Age and Composition of Columbite-Tantalite Group Minerals in the Spodumene Pegmatite from the Chakabeishan Deposit, Northern Tibetan Plateau and Their Implications

Wenli Sun; Zhidan Zhao; Xuanxue Mo; Chunjing Wei; Guochen Dong; Xiaowei Li; Wanming Yuan; Tao Wang; Shuang Yang; Bingzhang Wang; Tong Pan; Jie Han; Hongliang Cao; Yan Tang; Liangliang Zhang

doi:10.3390/min13020201

Minerals (Jan 2023)

Age and Composition of Columbite-Tantalite Group Minerals in the Spodumene Pegmatite from the Chakabeishan Deposit, Northern Tibetan Plateau and Their Implications

Wenli Sun,
Zhidan Zhao,
Xuanxue Mo,
Chunjing Wei,
Guochen Dong,
Xiaowei Li,
Wanming Yuan,
Tao Wang,
Shuang Yang,
Bingzhang Wang,
Tong Pan,
Jie Han,
Hongliang Cao,
Yan Tang,
Liangliang Zhang

Affiliations

Wenli Sun: MOE Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Zhidan Zhao: State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Science and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
Xuanxue Mo: State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Science and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
Chunjing Wei: MOE Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Guochen Dong: State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Science and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
Xiaowei Li: State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Science and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
Wanming Yuan: State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Science and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
Tao Wang: Bureau of Geological Exploration and Development of Qinghai Province, Xining 810012, China
Shuang Yang: State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Science and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
Bingzhang Wang: Bureau of Geological Exploration and Development of Qinghai Province, Xining 810012, China
Tong Pan: Bureau of Geological Exploration and Development of Qinghai Province, Xining 810012, China
Jie Han: Bureau of Geological Exploration and Development of Qinghai Province, Xining 810012, China
Hongliang Cao: Bureau of Geological Exploration and Development of Qinghai Province, Xining 810012, China
Yan Tang: State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Science and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
Liangliang Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Science and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/min13020201
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 13, no. 2
p. 201

Abstract

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The Chakabeishan (CKBS) deposit is the first pegmatite-type Li-Be deposit discovered in the eastern North Qaidam Tectonic Belt (NQTB) of Tibetan Plateau. The correct understanding of its petrogenesis and the precise determination of its formation age are of great significance for further regional prospecting and the discovery of new economically valuable rare-metal deposits. Therefore, a systematic study of texture, major-element composition, and U-Pb dating of columbite-tantalite group minerals (CGMs) in the spodumene pegmatite dyke from the CKBS deposit was undertaken. Three types of CGMs were identified, including concentric oscillatory ferrocolumbite (CGMs-1), homogeneous ferrocolumbite (CGMs-2), and irregular ferrotantalite (minor manganocolumbite) with abundant early ferrocolumbite replacement remnants (CGMs-3). The zoning patterns and chemical compositions in the CGMs record the complex evolutionary history of their host pegmatite from the magmatic stage (CGMs-1, disequilibrium crystallization) to the magmatic-hydrothermal transition stage (CGMs-2, equilibrium crystallization) and then to the late metasomatic stage (CGMs-3, replacement/re-equilibrium). CGMs U-Pb dating results suggest that the spodumene pegmatite dyke (No.15) emplaced at 230.1 ± 2.6 Ma. Subsequently, it experienced fluid metasomatism at 221 ± 5.3 Ma. Based on the new age data and published geochronological data, it can be concluded that the spodumene pegmatite dykes in the CKBS deposit formed in an oceanic subduction-related setting, representing a new metallogenic event in western China. Except for the CKBS deposit, a large number of rare-metal pegmatite dykes have also been discovered in the eastern NQTB, indicating that the eastern NQTB may be an important potential rare-metal metallogenic belt that should be explored in detail and arouse painstaking attention.

Published in Minerals

ISSN: 2075-163X (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Geology: Mineralogy
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/minerals

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