Sediment contribution in post-collisional high Ba-Sr magmatism: Evidence from the Xijing pluton in the Alxa block, NW China

High Ba-Sr granitoids occur in a number of tectonic settings, and variable petrogenetic models have been proposed. Those from post-collisional settings are rarely studied and are the focus of this study. Zircon U-Pb geochronology and whole-rock elemental and Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic data are presented for a suite of high Ba-Sr granitoids from the southern margin of the Alxa block, NW China. U-Pb zircon dating shows that the Xijing high Ba-Sr granitoids were emplaced in two periods at ~440 Ma and ~410 Ma, and they are characterized by elevated Ba and Sr contents. The older ~440 Ma high Ba-Sr granitoids range from monzodiorite to quartz monzonite, and the younger ~410 Ma high Ba-Sr granites tend to be more evolved. Both suites have similar enriched Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic ratios, low Ba/Th and Sr/Th ratios, and high Th contents and Th/Ce ratios indicative of a sediment contribution. This is potentially linked to previous subduction of the North Qilian ocean slab. Major and trace element calculations suggest that the older ~440 Ma granitoids experienced up to ~60% fractionation at 4–6 kbar with a crystallizing assemblage dominated by amphibole and plagioclase. The younger ~410 Ma granites could in turn have been formed by a further 80% fractional crystallization at lower pressures (1–2 kbar). Trace element and Sr-Nd isotopic modeling suggest incorporation of ~5% slab-derived sediment into mantle magma source of these high Ba-Sr granitoids. We note that post-collisional granitoids with high Ba and Sr characteristics may also reflect a sediment contribution in their source region, and this may be a key aspect of why such granites plot in the field of post-collisional granites in the Rb vs Y + Nb diagram. Some sanukitoids with high Ba and Sr contents in the late Archean also appear to reflect sediment subduction and they hence may represent early stages of crustal recycling.