Triassic ore-bearing and barren porphyries in the Zhongdian Arc of SW China: implications for the subduction of the Palaeo-Tethys Ocean

Abstract

The NS-treading Zhongdian Arc located in the southern part of the Yidun Arc is an important region to address the evolution and reconstruction of the Palaeo-Tethys Ocean and related mineralization. In this study, we investigate three barren intrusions in the Zhongdian Arc and present geochemical compositions, zircon U–Pb dating and Hf isotopic compositions. Zircons from the three intrusions yielded U–Pb ages of ~227.5, ~222.5, and ~230 Ma, with highly variable εHf(t) values (‒20.5 to 4.3). These quartz monzonite porphyries show typical adakitic affinity, and it is inferred that these intrusions in the Zhongdian Arc, together with those in the northern Yidun Arc, were derived from the partial melting of mantle wedge and contaminated by minor lower crustal components during the westward subduction of the Ganzi-litang Ocean, which probably resulted from the Triassic continental collision between the south China and the north China blocks. In the Yidun Arc, the Triassic ore-bearing intrusions have εHf(t) values that cluster around zero, while the barren intrusions possess negative εHf(t) values, suggesting that the mantle lithospheric components played an important role in the Triassic ore-bearing porphyries.