Age and origin of the Nigerian mesozoic granites: A Rb-Sr isotopic study

Sixty-four Rb-Sr and two K-Ar isotopic measurements from seven ring complexes in central Nigeria provide evidence for a systematic age trend along a 200 km zone ranging from 174±5 m.y. in the north to 154±4 m.y. in the south. A peak of anorogenic magmatism occurred in the Jos Plateau region about 164±4 m.y. ago. Although a small syenitetrachyte complex at Zaranda, near Bauchi, gives an age of 190±15 m.y., unpublished ages of 290–330 m.y. for the southern Niger ring complexes confirm the existence of an overall southerly decreasing age trend in the Niger-Nigeria province of West Africa. Isotopic measurements on two small, oversaturated syenite intrusions at Zaranda and Pankshin suggest that syenitic liquids had initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of 0.7048—not significantly different from the mantle range of values, but that related peralkaline silicic variants from the same complexes are depleted in total Sr and have higher ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr initial ratios characteristic of the earth's crust. This variation of initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in syenite-related granitic liquids of the peralkaline spectrum has also been noted at the Shere Hills, near Jos, and at Liruei, near Kano, and may be representative for all syenite-granite occurrences in the Nigerian Younger Granite province. Such isotopic variations in the initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio may be attributed to “crustal enrichment” of syenitic liquids whose source lies in the mantle. Coarse-grained, peraluminous biotite granites have consistently low initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in the range 0.706–0.709 (similar to the ca. 600 m.y. Pan-African granites of the basement), and may represent further modifications of originally syenitic liquids in the crust, or the granites may have originated from an independent source within a “dioritio” lower crust. Although the magmatic trends show small variations in the initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio, much higher initial ratios are recorded in granites which have been modified within their roof zone by deuteric (autometamorphic) and/or metasomatic processes.