Wei Terry Chen

Zircon U–Pb age and Hf isotope evidence for an Eoarchaean crustal remnant and episodic crustal reworking in response to supercontinent cycles in NW India

Scattered TDM2 (3.8–3.2 Ga) for 3.28–2.99 Ga zircons from the Proterozoic Delhi Supergroup in northwestern India provide evidence for generation of juvenile crust and reworking of older crust. Depleted mantle-like εHf(t) values (+7.2 to +5.6) for 2.86–2.71 Ga zircons indicate that generation of juvenile crust occurred during this period and ceased at 2.71 Ga. Extensive magmatism at 2.66–2.34, 2.11–2.01 and 1.60–1.37 Ga was dominated by reworking of pre-existing crust with variable ages, and the last two periods were accompanied by formation of juvenile crust. An Eoarchaean age of 3671 ± 15 Ma represents the oldest age found in NW India. Zircons formed during supercontinent assembly have positive to negative εHf(t) values, suggesting involvement of juvenile and ancient crust, whereas largely positive εHf(t) values for zircons crystallized subsequent to supercontinent amalgamation suggest involvement of predominantly juvenile crust. Correlation of detrital age patterns and tectonomagmatic events indicates a conjugate position for northern Indian and the Cathaysia Block of South China during the assembly of Nuna. The South China Block remained juxtaposed to India until its separation from Pangaea in the late Palaeozoic. Supplementary material: Supplementary data, including detailed metadata related to laboratory and sample preparation methods, U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotopic compositions of the analyzed samples and standards are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3711847

Growth of hydrothermal baddeleyite and zircon in different stages of skarnization

Abstract Both prograde and retrograde skarns from the Tengtie iron deposit, South China, contain rounded, euhedral, and anhedral zircon grains. Rounded grains were originally derived from detritus in carbonate rocks and were incorporated into the skarns. Euhedral and anhedral crystals are intergrown with various skarn minerals and are clearly hydrothermal in origin. These hydrothermal grains have low (Sm/La)N ratios and high La contents relative to typical magmatic ones and display fat LREE and subdued fattening of HREE chondrite-normalized patterns, similar to those of zircon crystallized from Zr-saturated fluids. Prograde skarns also contain baddeleyite rimed by zircon, which record a period of low Si activity during prograde skarnization relative to original magmatic-hydrothermal fluids. Hydrothermal zircon grains from Tengtie have variable Eu anomalies and slightly positive Ce anomalies, indicating that they may have crystallized from highly heterogeneous, but generally reducing fluids. They have low δ18O values (–5.1 to –2.7 ‰), suggesting the involvement of meteoric fluids. Fluorine-rich fluids played an important role in remobilizing and transporting some high field strength elements (HFSE), including Zr, from the host granites into the skarn system. Reaction between HFSE-bearing fluids and carbonate rocks at the prograde stage decomposed F complexes to deposit HFSE-rich skarn minerals and baddeleyite. At the retrograde stage, alteration of the HFSE-rich skarn minerals released HFSE, including Zr and Sn, consequently producing a mineral assemblage of zircon, cassiterite, and retrograde skarn minerals. Dating results of zircons from the Tengtie skarn system by SIMS indicates roughly less than several million years duration for skarnization. Our study indicates that Zr was not only mobile locally under favorable conditions, but was also readily transported and deposited in different stages of skarnization.

Hydrothermal alteration of magmatic zircon related to NaCl-rich brines: Diffusion-reaction and dissolution-reprecipitation processes

Magmatic zircon from altered gabbros adjacent to the ∼1.07 Ga Lala Fe-Cu deposit, SW China was modified by NaCl-rich brines related to the Fe-Cu mineralization. The modified zircon grains are composed mostly of both inclusion-free and porous domains, and some grains also have overgrowth/rims. The inclusion-free domains, commonly overgrown by the porous domains, are roughly homogeneous under BSE imaging but display oscillatory or sector zoning under CL imaging. In contrast, the porous domains are distinctly mosaic-like under CL imaging, and contain abundant pores and mineral inclusions such as thorite, xenotime, REE-rich phases, actinolite, albite, biotite and calcite. The inclusion-free domains have concentrations of “non-formula” elements (for example Al, Ca, and Fe) much higher than the magmatic zircon, and are thus interpreted to be products of interaction between magmatic zircon (possibly metamictized) and the fluids via a diffusion-reaction process. However, these resultant domains have retained the Th and U contents, REE patterns, U-Pb ages and Hf isotopes of the precursor, magmatic zircon. On the other hand, the porous domains have stoichiometric end-member compositions (that is lowered Th, U, REE, Y, and P), and given that they are porous and inclusion-rich, we proposed that they have formed from the precursor, element-rich inclusion-free domains or magmatic zircon via a fluid-induced dissolution-reprecipitation process. It is notable that the porous domains retained the 177Hf/176Hf ratios of the precursors, but possess modified and meaningless U-Pb ages. Instead, a meaningful U-Pb age (1006 ± 62 Ma), similar to the timing of the Lala deposit, is well recorded by the overgrowth/rims with distinctly high LREEs (La = 50–700 ppm) and elevated Hf isotopic ratios. Our new results reveal that in the presence of the NaCl-rich brines, the nature of the precursor, magmatic zircon (that is high element budgets and/or metamictization) plays a key role on hydrothermal alteration of zircon.