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The late Neoproterozoic-early Paleozoic marked an important interval in Earth history, during which there was the transition from the breakup of Rodinia to the assembly of the Gondwana supercontinent. The South China Block (SCB) is a key part of Gondwana, and is an important component in its paleogeographic reconstructions. Sedimentary provenance analysis has been applied to constrain the SCB source-to-sink systems and hence to reconstruct its position within Gondwana. However, previous studies have mainly undertaken detrital zircon provenance analysis on Cryogenian-Ordovician strata from a single sedimentary basin, leading to different paleogeographic models for the SCB within the Gondwana supercontinent. To resolve these challenges, detrital rutile, apatite and zircon data of Cryogenian to Ordovician successions from four sub-basins in the Cathaysia Block of South China were compiled in addition to acquiring new data from four samples. Detrital rutile and apatite from the Cryogenian to Ordovician successions share similar 650–500 Ma major age populations, which are considered mainly derived from Pan-African orogens in western Australia, India and East Antarctica. Most detrital rutiles are derived from amphibolite- or eclogite-facies metamorphic rocks, with appreciable proportions (22–42%) derived from metamafic rocks. The apatite data demonstrate a significant amount of metamorphic- (52–72% of all grains) and mafic-derived (40–70% of igneous-derived grains) populations. Three provenance switches are demonstrated by the detrital apatite data and indicate the exhumation of Pan-African orogens in the late Cryogenian, Ediacaran-Cambrian, and early Ordovician in the source areas. In contrast, the detrital zircon data are characterized mainly by 1300–900 Ma igneous populations from late Mesoproterozoic-early Neoproterozoic orogens in western Australia and India. Provenance switches caused by exhumation of the orogenic sources and the Cathaysia Block in the late Ediacaran and middle Cambrian are detected. The trace element systematics of rutile and apatite along with zircon Lu-Hf isotopic compositions reflect similar temporal trends in the proportions of materials derived from (meta)mafic rocks and juvenile crust. They support increased input of juvenile crust including (meta)mafic source rocks in the Ediacaran and subsequent exhumation. Collectively, the variations in age and lithology of source(s) are best detected by the detrital apatite dataset, especially for metamorphic- and mafic-derived sources when information from detrital rutile can also be integrated. Our analysis provides a more refined and complete understanding of the provenance evolution of the Cathaysia basins by this analysis of detrital multi-mineral datasets, and places further constraints on reconstructions of the South China Block within Gondwana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous late Paleoproterozoic to early Mesoproterozoic mafic magmatic rocks are exposed in the southwestern Yangtze Block, corresponding to early breakup of the Nuna supercontinent. Geochronological data reveal three episodes of mafic magmatism at ~1,740, 1,700, and 1,500 Ma. The two older generations have MORB‐like Nb/Ta ratios and superchondritic Nd‐Hf isotopes, indicating that they were likely derived from partial melting of asthenospheric mantle. In contrast, the ~1,500 Ma mafic rocks possess OIB‐like Nb/Ta (16.7–19.1) and Zr/Hf (41.0–45.1) ratios, εNd (t) values (−0.8 to +0.1), and εHf (t) values (−3.3 to +8.4), suggesting that they originated from a mantle plume. These three pulses of mafic magmatic activity in the Yangtze Block have geochemical features (such as TiO2 contents, Nb/Y, and La/Yb values), similar to coeval mafic rocks in Siberia and Laurentia, consistent with detrital zircon provenance studies, which show a spatial linkage of the Yangtze Block with northern Laurentia in the Nuna configuration. Taking all synchronous mafic magmatism into account, a mantle plume beneath southern Siberia was considered to be initiated at ~1,750 Ma forming a broad region of mafic magmatism that extended into the Yangtze Block as well as beneath northern Laurentia and resulted in lithospheric extension. The Yangtze Block was possibly the nearest neighbor to northwestern Siberia at ~1,500 Ma and subsequently drifted from the Nuna supercontinent induced by the ~1,500 Ma Kuonamka mantle plume, heralding a period of limited magmatic activity and tectonic quiescence in the Yangtze Block that extended throughout the remainder of the Mesoproterozoic. Key Points: Three episodes of mafic magmatism (~1,740, 1,700, and 1,500 Ma) in the Yangtze Block were associated with breakup of the Nuna supercontinentFar field extensional setting beneath the Yangtze Block was possibly induced by ~1,750 Ma Timpton mantle plume beneath SiberiaThe Yangtze Block was finally separated from the Nuna supercontinent associated with the upwelling ~1,500 Ma Kuonamka mantle plume [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]