Boron isotopes in tourmaline from drill core of the Jiajika granitic pegmatite type lithium deposit: Insights for granitic magma evolution and lithium enrichment

The Jiajika pegmatite-type Li deposit located in the southeastern Songpan-Ganze terrane of the eastern Tibetan Plateau is one of the largest hard-rock Li deposit in China, and its ore-genetic mechanism is still controversial. To understand the Li concentration of potentially economic levels in the Jiajika pegmatite-type Li deposit, the association between Li enrichment and granitic magma evolution is investigated using B isotope in tourmaline grains along the entire 3211-m-depth of the JSD-1 drill core in this work. Tourmalines hosted in granite, pegmatite, barrovian-type metamorphic rock and calc-magnesium-silicate metamorphic rock are being plotted in the fields of Li-poor granitoids and associated pegmatites and aplites on the Al-Fe-Mg and Ca-Fe-Mg ternary diagrams. These characteristics, along with their high Fe/Mg ratios and high Al cation numbers in Y position, are indicative of a magmatic origin. The B isotope (delta 11B) of tourmalines in granite and pegmatite in Jiajika granitic pegmatite type Li deposits vary from -9.49 to - 7.06 parts per thousand, in line with the range observed in 90 % of worldwide granites and pegmatites. In comparison of the measured data of delta 11B vs. Li to the modeled curves indicates that the differentiation process of granitic magma follows an equilibrium crystallization model better than a fractional crystallization model. The compiled evidence proves that magma differentiation accompanied by fluid exsolution facilitates the enrichment of Li during granitic magmatic evolution. The formation of the domal structure of granitic sheets due to the decompressing effect of magma ascent favors massive fluid exsolution at the late-stage granitic magma, which contributes to the deposition of spodumene dominated ore body at the shallower depth of 5-150 m.

Automated summary

This study investigates the association between Li enrichment and granitic magma evolution in the Jiajika pegmatite-type Li deposit using B isotope analyses of tourmaline grains. The results suggest that magma differentiation and fluid exsolution facilitate the enrichment of Li during granitic magmatic evolution. This has important implications for the formation and exploration of Li deposits.