Hibonite-bearing Ca,Al-rich inclusions (CAIs) usually occur in CM and CH chondrites and possess petrographic and isotopic characteristics distinctive from other typical CAIs. Despite their highly refractory nature, most hibonite-bearing CAIs have little or no ^(26)Mg excess (the decay product of ^(26)Al), but do show wide variations of Ca and Ti isotopic anomalies. A few spinel-hibonite spherules preserve evidence of live ^(26)Al with an inferred ^(26)Al/^(27)Al close to the canonical value. The bimodal distribution of ^(26)Al abundances in hibonite-bearing CAIs has inspired several interpretations regarding the origin of short-lived nuclides and the evolution of the solar nebula. Herein we show that hibonite-bearing CAIs from Ningqiang, an ungrouped carbonaceous chondrite, also provide evidence for a bimodal distribution of ^(26)Al. Two hibonite aggregates and two hibonite-pyroxene spherules show no ^(26)Mg excesses, corresponding to inferred ^(26)Al/^(27)Al < 8 × 10^(−6). Two hibonite-melilite spherules are indistinguishable from each other in terms of chemistry and mineralogy but have different Mg isotopic compositions. Hibonite and melilite in one of them display positive ^(26)Mg excesses (up to 25‰) that are correlated with Al/Mg with an inferred ^(26)Al/^(27)Al of (5.5 ± 0.6) × 10^(−5). The other one contains normal Mg isotopes with an inferred ^(26)Al/^(27)Al < 3.4 × 10^(−6). Hibonite in a hibonite-spinel fragment displays large ^(26)Mg excesses (up to 38‰) that correlate with Al/Mg, with an inferred ^(26)Al/^(27)Al of (4.5 ± 0.8) × 10^(−5). Prolonged formation duration and thermal alteration of hibonite-bearing CAIs seem to be inconsistent with petrological and isotopic observations of Ningqiang. Our results support the theory of formation of ^(26)Al-free/poor hibonite-bearing CAIs prior to the injection of ^(26)Al into the solar nebula from a nearby stellar source
