Rock Preparation and Mineral Separation

The section is well equipped for rock crushing, sieving and milling, preparation of thin and polished sections and grain mounts, and mineral separation by gravimetric and magnetic methods. We maintain central facilities and equipment for cleaning, crushing, sieving and grinding rock samples, both for preparation of homogenized whole rock powders and for the production of mineral separates. Whole rock powders (grain sizes < 62 μm) are typically used for X-Ray diffraction (XRD), X-Ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) and for isotope geochemistry.
Mineral separates (e.g., olivine, quartz, zircon, apatite, sulphides) are required for a wide range of techniques in geochemistry and isotope geochemistry, including isotopic dating, noble gas analysis, secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and trace element geochemistry.