐to‐the‐SW and ‐NE, respectively) and developed under upper greenschist facies conditions. In situ U–Pb dating by laser‐ablation inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry of zircon areas with well‐preserved igneous zoning patterns (c. 490 Ma) confirm that granites were emplaced during the Early Cambrian to Early Ordovician Ross–Delamerian Orogeny. Monazite from the Bier Point Shear Zone (BPSZ) mainly yielded U–Th–Pb ages of c. 440 Ma, in agreement with in‐situ Ar laserprobe ages of syn‐shear muscovite and with most Ar ages of coexisting biotite. The agreement of ages derived from different decay schemes and from minerals with different crystal‐chemical features suggests that isotope transport in the studied sample was mainly controlled by (re)crystallization processes and that the main episode of ductile deformation in the BPSZ occurred at c. 440 Ma. Cathodoluminscence imaging showed that zircon from the BPSZ contains decomposed areas with faint relics of oscillatory zoning. These areas yielded a U–Pb age pattern which mimics that of monazite but is slightly shifted towards older ages, supporting previous studies which suggest that ‘ghost’ structures may be affected by inheritance. In contrast, secondary structures in zircon from the Mt. Emison Shear Zone (MESZ) predominantly consist of overgrowths or totally recrystallized areas and gave U–Pb ages of c. 450 and 410 Ma. The c. 450‐Ma date matches within errors most monazite U–Th–Pb ages and in‐situ Ar ages on biotite aligned along the mylonitic foliation. This again suggests that isotope ages from the different minerals are (re)crystallization ages and constrains the time of shearing in the MESZ to the Late Ordovician. Regionally, results indicate that shear zones were active in the Late Ordovician–Early Silurian and that their development was partially synchronous at c. 440 Ma, suggesting that they belong to a shear‐zone system formed in response to ～NE–SW‐directed shortening. Taking into account the former juxtaposition of northern Victoria Land and SE Australia, we propose that shear zones represent reactivated zones formed in response to stress applied along the new plate margin as a consequence of contractional tectonics associated with the early stages (Benambran Orogeny) of the development of the Late Ordovician–Late Devonian Lachlan Fold Belt.     

Age of Plutonic Rocks from the Vema Fracture Zone (Central Atlantic) and Nature of Their Mantle Sources

This study presents the results of petrographic, geochemical, and isotope geochronological analyses of rock samples from the Southern flank of the Vema transform fault (Atlantic), which were dredged on cruises 19-th and 22-nd of the R/V Akademik Nikolai Strakhov. The sample suite includes both fresh and metamorphosed gabbros, dolerites, serpentinites, metapyroxenites. Zircons separated from three gabbro samples recovered at three different stations were used for in situ U–Pb dating by LA-ICP-MS. The ages reveal a strong linear relationship with a distance from the axis of the Mid-Atlantic ridge, which allowed us to estimate the rate of spreading in this segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It can be concluded that the estimated spreading rate of 16.2 ± 0.8 mm/yr was constant over the past 15 Myr. The mutual consistency of all U-Pb zircon and ³⁹Ar–⁴⁰Ar amphibole ages (Cipriani et al., 2009) obtained from the sampled transect suggests the temporal continuity of magmatic events that led to the formation of the original gabbroic rocks and their transformation during subsequent metamorphism. Rb—Sr isotope data show that hydrothermal activity took place in the presence of seawater between 14.7 and 9 Ma in the spreading axis region. Variations in the Nd isotopic composition in the time sequence of magmatic events indicate a high degree of chemical and isotopic heterogeneity of the ascending mantle material which became later entrained in the melting region beneath a spreading zone. Melting of the sources with primitive mantle composition (ε_Nd ~ + 8 to +9) as well as enriched sources took place in the time interval between ~ 17 and 14.7 Ma and at about 8 Ma. The enriched source material is most likely represented by ancient mafic substratum.     

