Report on how Geotek Utilises a Portable Mineral Spectrometer in their Systems for the Analysis of Geological Cores

Analytik report on how Geotek utilises the ASD TerraSpec 4 mineral analyser in their systems for the analysis of geological cores.

Geotek have supplied their range of Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MSCL) systems for over 20 years, using a suite of geophysical and geochemical sensors. The MSCL is an automative core logger that non-destructively collects continuous physical, mineralogical and elemental properties from geological cores for a variety of applications including mining and civil engineering to oil and gas. The ASD, a PANalytical company, TerraSpec 4 portable mineral spectrometer is integrated onto the MSCL allowing their clients to determine a continuous mineralogical profile downcore, which is depth-registered to other core properties such as density, P-wave velocity, or elemental composition as determined by x-ray fluorescence. The combination of near-infrared spectrometry with other MSCL-sensor technology allows users to maximise data collection, and therefore improve their understanding of the core material ahead of any future laboratory testing or visual logging.

Through acquisition of a multi-parameter stratigraphy of both physical properties and mineralogy, geologists and engineers can not only identify mineralogical changes downcore, but also quantify the physical properties associated with changes in mineralogy. The TerraSpec 4 adds visible and near infrared spectrographic information in complement with other spectroscopy techniques which include the Konica Minolta colour spectrophotometer and Olympus Delta XRF; Geotek’s Helium-flushed XRF and spectral natural gamma spectrometers.

Speaking about the benefits of the TerraSpec, core analysis specialist, James Shreeve, said: “The ASD TerraSpec 4 collects both visible and near infrared spectra, which provides both a quantitative analysis of the colour of the core samples, but also allows our users to interpret mineralogy from the near infrared spectra using 3rd party software such as The Spectral Geologist. The MSCL can accept both whole core and split/slabbed core up to 1.5 m in length. Importantly, we can also use our MSCL-XYZ system with the TerraSpec 4 installed to log cores still within their box.”

The TerraSpec family of mineral analysers provides portable, rapid and non-destructive analysis of minerals in the lab or the field. Geologists appreciate the ASD TerraSpec 4 mineral analyser’s portability and ability to rapidly identify key minerals. Results are presented in seconds to speed ore processing and mining decisions.