Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb Age of the Yuhai Porphyry Copper Deposit in Eastern Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang and Its Tectonic Implications

The middle-large sized Yuhai copper deposit in Eastern Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang was discovered in 2011 by No. 704 Geological Party of Xinjiang Nonferrous Bureau. The characteristics of geology, petrology geochemistry, orebody geology and alteration zoning show that the Yuhai copper deposit belongs to the porphyry Cu type, with ore-bearing intrusion being a set of sodium rich diorite-granodiorite bodies formed under the condition of ocean-continental subduction. Zircon SHRIMP U–Pb dating shows that the age of Yuhai intrusive rock is (422.3±4.0) Ma. This is the first discovery of an intrusive rock of early Paleozoic in the Jueluotage metallogenic belt. These data, combined with the regional tectonic evolution and the ancient oceanic crust of the Kangur tectonic belt, support the argument that North Tianshan Ocean was under the subcution state from the Ordovician to early Carboniferous, and this conclusion provides evidence for tectonic evolution of Eastern Tianshan Mountains of early Paleozoic. The results achieved by the authors provide better tectonic implications for guiding exploration of Yuhai type copper deposits in this region.