Abstract
Tourmaline is a common mineral in Sn-W mineralizations. It is commonly
strongly zoned, both optically and chemically, and may host a range of
trace elements. High levels of Sn have been observed in tourmaline
throughout the world, whereas W is typically very low, even in
mineralized areas. Tourmaline from subeconomic cassiterite
mineralizations and hydrothermally altered granite from the Land’s End
granite, SW England, was analyzed by EPMA in order to identify Sn-rich
zones. LA-ICP-MS is typically the go-to instrument for trace element
analyses, but spatial resolution is strongly compromised compared to
EPMA. The behavior of Sn in tourmaline varies from patchy to concentric
zoning between different samples, and the highest recorded value was
2.48 wt% SnO2 in a patchily zoned rim. A high resolution WDS map of the
area did not show any major Sn spikes, and TiO2, a common minor element
in cassiterite, is low in the Sn-rich regions. Also, cassiterite in
these samples are commonly light brown in plane polarized light, and the
Sn-rich zones can be related to dark green zones. This indicates that
the high Sn-values are not due to cassiterite inclusions, and may be
structurally bound in tourmaline, most likely substituting into the
Y-site. The highest Sn-values (>0.4 wt% SnO2) are coupled
with a substantial substitution of Fe for Al in the Z-site, and the
structural formula calculation indicate that some Fe is present as Fe3+
in the analyses with over ca. 20 wt% FeO. Trends between Sn and other
elements are erratic, except for a weak positive correlation with Sr.
The Sn-content in tourmaline combined with the inferred Fe3+ and the
observed cassiterite in the samples may indicate that oxidation of the
ore fluid caused cassiterite precipitation.