ABSTRACT

This study attempts a nuclear forensic characterization of uranium in soil samples from a prospective Serule mine in Botswana. The analysis involves the determination of forensic signatures found in uranium-bearing materials from the mine. These signatures include ²³²Th activity concentration, isotopic and activity ratios of ²³²Th/²³⁸U and ²³⁵U/²³⁸U, impurity concentration, rare earth elements (REE), as well as the mineralogy of the area, all of which were determined using both Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and X-ray Florescence (XRF) analytical techniques. Isotopic ratios determined reveal that there is a significant difference in the isotopic concentration, activity concentration of ²³²Th, ²³⁸U, and ²³⁵U, as well as the ²³²Th/²³⁸U isotope ratio between the uranium ores from each mine. The REE/chondrite analysis indicates clear patterns, suggesting that it is possible to use this feature as a unique identifier for Serule uranium ore source.

摘要

这项研究试图对来自博茨瓦纳的一个潜在的Serule矿的土壤样品中的铀进行核法证鉴定。该分析涉及确定来自该矿山的含铀材料中的法证特征。这些特征包括²³² Th活性浓度，²³² Th / ²³⁸ U和²³⁵ U / ^238的同位素和活性比U，杂质浓度，稀土元素（REE）以及该地区的矿物学，所有这些均使用电感耦合等离子体质谱（ICP-MS）和X射线荧光（XRF）分析技术确定。确定的同位素比表明，每个矿山的铀矿石之间的同位素浓度，²³² Th，²³⁸ U和²³⁵ U的活度浓度以及²³² Th / ²³⁸ U同位素比之间存在显着差异。REE /球粒陨石分析表明模式清晰，表明可以将此功能用作Serule铀矿源的唯一标识符。