Age and Tectonic Significance of the Mafic Dyke Swarm in the Kuruktag Region, Xinjiang

The mafic dykes are composed of a series of northwest-trending diabase in Kuokesu of the Kuruktag region, Xinjiang. Four whole-rock samples of the mafic dykes in the region give an 40Ar / 36Ar-40K/ 36Ar isochron age of 282 Ma with the initial 40Ar/ 36Ar = 507. The characteristics of the major, trace and rare earth elements of the dyke rocks indicate that they belong to the calc-alkaline series and were emplaced in extensional structures at an intermediate depth of the crust. This shows that there was a large-scale extension in the Permian Period, which might be associated with the post-collisional extension of the ancient Tianshan Mountains.