Characteristics and formation of rare-metal pegmatites and granites in the Duanfengshan-Guanyuan district of the northern Mufushan Granite complex in South China

The Mufushan area, which has abundant rare-metal pegmatites within and around the Mufushan Granite Complex, has become a major target for Ta-Nb-(Li-Be) exploration in South China. The age and origin of the pegmatites and associated rare-metal mineralization are still under debate. Here, we report the in situ U-Pb ages and geochemical characteristics of granites and pegmatites in the Guanyuan and Duanfengshan districts, which are located in the central and northern parts of the Mufushan Complex. Combined zircon, apatite and monazite U-(Th)-Pb dating revealed that biotite, two-mica, and muscovite granites from the Guanyuan and Duanfengshan districts were emplaced at 143–139 Ma, which overlaps with the U-Pb ages of columbite-group minerals (CGM) from different internal zones of the Duanfengshan pegmatites (142–140 Ma). Whole-rock major and trace element compositions and Sr-Nd-Hf isotope data reveal that the granites and pegmatites experienced continuous evolution from biotite, two-mica, and muscovite granites to pegmatite and that the magma originated from the partial melting of mica schists that are abundant in the Mufushan area. Temporal, chemical and mineralogical evidence indicates a genetic link between muscovite granite and Ta-Nb pegmatites. The textures and chemical compositions of CGM from different pegmatites exhibit features typical of magmatic CGM, indicating that fractional crystallization was the driving force that promoted Ta-Nb enrichment. The increasing alumina saturation index [ASI: molar Al/(Ca–1.67P + Na + K)] of pegmatitic melt due to albite crystallization may have been the main factor controlling CGM deposition, explaining why major Ta-Nb mineralization is bound to albite pegmatites. The Duanfengshan and other rare-metal pegmatites in the Mufushan area are derivatives of the most evolved granitic facies (i.e., muscovite granite) of the Mufushan Complex. The Duanfengshan and Renli pegmatite fields indicate that the Early Cretaceous (~140 Ma) may have been an important, underappreciated epoch for the formation of pegmatite-related rare-metal resources in the Mufushan area and beyond in South China.