Petrogenesis and tectonic significance of the Mengjiaping beschtauite in the southern Taihang mountains

Abstract

Abstract The evolution process of the North China Craton has been discussed by many scholars; however, the frame for the timing of the Trans-North China Block has not been fully agreed upon. Related research has mostly focused on the northern and southern sections of the Trans-North China Block, and in-depth studies on intrusive rocks in the central region are lacking. In this study, we conduct a systematic study of the petrography, the whole-rock geochemistry, and the zircon U–Pb dating for the beschtauite intrusion, located in the Mengjiaping area of the Southern Taihang Mountains. Our results demonstrate that the dyke intrusion is mainly composed of beschtauite. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry zircon U–Pb dating shows that the beschtauite intrusion occurred at ∼1,880 ± 69 Ma. The beschtauite belongs to I-type granite, Arc tholeiite series, and Cale-alkaline series, with low total alkali, low potassium, and high aluminum. They are also enriched in large-ion lithophile elements, relatively depleted in high-field strength elements, and low total rare-earth elements. Based on the abovementioned data, it is suggested that the magmas for the beschtauite intrusion were metasomatized by oceanic slab subduction in the Late Paleoproterozoic. The formation time of the North China Craton basement should be set to after 1,880 Ma.