The final closure time of the Paleo-Asian Ocean and the Permo-Carboniferous tectonic settings in the northern Alxa are very important but controversial tectonic issues. The geochronology and petrogenesis of mafic igneous rocks are superior in clarifying regional tectonic settings. Here, we report on zircon U-Pb-Hf isotopes, biotite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology and whole-rock geochemical data of the hornblende gabbro from the Baogeqi gabbro pluton in the northern Alxa. The LA-ICP MS U-Pb analysis of zircon grains from the hornblende gabbro yield a weighted mean age of 262.7 ± 2.3 Ma (2σ, MSWD = 0.74), manifesting that the Baogeqi gabbro pluton emplacement was during the late Middle Permian (Capitanian). The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of biotite grains from the hornblende gabbro yields a plateau age of 231.3 ± 1.6 Ma (2σ, MSWD = 0.55), indicating that the Baogeqi gabbro pluton cooled to below 300 ℃ in the Triassic. The hornblende gabbro samples are calc-alkaline with metaluminous character, and show enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (e.g., Rb, Ba, Sr, and K) but depletion in Nb, Ta, P, Th, and Ti relative to primitive mantle. Combined with the positive zircon εHf(t) values (+4.9–+9.4), we suggest that the magmas formed from the partial melting of depleted mantle were metasomatized by slab-derived fluids. Together with regional geology, these geochemical data suggest that the Baogeqi gabbro pluton was formed in an intracontinental extension setting, further indicating that the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the northern Alxa was closed prior to the late Middle Permian (Capitanian), and this region was in a post-collision extensional setting during the Capitanian-Late Permian. In addition, the Triassic cooling of the gabbro pluton may be a record of the decline of the Capitanian-Late Permian post-collisional extension basin due to the far-field effect of subduction-collision during the closure of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean.

The ophiolites in the Beishan Orogenic Belt provide important information about the evolution of the Beishan Ocean in the Paleozoic Era. We studied ophiolite petrology, geochemistry and isotopic chronology. The Shazouquan ophiolites consist of dunites, wehrlites, gabbros and anorthosites. Ophiolitic mélange belts are composed of matrixes and blocks, and different rocks are fault-bounded. Dunites and wehrlites are high in Mg^#, Cr^# and MgO, low in TiO₂, relatively depleted in large-ion lithophile elements (Ti and P) and enriched in high-strength elements (U, Zr and Hf). They have a total REE of 1.25 × 10^–6−5.39 × 10⁻⁶ and δEu of 1.12–3.54, which are similar to those of SSZ-type ophiolites, indicating that their parent magma source region may be a weakly depleted mantle source region. The anorthosite and gabbro are high in Al₂O₃, MgO and Mg^#, low in TiO₂, enriched in large-ion lithophile elements (Rb and Sr), and depleted in high-strength elements (Nb, Ta and Ti), but enriched in Zr and Hf. They have similar geochemical signatures to those of arc magmatic rocks. They are derived from the mantle peridotite formed against the tectonic background of subduction and modified by the fluid materials in the subduction zone. We collected anorthosite and gabbro, which were produced as ophiolite for U-Pb dating. The anorthosite yields a zircon U-Pb, aged 394 ± 11 Ma (MSWD = 0.84), and a gabbro zircon U-Pb, aged 466 ± 12 Ma (MSWD = 3.2), indicating that the Shazouquan ophiolite was formed in the Middle Ordovician–Early Devonian eras. Combining the above evidence, we conclude that the Beishan Ocean was in a subduction tectonic background from the Middle Ordovician to Early Devonian periods.