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 …

The sample preparation laboratories provide facilities to prepare geological samples for a wide range of analytical methods. These include mineral separations for geochronologic analysis, mineral powders for geochemical analysis and polished thin sections for microscopy.

The laboratory for light microscopy provides light optical images with topography and element contrast. The Microscopy Lab is equipped with a number of optical microscopes with reflected and transmitted light illumination and stereo microscopes.