Rb–Sr and <Superscript>147</Superscript>Sm–<Superscript>143</Superscript>Nd systematics of gabbro and dolerites from fragments of ophiolite complexes of the Middle Urals

The Rb–Sr and ¹⁴⁷Sm–¹⁴³Nd age data obtained for sheeted dolerite dykes and rocks of the Platinum Belt of the Urals within the Tagil segment of the paleoceanic spreading structure (Middle Urals) are discussed. The study of the Rb–Sr isotope systematics of gabbro allowed us to reveal errochronous dependencies, which yielded ages of 415 and 345 Ma at (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)₀ = 0.70385 ± 0.00068 and 0.7029 ± 0.0010, correspondingly. The ¹⁴⁷Sm–¹⁴³Nd isotope age data demonstrate a specific coincidence of the chronometric ages of the sheeted dolerite dyke complex (426 ± 54, 426 ± 34, and 424 ± 19 Ma) and gabbro from the Revda gabbro–ultramafic massif (431 ± 27 Ma) and from screens between dolerite dykes in the sheeted dyke complex (427 ± 32 Ma, 429 ± 26 Ma). The proximity of the ¹⁴⁷Sm–¹⁴³Nd ages of gabbro and dolerite can be explained by the thermal effect of the basaltic melt, which is the protolith for the dyke complex, on the hosting gabbro.     

The Sr,Nd, and Hf isotopic geochemistry of rocks of the gabbro–diorite–tonalite association from the Eastern Segment of the Middle Urals as an indicator of the age of the continental crust in this area

According to isotopic analysis of rocks of the Reft gabbro–diorite–tonalite complex (Middle Urals), gabbro and related diorite and dikes and vein-shaped bodies of plagiogranitoids, crosscutting gabbro, are similar to the depleted mantle substance in ε_Nd(T) = 8.6–9.7 and ε_Hf(T) = 15.9–17.9. Their model Hf ages are correlated with the time of crystallization. Here, the tonalites and quartz diorites constituting most of the Reft massif are characterized by lower values: ε_Nd(T) = 3.7–6.0, ε_Hf(T) = 11.1–12.7, and T _DM values significantly exceeding the age datings. This is evidence that Neoproterozoic crustal rocks were a source of parental magma for these rocks. The primary ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio in rocks of both groups is highly variable (0.70348–0.70495). The data obtained allow us to reach the conclusion that the Reft gabbro–diorite–tonalite complex was formed as a result of nearly synchronous processes occurring in the crust and the mantle within a limited area.     

Geochronology of the Dong Tso Ophiolite and the Tectonic Environment

The wedge shaped Dong Tso ophiolitic block is distributed near the transition point from the western to the middle sub-belt of the Bangong-Nujiang suture zone.The ophiolite is characterized by well-developed cumulate rocks that are mainly composed of cumulate and massive gabbros.In the cumulate gabbros,the adcumulate amphiboles are distributed extensively around the plagioclase and residual pyroxene grains; hence,the rocks are named adcumulate amphibole-gabbro.In this study,the formation age of the ophiolite has been estimated to be 166 ± 4 million years （Ma） by the sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe （SHRIMP） Ⅱ U-Pb isotopic analysis of the zircons from the adcumulate amphibole-gabbro; the 40Ar/39Ar plateau age was estimated to be 148.19 ± 1.53 Ma,which should represent the emplacement time of the ophiolite,by isotopic dating of the pure amphibole mineral from the amphibole-schist.Two different suits of volcanic lavas have been recognized in this work.The purple colored pillow basalts have high TiO2 and P2O5 contents,and are rich in light rare earth elements （LREEs）,large-ion lithospheric elements （LILEs） and high-field-strength elements （HFSEs）,the characteristics that are the typical of the oceanic island basalt （OIB）.On the other hand,other massive basaltic andesites of celadon color are poor in MgO; rich in Fe2O3,LREEs,LILEs,and HFSEs; and especially characterized by negative Nb and Ta anomalies,the properties that establish the andesites as continental arc volcanic rocks.It is concluded that hotspots had developed in the old Dong Tso basin,the oceanic basin that had been developing from middle Jurassic （166 Ma） or even before and emplaced northward in late Jurassic （about 148 Ma）.     

Timing of gold mineralisation in the Ballarat goldfields,central Victoria: Constraints from 40Ar/39Ar results

⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data for muscovite separates and hydrothermally altered whole‐rock samples from the Ballarat West and the Ballarat East goldfields indicate that mesothermal gold mineralisation at Ballarat occurred during several episodic pulses, ranging in age from the Late Ordovician to the Early Devonian. Initial formation of auriferous structures in the Ballarat goldfields coincided with folding and thrusting associated with the development of the western Lachlan Fold Belt between 460 and 440 Ma. Subsequent fault reactivation and magmatism resulted in remobilisation and additional mineralisation between 410 and 380 Ma, and around 370 Ma. The results presented herein are in agreement with findings for other major gold deposits in central Victoria and further constrain the history of deformation, metamorphism and mineralisation in the western subprovince of the Lachlan Fold Belt.     

