Ubendian basement and its late Mesoproterozoic and early Neoproterozoic structural and metamorphic overprint in northeastern Zambia

2004

The Palaeoproterozoic basement in the Muyombe and Luwumbu River areas of northeastern Zambia comprises a WNW‐ESE (to E‐W) trending cordierite‐garnet‐sillimanite granulite unit with numerous enderbite bodies and an amphibolite-facies migmatite unit. Zircons from a biotite metatonalite intruding the granulites were dated at 1960.7±0.4 Ma, and this is time-equivalent with the Nyika granite in adjacent Malawi. Mesoproterozoic intrusions into this basement are represented by a nepheline syenite at Mivula Hill (zircon age: 1360.1±0.8 Ma) and the porphyritic Ntendele biotite metagranite (zircon age: 1329.1±0.6 Ma). The Ntendele granite attains plutonic dimensions north of Muyombe. The Mesoproteroz…