J . geol. Soc. London, Vol. 142, 1985, pp. 815-836, 14 figs, 1 table.

Printed in Northern Ireland

Indonesian fluvial cassiterite placers and their

geneticenvironment

G. J. J. Aleva
InternationalInstituteforAerospaceandEarth Sciences (ITC), Kanaalweg 3,
2628 EB Delft, The Netherlands
SUMMARY: Placer valleysystemsin the areas of Belitung and Singkep islands and in the
Tujuh archipelago,Indonesia,aredescribed with the use of geological andcontourmaps,
longitudinal sections and grade distribution charts. The main cassiterite concentration (>95%
of all minable cassiterite) in these deposits rests directly on weathered bedrock. Cover-layer
(Miencan)cassiteriteconcentrationsoccuratvarious levels,indicating continuedupstream
erosion and downstream sedimentation of cassiterite. The valley bottoms currently reach depths
below meansea level of -50 m;greaterdepths, down to -100 m,arerecorded on sonic
sections and can be deduced from wildcat drill-holes downstream from the mined areas. All
offshore and large parts of the onshore placers are palaeoplacers, which have been protected
against erosion by marine, littoral and paludal sediments. The stratigraphical succession of this
cover has been established in the Tujuh area, but a definite dating has not yet been achieved.
The collected data indicate a concentration process on the bottoms of fluvial valleys, which at
that stage contained only a thin sediment layer that was composed mainly of coarse, angular
clastics and heavy minerals. The distribution of cassiteriteonthe valleyfloors is locally
determined by morphology-at the lowest parts, in local depressions and behind obstacles-
whereas on alarger scale it indicatesa largely autochthonous or residual provenance, with
maximumfluvial transportation distances of -500111. In contrast, many of the W Malaysian
cassiterite placers are alluvial concentrations and found at various levels within the relatively
fine-grained sedimentary valley fill.

