Application of neodymium isotope ratio measurements for the origin assessment of uranium ore concentrates

Application of neodymium isotope ratio measurements for the origin assessment of uranium ore concentrates

Krajko, J.
Varga, Z.
Yalcintas, E.
Wallenius, M.
Mayer, K.

Applied Sciences

RST/Radiation, Science and Technology

2014-06-19

A novel procedure has been developed for the measurement of 143Nd/144Nd isotope ratio in various uranium-bearing materials, such as uranium ores and ore concentrates (UOC) in order to evaluate the usefulness and applicability of variations of 143Nd/144Nd isotope ratio for provenance assessment in nuclear forensics. Neodymium was separated and pre-concentrated by extraction chromatography and then the isotope ratios were measured by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). The method was validated by the measurement of standard reference materials (La Jolla, JB-2 and BCR-2) and the applicability of the procedure was demonstrated by the analysis of uranium samples of world-wide origin. The investigated samples show distinct 143Nd/144Nd ratio depending on the ore type, deposit age and Sm/Nd ratio. Together with other characteristics of the material in question, the Nd isotope ratio is a promising signature for nuclear forensics and suggests being indicative of the source material, the uranium ore.

nuclear forensics
neodymium isotope ratio
origin assessment
uranium ore concentrate

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:99cd38c8-ab9d-4934-b324-4b8742b08acf

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2014.06.022

Elsevier

0039-9140

Talanta, 129, 2014

Institutional Repository

journal article

(c) 2014 The Authors
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license