Geochronology and trace element composition of zircon in granitoids from the Indus Syntaxis, northern Pakistan: new evidence for Palaeoproterozoic A-type magmatism in the north-western part of the Indian plate

Two granitic plutons are exposed at Dubair and Shang in the vicinity of Besham, northern Pakistan, in the northwestern part of the Indian plate. Both granitoids mainly consist of perthitic feldspar, plagioclase, and quartz together with minor biotite, amphibole, and accessory ilmenite, apatite, titanite, and zircon. They are peraluminous and alkali-calcic to alkaline in composition, with strong A-type affinity (Ahmad et al., 2021). La-ICP-MS U-Pb dating and trace element analysis of zircon from both plutons were performed to elucidate their emplacement ages and temperatures. Most of the zircons are characterized by oscillatory zoning, depletion in light REE, and enrichment of heavy REE, with pronounced positive Ce and negative Eu anomalies. U–Pb zircon dating of the Shang and Dubair granitoid reveals similar concordant Palaeoproterozoic ages of 1871± 8.1 Ma and 1862 ± 7.5 Ma, respectively. The calculated Ti-in-zircon temperatures mainly range between 800°C and 900°C. The U-Pb ages, zircon compositions, and high magmatic temperatures suggest solidification of the granitoids from a crustal-derived magma emplaced during the Paleoproterozoic.

Reference

Ahmad, T., Arif, M., Qasim, M., & Sajid, M. (2021). Petrology of granitoids from Indus syntaxis, northern Pakistan: Implications for Paleo-Proterozoic A-type magmatism in north-western Indian Plate. Geochemistry, 81(1), 125693.