Zircon U–Pb geochronology and geochemistry of the intrusions from the Sadaigoumen Mo deposit in the northern margin of the North China Craton: Implications for mineralization process and tectonic evolution.

The Sadaigoumen Mo deposit is a typical porphyry‐type deposit which is located in the northern margin of the North China Craton (NCC), China. Mineralization of the deposit mainly occurs as finely disseminated within the host granites. To get a better understanding of the ore‐forming process of the deposit and the genetic link between mineralization and host igneous rocks, we report LA‐ICP‐MS zircon U–Pb and whole‐rock major and trace elements data from the magmatic rocks which are exposed in the mining area. LA‐ICP‐MS U–Pb analyses yield weighed mean ages of 239.5 ± 0.58 Ma for alkali‐feldspar granites and 1872.8 ± 5.1 Ma for porphyritic granodiorite. The porphyritic granodiorite, which was previously considered to be part of the Hongqiyingzi Group, is redefined as Palaeoproterozoic highly fractionated I‐type granites: (1) They have high contents of SiO2 (69.57–72.21 wt.%) and Al2O3 (13.24–13.90 wt.%) and high Na2O + K2O (up to 7.1 wt.%) and FeOT/MgO values (6.7 to 7.7), and (2) significant depletion of Eu, Sr, Ba, P, and Ti elements; (3) compared with typical A‐type granites, they have lower Ga (around 20.5 ppm) and 10000 × Ga/Al values (around 2.8); the Triassic alkali‐feldspar granite samples also show highly fractionated I‐type geochemical signatures with high Na2O + K2O (8.40–8.50 wt.%), FeO*/MgO (12.67–13.49), and Ga/Al (2.58–2.81) ratios. The higher ∑REE values (>199.69 ppm) and depletions of Nb, Ta, and Ba make it different from typical A‐type granites. By comparative analysis of geochemical data, we believed that the ca. 1872.8 Ma porphyritic granodiorite formed in a tectonic environment resembling that of magmatic arc granites and the ca. 239.5 Ma alkali‐feldspar granite formed in syn‐collisional settings which is related to closure of Palaeo‐Asian Ocean. Our new data, combined with previous studies, allow us to speculate that the Triassic alkali‐feldspar granite is directly related to the Mo mineralization in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]