The provenance of Australian uranium ore concentrates by elemental and isotopic analysis

Keegan, Elizabeth; Stephan, Richter; Kelly, Ian; Wong, Henri; Gadd, Patricia; Heinz, Kuehn; Alonso-Munoz, A.

doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2007.12.004

Cited by 111 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…They found that UOCs from the three operational U mines could readily be distinguished on the basis of Pb isotopes, 234 U/ 238 U, and trace elements using a multivariate statistical approach. Keegan et al (2008) also observed significant variability in rare earth element (REE) ratios between the three samples. In a study focusing on UOC from several different countries, clear differences in anion ratios and concentrations were observed between UOCs from different sources (Badaut et al 2009).…”

Section: Trace Elementsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Despite this progress, no single parameter has yet been identified that is able to discern the identity and origin of unknown UOC samples. Increasingly, combined isotopic fingerprinting approaches are used to constrain the provenance and processing history of samples, and multivariate statistical techniques are used to discriminate between different sources of UOCs (Keegan et al 2008(Keegan et al , 2012(Keegan et al , 2014Bayne et al 2009;Robel et al 2009Robel et al , 2011Sirven et al 2009;Varga et al 2010). Likewise, approaches to chronometry have evolved over time, toward an increasing emphasis on obtaining concordant results from multiple parent, daughter, and granddaughter systems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Work byŠvedkauskaitė- LeGore et al (2008) identified the utility of elemental impurity data in conjunction with Pb isotope data in identifying the origin of uranium ore samples. In a comprehensive study of Australian UOCs, Keegan et al (2008) analyzed uranium and lead isotopes and 23 trace elements in samples from three active mines in Australia. They found that UOCs from the three operational U mines could readily be distinguished on the basis of Pb isotopes, 234 U/ 238 U, and trace elements using a multivariate statistical approach.…”

Section: Trace Elementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nuclear Forensic Science: Analysis of Nuclear Material Out of Regulatory Control

Kristo

Gaffney

Marks

et al. 2016

Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci.

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Nuclear forensic science seeks to identify the origin of nuclear materials found outside regulatory control. It is increasingly recognized as an integral part of a robust nuclear security program. This review highlights areas of active, evolving research in nuclear forensics, with a focus on analytical techniques commonly employed in Earth and planetary sciences. Applications of nuclear forensics to uranium ore concentrates (UOCs) are discussed first. UOCs have become an attractive target for nuclear forensic researchers because of the richness in impurities compared to materials produced later in the fuel cycle. The development of chronometric methods for age dating nuclear materials is then discussed, with an emphasis on improvements in accuracy that have been gained from measurements of multiple radioisotopic systems. Finally, papers that report on casework are reviewed, to provide a window into current scientific practice. Ian Hutcheon, our friend, colleague, and mentor, passed away on March 26, 2015, during the writing of this review paper. Ian (PhD, Physics, University of California, Berkeley, 1974)

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Section: Trace Elementsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Trace Elementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nuclear Forensic Science: Analysis of Nuclear Material Out of Regulatory Control

Kristo

Gaffney

Marks

et al. 2016

Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci.

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“…As published, this presumed invariant ratio and its references cannot be traced back to the International System (SI) of Units (12). More recently, the IUPAC (13) recommend a value of 137.80 from the analysis of six natural ore deposits (14), confirmed by high-precision isotope ratio analyses using the IRMM 3636 233 U-236 U double spike (15,16) whose isotopic composition is traceable to SI units. The invariance of the present-day 238 U/ 235 U ratio has been brought into question by studies that have demonstrated U isotopic fractionation in terrestrial materials (17)(18)(19)(20).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

