Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T23:04:37.916Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Tin-bearing sulphides from St Michael's Mount and Cligga Head, Cornwall

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

F. Moore
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, King's College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS
R. A. Howie
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, King's College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS

Abstract

The result of electron probe microanalyses, along with X-ray and optical data obtained for tin sulphides from two different localities in south-west England indicate that the mineral hitherto described from St Michael’s Mount as stannite is in fact kesterite, Cu2(Fe0.23Zn0.77)SnS4. The yellow ‘stannite’ reported from this locality proved to be stannoidite, Cu8(Fe2.39 Zn0.61)SnS2S12. Kesterite, Cu2(Fe0.09Zn0.90SnS4, and zincian stannite, Cu2(Fe0.63Zn0.38)SnS4, are also reported from Cligga Head. It is suggested that a more cautious approach should be taken in identifying these tin sulphides solely on their optical properties.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1984

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

Present address: Department of Geology, College of Arts and Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.

References

Boorman, R. S., and Abbott, D. (1967) Indium in coexisting minerals from the Mount Pleasant tin deposits. Can. Mineral. 9, 166-79.Google Scholar
Claringbull, G. F., and Hey, M. H. (1955) Stannite and isostannite. Mineral. Soc., Lond., Notice, 91, 92.Google Scholar
Davison, E. H. (1920) On the geology of St. Michael's Mount. Trans. R. Geol. Soc. Cornwall, 15, 313-21.Google Scholar
Hall, S. R., Szymanski, J. T., and Stewart, J. M. (1978) Kesterite, Cu2(Zn, Fe)SnS4 and stannite, Cu2(Fe, Zn)SnS4, structurally similar but distinct minerals. Can. Mineral, 16, 131-7.Google Scholar
Hosking, K. F. G. (1953) The vein system of St. Michael's Mount. R. Geol. Soc. Cornwall, 18, 493509.Google Scholar
Hosking, K. F. G. (1968) The nature of primary tin ores of south-west of England. Intern. Tin Council (Bangkok Issue), 1156-205.Google Scholar
Jackson, N. J. (1976) The Geology and Mineralisation of the St. Just District, with Particular Reference to Levant Mine. Unpubl. Ph.D. thesis, London University.Google Scholar
Kato, A. (1969) Stannoidite, Cu5 (Fe, Zn) 2SnS8, a new stannite-like mineral from the Konjo mine, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Bull. Nat. Sci. Museum, Japan, 12, 165-72.Google Scholar
Kato, A. and Fujiki, Y. (1969) The occurrence of stannoidites from the xenothermal ore deposit of Akenobe, Ikuno, and Tada mines, Hoyogo Prefecture and Fukoku mine, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Mineral. J. (Japan), 5, 417-33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kissin, S. A., and Owens, D. R. (1979) New data on stannite and related tin sulfide minerals. Can. Mineral. 17, 125-35.Google Scholar
Kovalenker, V. A., Evsyigneeva, T. L., Tronera, N. V., and Vyal'sov, L. N. (1979) [Kuramite, Cu3SnS4, a new member of the stannite group]. Zap. Vses. Min. Obshch. 108, 564-9 [MA 80-4920].Google Scholar
Kudoh, Y., and Takéuchi, Y. (1976) The superstructure of stannoidite. Z. Kristallogr, 144, 145-60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, M. S., Takenouchi, S., and Imai, H. (1975) Occurrence and paragenesis of the Cu-Fe-Sn-S minerals, with reference to stannite and stannoidite and mawsonite. J. Mineral. Soc., Japan, 11 (suppl.), 155-64.Google Scholar
Moh, G. H. (1978) Stannite-chalcopyrite and stannite- sphalerite solid solution and exsolution phenomena, and an attempt of an experimental explanation. In Metallization Associated with Acid Magmatism , 3, 349-58.Google Scholar
Nekrasov, I. H., Sorokin, V. L., and Osadchiy, E. G. (1975) Partition of iron and zinc between sphalerite and stannite at T = 300 to T = 500 °C and P = 1 Kb. Doki. Akad. Nauk SSSR (Earth Sciences Section), 226, 136-8.Google Scholar
Petruk, W. (1973) Tin sulphides from the deposit of Brunswick Tin Mines Ltd. Can. Mineral . 12, 4654.Google Scholar
Ramdohr, P. (1960) Die Erzmineralien und ihre Verwach- sungen . Akademie-Verlag, Berlin.Google Scholar
Ramdohr, P. (1969) The Ore Minerals and their Intergrowths . Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Springer, G. (1968) Electron-probe analyses of stannite and related minerals. Mineral. Mag. 36, 1045-51.Google Scholar
Springer, G. (1972) The pseudo-binary system Cu2 FeSnS4-Cu2ZnSnS4 and its mineralogical significance. Can. Mineral . 11, 535-41.Google Scholar
Sugaki, A., Kitakaze, A., and Sanjines, V. (1981) Study on the ore minerals from the Bolivian tin deposits. (1)—Cassiterite and stannite from the mines in the Oruro district. Sci. Rept. Tohoku Univ., ser . 3, 15, 6577.Google Scholar
Yamanaka, T., and Kato, A. (1976) Mössbauer effect study of 57Fe and 119Sn in stannite, stannoidite, and mawsonite. Am. Mineral . 61, 260-5.Google Scholar