In this study, we conducted zircon U-Pb dating, and whole-rock geochemical and Sr-Nd isotope analyses on the Late Mesozoic dolerite dykes in the Bailingshan Fe deposit (Eastern Tianshan Orogen, NW China) to unravel their petrogenesis and regional tectonic significance. Zircon U-Pb dating on the dolerite yielded an Early Cretaceous age of 129.7 ± 1.4 Ma. The dolerite is calc-alkaline sodic (Na2O/K2O = 4.71 to 6.80), and enriched in LILEs (Rb, K, Sr, and Pb) but depleted in HFSEs (Nb, Ta, and Ti). The intermediate Nb/U (16.7 to 18.5) and Ce/Pb (6.33 to 6.90) values, and the presence of xenocrystic zircons in these dolerite dykes suggest crustal assimilation during the magma evolution. Petrological modeling suggests fractionation of olivine, pyroxene, garnet, and spinel. All the dolerite samples have low initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.7041 to 0.7043) and positive εNd(t) (+ 4.6 to + 5.1) values, indicative of a depleted asthenospheric mantle source. Partial melting modeling suggests that the melting has occurred in the spinel-garnet stability field. Integrating the data from ore deposit geology, geochronology, geochemistry and Sr-Nd isotopes, we proposed that the Late Cretaceous Eastern Tianshan mafic magmatism was developed in an intraplate extension setting.

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SHRIMP and LA–ICP–MS zircon U–Pb dating, Nd and Hf isotope analyses, 40Ar/39Ar geochronology, and whole‐rock geochemistry indicate three episodes of magmatism in the Dabaoshan ore district, South China: (1) Caledonian dacites (ca. 438 Ma); (2) Indosinian dolerites (ca. 210 Ma); and (3) Yanshanian granodiorites/porphyries (ca. 165 Ma) and basalts (ca. 147 Ma). Episode 1 dacites and episode 3 granodiorites/porphyries are enriched in Rb, Th, U, and LREEs and depleted in Nb, Ta, Sr, P, and Ti. The dacites may have been derived from partial melting of Mesoproterozoic–Paleoproterozoic crustal material, whereas the granodiorites/porphyries were derived mainly from partial melting of a late Mesoproterozoic crustal source with minor inputs of mantle material, according to whole‐rock εNd(t) and zircon εHf(t) values. The geochemical characteristics of episode 2 dolerites and episode 3 basalts, as well as their positive εNd(t) values (3.3–5.9 and 3.5–4.0, respectively), suggest a depleted mantle source. Taking into account the tectonic evolution of the South China Block, we suggest episode 1 dacites and episode 2 dolerites formed in an extensional setting that resulted from lithospheric delamination during the Caledonian intraplate orogeny and orogenic collapse during the Indosinian intraplate orogeny. Episode 3 granodiorites/porphyries and basalts formed in a back‐arc extensional setting in response to the westwards subduction of the Palaeo‐Pacific Plate beneath the South China Block. The timing of the three episodes of magmatism coincides roughly with the published ages of mineralization in the Dabaoshan ore district, suggesting a genetic relationship.