The Indonesiantin islands form the most easterly
exposure of the SE Asiantin belt, which starts in
Burma, 2700 km to the NNW. These islands are, from
northwest tosoutheast,Karimun,Kundur, Singkep
(where mining recently ceased), the Tujuh archipela-
go, Bangka(containing by farthe most important
reserves) and Belitung (Fig. 1).
The many papers published on the Indonesian tin
deposits in the first halfof this century largely dealt
with the concept of the ‘kaksa’ or lag gravel deposits.
These deposits overlie the weathered bedrock of the
valley floor, and are composed of relatively coarse:
weathering-resistant material, in particularangular
fragments of quartz veins, coarse angular quartz
grains, and the occasional rounded granules of black
tourmaline and light greenish bauxite pebbles in a fine
sandy to clayey matrix. A review of these publications
was given by Krol (1960). Batchelor (1983) provided
English translations for several of the Dutch language
papers.
A new phase of geological studies started in 1948 in
Belitung island, and during the following 10 years
many aspects of cassiterite placer geology were
addressed, including bedrockandplacermapping,
onshoreandoffshoreexploration methods, evalua-
tion, and area1 distribution of deposits and tin grades
within deposits.Severalexamplespresented in this
paper are based on data collected during that period.
Osberger (1968) published an extensive paper on
the tin deposits of Bangka and Belitung islands, based
ondata available in the archives andon his own
observations in both islands.
The placer quartet
In this study the termplacer is used in the widest
possible sense;thus, aplacer is amineraldeposit
derived from weathering products through mechanical
concentration of weathering-resistant minerals of eco-
nomic interest. There is no requirement of lateral
transport of the concentratedminerals, alluvial or
otherwise,nor of the imprecise notion of surficial
occurrence or formation, and there is no restriction in
the type of mechanical concentration, be it aqueous
(pluvial, fluvial, coastal marine), aeolian, glacial, or by
mass transport (cf. Bates & Jackson 1980).
The generation of placers is dependent on four
aspects: (i) the source rock containing the primary or
secondary cassiterite, (ii) the liberation of the cassiter-
ite from the source rock without excessive comminu-
tion of the cassiteritegrains, (iii) the mechanical
concentration of the now detritalcassiteritegrains,
and (iv) the protection of at least part of the
unconsolidated cassiterite concentration against attack
by mechanical erosion.
From existing literature it appearsthatthe four
aspects listed are largely comparable in their influence
on the placer deposits formed in and offshore the ‘tin
816 G. J . J . Aleva
SUMATERA
FIG. 1. TheIndonesian tin islands in relation to Malaysia, SumateraandKalimantan,andthedepth
surrounding seas.
islands'-Bangka, Belitung and recently depleted
Singkep. The following discussions of these four
aspects are valid for the Indonesian tin islands or tin
belt as a whole, except where the name of an island is
specifically mentioned.
i.The sourcerock is twofold: the sedimentary
country rock of Permian to Triassic age, and a limited
number of well-defined igneousintrusions dated by
Priem et al. (1975) to be 216 f 2 Ma old.The
sedimentary country rock is composed of a monoto-
nous alternation of rather pure sandstones and pure
mudstones, occasionally interbedded with conglomer-
ate and limestone layers, pillow lava and tuff horizons,
and a radiolarian chert. The strike of the sedimentary
series is in general ESE and parallel to the tin belt,
bending with the shape of this belt or with the shape of
of the
the island. The attitude of the bedding is vertical to
steeply dipping either way. Several tight anticlinal
structures occur in Belitung.
The igneous rocks comprise a suite of granitoid
rocks ranging from granodiorite to graniteand
leucogranite(Aleva 1960). The intrusions are highly
variable in size, ranging from plutons up to 20x90 km
(Bangka) to small masses less than 100 m in diameter.
Several of the igneousbodies, independent of their
size, have their largest dimension parallel to the strike
of the country rock.
Primary mineralization is present in the intrusions as
well as in the sedimentary rocks, and the type, area1
extent and concentration is highly variable. In several
places higher grade primary mineralization has been
mined directly, either as unweatheredlodes,lenses,
 fluvial
Indonesian
veins and greisen masses fromhard,unweathered
country rock (mainly in Belitung island), or as
chemically weathered greisen masses, pegmatites
(Singkep) and pegmatitic veins (Bangka). Less spec-
tacular is the disseminated mineralization found in the
granitic rocks and greisen masses. This occurs as fine,
reddish brown grains of cassiterite, and, in the
sedimentaryrocks, as small gash veins 1 X 10 to
3 X 30 mm in size. They are composed of dark greyish
cassiterite.
The area1 distribution of the primary mineralization
closely follows the rules formulated by Emmons
(1933): in the granitic rocks near the contacts and in
particular in the roof zone or ‘hood’,and in the
country rock near granite contacts and above granite
cupolas.
ii. The liberation of the brittlecassiteritefrom its
encasing minerals has been efficiently effected by deep
tropical weathering, which alters most silicates to
kaolinite and removes alkalies and earth-alkalies out
of the system through leaching, but does not material-
ly attack cassiterite and coarse quartz. Granitic rocks
are thus altered to a saprolite of plastic to tough clayey
consistency composed of quartz grains in kaolin with
many ghost structures and texturesretained.This
saprolite weathering mantle may reach a thickness of
several tens of metres. It is mostly covered by a sandy
surface layer without any retained primary structures.
The sedimentarycountry rock weathers less conspi-
cuously, largely because the component minerals are
alreadyin equilibrium with the near-surface and
subaerial conditions. The decomposition in sandstones
is no more than a falling apartintotheseparate
mineral grains, while mudstones show a weak decom-
position and leaching. The thickness of the weathering
mantle on sedimentary country rock rarely exceeds a
few metres.
Cassiterite is barely attacked by subaerial weather-
ing;larger crystal masses may disintegrateintotheir
separate crystals, but the solution of cassiterite in
surface and soil waters is slight, and it does not
materially influence the formation of cassiterite
placers .
Weathering is greatly promoted by a hot and humid
climate, whereas the subaerial condition requires that
the rock to beweathered is above sea level. The
Cenozoic has seen anumber of relative sea-level
movements of up to 400 m, and the climate has varied
considerably throughout that era, culminating in
frequent and severe changes during the last few
hundred years. Figure 2 illustrates and correlates these
changes on a world-wide scale. Horizontal tectonic
movements of theareaunder discussion must have
been of minor influence on the climatic changes, as
plate movements during the Cenozoic were limited in
a N-S direction within a zone between approximately
10”N lat. to 5”s lat. It is likely that vertical tectonic
movements of local to regional importance have
cassiterite placers 817
occurred, as the area is at the front edge of the SE
Asian tectonicplate. The alternation of emergence
(with weathering and fluvial erosion) and submergence
(with marinesedimentation or abrasion) has been
studied in detail in the Tujuh area. Table 1 summa-
rizes the stratigraphy of the more recent part of the
Cenozoic-possibly only since the Pleistocene-in-
cluding the formation of the main offshore placers in
that area.
iii. The concentration of cassiterite into placers is
still under discussion; after a number of deposits have
been described below, the formative process will be
discussed in some detail. In the Indonesian tin islands
there are three types of cassiterite placers, which must
be clearly distinguished in any genetic discussion.
They are
-residual eluvial concentrations or kulit (Indonesian
for ‘skin’) placers on the interfluves and on the valley
side slopes;
- para-autochthonous fluvial concentrations or kak-
sa (Chinesefor clay-coarse sand) placers, i.e.the
fluvial lag gravel deposit directly overlying the mostly
weathered country rock of the valley bottoms;
- allochthonous-alluvial concentrations or miencan
(pronounced‘meenchan’, also Chinese)placers,i.e.
cassiterite concentrations interbedded in the
sedimentary fill of the valley andtherefore often
indicated with the mining-related term ‘cover-layer’
concentrations; they are mostly of finer grain than the
underlying kaksa deposit. It is estimated that less than
10% of the commercially produced cassiterite in
Indonesia is obtained from these true alluvial cover-
layer concentrations.
iv. Protection of the unconsolidated placer is re-
quired to prevent the destruction by later erosional
action.This is particularly necessary when younger
fluvial erosion occurs at a time that, or a place where,
no new cassiterite grains areadded to the fluvial
system. The more common protection is provided by
younger sediments of finer grain size resulting from a
general decrease in the fluvial erosional activity. The
offshore palaeoplacers aroundthe Indonesian tin
islands were saved from destruction by a transgressive
sea, effectively preventing any further fluvial in-
fluence. Both ways of protection are related to
changes in climate or changes in sea level, or both.
Methods
The geology of placer deposits can best be studied in
large open mines, such as thoseproducedduring
hydraulic mining operations. The shape of the valley
bottom can be observed
and
mapped in detail,
cassiterite concentrations can be seenin the mine
faces, and sedimentological observations on the valley
fill can be made on a daily basis. In practice, however
it is difficult to obtain sufficient systematic data of a
homogeneous nature and high quality, in order to use
818 G. J . J . Aleva
OC
30
JAPAN
-.-.- W. EUROPE
TROPICAL
- -- W. N-AMERICA

25

SUB-
TROPICAL
20

WARM

I S

COOL

10
60 50 40 30 20 10
m
i300

i200

00
+l

-100

-200 , , , , , , , , , , , I , , , , I , , ,, ,, , , , ,, , , ,
60 60 40 30 20 10 0
1
LATE
E E E LLATE
MIDDLE
EARLY M L EL
PALE0
CENE
EOCENE OLIGOCENE MIOCENE
iy
FIG.2. Graphs comparing the changes in climate (A, mean temperatures after Frakes 1979) with those in sea level
(B, world wide averages after Vail & Hardebol 1979) during the Tertiary.

