[en] Elemental imaging using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) mapping is increasingly applied to a wide range of materials. In geomaterials, phase identification and characterization (mineralogy) are crucial for solving a variety of problems in earth sciences and mining industry. Here we applied LIBS mapping to ore samples from the world-class Kipushi deposit, Democratic Republic of Congo, because these ores are known for their great mineral complexity and economic value, especially for their high potential in critical metals such as Ge and Ga. The mineralogy of the samples was reconstructed by combining two approaches: 1) element colocalization in LIBS maps that were selected based on the knowledge of occurring mineral species at the site and 2) correlation maps obtained by applying the Interesting Features Finder (IFF) algorithm. Reconstructed minerals include chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite, sphalerite, galena, pyrite, tennantite-(Zn), renierite, tungstenite, betekhtinite, carrollite, gallite, and a series of non-sulphide gangue minerals (quartz, carbonate and clay minerals). SEM-EDS was used to confirm the LIBS-derived mineralogy, especially for sub-pixel inclusions. Among other results, Ge and Ga are hosted as major elements in renierite and gallite, respectively, and also as trace-elements in chalcopyrite, bornite and tungstenite (for Ge), and chalcopyrite, bornite, sphalerite and renierite (for Ga). Particular attention was paid to iron interfering with gallium at 417.20 nm, for which simple background-corrected peak intensities were compared to a more advanced chemometric method (MCR-ALS). All the results were obtained with minimal time and efforts and, while only qualitative in nature, they already provide essential information about ore texture, mineralogical composition and trace-element distribution across the ore.
Disciplines :
Geological, petroleum & mining engineering
Author, co-author :
Coron, Joris ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Faculté Polytechnique > Service de Géologie fondamentale et appliquée
Papier, Severine ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Faculté Polytechnique > Service de Géologie fondamentale et appliquée
Decrée, S.; Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences-Geological Survey of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium
Ferreira, V.; Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8516 – LASIRE – Laboratoire de Spectroscopie pour Les Interactions, La Réactivité et L'Environnement, Lille, France
Duponchel, L.; Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8516 – LASIRE – Laboratoire de Spectroscopie pour Les Interactions, La Réactivité et L'Environnement, Lille, France
Baele, Jean-Marc ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Faculté Polytechnique > Service de Géologie fondamentale et appliquée
Language :
English
Title :
Investigating critical metals Ge and Ga in complex sulphide mineral assemblages using LIBS mapping
R400 - Institut de Recherche en Science et Ingénierie des Matériaux
Funders :
Belgian Federal Science Policy Office Fondation Pierre Fabre Federation of European Neuroscience Societies
Funding text :
The LIBS system was partly funded by the regional-EU Feder grant (IMAWA-Matsub project) and by two Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) grants related to the Brain.be and BRAIN.be 2.0 funding programs (Coldcase and LIBS-SCReeN projects). The authors thank C\u00E9cile Fabre (univ. Lorraine, France) and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments.
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