High-Mg andesites (HMAs) are crucial for the reconstruction of plate tectonics, continental margin formation and lithospheric evolution. In this study, we present new fossil age, whole-rock geochemical and Sr–Nd isotope data on the newly discovered Dundunshan Group HMAs in the Dundunshan area of the Beishan orogen (central-southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt). The Dundunshan HMA samples are characterized by high MgO (6.47–7.02 wt%) contents and high Mg# values (67.27–68.77), with SiO2 (58.57–62.13 wt%), Al2O3 (14.49–16.07 wt%) and CaO (5.05–6.24 wt%) resembling typical HMAs. The Dundunshan HMA samples are calc-alkaline and strongly enriched in light rare earth elements (LREEs) and large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs), with slightly negative Eu anomaly and high-field-strength element (HFSE) depletions. Their (87Sr/86Sr)i ratios (0.7041–0.7057) and ϵNd(t) (3.73–5.59) indicate that the Dundunshan HMAs were mainly formed by the interactions between subducted oceanic sediment-derived melts and mantle peridotites. Fossil evidence and published radiometric age data constrain the formation of the Dundunshan HMAs to early Late Devonian time. Sedimentological features of the Middle Devonian Sangejing Formation and regional tectonic correlation suggest that the Hongliuhe–Niujuanzi–Xichangjing Ocean in the Dundunshan area was likely closed during late Middle Devonian time, and that the Dundunshan HMAs were formed in a post-collision extensional setting.

The mechanism of continental growth of the Altaids is currently under debate between models invoking continuous subduction-accretion or punctuated accretion by closure of multiple ocean basins. We use the Yueyashan–Xichangjing ophiolite belt of the Beishan collage (southern Altaids) to constrain the earliest oceanic crust in the southern Palaeo-Asian Ocean. Five lithotectonic units were identified from S to N: the Huaniushan block, a sedimentary passive margin, the structurally incoherent Yueyashan–Xichangjing ophiolite complex, a coherent sedimentary package and the Mazongshan island arc with granitic rocks. We present a structural analysis of the accretionary complex, which is composed of the incoherent ophiolitic melange and coherent sedimentary rocks, to work out the tectonic polarity. A new weighted mean 206Pb–238U age of 533 ± 1.7 Ma from a plagiogranite in the Yueyashan–Xichangjing ophiolite indicates that the ocean floor formed in early Cambrian time. Furthermore, we present new geochemical data to constrain the tectonic setting of the Yueyashan–Xichangjing ophiolite. The Yueyashan–Xichangjing ophiolite was emplaced as a result of northward subduction of an oceanic plate beneath the Mazongshan island arc to the north in late Ordovician to early Silurian time. Together with data from the literature, our work demonstrates that multiple overlapping periods of accretion existed in the Palaeozoic in the northern and southern Altaids. Therefore, a model of multiple accretion by closure of several ocean basins is most viable.

The tectonic history and time of closure of the Palaeo-Asian ocean of the Altaids are issues of lively current debate. To address these issues, this paper presents detailed geological, petrological and geochemical data of the Liuyuan complex (LC) in the Beishan region in NW China, located in the southernmost Altaids, in order to constrain its age, origin and tectonic setting. The LC mainly comprises massive basalts, pillow basalts, basaltic breccias, gabbros and ultramafic rocks together with cherts and tuffs. Most prominent are gabbros and large volumes of basaltic lavas. These mafic rocks have high TiO2 contents, flat rare earth element (REE) patterns and show high-field-strength elements (HFSEs) similar to those of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). The mafic rocks exhibit positive εNd(t) (6.6–9.0) values, representing magmas derived from the mantle. But these basic rocks are also enriched in Th relative to REEs, and are systematically depleted in Nb–Ta–(Ti) relative to REEs. There is also a large range in initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.7037–0.7093). All these variables indicate that mantle-derived magma was contaminated by fluids and/or melts from a subducting lithospheric slab, and formed in a supra-subduction zone (SSZ) setting. A gabbro intruded in the complex was dated by LA-ICP-MS on 20 zircons that yielded a 206Pb–238U weighted average age of 286 ± 2 Ma. Considering the fact that all these basalts are imbricated against Permian tuffaceous sediments and limestone, we propose that the LC formed as an ophiolite in a fore-arc in Carboniferous–Permian time. This indicates that the Palaeo-Asian ocean still existed at 286 ± 2 Ma in early Permian time, and thus the time of closure of the Palaeo-Asian ocean was in or after the late Permian.