Autoradiography and scanning electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS) in the service of geochemical exploration

Abstract

Abstract The importance of the identification of the mineral phases in the heavy fractions of geochemical samples is emphasized. A knowledge of the chemical composition with information about the anomalous contents of the economically interesting metals in the samples is not sufficient, it is also essential to know the mineralogical source of the metals especially when the exploitation possibilities of the searched-for deposits are being estimated. A version of autoradiography suitable for the location and quantitative determination of radioactive minerals in the heavy fractions of geochemical samples is described. Furthermore, the use of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS) in the identification of the heavy minerals is also described. An example of the use of SEM-EDS identification of radioactive minerals, located by the autoradiography, is described.