Mineralogical preparation covers the spectrum of coarse and fine sawing work, polished sections and thin sections polished on one or both sides. Surface and thin sections can be produced in Giessen format or as one-inch cylindrical sections. The laboratory is equipped with various rock saws, an inner diameter saw, two GNM grinding machines, two Logitech polishing machines, and a polishing machine for vibration polishing.

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.

A special grinding laboratory enables the production of thin sections of various rock types. Precision saws in various sizes, a grinding machine (MPS), a lapping machine (Logitec) and a polishing machine are available for this.