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Melt components derived from a subducted slab in late orogenic ore-bearing porphyries in the Gangdese copper belt, southern Tibetan plateau
Xiaoming Qu a,*, Zengqian Hou a, Youguo Li b
a

Institute of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, 26 Baiwanzhuang Road, Beijing 100037, China b Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, Sichuan, China Received 28 August 2002; accepted 26 January 2004 Available online 27 April 2004

Abstract A porphyry-type Cu (Mo, Au) polymetallic ore belt extends in an E W direction for >400 km along the Gangdese magma arc in the southern Tibetan plateau. Extensive field investigations and systematic geochemical study, combined with S and Pb isotopic tracing, indicate that Cu polymetallic mineralization of the copper belt is genetically related to late orogenic granitic porphyries formed in a late Himalayan crustal extension stage (18 14 Ma). Geochemistry of the porphyries shows the essential characteristics of adakite and suggests a dominant role of subduction-related components in their genesis. The genesis of these ore-bearing porphyries is mainly related to melt components derived from subducted slabs and has little relationship with fluids released from them. Pb isotopes show a clear linear array in the plumbotectonics model and are manifested by a progressive variation from orogenic Pb in the east segment of the copper belt to mantle Pb in the west segment, forming a mixing line of Indian Oceanic MORB and Indian Oceanic sediments. This suggests that the porphyry magma dominantly originated from partial melting of subducted oceanic crust and was mixed with a minor melts of sediments and mantle wedge components. D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Southern Tibetan plateau; Gangdese magma arc; Gangdese copper belt; Ore-bearing porphyries; S and Pb isotopic tracing; Oreforming dynamic environment

1. Introduction The timing and mechanism of the uplift of the Tibetan plateau has received much attention. Allegre et al. (1984) pointed out that from the Mid Late Cretaceous the Indus Yaluzangbo oceanic crust began to be subducted beneath the Lhasa terrane and
* Corresponding author. E-mail address: xiaominqu@163.com (X. Qu). 0024-4937/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.lithos.2004.01.003

gave rise to calc-alkaline magmatism in the Gangdese orogenic belt (Fig. 1). Because of the absence of oceanic basin remnants after 50 Ma, Beck et al. (1995) proposed that the collision of the Indian and Eurasian continents may have occurred between 55 and 45 Ma. Rapid uplift and unroofing of southern Tibet began about 20 Ma ago and the present altitude of much of the Tibetan plateau was attained about 8 Ma ago (Harrison et al., 1992). Based on 40Ar/39Ar dating of post-collisional NS-striking dikes, Williams

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X. Qu et al. / Lithos 74 (2004) 131148

Fig. 1. Distribution of magmatic rocks and porphyry Cu deposits in the Gangdese collisional orogenic belt (modified after the 1:500 000 digitalized geological map by the Geological Survey of China).

et al. (2001) determined the onset time of regional E W extension in southern Tibet to be 18.3 and 13.3 Ma. From hydrothermal mica ages of a NS-striking normal fault, Coleman and Hodges (1995) inferred that gravitational collapse of the southern Tibetan plateau after attaining the highest altitude took place before 14 Ma ago. These studies led to a relatively deep understanding of the uplift mechanism and collisional orogenic process of the plateau. In particular, the geophysical profile across the plateau from south to north completed jointly by Chinese, American, German and French geoscientists in recent years has given a detailed description of the deep tectonic configuration of the whole plateau (Zhao et al., 2001). Nevertheless, there are still many disputes about deep processes by which continent continent collision was related with the formation of the plateau. The hypotheses presented include, (1) the Tibetan plateau was underthrust by

the Indian lithosphere (Powell and Conaghan, 1975); (2) crustal thickening was due to inflow of material from India (Zhao and Morgan, 1985, 1987); (3) the uplift of the plateau resulted from crustal shortening due to the collision (Dewey and Burke, 1973). In the southern Tibetan plateau, the Gangdese magma arc extends for more than 1000 km across the Tibetan plateau from east to west along the north side of the Yaluzangbo suture zone. Later granitic porphyries are widely distributed throughout this magma belt. Although these porphyries are not large in volume, they have important scientific value for the following reasons: (1) They are potassic alkaline magmatic rocks formed in the late orogenic stage (18 14 Ma) of the Gangdese orogenic belt (Qu et al., 2001, 2003). At present, there is a general consensus on the origin of arc calc-alkaline and tholeiitic rocks in a subductional orogenic belt. However, the

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genesis of high-potassium alkaline rocks formed in the post-collisional stage under the extensional environment is much more complicated and attracts great attention because of variable source types and complicated dynamic settings (Edwards et al., 1994; Stern and Kilian, 1996, Sajona et al., 2000). (2) The rocks have a late Himalayan age (18 14 Ma, Qu et al., 2003) and can provide critical constraints on the timing and mechanism of the plateau uplift because the rapid uplift and large-scale E W extension also took place largely in this period in the southern plateau (Williams et al., 2001; Coleman and Hodges, 1995). (3) These porphyries are accompanied by extensive copper (molybdenum, gold) polymetallic mineralization. A deep understanding of their genesis may help us characterize the metallogeny of the Gangdese collisional orogenic belt and make a breakthrough in future copper prospecting. 1.1. Regional tectonic setting The Gangdese porphyry copper belt is located in the Gangdese collisional orogenic belt on the south margin of the Lhasa terrane in the interior of the Tibetan plateau. The north and south boundaries of the terrane are the Bangong Nujiang and Indus Yaluzangbo sutures, respectively (Chang and Zheng, 1973; Allegre et al., 1984; Pierce and Mei, 1988). The convergent collision of the Eurasian continent and Indian continent since the Cretaceous has resulted in N S shortening up to 180 km inside the terrane (Murphy et al., 1997). The sedimentary strata of the Lhasa terrane are composed of a succession of Ordovician, Carboniferous and Triassic shallow-sea clastic rocks (Yin et al., 1988). The Upper Carboniferous Lower Permian are mainly distributed on the north margin of the terrane and considered to be the product of rifting of the north margin of the terrane and opening of the Nujiang oceanic basin (Pierce and Mei, 1988; Gaetani and Garzanti, 1991). In the Mid Late Cretaceous the Indus Yaluzangbo oceanic crust began to be subducted toward the north, resulting in the development of the Gangdese magma arc and forma forearc basin (Allegre et al., 1984; tion of the Xigaze Harrison et al., 1992; Durr, 1996) (Fig. 1). A complete Cretaceous Paleogene forearc sequence is exposed in forearc basin and was subducted along the the Xigaze north-dipping Gangdese thrust (Yin et al., 1994; Harrison et al., 1999). The Gangdese magma arc consists

