Whole-rock geochemical, U-Pb and Sm-Nd isotope characteristics of the Dongueni Mont nepheline syenite intrusion, Mozambique

The Dongueni Mont nepheline syenite intrudes migmatitic paragneisses and siliciclastic metasediments of the Barue Complex, Mozambique. This study reports the whole-rock geochemical, U-Pb and Nd isotopic data of the nepheline syenite. The ferroan and alkalic geochemical characteristics are typical of alkaline rocks formed in a within-plate setting. The strong depletion in high field strength elements (HFSEs) (e.g. Ba, Nb, P, and Ti) and enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs) (e.g. Rb, Th, K, and Pb) are consistent with magmatism in a continental alkaline magmatic province associated with intracontinental rifting. Zircon U-Pb data yielded crystallization ages from 498 ± 19 to 562 ± 14 Ma, consistent with the Pan-African Orogeny and the inherited zircons yield an age of 1040 Ma, which supports the presence of a Mesoproterozoic crust. The εNd (t) values from the nepheline syenite samples range from −15.1 to −16.1 and the TDM values from 1.77 to 1.67 Ga, which indicate that the initial nepheline syenite magma formed from a tholeiitic or mantle source in a within-plate setting with crustal assimilation.