First report on zircon U-Pb age (125.9 Ma) of the quartz monzonite from the Pandian skarn iron deposit in the Luxi area, Eastern China

1. Objective Skarn iron ore deposit is the principal source of highgrade iron reserves in China, contributing about 11% of the national iron reserves and about 60% of the high-grade iron reserves. Therefore, the study of typical skarn iron ore deposits will provide a better understanding of the formation and exploration of high-grade iron deposits in China. The Luxi area is one of the most representative and important skarn iron ore fields in China. The skarn iron ore deposits in the Luxi area are mainly concentrated in several districts（from west to east）: Jinan, Laiwu, and Zibo（Fig. 1 a）. The new discovery of the Pandian skarn iron ore deposit in recent years, which is located in the Qihe-Yucheng ore district in the west of the Luxi area（Fig. 1 b）, is of great significance to the westward extension of the Luxi iron ore field. In order to determine whether the mineralization age of the Pandian skarn iron ore deposit is consistent with other typical deposits（such as Jinan, Zibo, and Laiwu deposits） in the Luxi area,this study performed LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating on the quartz monzonite associated with Pandian skarn iron deposit.The research results will provide a chronological basis for further exploring of high-grade iron ore prospecting in the Luxi area.