mainly of late Paleocene early Eocene (60 40 Ma) Linzizong Formation arc volcanic rocks and Cretaceous Tertiary (120 24 Ma) granite batholiths (Allegre et al., 1984; Coulon et al., 1986). Lithologically, the arc volcanic rocks are dominated by andesites and andesitic pyroclastic rocks and display calc-alkaline features typical of the Andean continental-margin arc (Coulon et al., 1986). The ages of the Gangdese granite batholiths range from 120 to 24 Ma and have two intrusion peaks, centered at 55 45 and 30 24 Ma, respectively (Sharer et al., 1984). The first intrusion peak corresponded to the large-scale collision between the Indian and Eurasian continents and still displays arc calc-alkaline magmatic features (Beck et al., 1995: Le Fort, 1996). The second intrusion peak is consistent with the Gangdese thrusting and formed potassic intrusives (30 20 Ma, Yin et al., 1994; Yin and Harrison, 2000). According to the study of Harrison et al. (1992), rapid uplift and unroofing of southern Tibet took place about 20 Ma ago and the present altitude of much of the Tibetan plateau was attained about 8 Ma ago. During the period of 20 to 14 Ma there occurred a nearly N S-trending rift system across the Gangdese Range (Harrison et al., 1995; Coleman and Hodges, 1995). The granitic porphyries studied in this paper are mainly intruded into granite batholiths and have ages of 18 14 Ma (Qu et al., 2003). After experiencing large-scale collision at 55 45 Ma and main thrusting at 30 24 Ma, during the period of 18 14 Ma the Gangdese collisional orogenic belt entered a post-collisional relaxational stage characterized by important relative movements of crustal blocks along shear zones. They are related to the final stage of plate convergence and thus predate anorogenic intraplate magmatism (Kuster and Harms, 1998).

2. Petrography The porphyry copper belt was investigated over about 400 km from the Jiama deposit, Mozhugongka County, westward to the Dongga deposit, Xietongmeng (Fig. 1), the ore-bearing porphyries are generally eroded weakly and have only a small exposed area. In many deposits only tops of the porphyries can be observed at the bottom of gullies. Along the strike of the ore belt the porphyry type and mineralizing element association display regular changes.

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In the Jiama deposit in the east segment of the zone monzogranite porphyries rich in potassium are represented and the mineralization association is of Cu, Pb and Zn polymetallic type. In the Lakange, Nanmu, Tinggong and Chongjiang deposits in the central segment of the zone the ore-bearing porphyries change into granodiorite porphyries and the corresponding mineralization element association is of Cu and Mo type. In the Dongga deposit in the western segment more basic porphyries (diorite porphyrites) are developed and the mineralization element association includes Cu and Au (Fig. 1). The ore-bearing porphyries of the copper belt show a porphyritic texture and a massive structure. The phenocrysts are generally 0.3 3.0 mm in size and constitute about 15 to 40% of rocks. They consist of plagioclase, K-feldspar, quartz and biotite, and in more basic porphyries amphibole phenocrysts appear. Plagioclase phenocrysts are usually subhedral and platy in shape with some alteration minerals such as sericite and carbonate growing on their crystal surfaces. K-feldspar phenocrysts have a low degree of idiomorphism; they are platy or anhedral granular and have a perthitic structure and often display Carlsbad twinning. Argillation is notable on the grain surfaces in general. Quartz phenocrysts are mostly anhedral granular and are markedly corroded by matrices. Occasionally, euhedral hexagonal quartz phenocrysts can be seen. Biotite phenocrysts generally take a wide flake form with a brown color and are often partially replaced by chlorites. They can reach a maximum content of 15% in the porphyries. Amphibole phenocrysts in more basic porphyries are commonly lath-like or rhombohedral. Along their cleavages and margins there occurs epidotization, whose content is commonly < 5%. The principal component minerals of the matrix of the porphyries are the same as those of the phenocryst and mostly have a micro-subhedral granular texture and sometimes a mosaic texture may be seen. Moreover, the matrix has relatively high contents of accessory minerals, including apatite, sphene, zircon and allanite, as well as metal sulfides such as pyrite and chalcopyrite. Among them apatite shows unique characteristics. It crystallizes not only into large euhedral platy-prismatic crystals but also has a notably high content compared with other accessory minerals. In the porphyries we can observe the phenomenon that coarse euhedral pyrite crystals are enclosed by quartz and

plagioclase phenocrysts, suggesting that the parent magmas of the porphyries were rich in Fe and S.

3. Geochemistry Samples of the ore-bearing porphyries in the Gangdese copper belt were collected from six ore districts, namely, Jiama, Lakange, Nanmu, Tinggong, Chongjiang and Dongga (Fig. 1). Owing to occurrence of relatively extensive alteration in these districts, the orebearing porphyries have been always more or less altered, the alteration includes potassic alteration (Kfeldspathization and biotitization), silicification and sericitization, and propylitization. In order to correctly characterize their chemical compositions, the least altered samples from each of the above ore districts were chosen to perform systematic major, trace and rare earth element analyses. The analytic results are listed in Table 1. The sample analyses were performed at the Geological Analysis and Research Centre of Nuclear Industry of China. Major elements of the samples were analyzed on a PHILIPS PW-2404 X-fluorescence spectrometer. The analyzed samples were first fused in Li2B4O7 solution with a sample to solution ratio of 1:5 at temperatures of 1150 1250 jC. Then the fused samples were made into glass discs for analyzing major elements. The accuracy was better than 1%. Except for Bi and Sb, trace and rare earth elements of the samples were determined using ICP-MS on an ELEMENT-2 mass spectrometer. Whole-rock powders (50 mg) were dissolved in sealed Teflon beakers with HNO3 and HF, respectively, for 1 2 days. Then the beakers were opened and HCLO4 was added for further dissolution. After evaporation 5% HNO3 solution were used to dilute the sample to a determined volume of 50 ml for the final measurement. Rock standards of the GBW series were analysed together with samples to check the external reproducibility. The analysis accuracy (RSD) was estimated to be < 2%. Sb and Bi were analysed by atomic fluorescence spectrometry on a double-channel AFS-2202 spectrometer. Detection limit for these elements was 0.05 ppm. 3.1. Major elements The results in Table 1 show that the SiO2 content of ore-bearing porphyries in the Gangdese copper belt