them for statistical purposes that could lead to a better The detailed area1 distribution of cassiterite and its
understanding of placer formation. relation tothe valley-bottom morphology can be
Drillholes may furnishalarge number of high determined by adapting the mining routine of bucket-
quality data, provided the drilling procedures are chain dredges,the commonly used equipmentfor
correct and maintained essentially unchanged through- mining larger onshore and most offshore placers. The
out the total period of drilling within one valley. All resolution may be as small as 3~ 10 m in surface area,
drilling data used forthepresent study are derived and 0.5 m in depth (van Overeem 1960b).
from Bangka-type drilling equipment. The tin grade of cassiterite concentrations is usually
Since the mid-1950s acoustic(sonic) geophysical expressed in the amount of tin metal or cassiterite per
data collection was added to the tools of the placer unit of volume, as during mining the total volume of
geologist. Modern offshore placer exploration is based the valley fill, from the valley floor upward, has to be
on acoustic subbottom profiling surveys; detailed removed for washing out the cassiterite.For kaksa-
interpretationand plotting is facilitated by using a type placers the grade figures so obtained are largely
rectangular crossing pattern of survey lines. Drilling in dependent on the thickness of the covering sediments,
selectedsites will furnish thesound velocity data which is dependent on the variable depth of the valley
required for detailed interpretation of the analog or bottom. For geological study of the cassiterite distribu-
digital survey log (van Overeem 1960a; Bon 1979). tion these grade values (T value = kg tin metal per
 fluvial
Indonesian cassiterite placers 819
TABLE1: The stratigraphic column in the offshore area of the Tujuh Archipelago
YSC or Younger . . Cover (Recent to
Holocene), composed of
-soft, greenish-gray marine mud with shell fragments, and
- silty to fine, sandy marine sediments with slight but persistent easterly dip to the thin bedding.
Soil formation afteremergence,reddish in colour,ontheUpperPlanationEpisodesurface withincision of a system of
shallow vaHeys;- their pattern is not related to that of older valley patterns.
UPE or Upper Planation Episode, probably a marine abrasion plain, truncating all older formations and cutting a bench into
the basement culmination; the elevation of this plain varies from -20 m MSL directly around Cebia island to -45 m MSL
approximately 30 km offshore; there are indications from the other islands that the plain is domed or cylindrical with the
long axis parallel to the strike of the island belt.
AC or Alluvial Complex, filling up steep-sided valleys incised into all older formations; also cutting through the gravel-filled
valleys into the now weathered granitic bedrock and elsewhere through the Older Sedimentary Cover into the underlying
Permo-Triassic basement, reaching depths of over -100 m MSL; the shape and pattern of these deepest valleys suggest an
origin as tidal scour channels (Aleva et al. 1973); the valley fill is composed of massive clays with minor, thinly stratified
sandy and clayey sediments with peat intercalations; the complex as a whole indicates frequent changes in the terrestrial
sedimentation environment.
IPE or Intermediate Planation Episode, truncating the older landscape and causing the AC valleys to find their own pattern
around the Cebia culmination, unrelated to the older landforms.
GFV or gravel-filled valleys, so far the only unit containing cassiterite-bearinglag gravels; these GFV,containing cassiterite in
approximatelyone-third of the valleys identified, are restricted tothe now weatheredsubcrop of granitebedrock;
sonograms indicate that the GFV incise the Older Sedimentary Cover near the granite contact, but cease to be discernible
on the sonograms farther downstream; the pattern of the GFV radiate away from the topographic culminations marked by
the present, granite underlain islands.
OSC or Older Sedimentary Cover, a massive and very extensive, sub-horizontal formation with bedding planes far apart,
composed of pebbly to coarse, sandy to clayey sediments with minor intercalated peat layers; the sediments wedge out and
slopeupwards against theCebiaandotherbedrockculminations; thicknesses of upto 60m have beenrecorded on
sonograms; during the IPE and the UPE the valleys of the sediment feeder rivers were destroyed by planation and the
upper parts of the sedimentary unit were truncated, hence it is not clear whether the GFV are an individual unit, separated
from the OSC by an additional planation episode, or whether they represent the youngest feeder channels of the OSC,
which locally incise because of minor relative vertical movements of the sea-level or changes in climate.
LPE or Lower Planation Episode, truncating the Permo-Triassic sediments with their 216 f 2 Ma old granitic intrusions; it
formed the regional basement topography on which the OSC was deposited and it was in its mature state dominated by a
number of culminations now represented by the tin islands.

cubic metre valley fill) are unsuitable.Kaksa-type
placers have theshape of a blanket of cassiterite-
containing coarser grained sediments with a large to
very large horizontal extension (50 X 1000 m to 500
X 10 000 m) and with a very small thickness (0.1-2 m).
Hence,the geologically meaningful measure is the
amount of tin per unit of surface (the G value = kg tin
metal per square metre valley-bottom surface). This G
value can be computedfora drill hole, for the
3 X 10 m areas of.the bucket-chain dredge survey, or
for the surface area of a mining operation, e.g. for the
monthly or yearly mining progress.
Examples
The main characteristic of the Indonesian tin placers,
particularly when compared with many of the Malay-
sian tin placers, is the limited lateral transport of
cassiterite, and this feature is most conspicuous in the
islands Singkep and Belitung, where the placers have a
tin content that is less than half that of the Bangka
deposits.
The following examples were chosen for the relative
completeness of thedataand for their illustrative
value with respect to one or more facets of the close
relation between primary source, the derived placers,
and landscape development.
The availability of a primary source is dependent on
the level of erosion in relation to the upperpart of the
granitoid masses, where the original primary deposits
mainly occur (Fig. 3). Table I presents the strati-
graphic succession offshore of the Tujuh islands, with
three planation levels, three subsequent sedimentary
covers,and only one set of tin-bearing valleys. This
succession of planation levels has also been found in
reconnaissance sonic surveys around parts of Bangka
and Belitung islands. However,adirectconnection
with placers onshore or with the morphology of the
islands is lacking. This is largely the result of the
Upper Planation Episode that removed-through
abrasion or planation, or both-a fringe of varying
width of the older landscape. In the Tujuharchipelago
this fringe prevents, through its width and the age of
its formation, a correlation between the morphology
of the presentlandscape andthe drowned offshore
land surfaces farther out. Around the otherislands the
available information is insufficient to be of much use.
820 J. G. J . Aleva
~ ~~

