This study focuses on the geochronology and elemental and Nd isotopic geochemistry of the Baogutu Cu deposit and the newly discovered Suyunhe W-Mo deposit in the southern West Junggar ore belt (Xinjiang, China), as well as the geology of the newly discovered Hongyuan Mo deposit in the southern West Junggar ore belt and the Kounrad, Borly, and Aktogai Cu deposits and the East Kounrad, Zhanet, and Akshatau W-Mo deposits in the North Balkhash ore belt (Kazakhstan). The aim is to compare their petrogenesis, tectonic setting, and mineralization and to determine the relationship between the southern West Junggar and North Balkhash ore belts. Based on our newly acquired results, we propose that the Kounrad, Borly, Aktogai, and Baogutu deposits are typical porphyry Cu deposits associated with calc-alkaline magmas and formed in a Carboniferous (327–312 Ma) subduction-related setting. In contrast, the East Kounrad, Zhanet, Akshatau, Suyunhe, and Hongyuan deposits are quartz-vein greisen or greisen W-Mo or Mo deposits associated with alkaline magmas and formed in an early Permian (289–306 Ma) collision-related setting. Therefore, two geodynamic–metallogenic events can be distinguished in the southern West Junggar and North Balkhash ore belts: (1) Carboniferous subduction-related calc-alkaline magma – a porphyry Cu metallogenic event – and (2) early Permian collision-related alkaline magma – a greisen W-Mo metallogenic event. The North Balkhash ore belt is part of the Kazakhstan metallogenic zone, which can be extended eastward to the southern West Junggar in China.

We report elemental and Nd–Sr isotopic data for three types of Ordovician volcanic and gabbroic rocks from the Sharburti Mountains in the West Junggar (Xinjiang), Northwest China. Gabbros and Type I lavas occur in the Early Ordovician Hongguleleng ophiolite whereas Type II and III lavas are parts of the Middle Ordovician Bulukeqi Group. Gabbros and Type I lavas are tholeiites with a depleted light rare earth element (LREE) and mid-oceanic ridge basalt (MORB)-like signature with a crystallization sequence of plagioclase–clinopyroxene, suggesting formation at a mid-oceanic ridge. Type II lavas are Nb-enriched basalts (NEBs, Nb = 14–15 ppm), which have E-MORB-like REE patterns and Nb/Yb and Th/Yb ratios. They come from mantle metasomatized by slab melts. Type III lavas are further divided into two sub-types: (1) Type IIIa is tholeiitic to calc-alkaline basalts and andesites, with REE patterns that are flat or slightly LREE enriched, and with a negative Nb anomaly and Th/Yb enrichment, indicating that they were generated above a subduction zone; (2) Type IIIb is calc-alkaline basalts and andesites, which are strongly enriched in LREE with a marked negative Nb anomaly and Th/Yb enrichment, suggesting generation in a normal island-arc setting. The initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of Type III lavas range from 0.70443 to 0.70532 and ϵNdt ranges from +1.5 to +4.5, suggesting that these melts were derived from mantle wedge significantly modified by subducted material (enriched mantle I (EMI)) above a subduction zone. Contemporary tholeiitic to calc-alkaline basalt–andesite and NEB association suggest that the NEBs erupted during development of the tholeiitic to calc-alkaline arc. We propose a model of intra-oceanic subduction influenced by ridge subduction for the Ordovician tectono-magmatic evolution of the northern West Junggar.

A series of Lower Carboniferous volcanic rocks occur in the Hatu, Darbut, and Baogutu areas of Xinjiang Province. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) zircon U–Pb isotopic data indicate that two samples of these rocks coevally erupted at 324.0 ± 2.8 Ma and 324.9 ± 3.4 Ma. Three detailed profile measurements show that the volcanics include the Hatu basalt, the Baogutu andesite and dacite, and the Darbut andesite. Whole-rock compositions suggest that the Hatu volcanics are tholeiites and have a mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-like signature with a small negative Nb anomaly, suggesting formation in a back-arc basin. Their isotopic compositions (ϵNd(t) = +2.2 to +4.0, (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)i = 0.70414 to 0.70517) suggest a mixing origin from depleted to enriched mantle sources. In contrast, the Baogutu and Darbut rocks are andesite and dacite possessing a transitional tholeiite to calc–alkaline character and have E-MORB-like and OIB signatures, with a marked negative Nb anomaly and Th/Yb-enrichment, indicating that they were generated in a subduction zone setting. Isotopically, they display consistently depleted Sr–Nd isotopic compositions [(⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)i = 0.70377–0.70469, ϵNd(t) = 1.0–5.2], suggesting that they were derived from a depleted mantle, and that fluid and sediments were involved in their petrogenesis. These features suggest that an early Carboniferous intra-oceanic arc and back-arc basin system generated the studied volcanic units in the West Junggar.