Field Application of Portable XRF with Glass Bead Certified Reference Material(CRM) in Nickel Laterite Deposit

Abstract

Following QA/QC procedures, portable XRF (p-XRF) field tests were performed on borehole samples from nickel laterite deposits and the results were compared with lab-XRF results. To verify the reliability and accuracy of the results obtained by p-XRF in the field, certified reference materials were prepared as glass beads and analyzed together with samples. The results showed that the overall contents of each element were generally lower in wet samples than in pulp samples, and the trend in the element content by depth was related to the degree of weathering of the laterite. For the element of interest, Ni, correction was performed using Ni-Fe correlation and the calculated values were found to be similar to the lab-XRF results. The derived correction coefficient was applied to another borehole sample to confirm its applicability to other boreholes. The corrected values of the wet samples showed a decrease in the deviations from lab-XRF data, confirming the validity of the correction method.