X. Qu et al. / Lithos 74 (2004) 131148 Table 1 Major, trace and rare earth element analyses of the ore-bearing porphyries in the Gangdese copper belt JM-16 SiO2 TiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 FeO MnO MgO CaO Na2O K2O P2O5 H2O+ CO2 LOI Total Ba Be Sc Ti V Cr Mn Co Ni Cu Pb Zn Ga Rb Sr Zr Hf Nb Ta U Th Mo Bi Sn Sb La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm 68.29 0.37 14.71 0.44 1.28 0.05 1.29 1.30 3.25 7.43 0.17 0.40 0.58 99.56 666 2.74 3.78 2418 61.6 20.3 393 19.7 20.8 278 102 1620 17.1 439 235 77.9 2.85 10.0 0.59 8.81 30.0 2.92 0.35 0.83 3.07 37.4 64.3 7.39 26.3 3.95 0.95 3.15 0.34 1.90 0.30 0.93 0.11 JMY-01 68.59 0.39 14.62 1.02 0.97 0.03 1.36 1.88 3.32 6.21 0.17 0.93 0.14 99.63 709 2.71 3.82 2407 63.0 19.8 241 8.82 16.9 82.1 48.3 38.6 17.2 391 415 66.3 2.49 10.2 0.60 8.42 32.2 1.06 0.94 0.93 3.92 34.1 61.7 5.84 24.2 3.84 0.90 2.75 0.28 1.39 0.19 0.66 0.06 JMY-04 67.09 0.47 14.62 0.29 0.77 0.06 1.43 3.65 3.46 6.68 0.20 0.36 0.64 99.72 648 2.73 4.53 2955 74.3 23.4 469 4.47 20.9 40.7 23.5 51.0 18.1 400 213 101 3.54 11.5 0.63 8.05 29.2 0.95 0.09 0.90 6.07 32.3 65.8 6.79 25.8 4.08 0.92 3.02 0.30 1.59 0.22 0.69 0.08 DZL-01 72.42 0.30 15.23 0.44 0.59 0.03 0.55 0.82 4.30 4.06 0.14 0.33 0.53 99.74 582 2.36 2.79 1954 60.7 9.14 212 1.65 6.89 333 13.7 13.4 17.3 117 348 51.1 2.03 6.14 0.39 2.17 8.51 3.75 3.62 1.15 17.0 18.6 37.7 3.97 15.6 2.51 0.69 1.89 0.21 1.08 0.17 0.51 0.07 DZL-05 71.26 0.29 15.58 0.40 1.02 0.04 0.66 2.17 4.42 3.59 0.09 0.10 0.61 100.23 829 1.83 3.07 1903 53.7 8.18 288 2.94 7.76 607 28.1 15.9 17.8 125 656 60.7 2.13 5.33 0.30 2.72 8.59 25.0 1.37 0.35 11.9 19.4 40.9 4.50 16.6 2.63 0.81 2.01 0.20 1.14 0.16 0.53 0.05 DZL-06 70.09 0.29 15.78 0.98 0.94 0.02 0.66 1.93 3.62 3.61 0.10 0.43 1.29 99.74 691 1.83 1.94 1773 48.9 21.3 146 8.45 18.2 515 22.0 68.0 16.9 90.6 490 32.5 1.36 4.86 0.26 1.87 6.84 75.4 1.74 0.55 22.5 17.8 37.8 3.88 14.3 2.29 0.65 1.75 0.17 0.99 0.13 0.47 0.04 DZL-07 71.51 0.29 15.24 0.31 0.63 0.03 0.56 1.77 4.07 4.14 0.09 0.45 0.91 100.00 673 1.82 3.22 2005 52.5 10.95 217 1.57 6.22 233 36.6 18.0 16.4 132 570 40.0 1.70 6.49 0.29 2.06 7.49 49.3 1.52 0.16 4.42 26.4 55.6 5.78 21.8 3.53 0.71 2.59 0.27 1.45 0.20 0.63 0.06 NMY-01 69.71 0.37 15.33 0.73 1.33 0.02 1.15 1.91 4.50 3.43 0.14 1.03 0.05 99.70 989 2.1 4.8 2206 70.0 12.4 155 9.0 23.6 94.9 34.0 53.2 17.7 97.1 564 150 4.4 5.0 0.5 0.80 9.40 26.0 1.34 1.10 0.60 17.39 34.40 3.93 14.27 2.45 0.69 1.64 0.21 1.04 0.18 0.48 0.08 NMY-07 70.07 0.36 15.18 0.61 0.93 0.02 1.09 1.08 3.95 4.93 0.13 0.97 0.29 99.61 738 2.68 2.98 2543 66.9 26.1 315 6.69 22.9 16.1 25.1 27.1 15.8 257 248 67.0 2.60 10.2 0.57 5.85 21.1 1.28 0.15 0.84 2.78 24.2 55.8 5.23 19.7 3.30 0.79 2.32 0.22 1.22 0.16 0.52 0.05 NG-16 68.46 0.47 15.86 1.01 1.40 0.03 0.92 2.88 4.80 2.97 0.17 0.67 0.05 99.69 770 1.52 2.59 2783 67.0 5.76 245 5.17 3.96 11.1 26.7 23.6 17.7 51.1 729 94.9 2.93 4.89 0.18 2.18 7.18 3.27 0.08 0.37 0.50 19.6 45.7 4.84 18.9 3.08 0.84 2.08 0.20 1.02 0.12 0.42 0.03

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NG-18 68.79 0.46 15.76 1.52 0.82 0.02 0.75 2.73 4.66 3.28 0.17 0.69 0.05 99.70 787 1.61 1.80 2639 67.7 4.41 142 2.78 2.84 24.0 20.0 15.8 17.8 53.3 685 94.2 2.90 4.64 0.16 2.35 7.09 1.39 0.17 0.42 0.17 17.1 41.7 4.41 17.5 3.02 0.82 2.03 0.18 0.93 0.10 0.36 0.02

(continued on next page)

136 Table 1 (continued ) JM-16 Yb Lu Y SREE (La/Yb)n Sr/Nd Ce/Pb Ba/La La/Nb Th/Nb Y/Nb Zr/Nb 0.85 0.11 9.07 147.98 29.73 8.94 0.63 17.81 3.74 3.00 0.91 7.79 PI-18 SiO2 TiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 FeO MnO MgO CaO Na2O K2O P2O5 H2O+ CO2 LOI Total Ba Be Sc Ti V Cr Mn Co Ni Cu Pb Zn Ga Rb Sr Zr Hf Nb Ta U Th Mo Bi Sn Sb 68.43 0.40 16.30 0.89 1.68 0.04 0.96 2.25 5.11 2.60 0.13 0.35 0.74 99.88 785 1.66 3.10 2445 78.9 9.83 310 5.22 7.75 245 15.2 13.5 18.7 41.4 469 102 3.04 6.34 0.28 2.36 8.47 14.39 0.29 0.40 0.93 JMY-01 0.62 0.07 6.31 136.60 37.17 17.15 1.28 20.79 3.34 3.16 0.62 6.50 PI-28 66.49 0.57 16.28 3.35 0.47 0.01 0.85 1.07 3.05 3.33 0.22 1.75 3.64 101.88 621 2.01 4.70 3254 94.2 15.9 86 8.91 10.9 1499 61.9 19.4 18.3 120 500 102 3.31 8.01 0.35 3.06 13.7 3.86 4.58 0.80 1.17 JMY-04 0.69 0.08 6.83 142.36 31.63 8.26 2.80 20.06 2.81 2.54 0.59 8.78 NT-03 67.90 0.49 16.09 0.84 1.47 0.01 1.49 1.53 4.61 3.51 0.19 1.14 0.23 99.50 858 2.44 4.60 2671 76.8 4.70 129 2.39 8.49 1633 54.9 40.5 19.4 134 622 79.4 2.74 9.81 0.40 3.85 15.9 15.1 0.30 2.27 1.00

