Speeding up the analytical workflow for coltan fingerprinting by an integrated mineral liberation analysis/LA-ICP-MS approach

Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research

Volumn 35, Issue 4, 2011, Pages 431-448

  Gäbler, Hans Eike ^a   Melcher, Frank ^a   Graupner, Torsten ^a   Bahr, Andreas ^a   Sitnikova, Maria A ^a   Henjes Kunst, Friedhelm ^a   Oberthür, Thomas ^a   Brätz, Helene ^b   Gerdes, Axel ^c  

^a FEDERAL INSTITUTE FOR GEOSCIENCES AND NATURAL RESOURCES BGR   (Germany)

^b UNIVERSITY OF ERLANGEN NUREMBERG   (Germany)

^c Institute of Geosciences Petrology and Geochemistry   (Germany)

Author keywords

Calibration strategy; Coltan; Fingerprint; LA ICP MS; Mineral liberation analysis

Indexed keywords

ANALYTICAL RESULTS; ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES; CHEMICAL COMPOSITIONS; CIVIL WAR; COLTAN; DETECTOR SYSTEMS; DIFFERENT ORIGINS; FINGERPRINT; GEOSCIENCES; LA-ICP-MS; LINEAR DYNAMIC RANGES; MAJOR AND TRACE ELEMENTS; MINERAL FORMATION; MINERAL LIBERATION; MINERAL LIBERATION ANALYSIS; TRADE NAME; UNITED NATIONS;

BINARY MIXTURES; CALIBRATION; CRYSTALLOGRAPHY; MASS SPECTROMETERS; MINERALOGY; ORES; OXIDE MINERALS; TANTALUM; TRACE ANALYSIS; TRACE ELEMENTS;

SILICATE MINERALS;

EID: 80051664223     PISSN: 16394488     EISSN: 1751908X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-908X.2011.00110.x     Document Type: Article

References (26)

1. Apache Commons (2009) Commons-Math: The Apache Commons mathematics library [Online]. (accessed 22.01.2010).
2. Apache POI (2009) Apache POI - the Java API for Microsoft documents [Online]. (accessed 22.01.2010).
3. Bartels A., Holtz F. and Linnen R.L. (2010) Solubility of manganotantalite and manganocolumbite in pegmatitic melts. American Mineralogist, 95, 537-544.
4. Charlier B.L.A., Ginibre C., Morgan D., Nowell G.M., Pearson D.G., Davidson J.P. and Ottley C.J. (2006) Methods for the microsampling and high-precision analysis of strontium and rubidium isotopes at single crystal scale for petrological and geochronological applications. Chemical Geology, 232, 114-133.
5. Frei D. and Gerdes A. (2009) Precise and accurate in situ U-Pb dating of zircon with high sample throughput by automated LA-SF-ICP-MS. Chemical Geology, 261, 261-270.
6. Gu Y. (2003) Automated scanning electron microscope based mineral liberation analysis. The Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering, 2, 33-41.
7. Guillong M., Hametner K., Reusser E., Wilson S.A. and Günther D. (2005) Preliminary characterisation of new glass reference materials (GSA-1G, GSC-1G, GSD-1G and GSE-1G) by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry using 193nm, 213nm and 266nm wavelengths. Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, 29, 315-331.
8. JFree (2009) JFreeChart, Java chart library [Online]. (accessed 22.01.2010).
9. Kern F. (2008) Trans3D Version 1.06 [Online]. (accessed 01.09.2009).
10. Klinger R. and Sperling T. (2008) Neue Ansätze zur Quantifizierung von Laserablation-ICP-MS-Analysen: Grundlagen und Anwendung auf Columbite. Geologica Bavarica, 110, 392-416.
11. Liu Y., Hu Z., Gao S., Günther D., Xu J., Gao C. and Chen H. (2008) In situ analysis of major and trace elements of anhydrous minerals by LA-ICP-MS without applying an internal standard. Chemical Geology, 257, 34-43.
12. Longerich H.P., Jackson S.E. and Günther D. (1996) Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric transient signal data acquisition and analyte concentration calculation. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 11, 899-904.
13. Ludwig K.R. (2003) Isoplot/Ex 3.00. A geochronological toolkit for Microsoft Excel. Special Publication No. 4. Berkeley Geochronological Center (Berkeley, CA), 70pp.
14. Melcher F., Sitnikova M.A., Graupner T., Martin N., Oberthür T., Henjes-Kunst F., Gäbler H.-E., Gerdes A., Brätz H., Davis D.W. and Dewaele S. (2008a) Fingerprinting of conflict minerals: Columbite-tantalite ("coltan") ores. SGA News, 23, 1-14.
15. Melcher F., Graupner T., Henjes-Kunst F., Oberthür T., Sitnikova M.A., Gäbler H.-E., Gerdes A., Brätz H., Davis D. and Dewaele S. (2008b) Analytical fingerprint of columbite-tantalite (coltan) mineralization in pegmatites: Focus on Africa. Proceedings, Ninth International Congress for Applied Mineralogy (ICAM) 2008. Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (Brisbane, Qld), 615-624.
16. Melcher F., Graupner T., Sitnikova M.A., Henjes-Kunst F., Oberthür T., Gäbler H.-E., Bahr A., Gerdes A., Brätz H. and Rantitsch G. (2009) Ein Herkunftsnachweis für Niob-Tantalerze am Beispiel afrikanischer Selten-Element-Pegmatite. Mitteilungen der Österreichischen Mineralogischen Gesellschaft, 155, 231-267.
17. Mineweb (2008) Indefinite shutdown for world top tantalum miner [Online]. (accessed 22.01.2010).
18. Mozna V., Pisonero J., Hola M., Kanicky V. and Günther D. (2006) Quantitative analysis of Fe-based samples using ultraviolet nanosecond and femtosecond laser ablation-ICP-MS. Journal Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 21, 1194-1201.
19. Norman M.D., Pearson N.J., Sharma A. and Griffin W.L. (1996) Quantitative analysis of trace elements in geological materials by laser ablation ICP-MS: Instrumental operating conditions and calibration values of NIST Glasses. Geostandards Newsletter, 20, 247-261.
20. Pearce N.J.G., Perkins J.G., Westgate J.A., Gorton M.P., Jackson S.E., Neal C.R. and Chenery S.P. (1997) A compilation of new and published major and trace element data for NIST SRM 610 and NIST SRM 612 glass reference materials. Geostandards Newsletter: The Journal of Geostandards and Geoanalysis, 21, 115-144.
21. Romer R.L. and Smeds S.A. (1994) Implications of U-Pb ages of columbite-tantalites from granitic pegmatites for the Paleoproterozoic accretion of 1.90-1.85Ga magmatic arcs to the Baltic Shield. Precambrian Research, 67, 141-158.
22. Romer R.L. and Wright J.E. (1992) U-Pb dating of columbites: A geochronologic tool to date magmatism and ore deposits. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 56, 2137-2142.
23. Russo R.E., Mao X., Liu H., Gonzalez J. and Mao S.S. (2002) Laser ablation in analytical chemistry - A review. Talanta, 57, 425-451.
24. Stacey J.C. and Kramers J. (1975) Approximation of terrestrial lead isotope evolution by a two-stage model. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 26, 207-221.
25. Sweetapple M.T. and Collins P.L.F. (2002) Genetic framework for the classification and distribution of Archean rare metal pegmatites in the North Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. Economic Geology, 97, 873-895.
26. United Nations Security Council (2006) Letter dated 23 December 2005 from the group of experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo addressed to the Chairman of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004). UN Security Council (United Nations, New York), S/2006/53.