Geochemical and Geochronological Constraints on the Genesis of Ion-Adsorption-Type REE Mineralization in the Lincang Pluton, SW China

Abstract

Granites are assumed to be the main source of heavy rare-earth elements (HREEs), which have important applications in modern society. However, the geochemical and petrographic characteristics of such granites need to be further constrained, especially as most granitic HREE deposits have undergone heavy weathering. The LC batholith comprises both fresh granite and ion-adsorption-type HREE deposits, and contains four main iRee (ion-adsorption-type REE) deposits: the Quannei (QN), Shangyun (SY), Mengwang (MW), and Menghai (MH) deposits, which provide an opportunity to elucidate these characteristics The four deposits exhibit light REE (LREE) enrichment, and the QN deposit is also enriched in HREEs. The QN and MH deposits were chosen for study of their petrology, mineralogy, geochemistry, and geochronology to improve our understanding of the formation of iRee deposits. The host rock of the QN and MH deposits is granite that includes REE accessory minerals, with monazite, xenotime, and allanite occurring as euhedral inclusions in feldspar and biotite, and thorite, fluorite(–Y), and REE fluorcarbonate occurring as anhedral filling in cavities in quartz and feldspar. Zircon U–Pb dating analysis of the QN (217.8 ± 1.7 Ma, MSWD = 1.06; and 220.3 ± 1.2 Ma, MSWD = 0.71) and MH (232.2 ± 1.7 Ma, MSWD = 0.58) granites indicates they formed in Late Triassic, with this being the upper limit of the REE-mineral formation age. The host rock of the QN and MH iRee deposits is similar to most LC granites, with high A/CNK ratios (>1.1) and strongly peraluminous characteristics similar to S-type granites. The LC granites (including the QN and MH granites) have strongly fractionated REE patterns (LREE/HREE = 1.89–11.97), negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.06–0.25), and are depleted in Nb, Zr, Hf, P, Ba, and Sr. They have high 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.710194–0.751763) and low 143Nd/144Nd ratios (0.511709–0.511975), with initial Sr and Nd isotopic compositions of (87Sr/86Sr)i = 0.72057–0.72129 and εNd(220 Ma) = −9.57 to −9.75. Their initial Pb isotopic ratios are: 206Pb/204Pb = 18.988–19.711; 208Pb/204Pb = 39.713–40.216; and 207Pb/204Pb = 15.799–15.863. The Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic data and TDM2 ages suggest that the LC granitic magma had a predominantly crustal source. The REE minerals are important features of these deposits, with feldspars and micas altering to clay minerals containing Ree3+ (exchangeable REE), whose concentration is influenced by the intensity of weathering; the stronger the chemical weathering, the more REE minerals are dissolved. Secondary mineralization is also a decisive factor for Ree3+ enrichment. Stable geology within a narrow altitudinal range of 300–600 m enhances Ree3+ retention.