Cassiterite - SnO₂

Habit: Black, brown, yellow-gray, colorless or white, rarely red. Transparent when light colored, dark material nearly opaque, Adamantine to Adamantine Metallic, splendent Luster

Environment: Characteristic of deep-seated high-temperature veins and of association with highly acid igneous rocks such as Granites, also in Pegmatites. Important placer deposits are derived from the weathering of stockworks of cassiterite-bearing veins in Granite.

Etymology: Named from the Greek kassiteros, tin, for its composition.

The principle ore of tin. "Tin cans"are actually made mostly of steel, with a tin-plating, due to its low toxicity. Tin foil was once a common wrapping material for foods and drugs; replaced in the early 20th century by the use of aluminum foil, but it still commonly referred to as 'tin foil’.