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

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…