106"IE 107 O I E 108O1E

\
m T U J U H A. L E G E N D
(fife/ GRANlTOlDS

m PLACERS

ANGKA
1 100 km I

BELITUNG
ISENGKELI

0 0

SUMATERA

r. LENGGANGJ

FIG.3. The main tin islands Bangka and Belitung, with the granitoid plutons and stocks and the distribution of the
main cassiterite placer deposits (in black)

Lenggang bedrock, resulting from humid tropical saprolitic

Thecentralpart of theeastern half of Belitung
island contains numerous cassiteriteplacers of both
the eluvial kulit type and the fluvial kaksa type (Fig.
4). In the western half of the map area of this figure
the strike of the sedimentary bedrock is indicated by
the direction of the valleys, i.e. around N 1lO"E. The
black areasareworkedout mines and existing ore
reserves;they marktheweatheredand eluviated
primaryoccurrences (the kulit placers) on the in-
terfluves, and the fluvial kaksa placers in the valleys.
These kaksa placers locally overlie primary cassiterite
veinlets in the sedimentary bedrock, but must largely
be considered as fluviatile reworked colluvium derived
from the interfluves. The mechanism of the formation
of kulit placers and the transport of these eluviated
deposits on the interfluves has recently been discussed,
based on an example from this region (Aleva 1983). It
involves the shrinkage (or slow-motion collapse) of a
thick (probablyup to 40 m)mantle of weathered
weathering,and gravity movement (colluviation or
tropical solifluxion) toward the nearest topographical
low, i.e. the fluvial valley.
In the eastern part of the map area the pattern of
worked out mines and existing ore reserves is in many
places not related to the stream pattern. The present-
day streams are consequent streams running in a sandy
marine
depositional plain (presumably
Younger
Sedimentary Cove-see Table 1) which covers the
older landsurface in which the placer-containing
valleys are incised. The westernboundary of this
uplifted young marine cover is approximately parallel
to,and 7 km west of,the presentcoastline. The
independence of the recent river pattern from the old
landsurface is bestillustrated by the course of the
main river (Sungai Lenggang) that crosses in N-S
direction the main kaksa placer of the area, which lies
on the bedrock floor of an older valley system, partly
running parallel to the local strike (N 1lO"E) of the
bedrock.
 Indonesian fluvial cassiterite placers 821

FIG.4. Map of the central eastern part of Belitung (Lenggang district), showing the present drainage channels (thin
lines) and topographic culminations (asterisks), the contact (heavy broken line) of small granite masses, and the
identified cassiterite deposits (black: includes worked-out deposits and reserves as of the late 1950s).

Figure 5 provides a part of the map for this large
placer; it compares the distribution of cassiterite
grades (map B) with the bedrock contours in map A.
The contour map is based on data from drill holes,
which over a large part of the area are ona 50 X 100 m
grid (and in many parts of the earlier explored areas
on a grid as close as 25 X 25 m). The grade values are
computed from mine production data. The tin values
shown are in kg tin metal per square metre surface
area (the G value). The bedrock contour map shows a
relief of 15 m over a valley width of 1200-1500 m. In
the upstream western part of the map area cassiterite
is almost evenly distributed over the area above and
below the -10 m contour. In the central map area the
cassiterite is foundonthe high groundabove the
-10 m contour as well as in the deepest gully below
the -15 m contour. The eastern part contains a rich
stretch,2000m long and 60 mwide,where the tin
value distribution is independent of the bedrock
topography. High values are in the deepest (-20 m)
channel and on the local culmination marked by the
-10 m contour.
In summary, the N 15O"E-striking main valley, with
a tributary valley striking N llWE, is incised into an
old regional planation surface, which slopes from 0 m
in the west to-10mintheeast,and contains
considerable amounts of cassiterite in values ranging
from 2 to over15 kg/m2, butwithouta distinct
geomorphologically controlled distribution pattern.
There are only a few production areas with G values
of less than 4. This large deposit gives the impression
that the main valley is incised across a zone of primary
mineralization, running parallel to the N 110"E strike
of the bedding of the bedrock.
Air Raya-SungaiPering-TelokPering
Figure 6 gives a map of this fluvial system with a total
mapped and mined length of 16 km. The system is in
the
northeastern
corner of Belitung island in
sedimentary terrain. The fluvial system starts with a
number of small headwater rivulets onthe local
culmination, the Gunung Kelapa Kampit, at a height
of -140 m.This is the site of Indonesia's only
hardrock, undergroundtinmine. TheAir ('brook')
Raya and its larger continuation Sungai ('river')
Pering do notrun parallel tothe regional strike of
N 110-120"E as found in the Permo-Triassic
sedimentary bedrock, but startout ina N 80"E
direction and gradually curve to a N 25"E direction. It
is presumed that the course of the valley is influenced
by the commonfaultdirections as observed in the
mine: N 15"E, N 55"E and N 30"E. The movements
along all these faults produce an apparent stretching of
the sedimentary bed involved.
Along most of the onshore length of the valley there
are old kulit workings onthe high ground (in-
terfluves). These kulit placers could have contributed
822 G. J. J . Aleva
to thecassiterite content of the rich A. Raya-S. Pering The farthestoffshore area shown in Fig. 8 illustrates
valley, but detailed
data
are
not available. The a similar arrangement of the high-grade cassiterite
bedrock contours drawnin theonshorepart of the patches. Some of the deeper valley stretches do not
valley are based on a relatively wide grid of holes contain appreciable amounts of cassiterite, whereas in
drilled afterat leasttwoearlierperiods of mining other places both the interfluves and bordering valleys
activity. The offshore part in the Telok ('bay') Pering are rich. There seems to exist arelation between
is well documentedthrough drilling and surveying bedrockmineralization with patches of (drowned)
during mining operations by bucket-chain dredge. eluvial deposits on the flat interfluves and high
The near offshore area in the map of Fig. 7 contains cassiteriteconcentrationsin the nearby(drowned)
cassiterite-rich patches on the flat bedrock areas at an river valley, with some downstream transport of
elevation of approximately - 15 m. In the centreof the cassiterite over a limited distance.
map area thereis a group of higher grade patches that The valleys originate from a time when the sea level
trends normally to the topography; the strikedirection was at least 3C-50 m lower than at present. The old
of this group of patches is again N 110-12o"E. The landscapecontainedkulit placers on the interfluves
sinuous course of the fossil S. Pering along the western and kaksaplacers on the valley bottoms. The wave
side of themaparea is extremely rich inseveral action of the later rising sea level must have swept
places, mainly in deeper holes, in bends, and where much of the kulit placertin intothe nearby deep
it crossespresumablyprimarybedrock mineraliza- valley, which atthat time was notyet filled with
tion.
Onthe
eastern interfluve area
appears
it youngersediments. Thus,the original cassiterite
thatthe richer areasare mainly inlocal, shallow distribution, related to the N 110-120"E-striking prim-
depressions. arymineralization zones,are bestpreserved in the

