Petrogenetic Constraints Of Early Cenozoic Mafic Rocks In The Southwest Songliao Basin, Ne China: Implications For The Genesis Of Sandstone-Hosted Qianjiadian Uranium Deposits

The tectonic inversion of the Songliao Basin during the Cenozoic may have played an important role in controlling the development of sandstone-type uranium deposits. The widely distributed mafic intrusions in the host sandstones of the Qianjiadian U ore deposits provided new insights to constrain the regional tectonic evolution and the genesis of the U mineralization. In this study, zircon U-Pb dating, whole-rock geochemistry, Sr-Nd-Pb isotope analysis, and mineral chemical compositions were presented for the mafic rocks from the Qianjiadian area. The mafic rocks display low SiO2 (44.91-52.05 wt.%), high (Fe2O3)-Fe-T contents (9.97-16.46 wt.%), variable MgO (4.59-15.87 wt.%), and moderate K2O + Na2O (3.19-6.52 wt.%), and can be subdivided into AB group (including basanites and alkali olivine basaltic rocks) and TB group (mainly tholeiitic basaltic rocks). They are characterized by homogenous isotopic compositions (epsilon(Nd) (t) = 3.47-5.89 and Sr-87/Sr-86 = 0.7032-0.7042) and relatively high radiogenic Pb-206/Pb-204 (18.13-18.34) and Nb/U ratios (23.0-45.6), similar to the nearby Shuangliao basalts, suggesting a common asthenospheric origin enriched with slab-derived components prior to melting. Zircon U-Pb and previous Ar-Ar dating show that the AB group formed earlier (51-47 Ma) than the TB group (42-40 Ma). Compared to the TB group, the AB group has higher TiO2, Na2O, K2O, P2O5, Ce, and HREE contents and Ta/Yb and Sr/Yb ratios, which may have resulted from variable depth of partial melting in association with lithospheric thinning. Combined with previous research, the Songliao Basin experienced: (1) Eocene (similar to 50-40 Ma) lithospheric thinning and crustal extension during which mafic rocks intruded into the host sandstones of the Qianjiadian deposit, (2) a tectonic inversion from extension to tectonic uplift attributed to the subduction of the Pacific Plate occurring at similar to 40 Ma, and (3) Oligo-Miocene (similar to 40-10 Ma) tectonic uplift, which is temporally associated with U mineralization. Finally, the close spatial relation between mafic intrusions and the U mineralization, dike-related secondary reduction, and secondary oxidation of the mafic rocks in the Qianjiadian area suggest that Eocene mafic rocks and their alteration halo in the Songliao Basin may have played a role as a reducing barrier for the U mineralization.