St Austell granite
St Austell, central Cornwall, United Kingdom
Other hydrothermalSn
- Type
- Granite-related cassiterite veins and greisens
St Austell granite, famous for its china clay, with small tin mines (Bunny, Goss Moor, Old Beam) and placers (Pentewan, Treliver). Cassiterite studied by Marahrens (2021) for Bronze Age tin provenance. Indicative coordinates.
δ124Sn in ‰ (per mil) Values of the same system
Standard : NIST SRM 3161a
| Value | Range | n | Mineral or matrix | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.52 ± 0.41 ‰ | 0.11 / 1.01 ‰ | 4 | primary cassiterite Mean and standard deviation recalculated from 4 samples, Appendix A1. Mean δ124/120Sn of 0.12 ‰ (Puratronic). Replicates of a sample averaged. Breakdown (δ124Sn): Old Beam Mine 0.26; Goss Moor Mine 0.70; Egloshellen Mine 0.11; Bunny Mine 1.01. | Marahrens (2021), Tin isotope analysis of tin ore deposits in Europe and Central Asia in … |
| 0.37 ± 0.2 ‰ | 0.23 / 0.51 ‰ | 2 | secondary cassiterite (placers) Mean and standard deviation recalculated from 2 samples, Appendix A7. Mean δ124/120Sn of 0.05 ‰ (Puratronic). Replicates of a sample averaged. Breakdown (δ124Sn): Treliver, St. Columb 0.51; Pentewan 0.23. | Marahrens (2021), Tin isotope analysis of tin ore deposits in Europe and Central Asia in … |
| 0.66 ± 0.33 ‰ | 0.21 / 0.99 ‰ | 4 | placer and eluvial cassiterite Mean and standard deviation recalculated from 4 samples, "Tin isotopes - tin ores" sheet of OSM2; replicates averaged. Detail (δ124Sn): Gaverigan (0.63), Caerloggas (0.99), Pentewan (0.21), Goss Moor (0.82). | Williams et al. (2025), From Land's End to the Levant: did Britain's tin sources transfor… |
206Pb/204Pb isotope ratio, no unit Values of the same system
Standard : NIST SRM 981
| Value | Range | n | Mineral or matrix | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18.8997 / 50.8185 | 13 | cassiterite concentrate (bulk lead) Range of 13 ores, "Lead isotopes - tin ores" sheet of OSM2 (buried placer, eluvium). Authors' "St Austell" group, which also includes a sample labelled Bodmin Moor. Cassiterite lead is partly radiogenic and spreads along an isochron: no representative central value. Sites: Bennallack, Bodmin Moor, Caerloggas. From large pebble, Cornubia mine, Gaverigan, Goss Moor, Goss Moor alluvial tin (fine to coarse sand), Ladock, Luxulyan, Pentewan (perhaps Rash. Coll. RC 373), St Columb Major, Tregoss Bridge, Wheal Hope. | Williams et al. (2025), From Land's End to the Levant: did Britain's tin sources transfor… |
207Pb/204Pb isotope ratio, no unit Values of the same system
Standard : NIST SRM 981
| Value | Range | n | Mineral or matrix | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15.7376 / 17.4 | 13 | cassiterite concentrate (bulk lead) Range of 13 ores, "Lead isotopes - tin ores" sheet of OSM2 (buried placer, eluvium). Authors' "St Austell" group, which also includes a sample labelled Bodmin Moor. Cassiterite lead is partly radiogenic and spreads along an isochron: no representative central value. Sites: Bennallack, Bodmin Moor, Caerloggas. From large pebble, Cornubia mine, Gaverigan, Goss Moor, Goss Moor alluvial tin (fine to coarse sand), Ladock, Luxulyan, Pentewan (perhaps Rash. Coll. RC 373), St Columb Major, Tregoss Bridge, Wheal Hope. | Williams et al. (2025), From Land's End to the Levant: did Britain's tin sources transfor… |
208Pb/204Pb isotope ratio, no unit Values of the same system
Standard : NIST SRM 981
| Value | Range | n | Mineral or matrix | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38.328 / 39.065 | 13 | cassiterite concentrate (bulk lead) Range of 13 ores, "Lead isotopes - tin ores" sheet of OSM2 (buried placer, eluvium). Authors' "St Austell" group, which also includes a sample labelled Bodmin Moor. Cassiterite lead is partly radiogenic and spreads along an isochron: no representative central value. Sites: Bennallack, Bodmin Moor, Caerloggas. From large pebble, Cornubia mine, Gaverigan, Goss Moor, Goss Moor alluvial tin (fine to coarse sand), Ladock, Luxulyan, Pentewan (perhaps Rash. Coll. RC 373), St Columb Major, Tregoss Bridge, Wheal Hope. | Williams et al. (2025), From Land's End to the Levant: did Britain's tin sources transfor… |
Deposits of the same type
- Bodmin Moor granite United Kingdom
- Cligga Head United Kingdom
- St Agnes (tin district) United Kingdom
- Cornwall tin district United Kingdom
- Carnmenellis granite (Camborne-Redruth) United Kingdom
- Kit Hill granite (Callington) United Kingdom
- Hingston Down (quarry, Calstock) United Kingdom
- Land's End granite (tin district) United Kingdom
Cite this page
IsoFind Atlas (2026). St Austell granite, isotope signatures. https://www.isofind.tech/isotopes/en/deposits/granite-de-st-austell/ (accessed 2026-10-13).
@misc{isofind2026staustellgraniteisotopesignat,
title = {St Austell granite, isotope signatures},
author = {{IsoFind Atlas}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://www.isofind.tech/isotopes/en/deposits/granite-de-st-austell/},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-13}
}Updated : 2026-10-13