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Zircon U‐Pb Age and Geochemistry of the Ore‐hosting Ultramafic Complex of Zhou'an PGE‐Cu‐Ni Deposit, Henan Province, Central China
Author(s) -
Haiqing YAN,
Ruiying DING,
Zhongli TANG,
Yalei WANG,
Shuang LIU,
Jiahong MA,
Yanqiang HU,
Kena CHEN
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
acta geologica sinica ‐ english edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.444
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1755-6724
pISSN - 1000-9515
DOI - 10.1111/1755-6724.12016
Subject(s) - zircon , geochemistry , geology , ultramafic rock , craton , basalt , partial melting , olivine , magma , tectonics , paleontology , volcano
The Zhou'an PGE‐Cu‐Ni deposit was recently discovered in the Qinling orogenic belt bound by the Yangtze and the North China Cratons. It is a blind deposit thoroughly covered by the Cenozoic alluvial sediments in the Nanyang Basin. As the first large PGE‐Cu‐Ni deposit discovered in the Qinling‐Dabie‐Sulu orogenic belt, its geological and geochemical characteristic, isotope age, genesis and tectonic setting are of wide concern in both scientific studies and ore exploration. In this contribution, we report the results obtained from a pioneering study. The Zhou'an ultramafic complex is ferruginous, with m/f = 4.79–5.08, and shows the nature of tholeiite series. It is rich in light rare earth elements, Rb, Th, U, La, Sm, Zr and Hf, and poor in heavy rare earth elements, Nd and Ta, suggesting an intraplate setting. It has high 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and low 143 Nd/ 144 Nd ratios. The ratios of Zr/Nb, La/Nb, Ba/Nb, Rb/Nb, Th/Nb, Th/La and Ba/La, suggest the magma originated from lithosphere mantle. The Fo values of olivine and Pd/Ir‐Ni/Cu diagram suggest primary magma was High Mg basalt. The laser ablation inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy zircon U‐Pb age is 641.5 ± 3.7 Ma.