Search

We present zircon U–Pb dating, whole-rock geochemistry, and Sr–Nd isotope results for the Upper Permian–Upper Triassic volcanic rocks to constrain the timing of the final closure of the eastern segment of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean. The volcanic rocks were mainly collected from the Yanbian area in eastern Jilin Province, northeastern China. The zircon U–Pb dating results indicate that the samples can be classified as Upper Permian–Lower Triassic basalts (ca. 262–244 Ma) and Upper Triassic dacites (ca. 216 Ma). The whole-rock geochemical results indicate that the rocks predominately belong to the medium-K and high-K calc-alkaline series. The basalts are enriched in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs, e.g. Ba and K) and depleted in high field strength elements (HFSEs, e.g. Nb and Ta), with weak positive Eu anomalies. The dacites are enriched in LILEs (e.g. Rb, Ba, Th, and K) and light rare earth elements (LREEs) and marked depletion in some HFSEs (e.g. Nb, Ta, and Ti), with significant negative Sr, P, and Eu anomalies. Moreover, the Upper Permian–Lower Triassic basalts have low initial87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7037–0.7048) and highεNdvalues (4.4–5.4). In contrast, the Upper Triassic dacites possess relatively high initial87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7052) compared with their lowεNdvalues (1.4). The basaltic magma likely originated from the partial melting of a depleted mantle wedge metasomatized by subduction-related fluids, and the felsic magmas likely originated from the partial melting of a dominantly juvenile source with a minor component of ancient crust. Taken together, the Upper Permian–Lower Triassic basalts (ca. 262–244 Ma) are arc basalts that formed in an active continental margin setting, and the Upper Triassic dacites (ca. 216 Ma) are A-type granitic rocks that formed in an extensional setting. Therefore, the final closure of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean occurred during the Middle–Late Triassic. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Central Jilin Province lies along the eastern edge of the Xing–Meng orogenic belt of northeast China. At least 10 Mo deposits have been discovered in this area, making it the second-richest concentration of Mo resources in China. To better understand the formation and distribution of porphyry Mo deposits in the area, we investigated the geological characteristics of the deposits and applied zircon U–Pb and molybdenite Re–Os isotope dating to constrain the age of mineralization. Our new geochronological data show the following: the Jidetun Mo deposit yields molybdenite Re–Os model ages of 164.6–167.1 Ma, an isochron age of 168 ± 2.5 Ma, and a weighted mean model age of 165.9 ± 1.2 Ma; the Houdaomu Mo deposit yields molybdenite Re–Os model ages of 167.4–167.7 Ma, an isochron age of 168 ± 13 Ma, and a weighted mean model age of 167.5 ± 1.2 Ma; and the Chang’anpu Mo deposit yields a zircon U–Pb age for granodiorite porphyry of 166.9 ± 1.5 Ma (N = 16). These new age data, combined with existing molybdenite Re–Os dates, show that intense porphyry Mo mineralization was coeval with magmatism during the Middle Jurassic (167.8 ± 0.4 Ma,r> 0.999). The geotectonic mechanisms responsible for Mo mineralization were probably related to subduction of the Palaeo-Pacific plate beneath the Eurasian continent. Combining published molybdenite Re–Os and zircon U–Pb ages for northeast China, the Mo deposits are shown to have been formed during multiple events coinciding with periods of magmatic activity. We identified three phases of mineralization, two of which had several stages: the Caledonian (485–480 Ma); the Indosinian comprising the Early–Middle Triassic (248–236 Ma) and Late Triassic (226–208 Ma) stages; and the Yanshanian phase comprising the Early–Middle Jurassic (202–165 Ma), Late Jurassic–early Early Cretaceous (154–129 Ma), and Early Cretaceous (114–111 Ma) stages. Although Mo deposits formed during each phase/stage, most of the mineralization occurred during the Early–Middle Jurassic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]