Palaeoproterozoic A-type magmatism in northern Wuyishan terrane, Southeast China: petrogenesis and tectonic implications

In this article we present zircon U-Pb ages, Hf isotopes, and whole-rock geochemistry of the Longzhu rhyolite porphyry from the Cathaysia Block, Southeast China to constrain its petrogenesis and provide insights into the early Precambrian tectonic evolution of the Cathaysia Block. LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating of a representative sample yields a weighted mean Pb-206/Pb-207 age of 1819 +/- 16Ma, interpreted as the crystallization age of the Longzhu rhyolite porphyry. Zircons from this sample have epsilon(Hf)(t) values ranging from - 8.4 to - 2.2 and T-DM2(Hf) model ages from 2.76 to 2.46Ga. The whole-rock Nd isotopic data from the Longzhu rhyolite porphyries yield epsilon(Nd)(t) values spanning - 6.3 to - 4.7 and T-DM2(Nd) model ages from 2.81 to 2.69Ga. The rhyolite porphyries have geochemical features similar to those of the typical A-type granites (rhyolites), with high SiO2, total alkali contents and FeOt/MgO ratios, and low CaO and MgO contents. Additionally, the rhyolite porphyries have high total rare earth element concentrations (627 similar to 760 ppm), high (La/Yb)(N) values (14.5 similar to 26.9), strongly negative Eu anomalies (Eu=0.28 similar to 0.41), and display enrichments of Rb, Ga, Th, and U and depletions of Sr, Nb, Ta, Eu, and Ti. The geochemical and Nd-Hf isotopic features suggest that the Palaeoproterozoic Longzhu rhyolite porphyries were generated by partial melting of source rocks similar to those of the Badu Complex in an intra-plate extensional setting. The results from this study, when combined with existing geochronological data, further demonstrate that the Palaeoproterozoic rocks of Wuyishan terrane probably represent a remnant of the Columbia supercontinent.