FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[tinore]

Hi,I need help from all of the mineral expert/specialist/scientist/ to identify this mineral.I was told by my dad it is a pure TIN ORE(SN) without oxide mineral cassiterite,rutile, and a few sufides such as franckeite, cylindrite, canfieldite, stannite and teallite(mostly tin ore comes from cassiterite).It is a 100% pure tin ore found in malaysia tin mining in early time by a british tin mining chief engineering and then gave it to my dad till now,the mineral colour is grey and about hand size(last picture).unfortunely,I still not sure and cannot confirm if it is a pure tin ore without mixing with any oxide mineral or not becouse im not a mineral experts/scientist or geologist at all.I hope someone who knows something about it and can help me,pictures are showing below,please see it carefully and give me your comment,help is always apprieciated,thank you and have a nice day.

[str4hler]

Dear "tinore",
Interesting!
If you send a probe (a few mm3) to, for example, John Attard, he will analyze it for you. Sometimes even within 24 hours...
Cheers!

[Jordi Fabre]

Excalibur do analysis too...

Jordi

[tinore]

thanks str4hler.Who is john attard?Unfortunely,im not an american living in the US but i live in country like malaysia.There is no mineral specialist or geologist over here to help me for analyzing.Should i take it all the way to USA to find john attard for analyzing??any suggestion from anyone is very helpful.

[str4hler]

A list with analysers is here: https://www.strahlen.org/analyse/
Cheers! Frank (what is your name?)

[Les Presmyk]

If it is pure tin ore then it is probably cassiterite. If it is pure tin, then it is probably been refined. This has the look of something that has been smelted.

[alfredo]

I have to correct something Jordi wrote: Excalibur Mineral Co. does not currently do mineral analyses except of their own material. Running the machines was too expensive for what collectors were willing to pay. John Attard (attminerals) is currently doing analyses commercially; break off a chip from your specimen, about half the size of a grain of rice is sufficient, and send it to him in a padded envelope. Address is on the attminerals website.

[Jordi Fabre]

Oh! I forgot it. Thanks Alfredo.

Jordi

[tinore]

i have sent some probe(a few mm3) and dust to a geologist in my local area here to do the analyses at geological university,the result will be coming out in one week time,ill inform all of you over here what it is from the result later,cheers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Scotty1]

Hi Tinore,

A simple test for tin,

Take a small piece of your ore,place in a vessel(old tobacco tin is ideal) cover with sulphuric acid (from a battery ) and place in also a piece of Zinc(galvanized pipe fittings work OK.)

If your sample turns WHITE you are on the money,
If not keep digging!

[tinore]

wah,sound like so complicated to test the mineral if i wanted to be riched.Unfortunely,i only have the battery acid but i dont have tobacco tin and a piece of zinc,probably cannot test it.I used a hammer to weck it and some of the tin ore(a few mm came out) and the part is in metalic white colour,is that indicated a pure tin ore???

[tinore]

THis is the result after i used a hammer to weck the part of the mineral,the part has turned into metalic white,circule in red showing on the picture below,hope this can help me futhur more.

[Pete Modreski]

Dear Mr. tinore,

Your material does not look at all like tin metal, it does look like some kind of a non-metallic (e.g., oxide) material. Did it behave, and sound like, a metal, when you tried to break off a piece? I suspect, not; a metal, even tin, would probably not have been brittle enough, for you to break off a chip. In spite of whatever you may have been told about this, it does not look like pure tin metal, and, as others have commented, it has the appearance of something that might be an artificial product from a smelter, rather than a natural mineral. And if so, and if it is something containing tin, it seems most likely to be some form of tin oxide, e.g., the mineral form of which is cassiterite.

I assume that the sample is quite heavy; but either cassiterite, SnO2 (specific gravity, 7.0) or metallic tin (sp. gr. 7.3) would appear almost equally heavy.

Just trying to help--about as much as can be inferred, just visually.

Best regards,
Pete Modreski