A suite of continental flood basalts sampled over a vast exposure and stratigraphic thickness in the Emeishan large igneous province （LIP）, SW China was investigated for laser microprobe ^40Ar/^39Ar dating. There are two ^40Ar/^39Ar age groups for these basalts, corresponding to 259-246 Ma and 177-137 Ma, respectively. A well-defined isochron gives an eruption age of huge quantities of mafic magmas at 258.9±3.4 Ma, which is identical to previous dating and paleontological data. Much younger ^40Ar/^39Ar ages for some basalts with Iow-greenschist metamorphic facies probably recorded a late thermo-tectonic event caused by collision between the Yangtze and Qiangtang continental blocks during the Mesozoic, which resulted in the reset of argon isotope system. The ^40Ar/^39Ar age data, we present here, combined with previous dating and paleontological data, suggest relatively short duration （about 3 Ma） of mafic volcanism, which have important implication on mantle plume genesis of the Emeishan continental flood basalts in the LIP.
The Maoniuping REE deposit, located about 22 km to the southwest of Mianning, Sichuan Province, is the second largest light REE deposit in China, subsequent to the Bayan Obo Fe-Nb-REE deposit in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Tectonically, it is located in the transitional zone between the Panxi rift and the Longmenshan-Jinpingshan orogenic zone. It is a carbonatite vein-type deposit hosted in alkaline complex rocks. The bastnaesite-barite, bastnaesite-calcite, and bastnaesite- microcline lodes are the main three types of REE ore lodes. Among these, the first lode is distributed most extensively and its REE mineralization is the strongest. The δ^34Sv.cDT values of the barites in the ore of the deposit vary in a narrow range of ＋5.0 to ＋5.1‰ in the bastnaesite-calcite lode and ＋3.3 to ＋5.9‰ in the bastnaesite-barite lode, showing the isotopic characteristics of magma-derived sulfur. The δ^13Cv-PDB values and the δ^Ov.SMOW values in the bastnaesite-calcite lode range from -3.9 to -6.9‰ and from ＋7.3 to ＋9.7 ‰, respectively, which fall into the range of ＂primary carbonatltes＂, showing that carbon and oxygen in the ores of the Maoniuping deposit were derived mainly from a deep source. The δ^13Cv.PDB values of fluid inclusions vary from -3.0 to -5.6‰, with -3.0 to -4.0‰ in the bastnaesitecalcite lode and -3.0 to -5.6‰ in the bastnaesite-barite lode, which show characteristics of mantle- derived carbon. The δDv-SMOW values of fluid inclusions range from -57 to -88‰, with -63 to -86‰ in the bastnaesite-calcite lode and -57 to -88‰ in the bastnaesite-barite lode, which show characteristics of mantle-derived hydrogen. The δ^18OH2OV.SMOW values vary from ＋7.4 to ＋8.6‰ in the bastnaesitecalcite lode, and ＋6.7 to ＋7.8‰ in the bastnaesite-barite lode, almost overlapping the range of ＋5.5 to ＋9.5‰ for magmatic water. The 4He content, R/Ra ratios are （13.95 to 119.58）×10^-6 （cm^3/g）STP and 0.02 to 0.11, respectively, and ^40Ar/^36Ar is 313± 1 to 437 ±
