Guosheng Sun’s research while affiliated with Jilin University and other places

The Zhaojinggou Nb–Ta deposit is one of large rare metal deposits newly discovered in the northern margin of the North China Craton in recent years. This paper reports petrography, petrochemistry, columbite‐group minerals U–Pb chronology study of the amazonite granitic pegmatite (AGP) exposed in this deposit, and composition of columbite‐group minerals and biotite are obtained by electron probe microanalyzer and LA‐ICP‐MS. Eighteen analyses of columbite‐group minerals yielded weighted mean 206Pb/238U age of 116.9 ± 1.4 Ma. The crystallization temperature of biotite is 630–650°C, and the oxygen fugacity is 10−17–10−18 bars. The biotite has low MgO contents and high Rb, Rb/Sr, and FeOT/(FeOT + MgO) ratios. The AGP has extremely low MgO, Cr, Co and Ni contents, with Nb/Ta ratios range from 1.63 to 9.05 and Rb/Sr ratios range from 303.30 to 648.90, and obvious ‘M’ type tetrad effect of rare earth element indicating that the formation of the AGP is related to crust‐derived magma. The contents of Nb2O5 and FeO decrease, while the Ta2O5 and WO3 contents, Mn# and Ta# values increase gradually from the core to the rim of columbite‐group minerals. Some columbite‐group minerals have unobvious oscillatory zoning, and some have a clear bright zoing with high Ta contents on the rim, indicating that the genesis of Zhaojinggou Nb–Ta deposit is mainly magmatic crystallization differentiation, accompanied by hydrothermal autometasomatism in the late stage. The deposit was formed in an extensional tectonic background in the late Yanshanian, magma was formed by partial melting of Nb–Ta‐rich lower crust, undergoing high evolution. Mineralization is crystallization differentiation and hydrothermal self‐metasomatism

Ferromanganese nodules are a potential energy resource because of their high contents of economically interesting elements (i.e. Mn, Ni, Cu, and Zn). These are higher in diagenetic layers than in hydrogenetic layers. The study of the causes of elemental accumulation in the diagenetic layer is useful for the exploration metal-rich nodules. A diagenetic-dominant ferromanganese nodule, from the central Clarion–Clipperton Fracture Zone of the eastern Pacific Ocean was studied from core to rim. It was divided into four layers and seven sublayers, of the four typical diagenetic sublayers (L1, L2-1, L2-2, and L3-1). Differences were observed in these diagenetic sublayers. L1 presents the highest Mn/Fe ratio (54), the lowest Co content (2262 ppm), and a positive Ce anomaly. L2-1 exhibits high Co (3122 ppm) and Ba contents (4020 ppm), a positive Ce anomaly, and an obvious peak for 10 Å manganate minerals. L2-2 contains the lowest Ni+Cu contents (3.2 wt%), the highest Ba and Co contents (5110 ppm), and the strongest positive Ce anomaly. In L2-2, the δCe value can be positively correlated to the Mn/Fe ratio and a pronounced peak for 10 Å manganate minerals indicates that this layer has the highest mineral crystallinity. L3-1 shows the highest Ni+Cu contents (5.4 wt%), the lowest Ba (1247ppm), and Co (1725 ppm), a weakly positive Ce anomaly, and the poorest mineral crystallization. Diagenetic- and hydrogenetic-endmember mixing models reveal that hydrogenetic input contributes minimally to these chemical changes, whereas diagenetic input contributes greatly. The changes in diagenetic input may be caused by the changes in primary productivity brought about by movement of tectonic plates and the intense activity of the diagenetic pore fluid. The activity may provide a metal source for the diagenetic sublayer (anomalously high Co and Ce content) via the incorporation of metals released from dissolved buried nodules and micronodules under a suboxic or reducing environments.

The timings of subduction of the Palaeo-Pacific Plate beneath the North China Craton and of associated mineralisation remain unresolved. We studied a granodiorite porphyry in the Banmiaozi gold mining area, located along the northeastern margin of North China Craton, to shed light on these timings. Using zircon U–Pb geochronology, major- and trace-element geochemistry, Sr–Nd isotopes, and biotite compositions, we show that the granodiorite porphyry formed during the early Middle Jurassic and has a composition similar to those of ‘C-type adakites’ from eastern China. The granodiorite rocks have initial Sr isotopic compositions of 0.713418–0.713694, εNd(t) values of −15.9 to −16.69, and depleted-mantle single-stage model ages of 2.70–2.49 Ga, implying that the parental magma originated via subduction of the Palaeo-Pacific Plate beneath the North China Craton and resulted also in the generation of basaltic magmas and partial melting of thickened lower crust. As the Archaean basement rocks were rich in Au and magnetite, the magma was characterized by high Au contents and oxygen fugacity (fO2 = 10−13 bar). Subsequent mixing with, or contamination by, partially melted Proterozoic marine strata, such as the marble-bearing Laoling Group, played an important role in mineralisation. These country rocks provided large quantities of Cl−, CO32−, and SO42− to the magma, which formed soluble complexes with ore-forming elements such as Au, allowing enrichment and migration of the metals. Our data show that the Banmiaozi gold deposit is an orogenic gold deposit associated with subduction-related adakitic magmatism.

