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Hematite ore fractions in the form of circulating slurries of various solids content were analyzed for iron and silicon, their principal metallic constituents, to determine the relationships and factors significant to such analyses. Radioisotopes were used to excite the characteristic radiations which were measured nondispersively. Counts were also taken for the exciting radiations. The measured intensities for Fe Kα and Si Kα were corrected by backscatter and absorption factors derived by the comparison of counts from the slurries to those from water. Regression lines were used to convert all counts to a 40% solid basis. The iron content of the ore fractions was determined with a standard error of less than 2%. The determination of silicon was not satisfactory at low concentrations because all components of the slurries absorb Si Kα strongly.

The work reported herein is part of a series of on-line X-ray fluorescence analysis studies dealing with copper-zinc ore, iron ore, and coal. Wavelength-dispersive and energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis techniques were simultaneously compared, using a slurry recirculation system consisting of a gammaray density gauge and flow cells attached to an X-ray tube excitation-wavelength dispersive system, and an isotope-excitationenergy dispersive system. In both cases, the composition of the solids in complex lead-zinc ore slurries was determined as a function of the iron, zinc, lead, and scatter X-ray intensities, and the density gauge intensity, using multiple linear regression techniques. It was found that the energy dispersive system which is less expensive than a wavelength dispersive system, gives acceptable results for mill control purposes.

A study has been made of the application of thermal-neutron-capture gamma radiation to the determination of the composition of aqueous slurries of iron oxide, cupric oxide, zinc oxide, sulphur, and silica. In general, a linear relationship was found between the solids content of the slurry and the prompt-gamma-ray counts from hydrogen and from the solid phase, and an equation is presented that predicts the variation of the prompt-gamma-ray counts from hydrogen with the composition of the slurry

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