A. A. Tretyakov

Cambrian to Lower Ordovician complexes of the Kokchetav Massif and its fringing (Northern Kazakhstan): Structure, age, and tectonic settings

A comprehensive study of the Lower Palaeozoic complexes of the Kokchetav Massif and its fringing has been carried out. It has allowed for the first time to discover and investigate in detail the stratified and intrusive complexes of the Cambrian–Early Ordovician. Fossil findings and isotope geochronology permitted the determination of their ages. The tectonic position and internal structures of those complexes have also been defined and their chemical features have been analyzed as well. The obtained data allowed us to put forward a model of the geodynamic evolution of Northern Kazakhstan in the Late Ediacaran–Earliest Ordovician. The accumulation of the oldest Ediacaran to Earliest Cambrian siliciclastics and carbonates confined to the Kokchetav Massif and its fringing occurred in a shallow shelf environment prior to its collision with the Neoproterozoic Daut island arc: complexes of the latter have been found in the northeast of the studied area. The Early Cambrian subduction of the Kokchetav Massif under the Daut island arc, their following collision and exhumation of HP complexes led to the formation of rugged ground topography, promoting deposition of siliceous–clastic and coarse clastic units during the Middle to early Late Cambrian. Those sediments were mainly sourced from eroded metamorphic complexes of the Kokchetav Massif basement. At the end of the Late Cambrian to the Early Ordovician within the boundaries of the massif with the Precambrian crust, volcanogenic and volcano-sedimentary units along with gabbros and granites with intraplate affinities were formed. Simultaneously in the surrounding zones, which represent relics of basins with oceanic crust, N-MORB- and E-MORB-type ophiolites were developed. These complexes originated under extensional settings occurred in the majority of the Caledonides of Kazakhstan and Northern Tian Shan. In the Early Floian Stage (Early Ordovician) older heterogeneous complexes were overlain by relatively monotonous siliceous–clastic units, that were being deposited until the Middle Darrivilian Stage (Middle Ordovician).

The formation processes and isotopic structure of continental crust of the Chingiz Range Caledonides (Eastern Kazakhstan)

According to this paper, the juvenile crust of the Chingiz Range Caledonides (Eastern Kazakhstan) was formed due to suprasubduction magmatism within the Early Paleozoic island arcs developed on the oceanic crust during the Cambrian–Early Ordovician and on the transitional crust during the Middle–Late Ordovician, as well as to the attachment to the arcs of accretionary complexes composed of various oceanic structures. Nd isotopic compositions of the rocks in all island-arc complexes are very similar and primitive (εNd(t) from +4.0 to +7.0) and point to a short crustal prehistory. Further increase in the mass and thickness of the crust of the Chingiz Range Caledonides was mainly due to reworking of island-arc complexes in the basement of the Middle and Late Paleozoic volcanoplutonic belts expressed by the emplacement of abundant granitoids. All Middle and Late Paleozoic granitoids have high positive values of εNd(t) (at least +4), which are slightly different from Nd isotopic compositions of the rocks in the Lower Paleozoic island-arc complexes. Granitoids are characterized by uniform Nd isotopic compositions (<2–3 ε units for granites with a similar age), and thus we can consider the Chingiz Range as the region of the Caledonian isotope province with an isotopically uniform structure of the continental crust.

The late Tonian Zhaunkar granite complex of the Ulutau sialic massif, Central Kazakhstan

The crystallization age of Zhaunkar granites (829 ± 10 Ma) was determined by U–Pb zircon dating. Taking into account the data obtained earlier on the granite age (791 ± 7 Ma) in the Aktas Complex and the syenite age (673 ± 2 Ma) in the Karsakpai Complex, the Ulutau sialic massif is assumed to be composed of three igneous complexes formed during the Tonian–Cryogenian periods of the Neoproterozoic.

