Analyses of Li-Rich Minerals Using Handheld LIBS Tool

Abstract

Lithium (Li) is one of the latest metals to be added to the list of critical materials in Europe and, thus, lithium exploration in Europe has become a necessity to guarantee its mid- to long-term stable supply. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a powerful analysis technique that allows for simultaneous multi-elemental analysis with an excellent coverage of light elements (Z < 13). This data paper provides more than 4000 LIBS spectra obtained using a handheld LIBS tool on approximately 140 Li-content materials (minerals, powder pellets, and rocks) and their Li concentrations. The high resolution of the spectrometers combined with the low detection limits for light elements make the LIBS technique a powerful option to detect Li and trace elements of first interest, such as Be, Cs, F, and Rb. The LIBS spectra dataset combined with the Li content dataset can be used to obtain quantitative estimation of Li in Li-rich matrices. This paper can be utilized as technical and spectroscopic support for Li detection in the field using a portable LIBS instrument.

Handheld LIBS for Li Exploration: An Example from the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt, USA

“…The rapid acquisition of compositional data afforded by LIBS facilitates the interpretation of geochemical data in exploration, prospect evaluation, and ore processing contexts. Commercial handheld LIBS was developed in 2016 [34] and its potential for use in resources exploration was demonstrated shortly thereafter [37,46,48,117]. Here, we have described and illustrated the different analytical capabilities of handheld LIBS for mineral exploration, demonstrating elemental detection, microchemical mapping, depth profiling, and quantitative analysis with specific examples drawn from our analysis of soil, rocks, outcrops, and drill core from an active Li prospect in North Carolina (USA).…”

“…LIBS was one of many techniques restricted to chemical analysis in the laboratory or in industrial settings that have included mine and ore-processing sites [33] until the introduction of commercial handheld LIBS analyzers in 2016 [34]. Since that time, handheld LIBS has been used for a variety of geological applications that include the identification of elements and minerals; the discrimination of carbonate muds, limestone/dolomite stratigraphic sequences, volcanic rock suites, and meteorites; and natural resources exploration [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]. An important governing consideration with LIBS is the set of chemical and physical phenomena termed 'matrix effects' e.g., [31,50] and references therein, which determine the amount of mass ablated by an incident laser pulse.…”

Statistical comparison of predictive models for quantitative analysis and classification in the framework of LIBS spectroscopy: A tutorial

“…The comparison of quantitative models will be done as an example within the context of lithium determination in rocks. Indeed, LIBS analysis is one of the unique techniques that can provide identification and quantification of light elements such as lithium [17,18]. For your information, all the spectra used in this study for developing and validating the models are accessible within an opensource database [17].…”

“…Indeed, LIBS analysis is one of the unique techniques that can provide identification and quantification of light elements such as lithium [17,18]. For your information, all the spectra used in this study for developing and validating the models are accessible within an opensource database [17]. They have been acquired using a handheld LIBS instrument [3,19,20] from homogeneous Li-bearing minerals such as spodumene (LiAlSi2O6), petalite (LiAlSi4O10), amblygonite or montebrasite (LiAl(PO4)(F,OH)), lepidolite (K2(Li,Al)5-6(Si6-7Al2-1O20)(OH,F)4), zinnwaldite (KLiFeAl(AlSi3)O10(OH,F)2) or altered Li-minerals, from natural rocks enriched in lithium and powder pellets.…”

“…They have been acquired using a handheld LIBS instrument [3,19,20] from homogeneous Li-bearing minerals such as spodumene (LiAlSi2O6), petalite (LiAlSi4O10), amblygonite or montebrasite (LiAl(PO4)(F,OH)), lepidolite (K2(Li,Al)5-6(Si6-7Al2-1O20)(OH,F)4), zinnwaldite (KLiFeAl(AlSi3)O10(OH,F)2) or altered Li-minerals, from natural rocks enriched in lithium and powder pellets. A wavelength calibration of the spectra has also been implemented to ensure robust elemental identification [17,21]. To account for the heterogeneity of the samples, we considered a mean spectrum obtained from analyzing 9 to 15 regions for each of them.…”