Metallogenesis related to Mesozoic Granitoids in the Nanling Range, South China and Their Geodynamic Settings

Abstract Affected by the compressive stress from the South‐Central (Indo‐China) Peninsula, the Indosinian orogenesis, characterized by collision, thrust and uplifting, took place inside the South China Plate during 250–230 Ma. The ages of the Indosinian granitoids in the Nanling Range and vicinity areas are mostly 240–205 Ma, indicating that they were emplaced in both late collision and post‐collision geodynamic environments. No important granite‐related metallogenesis occurred in this duration. A post‐orogenic setting started at the beginning of the Yanshanian Period, which controlled large‐scale granitic magmatism and related metallogenesis. This paper makes the first attempt to divide the Yanshanian Period into three sub‐periods, i.e. the early, middle and late Yanshanian Periods, based mainly on the features of magmatism, especially granitoids and related metallogenesis and their geodynamic environments. The magmatic association of the Early Yanshanian (about 185–170 Ma) comprises four categories of magmatism, i.e. basalt, bimodal volcanics, A‐type granite and intraplate high‐K calc‐alkaline (HKCA) magmatism, which indicates an extension‐thinning of lithosphere and upwelling of mantle material to a relative small and local extent. Pb‐Zn, Cu and Au mineralizations associated with HKCA magmatism represents the first high tide of Mesozoic metallogenesis in the Nanling Range area. During the middle Yanshanian, the lithosphere was subjected to more extensive and intensive extending and thinning, and hence mantle upwelling and basaltic magma underplating caused a great amount of crust remelting granitoids. This period can be further divided into two stages. The first stage (170–150 Ma) is represented by large‐scale emplacement of crust remelting granites with local tungsten mineralization at its end. The second stage (150–140 Ma) is the most important time of large‐scale mineralizations of non‐ferrous and rare metals, e.g. W, Sn, Nb‐Ta, Bi, Mo, Be, in the Nanling Range area. The late Yanshanian (140–65 Ma) was generally characterized by full extension and breakup of the lithosphere of South China. However, owing to the influence of the Pacific Plate movement, the eastern part of South China was predominated by subduction‐related compression, which resulted in magmatism of calc‐alkaline and shoshonite series and related metallogeneses of Au, Ag, Pb‐Zn, Cu and (Mo, Sn), followed by extension in its late stage. In the Nanling Range area, the late Yanshanian magmatism was represented by granitic volcanic‐intrusive complexes and mafic dikes, which are genetically related to volcanic‐type uranium and porphyry tin deposits, and the mobilization‐mineralization of uranium from pre‐existing Indosinian granites.