A tin-mineralized topaz rhyolite dike with coeval topaz granite enclaves at Qiguling in the Qitianling tin district, southern China

Abstract The Qiguling topaz rhyolite is present as a dike within the Qitianling biotite granite batholith of the Nanling Range of southern China. Here, the rhyolitic dike, 4.5 m wide and 500 m long, contains enclaves of topaz granite. These rhyolites contain up to 72 wt.% SiO2, have alumina saturation index (ASI) > 1.1, and have groundmasses with estimated fluorine contents of approximately 1.5 wt.%. Textural relationships provide evidence of a quenched silicate melt that contains quartz, K-feldspar, albite, and zinnwaldite phenocrysts in a groundmass containing abundant topaz. The rhyolites in the study area are also strongly enriched in tin (90–2700 ppm), and generally have a close association between cassiterite and zinnwaldite, although cassiterite is also present as sponge-textured fills between rock-forming minerals. Granite enclaves and their hosted rhyolite have similar major geochemical compositions and mineralogies to each other. Zircon U–Pb dating indicates that the topaz rhyolite (147–150 Ma) and topaz granite enclaves (154 Ma) were formed contemporaneously, with ages that overlap within analytical uncertainty. In addition, the major and trace element compositions of the rhyolite and their granite enclaves are dissimilar to those of the hosting Qitianling biotite granite. This discovery of granite enclaves within rhyolite dikes suggests the presence of a topaz-bearing granite body at depth that may host tin mineralization. The expected hidden tin granite may be of great interest in the further exploration.