Apatite geochemical composition of Mesozoic granitoids in the eastern Jiangnan Orogen, S. China: insights into petrogenesis and intrinsic magmatic variables

ABSTRACT

The geochemical compositions of apatite are commonly used to provide reliable constraints on the intrinsic magmatic variables of the parental magma. There is a widespread distribution of Mesozoic granitic rocks in the eastern Jiangnan Orogen (EJNO), which include I-type and A-type granitoids. This study aims to investigate the geochemical composition of apatite in 11 representative I-type and A-type granitic intrusions from the EJNO to understand their petrogenesis, intrinsic magmatic variables, and polymetallic mineralization potential. The results show that apatites in these granitoids were characterized by oscillatory zonation and homogeneous texture, and exhibited high F, and low Cl contents, as well as high REE, Y, and Th contents, indicating magmatic origin. These apatites were divided into two groups depending on their geochemical characteristics and original rock types. In Group I apatites (in the I-type granitoids), the absence of an abrupt change in major and trace element concentrations from the core to the rim of the apatite crystals, combined with their low levels of MgO, Sr, and HREY (HREE+Y), serves as evidence to classify the I-type granitoids as low Sr-Y adakitic granitoids with a low Mg^#, which can be attributed to the partial melting of the thickened lower crust. In Group A apatites (in the A-type granites), the normal increase in incompatible elements from the core to the rim, as well as the presence of a flat REE pattern with pronounced Eu anomalies, can be attributed to crystal fractionation of plagioclase, allanite, and zircon. Furthermore, Group I apatites have higher SO₃, Cl, and molar OH/F and Cl/F ratios compared to Group A apatites. Quantitative calculation by apatite-melt partitioning and modelling suggests that the I-type granitic magmas were more volatile-rich and more oxidized than A-type granitic magmas. Taken together, based on the relationship between the intrinsic magmatic variables and the behaviour of ore-forming elements, our study demonstrates that early I-type granitoids of the EJNO have a strong W-Mo-Cu polymetallic mineralization potential, while late A-type granites may possess rare metal mineralization potential.

KEYWORDS:

• Apatite geochemistry
• petrogenesis
• mineralization potential
• Jiangnan Orogen
• South China block

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Juan Wang for assistance with the mineral major-element analyses and to Fangyue Wang for assistance with the mineral trace-element analyses. We thank the editor and the two anonymous reviewers for insightful comments and suggestions that considerably improved the the quality of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

We declare that we have no financial interests that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/00206814.2023.2291777

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

The study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42030801), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (JZ2022HGQB0215), and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2022M710994).