Geochemistry and Zircon U‐Pb Geochronology of Early Paleozoic S‐type Granites in the Eastern Qilian Block, Northwest China

Abstract The Qilian Block (QB) is a Precambrian micro‐continent located in the northeastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Prevalent Lower Paleozoic granitic magmatic rocks crop out in the QB. A new integrated study of zircon U‐Pb ages and systematic whole‐rock geochemical data for the Xindian, Dongjiazhuang and Xiaogaoling granites in the eastern segment of the QB constrains their emplacement ages, petrogenesis, and regional evolutionary history. U‐Pb dating reveals that the Xindian granite was emplaced 454 Ma, and both the Dongjiazhuang and Xiaogaoling granites were emplaced ca. 440 Ma. Geochemical study shows that all granites belong to the high‐K calc‐alkaline to shoshonitic series and are S‐type granites formed by partial melting of continental crust, mainly metagraywacke. We infer that these ca. 454–445 Ma granites formed in a syn‐collisional setting during the continental collisional between the Qaidam and Qilian blocks.