²³⁸ U/ ²³⁵ U Systematics in Terrestrial Uranium-Bearing Minerals

Hiess

Condon

McLean

et al. 2012

Science

643

260

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One sentence summary:238 U/ 235 U ratios for U-bearing accessory minerals from a diverse suite of terrestrial rocks indicate a >5‰ range with an average zircon value of 238 U/ 235 U = 137.818 ± 0.045 (2σ) which is consistent with the composition of other terrestrial and meteoritic reservoirs. 2, 3). However, a robust λ 235 U can only be determined with U-Pb analyses using a tracer calibration that is traceable to SI units and free of other potential sources of bias, so we refrain from suggesting this value be adopted at present and urge caution in abandoning the Jaffey et al (1) λ 235 U determination until such a dataset has been generated and evaluated.An emerging 238 U/ 235 U dataset for a wide range of rocks, minerals, and meteorites is now available (17,18,25,(30)(31)(32)(33) and compiled here (Fig. 3)

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“…Using such a database, which is representative of the population(s), should enable the attribution of the type and source of such material on a scientific basis, without having to worry about the terms -unique‖ or -identification‖ [12], and should produce results which have more weight when presented in court [13,14]. It has been shown that samples from the same source show significant uniformity in trace element distribution, and significant variation between different sources, leading to good discrimination between sources [15,16]. This discrimination is also successfully used to distinguish archeological artefacts, such as coins, with different origins [17].…”

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confidence: 99%

Distinguishing Between Legally and Illegally Produced Gold in South Africa

Roberts

Dixon

Merkle

2015

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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The identification of gold-bearing material is essential for combating the theft of gold in South Africa. Material seized in police operations is generally a mixture of gold from different mines, and as such cannot be traced back to a single location. ICP-OES analysis of material dissolved by acid dissolution provided a database of gold compositions comprising gold from South African mines, illegal gold stolen from the mines, and commercial gold alloys and jewelery. Discrimination between legal and illegal gold was possible due to the presence of Pb, As, Sb, Sn, Se, and Te in the stolen material, elements which are not present in legally produced gold. The presence of these elements is a quick and simple way to distinguish between gold alloys based on refined gold, such as in commercially manufactured jewelery, and gold alloys containing a proportion of unrefined and therefore illegally obtained gold.Gold lost from mining operations due to theft in South Africa makes up for a large volume of the total production value [1,2]. Anything from the ore to the final metal product is stolen and the challenge is to develop techniques like elemental profiling to identify the original source of the gold, despite different beneficiation procedures applied by companies and criminal syndicates. The mineralogy of gold ores from the Witwatersrand mines is relatively consistent and the recovery of the gold is easily achieved with unsophisticated methods, such as panning, amalgamation, and cyanidation [3,4].The trace element profiles of substances such as paint [5,6], glass [7,8] and precious metals [9] have been used to prove a link between a sample of the material in question and samples from known provenance. There have been problems with the interpretation of the results of such profiling [10], and this has been extensively discussed and reviewed in the literature [11]. Using such a database, which is representative of the population(s), should enable the attribution of the type and source of such material on a scientific basis, without having to worry about the terms -unique‖ or -identification‖ [12], and should produce results which have more weight when presented in court [13,14]. It has been shown that samples from the same source show significant uniformity in trace element distribution, and significant variation between different sources, leading to good discrimination between sources [15,16].

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The provenance of Australian uranium ore concentrates by elemental and isotopic analysis

Cited by 111 publications

References 17 publications

Nuclear Forensic Science: Analysis of Nuclear Material Out of Regulatory Control

Nuclear Forensic Science: Analysis of Nuclear Material Out of Regulatory Control

²³⁸ U/ ²³⁵ U Systematics in Terrestrial Uranium-Bearing Minerals

Distinguishing Between Legally and Illegally Produced Gold in South Africa

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The provenance of Australian uranium ore concentrates by elemental and isotopic analysis

Cited by 111 publications

References 17 publications

Nuclear Forensic Science: Analysis of Nuclear Material Out of Regulatory Control

Nuclear Forensic Science: Analysis of Nuclear Material Out of Regulatory Control

238 U/ 235 U Systematics in Terrestrial Uranium-Bearing Minerals

Distinguishing Between Legally and Illegally Produced Gold in South Africa

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Product

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²³⁸ U/ ²³⁵ U Systematics in Terrestrial Uranium-Bearing Minerals