X. Qu et al. / Lithos 74 (2004) 131148

DZL-01 0.47 0.06 5.83 83.53 26.74 22.31 2.75 31.29 3.03 1.39 0.95 8.32 NT-08 66.83 0.39 15.12 0.60 1.87 0.06 1.11 2.86 4.33 3.36 0.17 1.37 1.63 99.70 739 2.59 3.94 2443 59.7 10.4 473 5.59 7.37 50.8 44.7 105 17.9 142 623 48.9 2.00 10.1 0.52 4.99 24.8 2.27 0.20 0.75 1.99

DZL-05 0.50 0.05 6.04 89.48 26.22 39.52 1.46 42.73 3.64 1.61 1.13 11.39 NT-10 64.26 0.58 15.19 1.17 2.17 0.06 1.93 3.38 3.94 3.63 0.23 1.61 1.52 99.67 842 2.88 5.60 3434 93.0 42.7 443 9.18 26.89 58.9 108 67.7 17.9 128 637 91.2 2.95 12.7 0.65 5.19 25.7 2.40 0.33 1.01 1.74

DZL-06 0.40 0.04 5.18 80.71 30.07 34.27 1.72 38.82 3.66 1.41 1.07 6.69 CJ-02 66.41 0.32 14.59 1.08 0.91 0.31 0.90 2.03 4.09 4.35 0.12 1.24 4.05 100.40 522 1.78 3.45 2069 56.3 4.33 2480 5.90 6.92 417 88.2 139 18.9 280 118 68.5 2.32 6.90 0.37 5.94 14.3 13.5 2.93 0.74 36.9

DZL-07 0.55 0.05 6.79 119.62 32.44 26.15 1.52 25.49 4.07 1.15 1.05 6.16 CJ-09 62.93 0.35 14.53 0.61 1.86 0.19 1.42 3.85 2.83 4.55 0.13 1.23 6.32 100.71 827 1.69 3.30 2206 60.1 15.2 1398 6.37 10.9 29.3 39.8 94.7 16.5 252 184 75.8 2.44 6.64 0.36 3.57 14.0 4.46 2.11 0.39 6.79

NMY-01 0.47 0.08 5.00 77.31 25.00 39.52 1.01 56.87 3.48 1.88 1.00 30.00 CJ-20 64.90 0.41 15.38 1.16 1.36 0.07 0.76 3.24 3.22 4.08 0.15 1.05 4.86 100.64 711 1.85 3.53 2574 59.7 7.43 547 5.91 7.42 16.7 26.7 65.7 17.4 195 309 91.6 2.95 6.94 0.32 2.90 11.4 6.22 0.32 0.60 6.46

NMY-07 0.55 0.06 5.04 114.12 29.73 12.59 2.22 30.50 2.37 2.07 0.49 6.57 CJ-22 67.87 0.35 15.75 0.63 1.50 0.09 0.82 2.40 3.71 3.18 0.13 1.13 3.11 100.67 710 2.05 3.22 2251 49.4 17.10 697 4.74 8.40 74.3 57.6 109 17.6 134 290 72.2 2.46 7.64 0.40 2.94 10.7 1.56 0.33 0.54 20.3

NG-16 0.39 0.03 4.29 97.25 33.96 38.57 1.71 39.29 4.01 1.47 0.88 19.41 DG-15 60.85 0.42 16.05 0.88 6.37 0.16 2.53 4.95 2.34 2.08 0.10 1.15 2.47 100.35 207 0.88 11.1 2554 110 2.78 1051 4.99 5.42 119 117 63.3 13.8 45.4 198 51.6 1.71 8.00 0.42 0.60 2.58 0.41 0.24 0.21 11.9

NG-18 0.33 0.02 3.92 88.52 35.02 39.14 2.09 46.02 3.69 1.53 0.84 20.30 DG-21 61.39 0.47 17.47 2.51 3.28 0.14 1.91 4.29 4.44 1.04 0.10 1.30 2.21 100.55 87 0.68 14.0 2747 123 4.76 1018 4.95 7.00 30.9 12.8 97.1 15.5 25.3 47.3 46.1 1.70 8.24 0.43 1.18 3.43 0.30 0.19 0.25 29.9

X. Qu et al. / Lithos 74 (2004) 131148 Table 1 (continued ) PI-18 La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu Y SREE (La/Yb)n Sr/Nd Ce/Pb Ba/La La/Nb Th/Nb Y/Nb Zr/Nb 16.9 47.4 4.32 15.6 2.90 0.77 2.15 0.24 1.26 0.18 0.61 0.06 0.60 0.06 6.22 93.05 19.03 30.06 3.12 46.45 2.67 1.34 0.98 16.09 PI-28 33.1 64.5 7.74 29.4 4.82 1.13 3.39 0.32 1.64 0.22 0.68 0.07 0.56 0.06 6.89 147.63 39.94 17.01 1.04 18.76 4.13 1.71 0.86 12.73 NT-03 28.2 66.5 8.44 33.1 5.88 1.28 4.12 0.47 2.39 0.35 1.02 0.12 0.92 0.10 9.12 152.89 20.71 18.79 1.21 30.42 2.87 1.62 0.93 8.09 NT-08 29.9 58.5 6.21 23.7 3.84 0.95 2.84 0.28 1.47 0.19 0.62 0.06 0.51 0.05 6.84 129.12 39.62 26.29 1.31 24.72 2.96 2.46 0.68 4.84 NT-10 36.4 73.1 8.72 32.4 5.32 1.25 3.65 0.37 1.87 0.27 0.78 0.08 0.64 0.07 7.67 164.92 38.43 19.66 0.68 23.13 2.87 2.02 0.60 7.18 CJ-02 20.9 42.0 4.68 18.1 2.97 0.77 2.08 0.21 1.12 0.14 0.50 0.5 0.44 0.05 5.08 94.01 31.38 6.52 0.48 24.98 3.03 2.07 0.74 9.93 CJ-09 21.0 43.0 4.77 17.7 3.02 0.83 2.21 0.23 1.25 0.16 0.53 0.05 0.45 0.04 5.44 95.24 31.54 10.40 1.08 39.38 3.16 2.11 0.82 11.42 CJ-20 20.8 40.2 4.74 18.8 3.00 0.86 2.28 0.23 1.25 0.15 0.51 0.04 0.44 0.04 5.08 93.34 31.94 16.44 1.51 34.18 3.00 1.64 0.73 13.20 CJ-22 18.3 45.9 4.11 16.0 2.73 0.71 1.99 0.20 1.09 0.14 0.47 0.04 0.43 0.04 4.95 92.15 28.76 24.38 0.80 38.80 2.40 1.40 0.65 9.45 DG-15 10.3 21.7 2.42 10.2 2.11 0.72 2.31 0.34 2.36 0.43 1.41 0.20 1.38 0.18 12.2 56.09 5.04 19.41 0.19 20.10 1.29 0.32 1.53 6.45

