Zircon U-Pb ages and geochemistry of the Wenquan Mo-bearing granitioids in West Qinling, China: Constraints on the geodynamic setting for the newly discovered Wenquan Mo deposit

East Qinling is the largest porphyry molybdenum province in the world; these Mo deposits have been well documented. In West Qinling, however, few Mo deposits have been discovered although granitic rocks are widespread. Recently, the Wenquan porphyry Mo deposit has been discovered in Gansu province, which provides an insight into Mo mineralization in West Qinling. In this paper we report Pb isotope compositions for K-feldspar and sulfides, S isotope ratios for sulfides, the results obtained from petrochemical study and from in situ LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating and Hf isotopes. The granitoids are enriched in LILE and LREE, with REE and trace element patterns similar to continental crust, suggesting a crustal origin. The Mg# (40.05 to 56.34) and Cr and Ni contents are high, indicating a source of refractory mafic lower crust. The εHf(t) values of zircon grains from porphyritic monzogranite range from − 2.9 to 0.6, and from granitic porphyry vary from − 3.3 to 1.9. The zircons have TDM2 of 1014 to 1196 Ma for the porphyritic monzogranite and 954 to 1224 Ma for the granitic porphyry, implying that these granitoids were likely derived from partial melting of a Late Mesoproterozoic juvenile lower crust. The Pb isotope compositions of the granitoids are similar to granites in South China, showing that the magma was sourced from the middle–lower crust in the southern Qinling tectonic unit. The Pb isotopic contrast between the Mo-bearing granitoids and ores shows that the Pb in the ore-forming solution was derived from fractionation of a Triassic magmatic system. δ34S values of sulfides are between 5.02 and 5.66‰, similar to those associated with magmatic-hydrothermal systems. LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating yields crystallization ages of 216.2 ± 1.7 and 217.2 ± 2.0 Ma for the granitoids, consistent with a previously reported molybdenite Re-Os isochron age of 214.4 ± 7.1 Ma. This suggests that the Mo mineralization is related to the late Triassic magmatism in the West Qinling orogenic belt. In view of these geochemical results and known regional geology, we propose that both granitoid emplacement and Mo mineralization in the Wenquan deposit resulted from the Triassic collision between the South Qinling and the South China Block, along the Mianlue suture. Since Triassic granitoid plutons commonly occur along the Qinling orogenic belt, the Triassic Wenquan Mo-bearing granitoids highlight the importance of the Triassic tectono-magmatic belt for Mo exploration. In order to apply this metallogenic model to the whole Qinling orogen, further study is needed to compare the Wenquan deposit with other deposits.