Investigations of an intrusive contact,northwest Nelson,New Zealand—I. Thermal,chronological and isotopic constraints

In the Nelson area of New Zealand, intrusion of the Separation Point Batholith 114 Ma ago caused thermal metamorphism in the adjacent Devonian Rameka Gabbro that allowed radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar to diffuse partially out of hornblendes in the gabbro.Comparison of mineral ages in the batholith (obtained by the K-Ar, ${}^{40}\text{Ar}{}^{39}\text{Ar}$, Rb-Sr, U-Pb and fission track methods) with closure temperature estimates for the various isotopic systems has allowed thermal histories of several samples to be resolved. These curves indicate that, following emplacement, the batholith cooled at an exponentially decreasing rate reaching 100°C by about 75 Ma ago.Oxygen isotope measurements on minerals from the gabbro and granodiorite give calculated equilibrium water compositions of +7 and +9 of δ¹⁸O_SMOW respectively. Measured porosities from samples of the gabbro yield a model permeability of 3 × 10^?17 m¹². These results confirm that heat transfer from the batholith to the gabbro was predominantly by conduction. A numerical heat flow model has been developed for the region, and shows that samples in the gabbro near the contact reached ~600°C. whereas 5 km away from the contact, the samples were only raised ~ 50°C above the ambient temperature.Excess ⁴⁰Ar was identified as causing a significant scatter in the K-Ar ages of hornblendes from the gabbro. Though obscured by this effect, these data suggest a crystallization age of the Rameka Gabbro of 367 Ma, which is consistent with geological evidence.     

Petrogenesis of the Nesryin gabbroic intrusion in SW Sinai, Egypt: new contributions from mineralogy, geochemistry, Nd and Sr isotopes

The Wadi Nesryin gabbroic intrusion is part of the Neoproterozoic Pan-African basement cropping out in southern Western Sinai of Egypt. The intrusion comprises hornblende gabbro, pyroxene–hornblende gabbro, diorite and appinitic varieties. It exhibits chilled margins against the older rocks represented by fine-grained gabbro and dolerite and belongs to what is known throughout Egypt as the “younger gabbro suite”. Mineralogy, mineral chemistry and whole rock geochemistry indicate that these rocks were derived from tholeiitic magmas with minor calc-alkaline affinity. They have chemical signatures of subduction related arc rocks formed at an active convergent plate margin. They were formed by 15–30% of partial melting of a garnet lherzolite and to a minor extent of spinel-garnet lherzolite sources, modified by fluids related to a subducting slab. Pressure estimates using the amphibole geobarometer indicate that the gabbroic rocks crystallized at pressures between 2.8 and 5.6 kbar (average?=?4.3 kbar). Diorites record lower formation pressures between 1.8 and 3.7 kbar (average?=?3.0 kbar). The temperature estimates calculated by several geothermometers yielded crystallization temperatures ranging from 674°C to 961°C, with an average of about 817°C. The whole rock Rb–Sr isochron age of the Nesryin gabbroic intrusion is 617?±?19 Ma with initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr?=?0.70322?±?0.00004. This age indicates that the mafic–ultramafic plutons in the Pan-African belt in southern Sinai belong to the Egyptian younger gabbros and not to the older metagabbro–diorite complexes or ophiolitic suites. The rocks have low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr initial ratios ranging from 0.703141 to 0.703338 and negative ? Sr ranging from ?6.34 to ?9.14. The initial ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios range from 0.511944 to 0.512145 with positive and high ? Nd values (1.93 to 5.86) reflecting a mantle contribution in their petrogenesis.     

Isotope geochronological study of Late Palaeozoic granitic rocks in the Nanling Region,South China

Fourty-four isotopic ages have been determined by K-Ar and U-Th-Pb methods for Late Palaeozoic granitic rocks in the Nanling Region, South China. All dating values vary within the range of 231–348 m.y. From the obtained dates, further evidence has been found that there do exist Late Palaeozoic granitic rocks, which can be subdivided into Late Devonian and Permian granitic rocks. Within a Late Devonian terrain, there is a granitic pluton, namely granodiorite with a zircon U-Th-Pb age of 348 m.y., while ten granitic plutons have been recognized within a Permian terrain where granites are predominant, yielding biotite K-Ar ages of 236–289 m.y. (λ _β =4.72×10^?10yr.^?1,λ _K=5.57×10^?11yr.^?1) and zircon U-Th-Pb ages ranging from 231 to 280 m.y., respectively. It is obvious from the dates that intrusive activity of granitic magma extensively took place in the Nanling Region during Late Palaeozoic, although no records of orogenie movements have been found, indicating that the faults are the main factor controlling the activity of granitic magma, whereas the orogenic movements are not the only prerequisite for the formation of granitic magma and the intrusive activity.     