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DG-21 14.7 27.1 3.17 13.0 2.82 0.92 2.91 0.44 2.94 0.58 1.76 0.26 1.78 0.24 15.7 72.62 5.58 3.63 2.12 5.92 1.78 0.42 1.91 5.59

The samples JM-, JMY- were collected from Jiama deposit; DZL- from Lakange deposit; NMY-, NG-, PI- from Nanmu deposit; NT- from Tinggong deposit; CJ- from chongjiang deposit; DG- from Dongga deposit.

ranges from 60.85 to 72.42 wt.% and tend to decrease from east to west along the belt. These porphyries are evidently rich in potassium and have a K2O range of 2.34 7.43 wt.%. In the K2O SiO2 diagram (Fig. 2a) most of the samples are plotted in the high-K calcalkaline and shoshonite fields except two samples from the Dongga deposit in the west segment of the copper belt which belong to the medium-K calcalkaline series. The K-rich features of these porphyries are consistent with the features of magmatism produced in an extensional environment in the postcollisional orogenic stage in other orogenic belts of the world (Bloomer et al., 1989; Edwards et al., 1994). The Na2O content varies from 2.37 to 5.11 wt.% and shows a weakly positive correlation with SiO2 in Fig. 2b. Their Al2O3 and TiO2 contents range from 14.53 to 17.47 wt.% and from 0.29 to 0.58 wt.%, respectively, and both show a weak negative correlation with SiO2 (Fig. 2c,d). Unlike the above, the CaO and MgO contents range from 1.07 to 4.95 wt.% and 0.55 to 2.53 wt.%, respectively, and display a clear negative correlation with SiO2 (Fig. 2e,f). The P2O5 shows the

same behaviour as TiO2, i.e. displays a weak negative correlation with SiO2 (Fig. 2g). These petrological geochemical characteristics of the ore-bearing porphyries in the Gangdese copper belt are the result of evolution of the Gangdese collisional orogenic belt to a particular stage. In Batchelor and Bowden (1985), R1 R2 diagram which reflects a whole orogenic cycle these porphyries mostly plot in the late orogenic environments after the collision of India and Eurasia (Fig. 3). This distribution pattern is coincident with the evolutionary history of the orogenic belt and most likely represents crustal uplift and relaxation after collisional convergence ceased. 3.2. Trace elements Fig. 4a presents N-MORB-normalized trace element patterns of the ore-bearing porphyries in the Gangdese copper belt. This figure indicates that trace element concentrations in these ore-bearing porphyries show regular variations. Their large ion lithophile elements (LILE) Rb, K, Sr, U, Th and Pb are

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Fig. 2. Major element Harker diagrams of the ore-bearing porphyries in the Gangdese copper belt. oJiama deposit; dLakange deposit; qNanmu deposit; cTinggong deposit; w Chongjiang deposit; 5Dongga deposit.

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Fig. 3. R1 R2 diagram of the ore-bearing porphyies in the Gangdese copper belt (after Batchelor and Bowden, 1985). oJiama deposit; dLakange deposit; qNanmu deposit; cTinggong deposit; w Chongjiang deposit; 5Dongga deposit.

highly enriched, while the high field strength elements (HFSE) Nb, Ta and Ti and the heavy rare earth element (HREE) Yb are strongly depleted. In addition, the fluid-mobile element Ba is also depleted relative to the fluid-nonmobile element Th. All these features clearly suggest the characteristics of magmatism typical of a subduction zone (Wilson, 1989). Moreover, the relative depletion of Ba indicates that this enrichment was little related to fluids released from a subducted-slab because Ba is the most mobile element in such fluids (Bedard, 1999; Seghedi et al., 2001). The strong depletion of the HREE Yb in Fig. 4a was evidently related to relict garnet in the magma sources (Sun and Stern, 2001). The porphyries from the Dongga deposit in the west segment are notably different from those from the middle and east segments. Although they have generally consistent trace element patterns, e.g. similar enrichment and depletion associations (Fig. 4a), the degrees of LILE enrichment and HREE depletion in porphyries in the west segment are markedly weaker than those in the middle and east segments.

Fig. 4. Geochemical variation diagrams of the ore-bearing porphyries in the Gangdese copper belt. (a) N-MORB-normalized trace element spider diagram; (b) chondrite-normalized rare earth element distribution pattern. oJiama deposit (JM-16); dLakange deposit (DZL-05); cTinggong deposit (NT-08); qNanmu deposit (NMY-07); w Chongjiang deposit (CJ-09); 5Dongga deposit (DG-21).

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Again considering the information of tectonic environment from Fig. 3, it seems that the ore-bearing porphyries in the Dongga deposit display more arc magmatic features than those of other deposits. Despite these, the substantially consistent geochemical features of the whole copper belt still suggest that some subducted slab-related components played an important role in the magma generation of the ore-bearing porphyries and the components involved dominantly were melts instead of fluids. 3.3. Rare earth elements (REE) Like trace elements, the REE of the ore-bearing porphyries in the Gangdese copper belt also display very consistent variation, with SREE = 56 165 ppm and notable LREE and HREE fractionation. Except the samples from the Dongga deposit which show low fractionation ((La/Yb)n = 5.04 5.58), all the other orebearing porphyries show strong LREE/HREE fractionation ((La/Yb)n = 19.03 39.94) and lack a negative Eu anomaly. Their chondrite-normalized patterns (Fig. 4b) slope smoothly down to the right, which is consistent

with mantle magmatism and different from upper crustal magmatism (Wilson, 1989).

4. S and Pb isotopic compositions For a long time S and Pb isotopes have been considered as one of the most effective means for the study of the ore-forming material source (Rui et al., 1984; Zhang, 1985). Moreover, many studies have shown that Pb isotopes are good discriminator of different sources in orogenic magmatism (Faure, 1986; Edwards et al., 1994; Miller et al., 1994). Therefore, we carried out a systematic analysis of ore-bearing porphyries and ore sulfides from the Jiama, Lakange, Nanmu, Tinggong, Chongjiang and Dongga ore districts. The analytical results of the ore-bearing porphyries are shown in Table 2. Sulfur isotopic analysis was performed by the Isotopic Lab. of the Institute of Mineral Resources. The ore-bearing porphyry samples were first treated with the carbonate-zinc oxide semifusion technique to extract pure BaSO4, and then prepare final SO2 samples with the V2O5 oxidation

Table 2 S, Pb isotopic compositions of the ore-bearing porphyries and sulphides in the Gangdese Copper belt Deposit Jiama Number JM-16 JMY-01 JMY-04 DZL-01 DZL-05 DZL-06 DZL-07 NMY-01 NMY-07 NG-16 NG-18 PI-18 PI-28 NT-03 NT-08 NT-10 CJ-02 CJ-09 CJ-20 CJ-22 DG-15 DG-21 Sample granite porphyry d34S/x 0.6 NA NA ND 1.9 3.8 1.1 0.4 NA NA NA 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.9 ND 3.8 0.6 0.4 1.9 1.0 1.3
206