FIG. 5 . Maps of the Meranteh mining area, covering the large, central deposit depicted in black in Fig. 4. A, Map
showing the bedrock contours in 5-m intervals; datum is MSL. B, Map illustrating the tin grades (in G values) of the
worked areas, based on production data. Outside the worked areas only the higher grade drill holes are marked; the
whole area has been drilled on a grid at least 100 X 50 m in area.
 Indonesian fluvial cassiterite placers
nearshore area where the marine influence was shorter
and weaker than in the farther offshore area.
Generally, sea bottom contours do not reveal the
course of the deep, drowned valleys. Younger marine
sediments-sands and (sub)recent marine mud-fill all
valleys and are also deposited in a continuous cover of
a few metres thick over the fossil interfluves. Without
drilling or geophysical methods the fossil valley
pattern cannot be discerned.
S. Sengkelie
The northwestern part of Belitung island is underlain
by granites of the large Tanjung ('cape') Pandan
pluton. A map of the northern half of this pluton is
presentedin Fig. 9, showing the kulit placers to be
much less abundant along the kaksa placer-containing
valleys than was seen in the examplesfrom eastern
Belitung.
The explanation is twofold. First, the primary
distribution of cassiterite in the pluton may have been
irregular, as has been observed in many primary
deposits world-wide. Secondly, the peculiar distribu-
0
' 0
0
\. 0
0
0 .
0
00
823
tion of cassiterite in only a few, but rich, major valleys
is probably the result of the strong residual character
of cassiterite. The occurrence of this mineralin the
main valleys might be a relict from the mineralized
hood of the pluton (Aleva 1960). Most of the
cassiterite now foundin the few major valleys was
originally liberated from that part of the hood situated
between the upward extensions of the present day
major interfluves, at a time when the erosion level was
at least several hundred metres higher and the relief
flatter.
Both main northwards-running rivers continue -2
km offshorewithout much changeintheirgeneral
direction. Figure 10 illustrates the eastern one of these
offshore cassiterite
deposits belonging to the S.
Sengkelie fluvial system. Thenorthern boundary of
the granite pluton presumably is close to the northern
boundary of the reserve and mining area (cf. Fig. 9).
The map of Fig. 10 depicts the bedrock configura-
tion and cassiterite distribution in G values (kg Sn/m2)
observed during mining. The drilling results were fully
confirmed with tinplacers, grading between 4 and
15 kg M m 2 , in the central and western area in a flat,
..
0
0
800
O F o vp
V
0
0
0
824 G. J. J. Aleva

l
i
i
i
{
? '

0 0
FI c
 fluvial
Indonesian
local basin below the -15 m contour; additional
deposits were found in the insufficiently drilled
southeastern local culmination, mainly above the
-1Om contour. Cassiterite occurs in an oval-shaped
patch with long axes striking N 100”E parallel to the
strike of the numerous thin (1-4mm) greisen sheets
observed in the granitepluton on land. The highest
cassiterite concentrations ( > l 2 kg Sn/m2) are found in
shallow basin-shaped depressions, whereas in several
places flat local culminations arebarren.The sur-
rounding valleys (with bottoms at -20 to below -25 m
MSL) are barren, with the exception of the valley in
thecentre of the cassiterite-rich patch.This valley
contains similar tin grades to the surrounding higher
ground.
The cassiterite distribution resembles that found in
the ‘l. Pering outside the distinct deep valleys (Figs 7
and S). It can beexplained by postulating extensive
original kulit placers on the interfluves, that have been
reworked by wave action of the rising sea. Cassiterite
collected in the local lower areas while the local
culminations were swept clean. Lateral cassiterite
transport was negligible; it did notevenreach the
nearby deeper valleys.
Thisoffshoredistribution is strangely at variance
with the distribution observed onshore. This could be
related to the granite contact that is immediately north
of themaparea (cf. Fig. 9) and which places the
mined-out area in a position nearer to the mineralized
hood of the pluton. Another explanation can be found
in the ongoing weathering, erosion and denudation in
theonshorearea after the drowned part of the
landscape became fossilized and buried under young
marinesediments,obliterating the deeply incised
valleys. Continuedweathering and erosion on land
removed the surficial kulit placers and transported the
cassiterite down relatively steep slopes into the main
rivers, where it was incorporated in the lag gravels to
form kaksa placers.
Singkep
Figure 11 shows the central partof the eastern coast of
the island, the only place around Singkep where
extensive offshoredepositshave been worked. The
map area is underlain by granite in the west, and by a
Mesozoic sedimentary series in the east. The topogra-
phy is indicated by the line marking the present-day
boundarybetween the valley flat andthe exposed
upperpart of the valley slope.This line is at an
elevation between 0 and + l 0 m , at the most, in the
map area.
Onshore, near the present coast, numerous eluvial
or kulit placers have been mined in the past. Several
became part of larger mines operating in the bordering
valleys. The offshoredepositsseem to follow larger
valleys, although some offshore reserve areas are on
the local higher interfluve areas. The configuration of
cassiterite placers 825
the valleys indicatearecent rise in sea level that
drowned the existing valleys farinland.Offshore,
young marinesediments completely mask the exist-
ence of narrow,deep fluvial valleys. The line that
marks the downstream ends of the reserve areas
coincides with the -20 to -23 m MSL bedrock
contour of the interfluves, the valley floors being a few
metres deeper.
Atthe downstream end of the workable valley
stretch,the cassiteritecontent of the lag gravels
diminishes gradually overa short distance. The tin
yields from one month’s dredging of three successive
areas of approximately similar surface area and depth
decreased from 0.5 to 0.005 kg Sn/m3. Drilling proved
that this reduction coincided with the appearance of a
well-consolidated, tough clay layer that acted as a
‘false’ valley bottom. Drilling established that this clay
layer, which could only be dredged with difficulty, was
underlain by the continuation of the kaksa placer
mined upstream in that valley. Evidently,after the
deposition of the tough clay, which can be correlated
with the Alluvial Complex (Table l), little transport of
cassiterite from upstream sources occurred, and it did
not reach farther than 3 0 W 0 0 m downstream from
the upstream edge of the clay cover bed.
Tujuh archipelago
The group of seven small islands is the subaerial
expression of a bedrock culmination along the strike of
the Indonesian tin belt between Bangka and Singkep
(Fig. 1). The largest island, Pekajang, is composed of
arenaceous Triassic sediments, hardly weatheredat
the surface and slightly metamorphosed.Theother
islands are composed of granite and theirbeaches
contain the occasional cassiterite grains.
The extensive exploration activities in and around
this archipelago, including over 10000 line-kilometers
of continuous acoustic profiling, are the basis for the
stratigraphysummarized in Table 1 (see also Aleva
1973 and Bon 1979). Figure 12 is asubcrop map
showing the granite contact and the gravel-filled (GF)
valleys below the Younger Sedimentary Cover (YSC)
and the present-dayislands, while Fig. 13 is the
detailedsubcrop geological map of the rectangular
area marked on Fig. 12. Large areas of Fig. 12 have
been surveyed by acoustic methods on a square grid of
lines at 200 m intervals, thereby producing one of the
best-mapped parts of the SE Asian tin belt.
The Tujuh culmination, composed of a 216 f.2 Ma
old granite(Priem et al. 1975) intruded into a
Permo-Triassic country rock, is surrounded by uncon-
solidated talus composed of its own transported
weatheringproducts. It merges with similar talus
cones around the othertin islands and forms aregional
sedimentary formation, the Older Sedimentary Cover
(OSC), with thicknesses of at least 60 m some 30 km
out into the South China Sea, and resting on Mesozoic
826 G. J. J . Aleva
 Indonesian fluvial cassiterite placers 827
-

