Mesoproterozoic (∼1.4 Ga) A-type gneissic granites in the Xilinhot terrane, NE China: First evidence for the break-up of Columbia in the eastern CAOB

The Precambrian evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) in NE China remains enigmatic. In this paper, we report petrography, zircon U–Pb ages, and major and trace element data of the Precambrian gneissic granites from the Xilinhot Complex in the Xilinhot terrane of the eastern CAOB. Zircons in four gneissic granite samples yielded weighted mean 207Pb/206Pb ages of 1397–1360 Ma, suggesting that the Xilinhot terrane is a...