P/204Pb

207

P/204Pb

208

P/204Pb

Lakange

granodiorite porphyry

Nanmu

granodiorite porphyry

Tinggong

granodiorite porphyry

Chongujiang

granodiorite porphyry

Dongga

diorite porphyrite

18.628 F 0.009 18.639 F 0.010 18.661 F 0.008 18.409 F 0.012 18.369 F 0.013 18.469 F 0.011 18.461 F 0.009 18.569 F 0.004 18.381 F 0.010 18.408 F 0.017 18.424 F 0.011 18.423 F 0.020 18.432 F 0.015 18.408 F 0.019 18.437 F 0.007 18.446 F 0.011 18.475 F 0.009 18.414 F 0.011 18.447 F 0.017 18.423 F 0.020 18.372 F 0.020 18.315 F 0.008

15.626 F 0.008 15.620 F 0.008 15.618 F 0.007 15.535 F 0.010 15.502 F 0.011 15.582 F 0.009 15.590 F 0.008 15.618 F 0.003 15.552 F 0.009 15.575 F 0.015 15.586 F 0.009 15.593 F 0.0017 15.612 F 0.013 15.567 F 0.016 15.581 F 0.006 15.605 F 0.010 15.606 F 0.008 15.561 F 0.010 15.575 F 0.014 15.563 F 0.017 15.528 F 0.017 15.501 F 0.007

38.930 F 0.020 38.924 F 0.020 38.960 F 0.018 38.478 F 0.026 38.389 F 0.027 38.587 F 0.023 38.640 F 0.019 38.717 F 0.007 38.434 F 0.021 38.546 F 0.036 38.520 F 0.022 38.567 F 0.043 38.648 F 0.031 38.609 F 0.040 38.620 F 0.014 38.695 F 0.024 38.726 F 0.019 38.554 F 0.023 38.561 F 0.036 38.543 F 0.043 38.307 F 0.042 38.175 F 0.017

ND: not detected; NA: not analysed.

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technique. The final samples were analyzed on a MAT251 EM mass spectrometer and the results were expressed using the international standard CDT with the analysis accuracy better than F 0.2x . Pb isotopic analysis was completed at the Geological Analysis and Research Centre of Nuclear Industry of China. The samples were first decomposed with nitric, hydrofluoric, and perchloric acid in sequence. Pb was separated from the treated samples with the resin exchange technique. The samples evaporated to dryness were analyzed on a MAT261 mass spectrometer. Accuracies are < 0.05% and < 0.005% for 204Pb/206Pb and 208Pb/206Pb, respectively, for 1 Ag Pb. In the analysis of the samples the international standard NBS981 was also measured, which yielded the following results: 208Pb/206Pb =2.162189 with an error of 0.0027%; 207Pb/206Pb =0.913626 with error 0.0059%; and 204Pb/206Pb =0.059201 with error 0.015%. 4.1. S isotopic composition As shown in Table 2, the S isotopic composition of the ore-bearing porphyries in the whole copper belt is quite homogeneous and the d34S values exhibit a narrow variation range of 3.8xto + 1.3xwith a mean value of 0.25x , generally indicative of the

mantle sulfur signature (0.0x , de Hoog et al., 2001). In terms of the regional variation, the d34S values of the middle and east segments of the copper belt tend to be negative, ranging from 3.8x to + 1.1x with a mean of 1.04x and the d34S values of the porphyries of the Dongga deposit in the west segment vary from + 1.0xto + 1.3x . This difference indicates that there is appreciable difference in source composition of the ore-bearing porphyries between the west segment and the middle and east segments of the copper belt. 4.2. Pb isotopic composition The results in Table 2 show that the ore-bearing porphyries of the Gangdese copper belt are characterized by radiogenic Pb enrichment. Their 206Pb/204Pb, 207 Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb values are 18.106 18.752, 15.476 15.638 and 37.934 39.00, respectively, and the radiogenic Pb has a trend of decreasing from east to west. In the plumbotectonic framework diagram of Zartman and Doe (1981), the Pb isotope samples of the ore-bearing porphyries from the middle to west segments show a good linear correlation except for three samples from the Jiama deposit in the east segment that form a separate group in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5. Pb isotopic tectonic framework diagrams of the ore-bearing porphyries in the Gangdese copper belt. oJiama deposit; dLakange deposit; cTinggong deposit; qNanmu deposit; w Chongjiang deposit; 5Dongga deposit.

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Radiogenic Pb evolves from orogenic Pb in the middle segment to mantle Pb in the west segment and was all far away from the upper and lower crust evolution lines. According to Edwards et al. (1994), this Pb isotopic composition pattern reflects a mixing line between orogenic and mantle materials. The orebearing porphyries from the Jiama deposit contain higher radiogenic Pb, implying that more upper crustal materials were involved in its source region in comparison with other ore districts.

5. Discussion 5.1. Adakite characteristics of the ore-bearing porphyries in the Gangdese copper belt During orogenic belt evolution, the post-collisional process is the longest and most complicated. It generally begins from ocean basin closure but is still accompanied by large-scale horizontal terrane movement along mega-shear zones and rise of the regional isotherms (Liegeois et al., 1998). From formation age (18 14 Ma, Qu et al., 2003) and major element chemistry (Fig. 3) of the ore-bearing rocks, it is inferred that they may have formed in a post-collisional relaxation environment characterized by important relative movements of crustal blocks along shear zones. In the sliding normalization diagram (Fig. 6), they plot in the fields of high-K calc-alkaline and shoshonitic rocks and display much consistency with syn-shear volcanic rocks of Liegeois et al. (1998). They may represent a late stage in the complicated post-collisional evolution history of the Gangdese orogenic belt. Fig. 6 also shows that they are notably different from the shoshonitic volcanic rocks from the Tibetan plateau which Turner et al. (1996) interpreted as the product of convective thinning of mantle lithosphere in a postcollisional environment. Geochemically, it appears that subducted slab-related components play a controlling role in their magma genesis (Fig. 4a). The enrichment of the LILE Rb, K, Th, U, Sr and Pb and depletion of the HFSE Nb, Ta and Ti and the HREE Yb are the basic characteristics typical of the magmatism in a subduction belt (Wilson, 1989). It is necessary to point out that the depletion of Ba relative to Th among the enriched elements suggests that the enrichment was not induced by the fluids released by the subducted slab in arc

Fig. 6. The NYTS sliding diagram of (Rb Th U Ta) (Zr Ce Sm Y Yb) of the ore bearing porphyries from Gangdese copper belt (after Liegeois et al., 1998). The normalizing values are calculated according to Table 3 of Liegeois et al. NYTSpostcollisional granitoids of the Yenchichi Telabit series;
shoshonitic lavas from Tibet (Turner et al., 1996); oJiama deposit; d Lakange deposit; cTinggong deposit; qNanmu deposit; w Chongjiang deposit; 5Dongga deposit.