1
I

FIG. 7. (Continued)
828 G. J . J . Aleva

A l I

FIG.8. Detailed maps of the far off-shore part of rectangle B in Fig. 6. A , Bedrock contour map; B, the cassiterite
grade distribution in G values.

basementrocks. Valleys with locally cassiterite- ments. This could be caused by dilution of the gravels
bearing lag gravels (the G F valleys) radiate away from with sand, making the mixture acoustically
the Tujuh culmination and are incised into the granite homogeneous with the OSC.
and itssurroundingsedimentarycountryrock. On A group of younger Alluvial Complex (AC) valleys
acoustic profiles the courses of these valleys generally also radiate away from the Tujuh culmination,
disappear, i.e. become indiscernible shortly after the represented by the island Cebia; their distribution and
valley bottomschange from consolidatedbedrock configuration-independent of the GF valleys-indi-
(granitic or sedimentary) into unconsolidatedsedi- cate their origin afteran
intermediate planation
 Indonesian fiuvial cassiterite placers 829

TELOK PERING
NE SECTION
TIN ACCUMULATION

FIG.8. (Continued)

episode (IPE); theycontainneithercoarse clastic values in kg Sn/m2) of these drill holes are given with
sediments nor cassiterite. The ACvalleys can be traced symbols in an exponential progression. Figure 14B is a
on acoustic profiles for several kilometres, forming a geological map (subcrop below the YSC) based on
dendritic pattern incised into the OSC sediments and acoustic profile interpretation (cf Bon 1979).
into all olderformations, including theGF valleys. Comparison of both maps indicates that the deeper
This relation between AC and G F valleys is illustrated AC valley is essentially free of cassiterite; the
in Fig. 14. Figure 14A is a contour map of the local cassiterite-containing drill holes in the AC valley are
basement (weathered granite),constructedfrom the only found at the intersection with the shallower and
drilling data of the holes plotted; the tin values (as G older G F valley. The GF valley contains abundant
830 G. J . J . Aleva
FIG.9. Map of the northern part of the Tanjung Pandan granite pluton, Belitung (Pegarun district). Legend as
in Fig. 4;the Sengkelie fluvial system is marked S.
cassiterite-bearing drill holes, mainly in holes located
on the valley floor but also on the moregentle parts of
the valley sides. The presence of cassiterite in
comparable grades on the floor of the A C valley where
it intersects and cuts through the G F valley illustrates
again the residual character of cassiteriteconcentra-
tions. The available number of drill holes andthe
limitedsurface area of these valley crossings are
insufficient to establish accurately the effect of the AC
valley on the tin grades in the GF valleys.
As shown above, the only cassiterite concentrations
found in the Tujuh area arein some of the GFvalleys.
At the time these valleys were formed the erosional
level must have been sufficiently shallow that primary
cassiterite occurrences could contribute to the valley
fill, i.e.
the erosional level was still within the
mineralized hood as described by Emmons (1933). In
at least one of these valleys weathered granitic
bedrock with primarycassiteritemineralizationhas
been observed and mined duringdredging. The
younger AC valleys do not contain
cassiterite.
Evidently,atthe time of theirformation primary
cassiterite was not common at the lower erosion level
reached.
Bangka
This is the largest of the tin islands (Fig. 3) and the
cassiterite mining areasare clearly arranged around
and on top of the numerous granite plutonsand
smaller masses. The cassiteriteplacers are generally
either of the eluvial kulit type, occurring on both the
granitic and the sedimentary bedrock, or of the kaksa
or fluvial lag gravel type directly overlying weathered
granitic or sedimentary bedrock. The majority of the
larger and richer placers beIong to the latter category.
The lag gravels of the kaksa-type placers are
efficient cassiterite traps. The Belinyu district (Fig. 3)
contains the only known exampleinIndonesia of a
placer formed in a deep karst depression, probably the
most efficient trap possible. The valley placer in
question is of the normal kaksa type, directly overlying
weathered sedimentary bedrock. In a short reach of
the valley theoperators werenotcertainthey had
 Indonesian fluvial cassiterite placers 831

L E G E N D
DREDGED T I N GRADES
IN kg SnIrn2
O L 8 1 2

1 300m

. / .

