Sm-Nd and zircon SHRIMP U-Pb dating of Huilanshan mafic granulite in the Dabie Mountains and its zircon trace element geochemistry

The mafic granulites from Huilanshan are outcropped on the center of the Luotian dome in the northern Dabie Mountains. The Sm-Nd isochron defined by granulite-facies metamorphic minerals (garnet+clinopyroxene+hypersthene) yields an age of 136 ± 18 Ma indicating the early Cretaceous granulite-facies metamorphism. The cathodoluminescence (CL) images of zircons from the granulite show clearly core-mantle-rim structures. The zircon cores are characterized by typical oscillatory zoning and highly HREE enriched patterns, which suggests their magma origin. Some zircon cores among them with little Pb loss give SHRIMP U-Pb ages ranging from 753 to 780 Ma, which suggests that the protolith of Huilanshan granulite is Neoproterozoic mafic rocks. The zircon mantles usually cut across the oscillatory zone of the zircon cores have 3-10 times lower REE, Th, U, Y, Nb and Ta contents than the igneous zircon cores but have high common Pb contents. These characteristics suggest that they were formed by hydrothermal alteration of the igneous zircons. The part of zircon mantles with little Pb loss give a similar SHRIMP U-Pb age (716-780 Ma) to the igneous zircon cores, which implies that the hydrothermal events occurred closely to the magmatic emplacement. In view of the strong early Cretaceous magmatism in the Luotian dome, consequently, the Huilanshan mafic granulite was formed by heating of the Neoproterozoic mafic rocks in mid-low crust, which caused the granulite-facies metamorphism underneath the Dabie Mountains. The similarity between the granulite metamorphic age (136±18 Ma) defined by Sm-Nd isochron and K-Ar age of 123-127 Ma given by amphible from the gneiss in Luotian dome suggests a rapid uplifting of the Luotian dome, which may result in further exhumation of the ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks in the Dabie Mountains.