Topazfels in hornfels - Castle-in-Dinas (#212)
Collection:
St Austell Granite
Click the microscope button to view a thin section for this sample.
Microscope
Click the microscope button to view a thin section for this sample.
Microscope

Fact sheet

Topazfels in hornfels - Castle-in-Dinas (#212)

This sample is part of a sedimentary xenolith that became incorporated into the late stage intrusion at Castle-an-Dinas, St Austell, Cornwall. It derived from the main St Austell granite, which was intruded during the Permian period, and was probably the result of an intrusion of the most evolved fluid remaining in the magma chamber at the end of a sequence of crystallisation. Castle-an-Dinas was the site of widespread mineralisation and was once home to Cornwall’s largest tungsten mine.

The thin section exhibits three distinct areas. The left-hand portion was originally fine-grained sedimentary layers that would have contained clay and detrital minerals such as quartz, but an influx of boron-enriched fluid has converted it to bands of tourmaline and quartz. Below the layered section is a quartz vein, and to the right of the tourmaline-rich zones is a sample of the intruding body, which crystallised to form a mixture of topaz, quartz and some small tourmaline grains.

Additional images
 
  • width 5 cm
  • width 13 cm
  • width 13 cm
Map
 
50.427885, -4.892521
Description:
Castle-an-Dinas, St Austell, Cornwall
Precision:
Good
About this collection
 
St Austell Granite

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
topaz
tourmaline
quartz
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
Refers to any word or phrase that appears anywhere in the descriptions of the specimens
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
Selecting one or more period, for example 'Jurassic'.
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

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St Austell Granite