Cassiterite-Tourmaline Vein - Restowrack (#44)
Collection:
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Fact sheet

Cassiterite-Tourmaline Vein - Restowrack (#44)

The often euhedral shape of the tourmaline crystals in this sample suggests early crystallisation in a relatively open vein. The deep blue colouration of the tourmaline is typical of hydrothermal tourmaline in the St Austell granite complex (and distinct from magmatic tourmaline which is usually brown). At some point during the development of the vein, tin became concentrated in the passing fluids and crystallisation of cassiterite followed. Spaces in the vein were mostly filled at this point apart from a few small voids that were later filled by needles of blue tourmaline and finally quartz.

Veins such as this were of major importance to the tin miner and Bunny mine was established elsewhere in the complex to extract not only cassiterite, but also wolframite (the main ore species of tungsten). The beam engine from Bunny mine (1850) has been restored and is now part of Poldark mine, a local tourist attraction at Wendron, near Helston.

Tin mineralisation in the St Austell granite complex has been measured at 271 ± 4.5 Ma.

Additional images
  • widrth 8 cm
  • width 9 cm
  • width 2.8 cm
  • width 2.8 cm
  • width 9 cm
Map
50.37258, -4.880676
Description:
Restowrack china clay pit, near St Dennis, Cornwall
Precision:
Moderate
About this collection

A case study of the St Austell granite complex in Cornwall, England, illustrating the range of rocks associated with a granite intrusion. The earliest part of the complex is a siderophyllite (biotite) granite containing muscovite and tourmaline typical of a SW England granite, with many primary magmatic features.

This early intrusion was followed by the intrusion of an evolved volatile-rich magma which was the driving force behind a series of intense hydrothermal processes as volatiles escaped from this magma and helped to establish an extensive alteration halo (aureole). Boron, fluorine and lithium (as well as water) played major roles in the formation of the second intrusion and in the associated hydrothermal processes. Igneous activity lasted around 18 million years from 282 Ma (siderophyllite granite) to 265 Ma (fluorite granite).

 

Sample details

Collection: St Austell Granite
Type
igneous
Rock-forming mineral
quartz
tourmaline
cassiterite
Category guide  
Category Guide
Title
Refers to any word or phrase that appears in the individual rock names. Names are generally descriptive; they allow users to search for broad terms like ‘granite’ as well as more specific names such as ‘breccia’. However, the adjacent descriptions of the specimens captures a wider range of general words and phrases and is a more powerful search tool.
Description
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Accessory minerals
Minerals that occur in very low abundance in a rock. They are usually not visible with the naked eye and contribute perhapssver, they often dominate the rare elements such as platinum group metals.
Rock-forming minerals
Minerals that make up the bulk of all rock samples and are also the ones used in rock classi?cation.
Timescale
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Theme
A term used to group together related samples that are not already gathered into a single Collection. For instance, there is a ‘SW England granites’ theme that includes such rock types as granite, hydrothermal breccia, skarn and vein samples.
Category
A general term used to label a rock sample. It is a useful way of grouping similar samples throughout a collection. Category names are often, but not exclusively, common rock names (e.g. granite, basalt, dolerite, gabbro, greisen, skarn, gneiss, amphibolite, limestone, sandstone).
Owner
The owner of the sample that appears in the collection. For example, NASA owns all the samples that appear in the Moon Rocks collection
We would like to thank the following for the use of this sample: