A study from University of St Andrews has uncovered a new way of using tin, vital for the energy transition.
Tin acts as glue in the form of solder, powering all modern electronics including mobile phones, batteries and AI data centres. This means there is an urgent need to understand the geological processes governing tin mineralisation to unlock new supplies with a smaller environmental footprint.
Electrification, which is an important part of the transition to net zero, will only be possible with sufficient supplies of the mineral.
Researchers from the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the University of Oxford, have revealed that the defining characteristics of ‘tin granites’ are established at their geological source.
The modelling highlights a critical flaw in traditional theories: fractional crystallisation actually oxidises the magma. Therefore the process traditionally invoked as being responsible for tin mineralisation cannot also produce reduced granites.
Instead, the results suggest that tin mineralisation necessitates a source rock that is already tin-rich prior to melting.
Lead author, Joseph Benson, said: “We’ve traditionally assumed tin granites become enriched during cooling and crystallisation. In fact, our study reveals these magmas are essentially born this way. Unless you start with a tin-rich, highly reduced source rock, you will never form a tin deposit.”
The scientists say the study provides new, quantitative constraints on tin granite petrogenesis, highlighting the critical role of source conditions in governing whether a particular magma can form a tin deposit.
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