magmatism but by the melts derived from the subducted slab, because previous studies (Bedard, 1999; Seghedi et al., 2001) indicated that Ba is the most mobile incompatible element in arc magmatism caused by fluids released from the subducted slab, whereas Th is preferentially enriched in melts derived from the subducted slab. This is also an essential difference between the subduction-compression stage and the post-collisional stage of continental crust extension in magmatism of an arc orogenic belt (Sajona et al., 2000; Romer et al., 2001). In the Ba Nb/Y diagram (Fig. 7a) proposed by Kepezhinskas et al. (1997) after studying the Kamchatka arc belt and the Th/Yb Sr/Nd diagram (Fig. 7b) presented by Woodhead et al. (1998) based on Quarternary volcanic rocks of the New Britain island arc, the ore-bearing porphyries of the Gangdese copper

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Fig. 7. Trace element ratio diagrams of the ore-bearing porphyries in the Gangdese copper belt. (a) Ba Nb/Y diagram (after Kepezhinskas et al., 1997); (b) Th/Yb Sr/Nd diagram (after Woodhead et al., 1998); (c) Sr/Y Y diagram (after Kepezhinskas et al., 1997); (d) La/Yb Yb diagram (Castillo et al., 1999). oJiama deposit; dLakange deposit; cTinggong deposit; qNanmu deposit; w Chongjiang deposit; 5Dongga deposit.

belt show that the magmatic enrichment was related to melts derived from the subducted slab rather than fluids from it. The slight upward deviation of the samples from field I in Fig. 7b means that there were only scarce residual fluids present in the subducted slab (oceanic crust and sediments) during their partial melting. In recent years, people have extensively noted that melts derived from a subducted slab played an important role in arc magmatism in many orogenic belts of the world ((Stern and Kilian, 1996; Bedard, 1999;

Sajona et al., 2000). Kay (1978) named such kind of rock found in Adak Island of the South Pacific Ocean as adakite. Defant and Drummond (1990) summarized the geochemical characteristics of adakite as follows: Al2O3>15 wt.%, low HREE (Yb < 1.9 ppm) and Y (< 18 ppm) contents, high Sr (>400 ppm) content and Sr/Y ratio >40, and positive Sr and Eu anomalies. Except the samples from the Dongga deposit in the west segment the bulk of the late orogenic ore-bearing porphyries in the Gangdese

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copper belt accord with the above-mentioned standards. Their Al2O3 contents range from 14.53 to 16.30 wt.% with an average of 15.36 wt.%. The high Sr concentrations ranging from 118 to 729 ppm with an average of 445 ppm and Sr/Y ratios ranging from 23.23 to 174.70 are consistent with those of adakite. Especially, their Yb and Y contents are much lower than those of adakite, ranging from 0.33 to 0.912 ppm with an average of 0.54 ppm and from 3.92 ppm to 9.12 ppm with an average of 6.08 ppm (Table 1), respectively, suggesting that the residual fractionation of garnet in the magma sources was much stronger than normal adakite. In the Sr/Y Y (Fig. 7c) and La/ Yb Yb diagrams (Fig. 7d), they are clearly plotted within the adakite field. From above, it can be concluded that the ore-bearing porphyries of the Gangdese copper belt possess the essential characteristics of adakite. 5.2. Source end-member components As more end-member variables are involved in magmatism occurring in the post-collisional stage than in the subductional arc-forming stage in an arc orogenic belt, it is difficult to recognize the magmatism from this stage. The end-member components in such a magma source may include: (1) fluids released by subducted slabs, (2) melts derived from melting of subducted sediments, (3) melts derived from melting of subducted oceanic crust, (4) MORB-type mantle, and (5) OIB-type mantle (Bedard, 1999; Sajona et al., 2000). Due to the differences in subduction rate, subduction angle, oceanic crust type and sediment composition, the proportion and role of every end-member component involved in magmatism may vary greatly in different arc orogenic belts (Edwards et al., 1994; Stern and Kilian, 1996; Bedard, 1999; Sajona et al., 2000; Sun and Stern, 2001; Romer et al., 2001). The trace element geochemistry of the potassic porphyries formed in the post-collision stage of the Gangdese orogenic belt demonstrates that subduction-related components played an important role in the magma generation. Meanwhile Ba depletion relative to Th basically eliminates the possibility that fluids from subducted-slabs played a dominant role in magma generation. This component relationship is more clearly manifested in the Ba Nb/Y and

Th/Yb Sr/Nd diagrams (Fig. 7a,b), from which we know that the generation of the bulk of ore-bearing porphyries was related to melts derived from subducted slabs and hardly related to the effect of subduction-related fluids. Their mantle source is of OIB-type nature. The samples from the Dongga deposit in the west segment are exceptions, these plot between the melt-related field and the MORB field in Fig. 7a and approach the slab-derived fluid in Fig. 7b, implying that they were probably formed with more involvement of MORB-type mantle in the earlier stage (subduction?). After the dominant role of subduction-related melts in the porphyry generation has been confirmed, the next question waiting for an answer is to discriminate the mutual proportions of the melts from subducted oceanic crust and from subducted sediments involved in the genesis of porphyry magma. Taking into consideration the adakite characteristics of these ore-bearing porphyries and the original definition of the adakite in which they are formed by direct melting of subducted crust (Defant and Drummond, 1990), we infer that the ore-bearing porphyries in the Gangdese copper belt mainly originated from partial melting of subducted oceanic crust. A role of melt from subducted sediments is indicated by their Pb isotopes. In Fig. 5, their Pb isotopic composition displays a good linear array which Stolz et al. (1990) explained as a mixing line between mantle and subducted sediments. The ore-bearing porphyries of the Gangdese copper belt clearly plot between Indian Ocean sediments and the Indian Ocean-type MORB source in the Pb isotope diagrams (Fig. 8, Edwards et al., 1994) and show an evident mixing relationship. Unlike the information from trace elements (Fig. 7), the porphyries from the Dongga deposit in the west segment are continuously colinear with the porphyries of the middle segment and the porphyries from the Jiama deposit of the east segment are notably deviated to the sediment source in Pb isotope diagrams (Fig. 8). From this distribution pattern, we know that the porphyries of the Jiama deposit in the east segment contain markedly more sediment components than those in the middle and west segments. Fig. 8 also shows that the subducted oceanic crust involved in the porphyry magmagenesis had a close compositional affinity to Indian Ocean-type MORB. Along

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Fig. 8. Pb isotopic source compared diagrams of the ore-bearing porphyries in the Gangdese copper belt (after Edwards et al., 1994). oJiama deposit; dLakange deposit; cTinggong deposit; qNanmu deposit; w Chongjiang deposit; 5Dongga deposit.

the strike of the copper belt the trace elements show a gap between the Dongga porphyries with more mantle wedge components and those of the middle and east segments (Fig. 7), while Pb isotopes show a gap between the Jiama porphyries with more sediment components and those of the middle and west segments (Fig. 8), the reason lies in that trace elements (especially HFSE) possess powerful constraints on the mantle sources (Edwards et al., 1994), whereas Pb isotopes are more sensitive to sediments rich in Pb (Kepezhinskas et al., 1997; Edwards et al., 1994). S isotope provides additional information on source material compositions of the ore-bearing porphyries. From Table 2, it is found that the porphyries from the Dongga deposit in the west segment of the copper belt have positive d34S values, ranging from + 1.0x to 1.3x , close to the values of the subarc mantle wedge ( + 4xto + 7x , de Hoog et al., 2001). Along the copper belt toward the east the d34S values of the ore-bearing porphyries become negative and range from 3.8x to + 1.1x , with an average of 1.0x . This variation may be related to the involvement of more sediment components in the source magmatism.

