Neoproterozoic Rare-Metal Subalkali Leucogranite from the Northern Yenisei Ridge

Abstract

Petrochemical study and U–Pb SIMS (SHRIMP–II) zircon analyses of subalkaline leucogranite of the Khariusikha Massif have been carried out. They have revealed for the first time a rare-metal mineralization. The elevated concentrations of rare elements (wt %) are Nb (0.5–0.7), Ta (0.12–0.16), REEs (0.08–0.24), Y (0.06–0, 1), Zr (2.3–2.6), Hf (0.1–0.12), U (0.05–0.1), and Th (0.08–0.1) and are confined to albitized granites. The main mineral phases concentrating the rare elements, U and Th, are tantalo–niobates: fergusonite, euxenite, U–pyrochlore, tantalite, as well as thorite, monazite, zircon, and sphene. These minerals associate with cassiterite, sulfides, and gold. The simultaneity of the intraplate granitoid magmatism (753 ± 4 Ma) and bimodal rhyolite–basalt volcanism (753 ± 6 Ma) in the neighboring rift structure has been demonstrated. Presumably, the Neoproterozoic rifting and intraplate magmatism relate to the plume activity that caused the supercontinent Rodinia to break up.