Tin Abundance of the Mesozoic Granitoids in Southern Korea

Abstract

Twenty-five Jurassic granitoids, 13 Cretaceous granitoids and 7 metamorphic rocks were analyzed for trace amounts of tin. Jurassic and Cretaceous granitoids of the general ilmenite-series terrain of the continental interior are poor in tin ranging from 0.3 to 3.3 ppm in general. Some stocks, dikes and altered granite contain 2 to 12.8 ppm Sn. The basement metamorphic rocks are also low in tin (average 1.1 ppm). These low contents may be related to the general paucity of tin ore deposits in southern Korea. The magnetite-series, Cretaceous granitoids in the Gyeongsang basin are extremely low in tin (average 0.9 ppm). No tin deposits may be expected associated with the granitoids, but Cretaceous granitoids of the continental interior are different being richer in tin than the Gyeongsang basin granitoids; those of the Taebaegsan area need to be examined in terms of the tin geochemistry.