Dampier Ridge,Tasman Sea,as a stranded continental fragment∗

Dredging of the Dampier Ridge recovered small fragments of granite, gabbro and sandstone. Dating of the igneous samples by the U‐Pb, K‐Ar and Rb‐Sr methods yielded precise ages mainly in the range 250 to 270 Ma, mid‐Permian. An imprecise Sm‐Nd mineral age of ～ 310 Ma might reflect slightly earlier emplacement of the gabbro. A granitic fragment has a composition approximating that of a minimum melt. Taken together with the Late Palaeozoic emplacement ages and other geochemical and geophysical data, the evidence strongly supports the conclusion that the Dampier Ridge is a continental fragment, formerly part of eastern Australia, with its present location a consequence of continental rifting and opening of the Tasman Basin by sea‐floor spreading.     

Early Paleozoic Magmatism and Gold Mineralization in the Northern Aitun, NW China

Abstract This paper discusses the relationships between granitic magmatism and gold mineralization and the exhumation history of the Dapinggou gold deposit in northern Altun, NW China based on the geochronological data, including zircon U‐Pb ages, Rb‐Sr isochron age and ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar dating and MDD modeling data. The main granitic magmatism age in this area is attained from the ID TIMS U‐Pb geochronology of zircons from the Kuoshibulak granite, the biggest granite in the northern Altun area, which gives a concordant age of 443±5 Ma in the Late Ordovician. Zircon ID TIMS U‐Pb geochronology of the West Dapinggou biotite granite west of the Dapinggou gold deposit gives concordant ages around 485±10 Ma, representing the early stage of Ordovician magmatism. The Rb‐Sr isochron age (487±21 Ma) of 6 quartz inclusion samples from quartz veins in this gold deposit is very close to that of the West Dapinggou granite. MDD modeling of step heating ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar data of K‐feldspar from the same West Dapinggou biotite granite gives a rapid cooling history from 300°C to 150°C during 200–185 Ma. According to the age data and the geological setting of this area, we conclude that the Dapinggou gold deposit was formed at the early stage of the Early Paleozoic granitic magmatism in northern Altun, and exhumed in the Early Jurassic due to the normal faulting of the Lapeiquan detachment. The Early Paleozoic magmatism may provide heat source and produce geological fluids, which are very important for gold mineralization. Exhumation in the Mesozoic caused the uplift of the deposit towards the ground surface.     

Timing of mineralization and deformation,Peak Au mine,Cobar, New South Wales∗

The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of alteration muscovite from the Peak Au mine in the Early Devonian Cobar Basin, New South Wales, has distinguished two major episodes of mineralization. Veined (Pb‐Zn‐Cu‐Au) mineralization was broadly synchronous with cleavage formation during the post‐inversion, shortening deformation of the basin sedimentary rocks, and replacive Ag‐Pb‐Zn mineralization significantly postdates the latter event. Veined base metals (Pb‐Zn‐Cu) and Au associated with silicification were coeval with three stages of cleavage formation (D₁, D₂ and D₃) after basin inversion. The Cu‐Au phase of mineralization at the Peak Au mine which was broadly contemporaneous with the culmination of the cleavage‐forming events (D₃) and with the local development of high‐strain zones occurred at 401.5 ± 1.0 Ma (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar on muscovite). This date is essentially coeval with known fossil constraints on the age of basin formation, and indicates that basin inversion and deformation rapidly followed sedimentation. In contrast, replacive Ag‐Pb‐Zn mineralization occurred at 384.0 ± 1.4 Ma (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar on muscovite) during an extended period of relaxation characterized by normal faulting (D₄) which followed the shortening deformation. This mineralization was associated with desilicification and chlorite‐muscovite replacement assemblages which cross‐cut the cleavages, and which may have been broadly contemporaneous with the deposition of part of the Mulga Downs Group which unconformably overlies the Cobar Supergroup. Rhyolite exposed in the core of the Peak Au mine largely contains inherited zircons that range in age from ～430–1500 Ma. A few euhedral zircons have an age of ～430 Ma and this is interpreted as a maximum date for the rock. Zircons from a syn‐D₃ chlorite‐muscovite replacement zone within the deposit have ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of ～410–650 Ma and are apparently inherited.     

Genesis and Age Constraints on Gold Deposits of the Daerae Mine, Sangju Area, Central-Northern Sobaegsan Massif, Korea

Abstract: Gold mineralization of the Daerae mine represents the first recognized example of the Jurassic gold mineralization in the Sangju area, Korea. It occurs as a single stage of quartz veins that fill fault fractures in Precambrian gneiss of the central‐northern Sobaegsan Massif. The mineralogical characteristics of quartz veins, such as the simple mineralogy and relatively gold‐rich (65–72 atomic % Au) nature of electrum, as well as the CO₂–rich and low salinity nature of fluid inclusions, are consistent with the ‘mesothermal‐type’ gold deposits previously recognized in the Youngdong area (about 50 km southwest of the Sangju area). Ore fluids were evolved mainly through CO₂ immiscibility at temperatures between about 250 and 325 C. Vein sulfides characteristically have negative sulfur isotopic values (–1.9 to +0.2 %), which have been very rarely reported in South Korea, and possibly indicate the derivation of sulfur from an ilmenite‐series granite melt. The calculated O and H isotopic compositions of hydrothermal fluids at Daerae (δ¹⁸O_water = +5.2 to +5.9 %; δD_water = –59 to –67 %) are very similar to those from the Youngdong area, and indicate the important role of magmatic water in gold mineralization. The ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar age dating of a pure alteration sericite sample yields a high‐temperature plateau age of 188.3 0.1 Ma, indicating an early Jurassic age for the gold mineralization at Daerae. The lower temperature Ar‐Ar plateau defines an age of 158.4 2.0 Ma (middle Jurassic), interpreted as reset by a subsequent thermal effect after quartz vein formation. The younger plateau age is the same as the previously reported K‐Ar ages (145–171 Ma) for the other ‘mesothermal–type’ gold deposits in the Youngdong and Jungwon areas, Korea, which are too young in view of the new Jurassic Ar‐Ar plateau age (around 188 Ma).     

Constraints on retrograde metamorphism of UHP eclogites in North Qinling,Central China,from 40Ar/39Ar dating of amphibole and phengite

Coesite- and microdiamond- bearing ultra-high pressure (UHP) eclogites in the North Qinling terrane have been widely retrogressed to amphibolites. Previous geochronological studies on these UHP rocks mainly focused on the timing of peak eclogite facies metamorphism. The Kanfenggou UHP metamorphic domain is one of the best-preserved coesite-bearing eclogite occurrences in the North Qinling terrane. In this study, mafic amphibolites and host schists from this domain were collected for ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating to constrain their retrograde evolution. Two generations of amphibole are recognized based on their mineral parageneses and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages. A first generation of amphibole from garnet amphibolites yielded irregularly-shaped age spectra with anomalously old apparent ages. Isochron ages of 484–473 Ma and initial ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratios of 3695–774 are obtained from this generation of amphibole, indicating incorporation of excess argon. Second generation amphibole occurs in epidote amphibolites yielded flat age spectra with plateau ages of 464–462 Ma without evidence for excess argon. These ages suggest that the amphibolite-facies metamorphism has taken place as early as 484 Ma and lasted until 462 Ma for the North Qinling UHP metamorphic rocks. Phengite from the country-rock schists yielded ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of 426–396 Ma, with higher phengite Si contents associated with the older the plateau ages. Based on our new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages and previous zircon UPb geochronological data, we construct a new detailed pressure-temperature-time (P-T-t) path illustrating the retrograde metamorphism and exhumation rate of the North Qinling eclogites and host schists. The P-T-t path suggests that these UHP metamorphic rocks experienced initial medium-to-high exhumation rates (ca. 8.7 mm/yr) during the Early Ordovician (489–484 Ma), which was mainly derived from buoyancy forces. Subsequently, the exhumation rate decreased gradually from ~0.8 to 0.3 mm/yr from 484 to 426 Ma, which was probably governed by extension and/or erosion.