Petrogenesis and Metallogeny of Intrusive Aplite Dyke from the Malanjkhand Pluton, Central India

Abstract

The relationships between textural variations and structural trends of the aplite dyke enclosed in the Malanjkhand pluton were investigated in this study. The estimated zircon saturation temperature (747–835°C) and pressure of crystallization (2.5–6.1 kbar) suggested that the aplite dyke was emplaced in the lower-middle level in the continental crust. Water solubility calculations indicated that the aplite dyke originated from the silicic magma under water undersaturated conditions. Primitive mantle normalized spider diagram showed enrichment of large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs) and depletion of high field strength elements (HFSEs). The aplite dyke displayed LREE-enriched and MREE-depleted patterns, with significant positive Eu-anomaly in the REE patterns. This observation alluded the accumulation of plagioclase crystals before the crystallization of felsic magma in the reduced environment. The presence of the positive Eu-anomaly signified that the pre-existing granitic source at the lower-middle level of the crust generated aplitic magma owing to partial melting above the felsic source rock. Trace element discrimination diagrams presented evidence for possible extensional tectonic settings coupled with felsic magmatic episodes and granitic plutonic activity in a continental rift environment, thus favoring the emplacement of the aplite dyke. Th/U ratios in the aplite dyke implied that the melt fractionation in the magma chamber and the post-magmatic hydrothermal processes exerted negligible effect on the crystallization evolution of the aplitic magma. The aplite dyke pointed to a single pulse of silicic magmatism and a continuous process of injection, thus reflecting subtle variations in the physical conditions of the formation of the host Malanjkhand pluton.