We studied newly found high Nb–Ta alkaline rhyolites in the northern volcanic belt of the Great Xing’an Range, China. The LA–ICP–MS U–Pb weighted mean age is 114.07 ± 0.55 Ma, indicating that the rocks formed during the late Early Cretaceous and were the product of the late eruption of a Mesozoic volcano. The major element contents are characterized by high Si, rich K, low Fe, and poor Ca and Mg. In the total alkaline–silicon diagram, the sample points are in the alkaline rhyolite region. Meanwhile, rare earth elements show obvious Ce/Ce* positive anomalies and Eu/Eu* negative anomalies. In addition, trace elements are characterized by high Nb, Ta, and Yb, and low Sr. The two-stage Nd isotopic model age T 2DM of the depleted mantle is between 799–813 Ma, indicating that the diagenetic material originated from the depleted mantle or partial melting of newly formed young crustal materials. The source rocks melted at a relative shallow depth (<30 km), under lower pressure (<0.5 Gpa) and high oxygen fugacity; moreover, the residues in the source region were Ca-rich mafic plagioclase + amphibole + orthopyroxene. In the Nb–Y–3Ga and Nb–Y–Ce diagrams, the sample points are in the A1 type region. It can be concluded that the mantle-derived basaltic magma underplated and supplied the heat sources for partial melting of the metamorphic crustal rocks in an intraplate extensional tectonic environment related to a rift, mantle plume, and hot spot.

This paper presents zircon U-Pb-Hf isotopic compositions and whole-rock geochemical data for monzogranites and mafic-ultramafic complexes of the Maxingdawannan area in the western end of the east Kunlun orogenic belt, western China. The data are used to determine the ages, petrogenesis, magma sources, and geodynamic setting of the studied rocks. U-Pb zircon dating indicates that monzogranites and gabbros of the complexes were emplaced at 399 and 397 Ma, respectively. The monzogranites are shoshonitic, with high SiO 2, Al2O 3 and total-alkali contents, and low TFeO, MgO, TiO 2 and P2O5 contents. The mafic-ultramafic complexes are characterized by low SiO2 contents. The monzogranites display enrichment in light rare-earth elements (LREE) and large-ion lithophile elements (LILE), depletion in heavy REEs (HREE) and high-field-strength elements (HFSE), and negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu*=0.36–0.48). The mafic-ultramafic complexes are also enriched in LREEs and LILEs, and depleted in HREEs and HFSEs, with weak Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu*=0.84–1.16). Zircon εHf(t) values for the monzogranites and mafic-ultramafic complexes range from −6.68 to 1.11 and −1.81 to 6.29, with zircon model ages of 1 812–1 319 Ma (TDM2) and 1 087–769 Ma (TDM1), respectively. Hf isotopic data indicate that primary magmas of the monzogranites are originated from partial melting of ancient lower crust during the Paleo-Mesoproterozoic, with a juvenile-crust component. Primitive magmas of the mafic-ultramafic complexes are likely originated from a depleted-mantle source modified by slab-derived fluids and contaminated by crustal components. Geochemical data and the geological setting indicate that Devonian intrusions in the Maxingdawannan area are related to northward subduction of the Proto-Tethys oceanic lithosphere.

The Early Paleozoic Bianjiadayuan complex of monzodiorite and biotite-bearing monzogranite is located in the southern part of the Huanggangliang–Ganzhuermiao metallogenic belt, southern Greater Khingan, China. The 206Pb/238U ages of zircons from the monzodiorite and biotite-bearing monzogranite are 129.67 ± 0.4 and 143.20 ± 1.2 Ma, respectively. The total REE contents of the rocks are very high, especially LREEs, suggesting obvious LREE and HREE fractionation; the monzodiorite has weak negative Eu anomalies, the biotite-bearing monzogranite highly negative anomalies. These rocks are all rich in large ion lithophile elements (Rb and U) and relatively depleted in high-field-strength elements (Nb and Ta). The monzodiorites and biotite-bearing monzogranites have ε Hf(t) values of 1.39–5.69 and 0.86–2.46 and t DM2 ages of 0.82–1.09 and 1.04–1.24 Ga, respectively. In the ε Hf(t)–t diagram, the data plot between the chondrite and depleted mantle lines of Hf isotopic evolution, showing the rocks were derived mainly from new crustal material that had been derived by the differentiation of the mantle. We conclude that this area underwent an important episode of crustal growth in the Meso–Neoproterozoic. The relationship between the intrusive complex and the orebody was related to faulting; we infer that the Bianjiadayuan Pb–Zn polymetallic deposit is mainly related to Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous (144–129 Ma) magmatic activity, and it represents large-scale mineralisation in the context of Paleo-Pacific plate subduction and regional extension.