Fluorite Granite - Rostowrack (#42)
Collection:
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Fact sheet

Fluorite Granite - Rostowrack (#42)

This lithium-enriched granite has been subjected to at least two major hydrothermal events. The first caused considerable alteration to the feldspars, to the extent that it is not always possible to discriminate between plagioclase and orthoclase. This was the first step to the creation of a china clay deposit as the rotted feldspar was replaced by secondary muscovite and later kaolinite.

The second alteration process involved fluorine-rich fluids which arrived in small veinlets and pervasively attacked the entire rock. Lithium mica was replaced along cleavages by fluorite and voids in feldspar were infilled with larger crystals of colour-zoned purple-white fluorite. Topaz (another fluorine-bearing species) is also present in this rock.

Rotation 2 shows opaque blades of columbite-tantalite - a species only usually found in extremely evolved granite and pegmatites. It's a mineral that cannot be positively identified with a transmitted light microscope, although its form is typical of the species. Electron microprobe analysis, however, confirms the species.

Further evidence of hydrothermal activity in this sample is shown in rotation 3, where a large quartz crystal is seen to contain many trains of tiny inclusions. These are fluid inclusions - trapped water and gases (such as carbon dioxide) sealed into the quartz as it crystallised.

Additional images
  • width 3 cm
  • width 11 cm
  • width 11 cm
  • width 11 cm
  • width 3 cm
Map
50.37269, -4.880505
Description:
Restowrack SW 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
orthoclase
plagioclase
feldspar
li-mica
fluorite
Accessory minerals
topaz
columbite-tantalite
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
We would like to thank the following for the use of this sample: