Protoliths of enigmatic Archaean gneisses established from zircon inclusion studies: Case study of the Caozhuang quartzite, E. Hebei, China

•Caozhuang quartzite zircons have ages 3880–3550 Ma and are not strongly rounded.•The zircon inclusion suite contains only ∼7% apatite (a tenth of that in granitoids).•The inclusion suite and zircon morphology resembles that found in immature sandstones.•The local provenance indicates (undiscovered) very ancient rocks are in the vicinity.

A diverse suite of Archaean gneisses at Huangbaiyu village in the North China Craton, includes rare fuchsite-bearing (Cr-muscovite) siliceous rocks – known as the Caozhuang quartzite. The Caozhuang quartzite is strongly deformed and locally mylonitic, with silica penetration and pegmatite veining common. It contains abundant 3880–3600 Ma and some Palaeoarchaean zircons. Because of its siliceous nature, the presence of fuchsite and its complex zircon age distribution, it has until now been accepted as a (mature) quartzite. However, the Caozhuang quartzite sample studied here is feldspathic. The shape and cathodoluminescence petrography of the Caozhuang quartzite zircons show they resemble those found in immature detrital sedimentary rocks of local provenance or in Eoarchaean polyphase orthogneisses, and not those in mature quartzites. The Caozhuang quartzite intra-zircon mineral inclusions are dominated by quartz, with lesser biotite, apatite (7%) and alkali-feldspar, and most inclusions are morphologically simple. A Neoarchaean orthogneiss from near Huangbaiyu displays morphologically simple inclusions with much more apatite (73%), as is typical for fresh calc-alkaline granitoids elsewhere. Zircons were also examined from a mature conglomerate quartzite clast and an immature feldspathic sandstone of the overlying weakly metamorphosed Mesoproterozoic Changcheng System. These zircons have oscillatory zoning, showing they were sourced from igneous rocks. The quartzite clast zircons contain only rare apatite inclusions (<1%), with domains with apatite habit now occupied by intergrowths of muscovite + quartz ± Fe-oxides ± baddeleyite. We interpret that these were once voids after apatite inclusions that had dissolved during Mesoproterozoic weathering, which were then filled with clays ± silica and then weakly metamorphosed. Zircons in the immature feldspathic sandstone show a greater amount of preserved apatite (11%), but with petrographic evidence of replacement of other apatites by quartz and mica. From the zircon morphology and inclusions studies, our studied Caozhuang quartzite is most likely <3500 Ma immature detrital sedimentary rock of local provenance. This strengthens the case for Eoarchaean rocks with a substantial 3880–3800 Ma component occur close to Huangbaiyu.

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