FIG. 10. Map of the off-shore part of the Sengkelie fluvial system (seeFig. 9); bedrock contours and cassiterite
grade distribution (G values) based on dredge survey data.

reached bedrock and a drilling programme was started
(de
Roever 1950). A steep-sided canyon-shaped
depression was found, measuring 600 X 200 m in area
and 85m deep, partlyunderlain by limestone and
filled with sand and clay beds, containing concentra-
tions of cassiterite,inlayers of variablethickness.
From the drilling results it must be concluded that in
places the layered sedimentary fill of the depression is
locally tilted, sometime to a vertical position. These
features point tothe formation of the depression,
through solution of a local limestonelensin the
sedimentary bedrock, during and after the period of
cassiterite concentration; it is a fossilized karst placer.
The karst depression is proof of a water-table at least
85 m below the present level or around -50 m MSL
(present datum) at the timeitsgreatest depth was
reached. It also indicates that considerable longitudin-
al cassiterite transport occurred in this valley, situated
at thefoot of a now 700m high regional granite
culmination.
Summaryand conclusions
Most cassiterite placers in the Indonesian tin islands
are lag gravels directly overlying the weathered valley
floor, which is composed of locally mineralized
Permo-Triassic sediments and 216 f 2 Ma old granites.
The occurrence of these placers is clearly related to
the local mineralization of the bedrock. This is obvious
for the relatively low tonnage kulit placers, i.e.
cassiterite concentrations onthe interfluves, which
constitute the residual weathering mantle of the local
832 G. J . J. Aleva
FIG. 11. Map of the central eastern part of Singkep, showing the topography through the valley flat borders (thin
lines); legend as in Fig. 4.
bedrock. It is also true for the valley bottom, fluvial
cassiterite concentration or kaksa-type placer, where
cassiterite concentrations can reach many thousands of
tons.
Apparently, inkaksaplacers fluvial transport of
cassiterite doesnot occur over distances much in
excess of 500 m; the mildly erosive environment of the
lag gravels can catch all moving cassiterite of mineable
grain size (over 0.07 mm) within that distance. The
amount of fluvial comminution of cassiterite to below
this grain size is negligible within the distance under
consideration (Kolesov et al. 1974). It is surmised that
lag gravels under turbulent fluvial action can reach-
intermittently but repeatedly-a fluid bed state, i.e. a
state during which internal upwardpressures are
created that open up the gravel layers, facilitating the
incorporation of heavy minerals and the expulsion of
lighterminerals. The fine sandy and clayey matrix
filling of the kaksaplacer are presumably oflater
origin and contemporaneous with the placer fossiliza-
tion and their covering by younger sediments. Hence,
SINGKEP 101030’E
INDEX MAP
5 km
the absence of cassiterite concentrations in lag gravels
on the valley bottom indicates the absence of primary
cassiterite sources in the vertical column that existed
above the drainage area of the present valley system.
The lag gravel concentrations or kaksa placers are
essentially of an autochthonous nature.
Cassiteriteconcentrations at higher levels in the
valley fill do occur locally. These are the miencan or
‘cover-layer’ cassiterite deposits. They are usually fine
grained and interbedded with sandy layers higher up in
the valley fill covering the valley floor lag deposits.
Their formation is related to erosion of older cassiter-
ite concentrations,primary or secondary, located
upstream of the miencan deposits. The finer grained
valley fill sediments do not form an efficient cassiterite
trap, hence only the larger grains are trapped within a
short distance fromthe erosional zone.The finer
grains may travel over long distances before they are
concentrated inthinlayersin sites favourable for
deposition, e.g. sand bars and stream bends.
The erosional history of the Indonesian tin belt is
 Indonesian fluvial cassiterite placers 833

L E G E N D
..
./ GRANITE

=L/-
... GRAVEL -
VALLEY
C GRANITE-
& SANDSTONE -
UNDERLAIN

FIG. 12. Map of theTujuh archipelago, showing thegranitecontact (heavy brokenline)afterremoval of the
Younger Sedimentary Complex. The gravel-filled valleys (dotted) in the abrasion plain run consequent with respect
to thetopographicculminationsrepresented by the islands(solidblack forgranite,linedforsedimentary
bedrock).Map is based on acoustic survey(as discussed by Bon 1979). M indicatestheareasthathavebeen
mined. The rectangle northeast of Cebia marks the area of Fig. 13.

polycyclic and complex. There are at least three major
erosional events, as listed in Table I. In addition, the
interbedded nature of the regionally developed OSC
and the interbeddedsedimentary fill of the AC valleys
incised in the OSC, witness the cyclic nature of erosion
and sedimentation on a smaller scale, both in time as
well as in relative sea-level changes with their related
changes in the level of erosional energy available.
The Indonesian cassiterite placers are not unique in
this respect. The tin placers of Ronddnia, Brazil, have
comparable characteristics. Cassiterite-bearing lag
gravels directly overlie valley floors (mostly composed
of weathered granite, -900 Ma old)in valleys that
incise areas with primary cassiterite deposits, either
within the granite or in neighbouringcountryrock.
The erosional history is complex, with at least two
phases of incision in many valleys, and also with a
transport distance of approximately 500 m.Cover-
layer concentrations do occur as well, and again can be
related to younger, often almost recent, erosion
upstream from thearea where the miencan placers
occur. In several places the present erosion level is still
834 G. J . J . Aleva

L E G E N D - - -- - - - - -
/ I l l

a A.C.VALLEY B O.S.C.

