Geochemistry of the Permian sandstones from the Malužiná Formation in the Malé Karpaty Mts (Hronic Unit, Western Carpathians, Slovakia): implications for source-area weathering, provenance and tectonic setting

The Permian sandstones of the Malužiná Formation in the northern part of the Malé Karpaty Mts are dominantly quartzofeldspathic and quartzolithic in composition with abundant feldspars and volcanic, plutonic igneous and less metasedimentary lithic fragments, indicating the sand grains were derived from a basement uplift and recycled orogen. The Malužiná Formation sandstones have moderate to high SiO2 contents (68-85 wt. %; on average 76 wt. %), TiO2 concentrations averaging 0.3 wt. %, Al2O3 contents of about 12 wt. %, and Fe2O3 (total Fe as Fe2O3) + MgO contents of around 2.9 wt. %. The Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) values for the Permian Malužiná Formation sandstones vary from 45 to 68 with an average of 55, indicating low to moderate weathering of the source area. The bulk chemical composition and selected trace elements preserve the signatures of a felsic and intermediate igneous provenance, and suggest mostly an active continental margin tectonic setting of the source area for the Malužiná Formation sandstones. The Eu/Eu* (~0.78), La/Sc (~7.28), Th/Sc (~2.10), La/Co (~6.67), Th/Co (~1.85), and Cr/Th (~6.57) ratios as well as the chondrite-normalized REE patterns with flat HREE, LREE enrichment, and negative Eu anomalies indicate derivation of the Malužiná Formation sandstones from felsic rock sources. The deposition of the Malužiná Formation sandstones took place in a rifted continental margin environment supplied from collision orogen on a thick continental crust composed of rocks of older fold belts.