| Abstract | Standard techniques for geochemical and mineralogical characterisation are time-consuming, they can involve significantsample preparation and they are prone to error. The aim of this work is to show how the emerging fast laser-inducedbreakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique can be valuable for mineral exploration. For this purpose, the well-establishedmicro-X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF) technique was used to validate the LIBS data. Two ore samples from the platinum-groupelements (PGE) Lac des^Iles mine (Ontario, Canada) were analysed both by LIBS andμ-XRF. The fast mineralogical andelemental mapping provided by LIBS allowed the identification of four major silicate phases (chlorite, bytownite, actinolite,hornblende) and four minor sulfide phases (Pd-bearing pentlandite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, pyrite). Multi-elementchemical mapping and mineral characterisation usingμ-XRF corroborated the LIBS analyses for the composition,distribution and abundance of minerals in PGE ore samples. These findings demonstrate the ability of the LIBS techniqueto perform direct fast high-resolution mapping of the chemical and mineralogical composition of PGE ore samples. Thiswork highlights the advantages of LIBS for this application of being much faster and more sensitive to trace elements (e.g.,Pd), as well as to low atomic number elements. |
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