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What is QEMSCAN analysis?

What is QEMSCAN analysis?

QEMSCAN® (Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by Scanning Electron Microscopy) is a fully- automated micro-analysis system that enables quantitative chemical analysis of materials and generation of high-resolution mineral maps and images as well as porosity structure (Gottlieb et al., 2000).

What does QEMSCAN stand for?

Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by SCANning electron microscopy
QEMSCAN is a sophisticated Automated SEM technology for mineralogical micro-mapping, allowing detailed information to be extracted from this data. QEMSCAN stands for Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by SCANning electron microscopy.

What is mineral liberation analysis?

The Mineral Liberation Analyzer (MLA) is an automated mineral analysis system that can identify minerals in polished sections of drill core, particulate or lump materials, and quantify a wide range of mineral characteristics, such as mineral abundance, grain size and liberation.

What is SEM EDS?

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) allow for targeted analysis of sample surfaces. These techniques are widely used for material surface analysis, investigation of product failures, reverse engineering, contaminant identification, solder joint analysis and more.

What is the liberation size of minerals explain it?

The liberation of ore minerals is a function of the rock texture and the difference in size and mechanical properties of the valuable minerals relative to gangue minerals and they may fraction in certain grain sizes if they behave differently during comminution.

How do you prepare SEM samples?

SEM sample preparation techniques

  1. Step 1: Primary fixation with aldehydes (proteins)
  2. Step 2: Secondary fixation with osmium tetroxide (lipids)
  3. Step 3: Dehydration series with solvent (ethanol or acetone)
  4. Step 4: Drying.
  5. Step 5: Mounting on a stub.
  6. Step 6: Sputter coating with conductve material.

What elements can EDS detect?

EDS can detect major and minor elements with concentrations higher than 10 wt% (major) and minor concentrations (concentrations between 1 and 10 wt%). The detection limit for bulk materials is 0.1 wt% therefore EDS cannot detect trace elements (concentrations below 0.01 wt%) [1].

What is liberation mining?

In coal mining: Liberation. Liberation is the creation of individual particles that are more homogeneous in their composition as either coal or impurities. (In practice, middlings, or particles containing both coal and impurities, are also produced.) Liberation is achieved by size reduction of the ROM coal.

What is liberation size?

The liberation mesh size of a mineral is the size below which a mineral particle is completely liberated, that is to say only constituted of mineral species to value (Fig. 1).

What is QEMSCAN used for?

QEMSCAN has the ability to handle a wide range of sample types, usually set in epoxy, as blocks or thin sections, and even set on conductive tape. It can be used for analyzing almost anything from core samples, offcuts, and rock chips to soil, manufactured products, and dust.

How did QEMSCAN® compare with XRD and petrographic techniques?

QEMSCAN®results were compared with XRD and petrographic techniques. Nine samples were analyzed from each field, collected from the drill core in the 3400 – 4900 ft depth range in two shallow wells (GEO-N2 at Newberry Volcano and BCH-3 at Brady‟s). The samples were prepared as polished thin sections for QEMSCAN®analysis.

Can QEMSCAN® sip be used to separate these minerals?

The chemical similarity of these minerals does make it challenging to distinguish them, and the QEMSCAN® SIP used for these geothermal samples appears unable to achieve the desired separation. XRD can more easily distinguish these minerals as structurally/crystallographically they are quite different.

What are the electrical requirements for QEMSCAN®?

The QEMSCAN® was operated using an accelerating voltage of 20 kV and a specimen current of approximately 5 nA. 2.2 QEMSCAN® classification protocols For best results, a suitable classification protocol must be used.