TRACE-ELEMENT PARAGENESES IN TOURMALINE AS INDICATORS OF ZONING AND PRODUCTIVITY OF TIN MINERALIZATION

Abstract

The authors used multivariate statistical methods to evaluate trace-element associations in tourmaline for the purpose of establishing the vertical zoning of tourmaline-type tin-ore deposits and employing it to estimate the erosion level of tin-ore zones. They studied trace-element associations in tourmaline from tin-ore deposits of the cassiterite-quartz and the cassiterite-silicate-sulfide types in the Komsomol'sk and the Badzhal ore districts, as well as in the Maritime region of the Soviet Far East. Step-by-step regression analysis of the data derived by factor analysis revealed the variations of the associations of trace elements in tourmaline with depth.