Isotopic U–Pb Age of Zircon (LA-ICP-MS Method) from Igneous Rocks of the Chorukh-Dairon W–Mo(–Cu–Au) Deposit (Tajikistan): First Evidences for Post-Collisional Ore Formation in the Kurama Segment of the Middle Tien Shan

The paper presents isotopic U–Pb zircon data (LA-ICP-MS method) for the main types of high-potassic intrusive rocks of the Chorukh-Dairon W–Mo(–Cu–Au) skarn deposit situated in the Kurama segment of the Middle Tien Shan near the largest porphyry Cu–Mo–Au deposits of the Almalyk mineralized cluster. Together with the other Au, W, Mo and Cu deposits, all these deposits are parts of the extended Late Paleozoic metallogenic belt of Tien Shan. The concordant isotopic U–Pb zircon data obtained for the rocks of successive intrusion phases in the Chorukh-Dairon pluton span from about 298 Ma to 290 Ma. This interval included crystallization of monzodiorite (295.1 ± 3.3 Ma), quartz syenite (294.7 ± 2.3 Ma), quartz monzonite (294.1 ± 2.1 Ma), and monzogranite (293.0 ± 3.0 Ma). These dates correspond to the pluton emplacement at the Late Carboniferous-Early Permian boundary and highlight its younger age compared to the productive high-potassic intrusions of the porphyry Cu–Mo–Au deposits in the Almalyk mineralized cluster, the latter assigned to the Late Carboniferous (about 337–313 Ma and partially to 308–297 Ma). By contrast to the latter, which were intruded in the subduction-related environment, the emplacement of the high-potassic rock of the Chorukh-Dairon pluton occurred in the transitional subduction-related to post-collisional environment or even under an actual post-collisional regime. This allows distinguishing two pulses of ore-bearing Carboniferous-Permian high-potassic calc-alkaline to shoshonitic series magmatism in the Middle Tien Shan. Consistently, there is a metallogenic evolution in the region that was expressed in the transition from porphyry Cu–Mo–Au deposits associated with subduction-related potassic magmatism, and likely evolving toward epithermal Au-Ag deposits, to essentially tungsten (W–Mo–Cu–Au) deposits associated with younger potassic magmatism occurring rather in the post-collisional environment.