Geochemical features of rare-metal granites of the Zashikhinsky Massif, East Sayan

Abstract

The paper presents detailed geochemical data on the rocks of the Zashikhinsky Massif and mineralogical–geochemical characteristics of the ores of the eponymous deposit. The rare-metal granites are divided into three facies varieties on the basis of the degree of differentiation and ore potential: early facies represented by microcline–albite granites with arfvedsonite, middle facies represented by leucocratic albite–microcline granites, and late (most ore-bearing) facies represented by quartz–albite granites grading into albitites. Microprobe data were obtained on major minerals accumulating trace elements in the rocks and ores. All facies of the rare-metal granites, including the rocks of the fluorite–rare-metal vein, define single compositional trends in the plots of paired correlations of rock-forming and trace elements. In addition, they also show similar REE patterns and spidergrams. The latter, however, differ in the depth of anomalies of some elements. Obtained geological, petrographic, and geochemical data suggest a magmatic genesis of the rocks of different composition and their derivation from a single magma during its differentiation. On the basis of all characteristics, the Zashikhinskoe deposit is estimated as one of the largest tantalum rare-metal deposits of alkaline-granite type in Russia.