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I am working on a V-Ti deposit that is hosted in a magnetite bearing gabbro and are planning open pit mining of the recently defined reserve. As mineralisation was visual I have abundant assays of the ore (several thousand) but very few (a few hundred) from the hanging wall waste material and I now need to assess the amount of Sulphur/sulphide in the waste rock, to (hopefully) demonstrate that there is little risk of the waste dump generating Acid Mine Drainage (AMD).
Has anyone used pXRF specifically to quantitatively measure Sulphur?
I have a 2014 Olympus Delta Pro which will give me S results on both SOIL and GEOCHEM Modes. Have also just purchased four Certified Sulphur Standards (500
ppm, 1800
ppm, 0.6%, and 1.2% S) from a commercial supplier. As I am expecting S values in the 100-1000ppm range and hope the Waste Rock Sulphur average is only a "few hundred ppm". Given the assays I have for S there are likely only very rare samples with >1% S.
I can validly demonstrate the ore has extremely low S, but not for the waste unless I get more analyses. I do have samples to test, and would prefer to use pXRF (at minimal cost) rather than send several hundred samples to the lab. I'm sure it works fine for plus 1% to 10% S. My issue is with S in the 100 to 10000
ppm range.
Does anyone have experience determining S using pXRF?
Which testing Mode is best?
What interference elements are there for the S spectra?
What detection limits would I likely get for S on each Mode?
I am looking to do around 1000 analyses (plus standards QAQC etc), hopefully with a 60 second read time (but can increase the time if needed to get the DL down, but for this many readings practically 2-3 minute times are as far as I can go).