Neutronactivation determination of gold in the technogenic raw materials with different mineral composition

Abstract

The methods used to determine the gold content in the technogenic objects of gold mining were analyzed regarding their no homogeneity and complexity of chemical and mineral compositions. A possible application of the neutron activation analysis (NAA) with the use of the californium source of neutrons for determining the content of fine-grained and extra-fine-grained gold in the technogenic objects, including the bottom-ash waste of energy providers, is considered. It was demonstrated that the chemical composition of the sample affects the neuron flux distribution in the sample, which can essentially distort the results of the NAA. In order to eliminate the possible systematic errors, investigations of the effect of the sample mineral composition on the results of the gold determination using the NAA, loading a large mass of the rock (3-5 kg) into an activation zone and using four types of matrix, silicate, carbon-containing, iron-containing, and titanium magnetite, were carried out. It was shown that there is no significant difference between the dispersal of the fluxes of thermal and resonance neutrons emitted from252Cf during activation of the gold-containing technogenic samples with different mineral compositions.