Petrogenesis of synorogenic diorite–granodiorite–granite complexes in the Damara Belt, Namibia: Constraints from U–Pb zircon ages and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopes

Abstract

The synorogenic Palmental complex (central Damara Belt, Nambia) consists of ca. 545Ma old quartz diorites and rare granodiorites and ca. 520Ma-old leucogranites, representing one of the earliest and most primitive phase of crustal plutonism predating the main high-T regional metamorphism. Most quartz diorites and one granodiorite evolved through multistage, polybaric evolutionary processes involving fractionation from a lithospheric mantle-derived melt, followed by fractional crystallization of mainly hornblende, plagioclase and apatite which is shown by decreasing MgO, FeO, CaO, TiO2 and P2O5 with increasing SiO2. Assimilation of felsic basement gneisses was also important during formation of these granitoids. Although their chemical characteristics (high LILE, low HFSE) resemble those of quartz diorites and granodiorites with calc-alkaline affinity, they differ in their enriched Sr (initial 87Sr/86Sr: 0.7061–0.7098) and Nd (initial eNd: -2.7 to –9.9) isotopic composition....