Petrography, geochemistry and tectonic setting of NW Bardaskan volcanic rocks: a case study of Zangalou mine

The Zangalou mine area, a part of NW Bardaskan magmatic assemblage, located south of Sabzevar and northwest of Bardaskan cities in Khorasan Razavi province. The rock units of the area are dominated by sedimentary and volcanic racks (andesite, trachyandesite, latite and andesitic tuff). The dominant minerals are plagioclase, hornblende, pyroxene and alkali feldspar locally affected by argillic and propylitic alterations and the main textures are porphyritic, glomeroporphyritic, amygdaloidal and fine grain. The rocks under study formed in continental volcanic arc related to subduction zone, are calcalkaline in nature, metaluminous in composition and classified as shoshoite series. LREE and LILE enrichment compared to HREE and HFSE of the investigated rocks indicate their magma generation in subduction setting. Both Zr/Ba and Sm/Yb ratios point to lithospheric mantle origin and the rare or the absence of garnet in the origin respectively. The parent magma formed from partial melting of an enriched phlogopite spinel lherzolite. The geochemical properties of Zangalou share many signatures with those of the volacic rocks distributed in other parts of NW Bardaskan volcanic assemblage indicate high similarity in geochemical signatures of volcanic rocks. Studying geochemistry of volcanic rocks in these areas indicates formation of these rocks in a subduction setting.