Petrogenesis and zircon U-Pb dating of skarnified pyroxene-bearing dioritic rocks in Bisheh area, south of Birjand, eastern Iran

Introduction The study area is located 196 km south of Birjand in eastern border of the Lut block )Berberian and King, 1981) in eastern Iran between 59°05′35" and 59°09′12" E longitude and 31°42′29" and 31°44′13" N latitude. The magmatic activity in the Lut block began in the middle Jurassic such as Kalateh Ahani, Shah Kuh and Surkh Kuh granitoids that are among the oldest rocks exposed within the Lut block (Esmaeily et al., 2005; Tarkian et al., 1983; Moradi Noghondar et al., 2011-2012). Eastern Iran, and particularly the Lut block, has great potential for different types of mineralization as skarnification in Bisheh area which has been studied in this paper. The goal of this study is to highlight the geochronology, geochemistry of major and trace elements, Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd isotopes for skarnified pyroxene-bearing diorites. Materials and methods Major element compositions of thirteen samples were determined by wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry, using fused discs and the Phillips PW 1410 XRF spectrometer at Ferdowsi University, Mashhad, Iran. These samples were analysed for trace elements using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in the Acme Analytical Laboratories, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Zircon grains were separated from pyroxene diorite porphyrys using heavy liquid and magnetic techniques at the Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan. Zircon U-Pb dating was performed by laser ablation-inductively-coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), using an Agilent 7500 s machine and a New Wave UP213 laser ablation system, equipped at the Dr Shen-Su Sun memorial laboratory in the Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, Taiwan. Strontium and Nd isotopic analyses were performed on a six-collector Finnigan MAT 261 thermal-ionization mass spectrometer at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, United States. 87Sr/86Sr ratios were determined using four-collector static mode measurements. Several measurements of SRM-987 during the study period yielded a mean of 87Sr/86Sr = 0.71032 ± 2 (error is the 2σ mean). Measured 87Sr/86Sr ratios were corrected to SRM-987 = 0.71028. Measured 143Nd/144Nd was normalized to 146Nd/144Nd = 0.7219. Analyses were conducted as dynamic mode, three-collector measurements. Several measurements of the La Jolla Nd standard during the study period yielded a mean of 143Nd/144Nd = 0.511838 ± 8 (error is the 2σ mean). Results In the Bisheh area that is located east of Lut block, pyroxene-bearing dioritic rocks are high-K calk-alkaline and meta-aluminous. Primitive mantle-normalized trace element spider diagrams display strong enrichment in LILE, such as Rb, Ba, and Cs, and depletion in some HFSE, e.g., Nb, P, Ti, Y and Yb. Chondrite-normalized REE diagrams show (La/Yb)N ratios ranging from 7.75 to 8.63 and small negative Eu anomalies. These features along with high Th/Yb and Ta/Yb ratios show that magmatism is related to continental margin subduction. Obvious depletion of Nb and Ti, relatively high values of Mg#, initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.70606) and 143Nd/144Nd (0.512424) ratios as well as eNd (-3.05) suggest that the magma originated from an enriched mantle with crustal contamination. High values of Rb, Th and K and low amount of P and Ti support the magma contamination in upper crust during magma evolution. Zircon U-Pb age dating for a porphyritic pyroxene diorite sample yield an age of 44.07±0.69 Ma indicating middle Eocene (Lutetian). Discussion The isotopic value for the Bisheh dioritic porphyry can be considered as indicative of lithospheric mantle melting. The trace element characteristics of these rocks can be used to characterize their mantle source. The MORB normalized trace element pattern (Pearce, 1983) of all samples shows a negative anomaly for Nb, Ti and Ta. The negative anomaly of these elements can be explained by the presence of a residual TNT phase (Ti-Nb-Ta, e.g., rutile, ilmenite and perovskite) during the melting of the source (Reagan and Gill, 1989). This pattern followed that of calc-alkaline magmas derived from a sub-arc mantle, with scarce or no garnet in the source. Furthermore, Bisheh subvolcanic bodies were enriched in Rb, Ba and Th, indicating that they had experienced interaction with the continental crust (Kuscu et al., 2002). The chondrite-normalized rare earth element pattern of the studied rocks shows a high ratio of light rare earth elements (LREE) to heavy rare earth elements (HREE). All the samples have been plotted in the VAG field. The dioritic rocks from the Bisheh have relatively high Mg# (0.4-0.56), which is consistent with derivation from mantle melts contaminated by continental crust (Rapp and Watson, 1995). The initial 87Sr/86Sr of Bisheh pyroxene diorite porphyry was 0.70606 and the (143Nd/144Nd)i isotope compositions and eNd value of these rocks was 0.512424 and -3.05, respectively. These values show that the magma originated from an enriched mantle with crustal contamination. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to Professor Sun-Lin Chung from the Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, for supporting the researchers in the use of U-Th-Pb zircon age dating. References Berberian, M. and King, G.C., 1981. Towards a palaeogeography and tectonics evolution of Iran. 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