Sources of Mesoproterozoic igneous rocks and formation time of the continental crust of the Kokchetav Massif (Northern Kazakhstan)

Within the Kokchetav massif (Northern Kazakhstan), Mesoproterozoic granites and acid volcanics are widespread: these are the youngest Precambrian igneous rocks forming basement of the region. The Nd isotopic characteristics (εNd(t)–4.4 ÷–9.6, tNd(DM) 2.1–2.6 Ga) obtained for these rocks indicate that the source of their melts was the Early Precambrian continental crust. Thus, the continental crust of the Kokchetav Massif had basically been formed by the beginning of the Mesoproterozoic and during the Late Precambrian: later it became a source for the granitoid melts.

Late Carboniferous Monzonite–Granosyenite Magmatism in the Northern Balkhash Region (Central Kazakhstan)

U–Pb dating of the Torangalyk Complex (Northern Balkhash) yielded a Late Carboniferous age of 305 ± 2 Ma. Taking into account the previous data, a new scheme for Late Paleozoic granitic magmatism in this region has been proposed. It includes the Early Carboniferous granite–granodiorite Balkhash Complex, Late Carboniferous monzonite–granosyenite Kokdombak and Torangalyk complexes, and the Late Carboniferous–Early Permian granite–leucogranite Akchatau Complex.

First Results of Study of Detrital Zircons from Late Precambrian Quartzite–Schist Sequences of the Aktau–Mointy Block, Central Kazakhstan

For the first time, the U–Pb age is determined for detrital zircons of quartzite–schist sequences, which are part of the Precambrian basement of the Aktau–Mointy Block (Central Kazakhstan) along with Neoproterozoic felsic volcanic (925–920 Ma) and granitic (945–917 Ma) rocks [6]. We analyzed 219 zircon grains from small-grained quartzites of the northern part of the block (Mt. Bol’shoi Alabas) including 206 grains with concordant age (1149–1273, 1276–1975, 2354–2592 Ma). These ages indicate the Mesoproterozoic, Paleoproterozoic, and Neoarchean rocks as provenances. The youngest statistically significant age peak of 1209 Ma indicates that the quartzite–schist sequences accumulated 1200–900 Ma ago (at the end of the Mesoproterozoic and beginning of the Neoproterozoic) prior to the formation of the Early Neoproterozoic felsic rocks and granites.

The Early Cambrian age of intraplate mafic–ultramafic plutons of the Ulutau sialic Massif (Central Kazakhstan)

U–Pb dating of tonalite of the Shaytantas Pluton located within the Ulutau sialic Massif (Central Kazakhstan) has been carried out. Their crystallization age of 521 ± 2 Ma corresponds to the Early Cambrian (boundary of Stages 2 and 3). The obtained geochronological data allow us to identify the Early Cambrian stage of the intraplate magmatic activity in the history of formation of the sialic massifs in the western part of the Central Asian fold belt.

The first find of spinel peridotite in the Southern Kazakhstan: Structure, composition, and parameters of high-pressure metamorphism

Spinel peridotite, metamorphosed in high-pressure conditions, was first described within the Western part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. The spinel peridotite has the characteristics of Mg–Cr ultramafites indicating the mantle origin of its protolith. The preliminary estimation of the metamorphism peak for the model system MgO–Al2O3—SiO2–Cr2O3 (MASCr) is 10–19 kbar at 680–800°C.

Polychronous formation of the ophiolite association in the Tekturmas zone of Central Kazakhstan inferred from geochronological and biostratigraphic data

Plagiogranites and conodonts from chert intercalations in basalts of the ophiolite association in the Tekturmas zone of Central Kazakhstan were subjected to the U‒Pb geochronological and stratigraphic investigations, respectively. The age of plagiogranite crystallization is estimated to be 489 ± 8 Ma corresponding to the stratigraphic interval spanning from the uppermost Upper Cambrian to the lower Tremadocian. Conodonts from cherts of the Kuzek Formation are distributed along the section interval from the uppermost part of the Darriwilian (Middle Ordovician) to the lower part of the Sandbian (Upper Ordovician), which corresponds to the period of 457‒460 Ma. It is revealed that the formation of the ophiolite section in the Tekturmas zone was a multistage process lasting from the Late Cambrian to the initial Late Ordovician.