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Mineralogy, geochemistry, and evolution of the Mivehrood skarn and the associated pluton, northwest Iran

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Abstract

An Upper Miocene (9.12 ± 0.19 Ma; biotite 40Ar/39Ar) shallow pluton and numerous dykes and sills of felsic–intermediate compositions intruded the Upper Cretaceous, flysch-type sediments in the Mivehrood area, northwest Iran. The intrusions caused extensive thermal metamorphism and metasomatism, leading to the formation of hornfels and skarn. A massive skarn, 1–10 m thick, immediate to the intrusive contact, is bordered by a banded skarn, 100–400 m thick, that grades outward into hornfels and original sediments. The Mivehrood pluton is characterized by steep REE pattern, high Al2O3 (14.64–16.4 wt%) and Sr (380–786 ppm), and low MgO (1.3–3.4 wt%), Y (4.8–10.7 ppm), and Yb (0.35–0.95 ppm), characteristics typical of high-silica adakites. Skarn formation started with thermal metamorphism, followed by anhydrous prograde and hydrous retrograde stages. Prograde and retrograde mineral assemblages are developed in both skarns, represented by garnet–clinopyroxene–wollastonite and epidote–actinolite–scapolite–chlorite, respectively. Granditic F-bearing garnet dominates clinopyroxene in both skarns. The banded skarn contains minor scapolite of marialite composition. The calc-silicate mineral assemblages and the mineral chemistry allow the Mivehrood skarn to be classified as a calcic, oxidized skarn. Mass balance assessments suggest that Fe, Si, and S were significantly enriched, and Na, LILEs, and LREEs were strongly depleted, in the massive skarn. In the banded skarn, Na, K, Si, and S were enriched. Significant dehydration and carbon degassing occurred in both skarns. Stockworks, veins, and replacement bodies of pyrite ± chalcopyrite locally occur in the pluton and the dykes and in the skarns. The δ34SCDT values for the sulfides fall in a narrow range around 0.0 ‰, suggesting a magmatic source for sulfur and possibly the hydrothermal water and solutes involved in the skarn formation.

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Acknowledgments

The research was financially supported by East Azarbaijan Bureau of Mines (EABM). We would like to express our sincere thanks to H. Farahmand, the director, and S. Gholami, the chief geologist at EABM. We greatly appreciate M. Zarghami, a former geologist at EABM, for proposing the subject and for his support throughout the studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Earth Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, P.O. Box: 15875-4731, Tehran, Iran

    Saeed Alirezaei & Morteza Einali

  2. Ottawa-Carleton Geosciences Centre, University of Carleton, Ottawa, Canada

    Peter Jones

  3. Department of Geology, Payame Noor University, Karaj, Iran

    Shohreh Hassanpour

  4. Department of Geology, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

    Reza Arjmandzadeh

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  1. Saeed Alirezaei
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  2. Morteza Einali
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Correspondence to Saeed Alirezaei.

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Alirezaei, S., Einali, M., Jones, P. et al. Mineralogy, geochemistry, and evolution of the Mivehrood skarn and the associated pluton, northwest Iran. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 105, 849–868 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-015-1200-4

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