Cassiterite (SnO₂), a main ore mineral in tin deposits, is suitable for U–Pb isotopic dating because of its relatively high U/Pb ratios and typically low common Pb. We report a LA-ICPMS analytical procedure for U–Pb dating of this mineral with no need for an independently dated matrix-matched cassiterite standard. LA-ICPMS U-Th-Pb data were acquired while using NIST 612 glass as a primary non-matrix-matched standard. Raw data are reduced using a combination of Iolite™ and other off-line data reduction methods. Cassiterite is extremely difficult to digest, so traditional approaches in LA-ICPMS U-Pb geochronology that utilize well-characterized matrix-matched reference materials (e.g., age values determined by ID-TIMS) cannot be easily implemented. We propose a new approach for in situ LA-ICPMS dating of cassiterite, which benefits from the unique chemistry of cassiterite with extremely low Th concentrations (Th/U ratio of 10⁻⁴ or lower) in some cassiterite samples. Accordingly, it is assumed that ²⁰⁸Pb measured in cassiterite is mostly of non-radiogenic origin—it was initially incorporated in cassiterite during mineral formation, and can be used as a proxy for common Pb. Using ²⁰⁸Pb as a common Pb proxy instead of ²⁰⁴Pb is preferred as ²⁰⁴Pb is much less abundant and is also compromised by ²⁰⁴Hg interference during the LA-ICPMS analyses.

Our procedure relies on ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb vs ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb (Pb-Pb) and Tera-Wasserburg ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb vs ²³⁸U/²⁰⁶Pb (U-Pb) isochron dates that are calculated for a ~1.54 Ga low-Th cassiterite reference material with varying amounts of common Pb that we assume remained a closed U-Pb system. The difference between the NIST 612 glass normalized biased U-Pb date and the Pb-Pb age of the reference material is used to calculate a correction factor (F) for instrumental U-Pb fractionation. The correction factor (F) is then applied to measured U/Pb ratios and Tera-Wasserburg isochron dates are obtained for the unknown cassiterite analyzed in the same analytical session. This allows for U-Pb dating of cassiterite of any age with no need for an independently dated matrix-matched reference material, nor assumptions about the isotopic composition of common Pb.

Results for cassiterite from tin deposits in Bolivia, Brazil, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, and the United Kingdom, with ages ranging from ~20 Ma to ~2060 Ma, demonstrate the applicability of this approach across a broad range of geologic time. These ages are in good agreement with published geochronology of the host rocks associated with the tin deposits and with previously published U-Pb ages of some cassiterites from the same deposits. Thus, our in situ LA-ICPMS methodology verifies the use of cassiterite as a reliable U-Pb mineral-geochronometer with the advantages of fast and relatively low cost in situ analyses with moderate spatial resolution.