m GRAVEL VALLEY
mG R A N I T E
m SAME ?
P - T r SDM

FIG. 13. Fragment of the map of Fig. 12, northeast of Cebia island, showing the detailed geology based on acoustic
survey data; the geological contacts are shown as visible on the abrasion plain (Table 1: UPE) after removal of the
Younger Sedimentary Cover. Note the narrow stripof sedimentary country rock (P-Tr SDM) into which the granite
intruded, and the Alluvial Complex valleys (AC) that cut across the older, gravel-filled valleys and the sedimentary
bedrock. The Older Sedimentary Cover (OSC)comprises the oldest sediments deposited after the Lower Planation
Episode (see Table 1). The rectangle in the southeastern part of the figure indicates the area of Fig. 14.

within the mineralized hood of the granites, giving rise cassiterite

to cassiterite concentrationsontop of stiff,tough
sedimentary clay layers which act as a false bedrock.
The presence of such false bedrock layers also attests
tothe variability in weathering,erosionand sedi-
mentationand, in general,to a cyclic change in
climate and erosional energy.
Future research into the Indonesian and SE Asian
tin belts andtheirnumerousand varying types of
cassiterite placers should direct special attention to the
absolute timing of events controllingconcentration.
The changes in world climates andthe world-wide
sea-level changes give only a limited number of
periodsin which the establishederosion levels can
have originated. The liberation of cassiterite requires a
period of deep, subaerial alterationand saprolite
formation, which mustoccur prior to any period of
concentration
and
deposition of sandy
sediments. The end of the Cretaceous and the Middle
Oligocene are periods of drastic sea-level fall. Similar
falls are repeated in the Middle Pliocene and at several
times during the Pleistocene. The period required for
saprolite weathering is imprecisely known, but a sandy
sedimentary fill of Miocene and younger age, several
hundred metres thick, is present in the Belitung Basin,
SSE of the island of that name. The history of the
cassiterite placer genesis maywell extend back to
Miocene and Pliocene times; at least, the unroofing of
the 216 f 2 Ma old granite plutons may have started
during those times.
The upper time limit of placer formation is surely
very young. In the extreme upstream parts of present
day erosionchannels in Indonesiaand RondBnia,
Brazil,present-daycassiterite-containing lag gravels
 Indonesian fluvial cassiterite placers 835

L/ f>5. XL-;-*W #W.-

.... .\ -<.*+2:;:;::
.........
/,
X : ............................
. .................................
...............................
I ................................
.............&.
............. ...........
- - ............
.................................
................................

..
........
4. . . . . . . . . I
7:
.......
.......
............ \
................
./. .... ;:\
..........
:::::::::p1
...... ............
............
............
4. . . . . . . . ‘i
I--

.......
....... ..........
.......
....... .........
........ :\
.......
....... ........J 1 . . .A
.......
.......
.......
.......
.......
....... U
....... F L O O RG F L

WALLGFV

GRANITE

FIG. 14. Detailed map of the rectangle marked on the map of Fig. 13. A, Contour map of the granitic bedrock
based on data from the drill holes plotted; contours in m below MSL. B, Subcrop geological map interpreted from
acoustic survey profiles by Bon.The arrows pointdownslope;thelargeronesare in the gravel-filled valley
(GFV), the smaller ones in the Alluvial Complex (AC) valley.

canbeseenforming.Radiocarbondating could be theyearsthatledtoamostfruitfulamalgamation of

useful in the upstream cassiterite deposits, but for the experiencesfrommineandexplorationgeology aswell as
detailed study of themajor lag gravelsand the from geological research. Many of theillustrations in this
covering sediments an
alternative
detailed
dating paper are based on maps and reports on file in the archives of
system,
e.g.
based on palynological data, is still BIM. Thanks go to my many colleagues during these years,
in particular L. J. Fick and E. H. Bon and the late Dr G. L.
needed. Krol and Dr A. J. A. van Overeem, for intense discussions,
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. This paper is basedon 30 years of exchange of ideas,andtheircontributionstothestudy of
involvement with cassiterite placers as anexplorationand cassiterite placers in Indonesia. I thank E. H. Bonforthe
research geologist employed by Billiton International Metals, critical reading of the manuscript and for his suggestions for
B.V. (BIM). I much appreciate the environment created over improving the clarity of the text.

References
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Geol. Mijnbouw, 39, 427-36.
-1973. Aspects of the historical and physical geology of
the Sunda Shelf essential to the explorationof submarine
tin placers. Geol. Mijnbouw, 52, 78-91.
-1983. On weathering and denudation of humic tropical
interfluves andtheirtripleplanation surfaces. Geol.
Mijnbouw, 62, 383-8.
-, BON,E . H., NOSSIN,J. J. & SLUIER, W. J. 1973. A
contribution to the geologyof part of the Indonesian tin
belt: the area between Singkep and Bangka islands and
around the Karimata islands. Bull. geol. Soc. Malaysia,
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BATCHELOR,B.C. 1983. Sundaland tin placers and late
Cainozoic coastal and offshore stratigraphy in Western
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Malaysia.
BATES,R. L. & JACKSON, J. A. 1980. Glossary of Geology.
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Palau Tujuh tin discovery. Tram. Instn Ming Metall.
AM, AlSA22.
EMMONS, W. H. 1933. Onthemechanism of deposition of
certain metalliferous lodesystems associated with granite
batholites. In: the Committee on the Lindgren Volume, J .
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FRAKES,L. A. 1979. Climates throughout GeologicTime.
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836 J. G.J . Aleva
KOLESOV,S. V., SAKS, S. & SMOLDYRER, A. Y. 1974. OVEREEM,A. J. A . VAN. 1960a. The geology of the
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SSSR, Earth Sci. Section, 219, 1-6, 180-1. bouw, 39, 444-57.
Krol, G. L. 1960. Theories on the genesis of kaksa. Geol. - 19606. Geologicalcontrol of dredgingoperationon
Mijnbouw, 39, 437-43. placer deposits in Billiton. Geol. Mijnbouw, 39, 458-63.
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R.H. 1975. Isotope geochronology in the Indonesian tin VAIL, P. R. & HARDEBOL,J. 1979. Sea-level changes during
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Received 15 November 1984; revised typescript received 15 February 1985