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Comparison of the relative comparator and k0 neutron activation analysis techniques for the determination of trace-element concentrations in pyrite

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

O. D. Osborne
Affiliation:
School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
A. Pring
Affiliation:
Department of Mineralogy, South Australian Museum, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
R. S. Popelka-Filcoff
Affiliation:
School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
J. W. Bennett
Affiliation:
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Lucas Heights, New South Wales, Australia
A. Stopic
Affiliation:
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Lucas Heights, New South Wales, Australia
M. D. Glascock
Affiliation:
University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR), University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
C. E. Lenehan*
Affiliation:
School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
*

Abstract

Thirty pyrite samples from a wide range of localities were analysed using relative comparator and k0 neutron activation analysis (NAA) techniques at the University of Missouri Research Reactor, Columbia, Missouri, USA (MURR) and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights, NSW, Australia (ANSTO), respectively. Statistical analyses of the trace-element data produced by the two methods showed a generally good correlation, with the majority of elemental concentrations of paired data reported by MURR and ANSTO being indistinguishable at a 0.05 significance level. Trace-element analyses of pyrite from Navajún in Spain by both techniques compare well with published data. There is evidence for contamination by Al, Na and Ti in one set of samples, this is likely to have been introduced by contact with a plastic used in sample preparation.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2016

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