Microinclusions and impurity elements in woody tin from the Kheta deposit, Magadan Oblast

DOI: 10.47765/0869-5997-2026-10005

Abstract

Microinclusions and impurity elements were studied in woody tin from the Kheta deposit in the Magadan Region. The ore deposit is situated within the Kheta volcanic-tectonic depression at an intersection of large zones of regional deep-seated faults and belongs to the tin-sulfide industrial type of the ferruginous-polymetalic-tin ore formation. Electron microscopic studies (SEM) of the woody tin revealed microinclusions of rutile, ilmenite, quartz, aluminosilicates, and wolframite. By the LA-ICP-MS technique, 25 impurity elements with the contents above 1 mg/kg were found in the woody tin. Most of the elements were recorded in rare measurements with the contents less than 10 mg/kg. In the range of 10–100 mg/kg, the average concentrations of K, Sc, Mn, Cu, Zn, Ga, Zr, Pb, and Bi were established; in the range of 100–1000 mg/kg, the Ti, Y, and Sb concentrations; and above 1000 mg/kg, the Al, Fe, and W ones. The concentration distribution features and correlations of the impurity elements were determined mathematically. Assumptions are made on the entry of these impurities into the cassiterite structure and on possible mineral microinclusions.