Major and Trace Element Chemical Compositional Signatures of Some Granitic Rocks Related to Metal Mineralization in Japan

Abstract

We analyzed the major and trace element chemical compositions of 66 granitic rocks from 15 different areas in Japan. The intrusions from which the samples were collected were associated with Pb-Zn, Mo, Cu-Fe, Sn, or W mineralization and, for comparison, samples were also collected from intrusions not associated with any metal mineralization. The analyses indicated that the granitic rocks associated with Pb-Zn, Mo, or Cu-Fe mineralization were granites, granodiorites, or diorites, and that they were all I-type and formed in a volcanic arc tectonic setting. The granitic rocks associated with Sn or W mineralization and barren granitic rocks were classified as granites and as I-type with the exception of a few S-type granitic rocks. Most of the Sn- or W-associated granitic rocks and barren granitic rocks are thought to have formed in a volcanic arc tectonic setting. The Pb-Zn-, Mo-, or Cu-Fe-associated granitic rocks rarely shows negative Eu anomalies and a few of them are adakitic rocks, whereas all of the Sn- or W-associated granitic rocks and barren granitic rocks show negative Eu anomalies. For these Japanese granitic rocks, the contents of K 2 O, La, Y, Rb, Ta, Pb, Th, U, and REEs other than Eu increase with increasing SiO2. Conversely, the contents of major components other than Na 2 O and K 2 O and the trace components V, Zn, Sr, Eu, and Sc decrease with increasing SiO 2 . The Zr, Sn, and Hf abundances increase with increasing SiO 2 up to 70 wt%, but their abundances decrease when the SiO 2 exceeds 70 wt%. This suggests that granitic magma is saturated with these elements at 70 wt% of SiO 2 , approximately.