Petrogenesis of magmatism in the Yandong region of Eastern Tianshan, Xinjiang: geochemical, geochronological, and Hf isotope constraints

A groundbreaking study reveals that the Yandong porphyry Cu deposit in Eastern Tianshan, Xinjiang, formed around 335 million years ago during a period of intense magmatic activity. The research, utilizing SHRIMP zircon U–Pb dating, geochemical analysis, and Hf isotope data, demonstrates that these magmatic rocks exhibit adakitic characteristics—high Al2O3, La/Yb ratios, and Sr contents, alongside low Y and HREE contents—suggesting their origin from the partial melting of a subducted oceanic slab. The study proposes that the Palaeo-Tianshan oceanic crust subducted northward beneath the Dananhu-Tousuquan arc belt during the early Carboniferous, with subsequent hybridization by peridotite in the mantle wedge playing a pivotal role in forming the deposit's relatively closed magma system.

Wang, Y., Xue, C., Wang, J., Peng, R., Yang, J., Zhang, F., Zhao, Z., & Zhao, Y. (2014). Petrogenesis of magmatism in the Yandong region of Eastern Tianshan, Xinjiang: geochemical, geochronological, and Hf isotope constraints. International Geology Review, 57(9-10), 1130–1151. https://doi.org/10.1080/00206814.2014.900653