Gravity and Magnetic Datasets Inversion of the Cornubian Batholith (Southwest UK)

Cornwall Peninsula is an extended region in the southwest of Great Britain, characterized by the presence of an early Permian granitic body, the Cornubian Batholith, emplaced at the end of the Variscan orogeny. It is composed of six major plutons, intruded into a metasedimentary matrix of Devonian and Carboniferous rocks. The batholith has a rich mining history dating back to the prehistoric period, with ore fields associated with various stages of its emplacement. Active mines, primarily focused on kaolin extraction, also show potential for the production of tin, lithium, and tungsten, as well as the exploitation of geothermal energy. This makes the area attractive from an economic point of view. We propose a new and enhanced 3D model of the Cornubian Batholith, derived from a joint inversion of gravity and magnetic datasets. By integrating petrophysical constraints from granite samples with a regional density model, we isolate the geometry of the crustal body. Batholith reaches a maximum depth of about 12 km beneath the Dartmoor pluton, suggesting that the low density of the granites provide an isostatic compensation. We also estimated the total volume and mass of the Batholith, reaching, respectively, about 34,283 km^3 and about 9.0969 10^16 kg. Magnetic anomalies indicated two minor zones of interest, including a magnetized area within the Lizard Complex. Our results contribute a detailed crustal model that refines the understanding of the batholith s structure, mineral potential, and geodynamic context.