Mud Tank Zircon: Long-Term Evaluation of a Reference Material for U-Pb Dating, Hf-Isotope Analysis and Trace Element Analysis

Zircon megacrysts from the Mud Tank carbonatite, Australia, are being used in many laboratories as a reference material for LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating and trace element measurement, and LA-MC-ICP-MS determination of Hf isotopes. We summarise a database of > 10000 analyses of Mud Tank zircon (MTZ), collected from 2000 to 2018 during its use as a secondary reference material for simultaneous U-Pb and trace element analysis, and for Hf-isotope analysis. Trace element mass fractions are highest in dark red-brown stones and lowest in colourless and gem-quality ones. Individual unzoned grains can be chemically homogeneous, while significant variations in trace element mass fraction are associated with oscillatory zoning. Chondrite-normalised trace element patterns are essentially parallel over large mass fraction ranges. A Concordia age of 731.0 +/- 0.2 Ma (2s, n = 2272) is taken as the age of crystallisation. Some grains show lower concordant to mildly discordant ages, probably reflecting minor Pb loss associated with cooling and the Alice Springs Orogeny (450-300 Ma). Our weighted mean Hf-176/Hf-177 is 0.282523 +/- 10 (2s, n = 9350); the uncertainties on this ratio reflect some heterogeneity, mainly between grains. A few analyses suggest that colourless grains have generally lower Hf-176/Hf-177. MTZ is a useful secondary reference material for U-Pb and Hf-isotope analysis, but individual grains need to be carefully selected using CL imaging and tested for homogeneity, and ideally should be standardised by solution analysis.