The combination of multi-element neutron activation analysis and multivariate statistics for characterisation in geochemistry

Instrumental neutron activation analysis provides an accurate method for the determination of some 20 to 40 elements in geological samples. This method has been combined with pattern recognition techniques to provide a powerful method for the study of geochemical differences and for the classificati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe International journal of applied radiation and isotopes Vol. 34; no. 1; pp. 407 - 416
Main Authors Watterson, J.I.W., Sellschop, J.P.F., Erasmus, C.S., Hart, R.J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier B.V 1983
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Summary:Instrumental neutron activation analysis provides an accurate method for the determination of some 20 to 40 elements in geological samples. This method has been combined with pattern recognition techniques to provide a powerful method for the study of geochemical differences and for the classification of unknown samples. Discriminant analysis, a statistical method of pattern recognition, was applied to the study of mineralisation in granites, to the classification of diamonds, to the identification of sedimentary units from the Witwatersrand and to the classification of coals from the Witbank Coalfield in South Africa. The results show that the methods can be used to identify and map the mineralised phase of the granite. In the case of the diamonds trace element signatures were found which were characteristics of the sources and these were used to classify very pure unknown samples with a high rate of sucess. In both the coal and particularly in the case of the Witwatersrand sediments these methods showed themselves to be a powerful tool for the identification of sedimentary units.
ISSN:0020-708X
DOI:10.1016/0020-708X(83)90140-0