5.3. Implications for the delamination of the mantle lithosphere and E W extension in the southern Tibetan plateau The ore-bearing porphyries formed in a late stage of post-collisional evolution history of the Gangdese orogenic belt and have the essential characteristics of adakite. The geochemistry indicates that they were derived from partial melting of the subducted oceanic crust and adhered sediment after being transformed to garnet amphibolite and/or eclogite in the deep subduction belt and accompanied by a considerable amount of residual garnet left in the magma sources. Of course we cannot exclude the interaction of these partial melts with the asthenospheric and lithospheric mantle during their generation and uplift. Austrheim et al., (1997) pointed out that the phase transformation of basaltic crust to garnet amphibolite and/or eclogite can occur at the bottom of the lower crust in a thickened crust region. Once this transformation was completed they would become part of the mantle lithosphere. These subducted and transformed oceanic crustal slabs would suffer from partial melting due to thermal rebounding as soon as the subduction stopped. Accumulation of a large amount of residual garnet in the magma sources

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would lead to an increase in the density of the mantle lithosphere transformed from the subducted slab. After a critical value is reached they would be subjected to delamination and sink into the asthenosphere due to the gravitational instability (negative buoyancy). This would result in chaos of the asthenospheric materials and their upwelling in the form of mantle plumes. Leech (2001) discussed and verified such a genetic relationship, i.e. the process from eclogitization to delamination to asthenospheric upwelling to crustal relaxation and collapse. The Gangdese collisional orogenic belt was very likely to follow such a path. England and Houseman (1989) explained the rapid uplift and E W extension of the southern Tibetan plateau as a result of large-scale mantle lithosphere delamination since the Neogene. Based on the study of the N S-trending potassic dikes in the Gangdese magmatic arc, Williams et al. (2001) proposed that the rapid uplift and E W extension after the Neogene in the southern Tibetan plateau resulted from mantle lithosphere thinning between 18.3 and 13.3 Ma ago. Turner et al. (1996) and Miller et al. (1999) studied the post-collisional potassic volcanic rocks from southwestern Tibet (25 17 Ma) and northern Tibet (largely after 13 Ma) and also considered convective thinning of the mantle lithosphere beneath the plateau as the most likely genetic model. However, there is still much uncertainty about the cause for the large-scale delamination or thinning of the mantle lithosphere. The porphyries studied in this paper present an answer to this question. Their extensive occurrence in the Gangdese magma arc implies that large-scale lithospheric delamination may have taken place beneath the Gangdese orogenic belt. Biotite and plagioclase phenocrysts from the ore-bearing porphyries in Chongjiang and Lakange deposits yield formation ages of 18 14 Ma (Qu et al., 2003). If it is accepted that the ore-bearing porphyries of the Gangdese orogenic belt acted as a trigger for the delamination of the mantle lithosphere beneath the plateau, then it is reasonable that the postcollisional potassic volcanic rocks formed largely after 13 Ma (Turner et al., 1996) are the result of the convective thinning of the mantle lithosphere beneath the plateau. Combined with the data of Williams et al. (2001), we further deduce that the copper polymetallic mineralization associated with the post-collisional orebearing porphyries in the Gangdese orogenic belt most probably took place simultaneously with rapid uplift of

the southern Tibetan plateau and spanned a duration of 18 13 Ma.

6. Conclusions The Gangdese copper belt is the second largest porphyry-type copper belt on the Tibetan plateau after the Yulong copper belt. Our study is helpful to understand the evaluation of the copper belt. Based on the systematic study of the ore-bearing porphyries from six copper deposits (Jiama, Nanmu, Lakange, Chongjiang, Tinggong and Dongga) in about 400 km long investigated region, the following main conclusions may be drawn. (1) The ore-bearing porphyries of the Gangdese copper belt were formed in the late orogenic stage of the post-collisional evolution history in the Gangdese orogenic belt and have intrusion ages of 18 14 Ma. Petrochemically, they belong to the shoshonite and high-K calc-alkaline series. (2) The ore-bearing porphyries are geochemically characterized by enrichment of the LILE Rb, K, Sr, Th, U and Pb and depletion of the HSFE Nb, Ta and Ti and the HREE Yb, revealing an important role of subduction-related components in the magma generation. (3) The ore-bearing porphyries possess the essential characteristics of adakite, including high Sr contents (118 729 ppm, with an average of 445 ppm) and Sr/Y ratios (23.23 174.70, with an average of 77.15), and low HREE contents (Yb = 0.33 0.42 ppm with an average of 0.54 ppm) and Y contents (3.92 9.12 ppm, with an average of 6.08 ppm). Moreover, they show a marked depletion in the fluid-mobile element Ba relative to the fluid-nonmobile element Th. All of these characteristics in common demonstrate that the ore-bearing porphyries mainly originated from partial melting of subducted oceanic crust and were mixed with minor amounts of sediment melts and mantle wedge components. (4) The magma source composition of the orebearing porphyries displays regionally regular variation. In a general setting dominated by melts derived from subducted oceanic crust, the porphyry magmas contain more subducted

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sediment components in the Jiama deposit of the east segment with a decrease of the subducted sediment components and an increase of mantle wedge components towards the west along the copper belt. (5) The generation of the ore-bearing porphyries of the Gangdese copper belt acted as a trigger for delamination and thinning of the mantle lithosphere beneath the southern Tibetan plateau. Their formation ages of 18 14 Ma may be considered as the start time of the rapid uplifting and E W extension of the plateau. Due to some lag in the mineralization age relative to the porphyry age, the authors think that the largescale copper polymetallic mineralization along the Gangdese orogenic belt may have probably occurred simultaneously with the rapid uplift and E W extension of the southern Tibetan plateau.

Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to engineer in chief LuYan and senior engineer WanYongwen and HuangWei of Xizang Exploration Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resource for their help in the field investigation. Professor O.Eklund is thanked very much for his review and enlightening comments. The authors also acknowledge the help of research fellow, Fei Zhenbi, in improving the manuscript English.

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