Your work sounds interesting.

There is a direct relationship of Sn with Fe and Mn in the Cornwall, UK tin province. There is no reported Hg occurrences as far as I know, nor did we analyze for Hg when we carried out our geochemical investigation.

Tin and mercury generally correlate well in hydrothermal systems at about 250-450°C. As far as I remember, they can even form alloys.

Dear Mr. Fauzi,

Hg can be used as a chemical aid during exploration mainly for sulfide ores bearing Pb-Zn-Cu irrespective of the type, e.g., kieslager, veins... Hg has a strong affiliation to sulfides and its major host is cinnabarite. In true oxidic Sn-W deposits common to granitic hosts there is often no real source for Hg. In subvolcanic Sn sulfide deposits ( Sn-(Ag-Pb-Zn-Cu) vein-type deposits ) such as in the Bolivian Andes and Japan it is a different story because of the accommodation of Sn into sulfides.

Dacitic magma and the metal-bearing hydrothermal solutions represent the uppermost products of large magmatic/hydrothermal systems. The Sn is a remobilized component of sialic rocks derived from recycled continental crust. This shows a possible link to the granitic hosts in question.

Mineralogy:

Sulfostannate complex precipitation

–reaction with the wall rocks causes the solution to get neutralized

–formation of hydrocassiterite

–reaction with H2S to form Sn sulfides

stannite (Cu2FeSnS4) tetragonal

–theor.: 27.8 wt. % Sn

–low T modfification

–koesterite (Cu2ZnSnS4),

–briartite Cu2(Fe, Zn)GeS4,

–hocartite (Ag2FeSnS4),

–colusite (Cu3(As, Sn, V, Fe, Te)S4)

•Sn sulfides

–isomorphous series of minerals

–teallite (PbSnS2) theor.: 30.5 wt. % Sn

–herzenbergite (SnS) theor.: 78.0 wt. % Sn

–occurring mainly in subvolcanic Sn deposits (e.g. Montserrat, Bolivia)

–hydrated to form hydrocassiterite and hochschildite (PbSnO3.n H2O)

•Sn sulfosalts

–kylindrite (Pb3Sn4SbS14) theor.: 26.5 wt. % Sn

–franckeite (Pb5Sn3Sb2S14) theor.: 17.1 wt. % Sn

–canfieldite (Ag8SnS6) theor.: 10.1 wt. % Sn

–low T formation in subvolcanic Sn deposits in Bolivia

–mined for Sn and Ag

With kind regards

H.G.Dill

Dear Mr Fauzi,

In the weathering profile Sn is immobile and most likely it is retained in cassiterite.

the presence of Hg in soil can be related to artificial contamination by Hg which can be used to extract some metals such as Au for example. the other possibility is to find Hg in sulphide as inclusions in cassiterite. I recommend you to separate the soil samples into different size fractions and examine the mineralogy of the soil fraction which contains the high concentration of Sn and Hg. you can get a clue. have a look at the attached paper

Mercury occurs mainly in telethermally (Uppermost epithermal) whereas Tin is associated with granitic rocks (A highly altered granitic rock containing quartz and mica at prograde skarn level). So, two elements are located far from each other. (

Mercury occurs over a relatively wide temperature range in hydrothermal systems (between 250 and 450°C). This temperature range overlaps with that of tin greisens.

Dear Mr Fauzi

Your samples are soil and no rock, Minerals containing tin (Sn) and mercury (Hg) are considered as Heavy minerals and and I think you should consider the heavy mineral matter and its studies.

Dear Mr. Fauzi,

Dr. Ahmadirouhani is absolutely right, cassiterite and cinnabarite are both strongly resistant to weathering, even if they are concentrated not very far off their source be it lithological or structural. Cinnabarite is widely dispersed along deep-seated fault zones and may have been derived from different sources down to the subcrustal level. Therefore a mixture of the two in the supergene zone, e.g., soil, regolith and alluvial-fluvial sediments is likely. In this case you should pay much more attention to these three host environments.

H.G.Dill

Thank you Professor Dill for your Your excellent description.

Thank you all for the answers and explanations.

As far as I know, tin mineralization in purely intrusive granite batholith is either greisenisation or porphyry, but neither of this type of mineralization relates with Hg.

Regarding on my study area, the S-typed, porphyritic granite pluton emplaced in Late Triassic, intruding earlier formed Late Triassic Semanggol Formation which comprises of rythmic unit (interbedding sandstone-siltstone) and cherty unit (including black shales).

I keen to hypothesize that the Hg mineralization is due to hydrothermal reworking of the black shales which already has high content in Hg during pluton emplacement.

By the way, some of the xenolith (or roof pendants) found within the batholith is still exist as sedimentary rock, or very slightly metamorphed.

Of curse Hg is a aim For cu pb zn !

Dear Mr. Fauzi,

As your granite is S-type, so it is possible to have Sn mineralization. Hg can present as pathfinder elements in geochemical halos of this type of mineralization. So, it is possible to have Sn and Hg in S-type granite mineralization. Presence of these elements in weathered soils of granites can be a sign of mineralization.

Thank you.

Mohammad