Chevkinite-group minerals from the mantle-derived metaluminous Woshui syenite of the Emeishan large igneous province

The composition of chevkinite-group minerals from the Late Permian Woshui pluton is presented. The Woshui pluton is one of the few mantle-derived metaluminous syenitic intrusions within the Emeishan large igneous province of SW China and contains four times less ΣREE (ΣREE = 0.05 wt.%) than the spatially and temporally associated Baima peralkaline syenitic pluton (ΣREE = 0.2 wt.%). The chevkinite-group minerals are relatively uniform in composition and observed chemical trends are consistent with substitution between major cationic sites defined as: Ca²⁺_A + Ti ⁴⁺_C ⇌ REE³⁺_A + M ³⁺,²⁺_C The chevkinite-group minerals from the Woshui syenites are unique in that they display positive chondrite-normalized Eu-anomalies (i.e. Eu/Eu* = 2.3 to 23) which may be related to the conditions that produced the parental magma. The magmatic conditions of Woshui pluton were likely to be low pressure (i.e. ≤ 1 kbar), moderate temperature (i.e. 700-800°C) and relatively oxidizing (fO₂ ≥ FMQ > 0). In comparison to chevkinite-group minerals reported from peralkaline rocks, those from metaluminous rocks tend to have higher SiO₂, Al ₂O₃, CaO and ZrO and lower FeO*, Nb ₂O₅ and Ce₂O₃. The compositional differences are attributed to parental magma composition and possible magmatic origin (i.e. partial melting vs. crystal fractionation).