Timing, petrogenesis and tectonic setting of the Late Paleozoic gabbro-granodiorite-granite intrusions in the Shalazhashan of northern Alxa: Constraints on the southernmost boundary of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

The Late Paleozoic tectonic setting and location of the southernmost boundary of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) with respect to the Alxa Block or Alxa-North China Craton (ANCC) are debated. This paper presents new geochronological, petrological, geochemical and zircon Hf isotopic data of the Late Paleozoic intrusions from the Shalazhashan in northern Alxa and discusses the tectonic setting and boundary between the CAOB and ANCC. Using zircon U-Pb dating, intrusions can be broadly grouped as Late Carboniferous granodiorites (similar to 301 Ma), Middle Permian gabbros (similar to 264 Ma) and granites (similar to 266 Ma) and Late Permian granodiorites, monzogranites and quartz monzodiorites (254-250 Ma). The Late Carboniferous granodiorites are slightly peraluminous and calcic. The remarkably high zircon Hf isotopes (epsilon(Hf)(t) = +6-+10) and characteristics of high silica adakites suggest that these granodiorites were mainly derived from hot basaltic slab-melts of the subducted oceanic crust The Middle Permian gabbros exhibited typical cumulate textures and were derived from the partial melting of depleted mantle. The Middle Permian granites are slightly peraluminous with high-K calc-alkaline and low epsilon(Hf)(t) values from -0.9 to +2.9. These granites were most likely derived from juvenile materials mixed with old crustal materials. The late Permian granodiorites, monzogranites and quartz monzodiorites are characterized as metaluminous to slightly peraluminous, with variable Peacock alkali-lime index values from calc-alkalic to alkali-calcic. These rocks were mainly derived from juvenile crustal materials, as evidenced by their high epsilon(Hf)(t) values (+3.3 to +8.9). The juvenile sources of the above intrusions in the Shalazhashan are similar to those of the granitoids from the CAOB but distinct from the granitoids within the Alxa Block. These findings suggest that the Shalazhashan Zone belongs to the CAOB rather than the Alxa Block and that its boundary with the Alxa block can be regarded as the southernmost boundary of the CAOB. The recognition of late Carboniferous typical adakite magmatism in the region provides evidence for the subduction of the oceanic crust of the CAOB. The Middle-Late Permian magmatisms (266-250 Ma) display a bimodal association with high-K calc-alkaline features and are interpreted as forming in a post-collision setting. These studies, by interaction of regional geology, provide new constraints on the tectonic evolution of the southern CAOB during the Late Paleozoic and the location of the southernmost margin of the CAOB. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.