Zircon Ages from the Baydrag Block and the Bayankhongor Ophiolite Zone: Time Constraints on Late Neoproterozoic to Cambrian Subduction‐ and Accretion‐Related Magmatism in Central Mongolia

Central Mongolia represents a heterogeneous crustal domain of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and is composed of contrasting lithotectonic units with distinct preorogenic histories. We report single-zircon evaporation and SHRIMP ages for high-grade rocks of the Neoarchean-Paleoproterozoic Baydrag block and for metaigneous rocks of the junction between the late Neoproterozoic Bayankhongor ophiolite zone (BOZ) and the Baydrag block. Zircon ages for metamorphic rocks of the Baydrag block indicate a major tectonothermal event between 1840 and 1826 Ma, coeval with the emplacement of granitic rocks at middle-crustal level dated at 1839 Ma. A granite-gneiss yielded a much younger crystallization a…