SciAps is expanding the use of portable mineral-analysis technology in Africa, giving mining and exploration teams tools to analyse drill core, rocks, soils and mineral samples at exploration sites instead of relying solely on laboratory results before making their next field decisions.
The US-based analytical technology company, which has been marketing and demonstrating its equipment in southern Africa, was in Namibia in August for the Mining Expo and Conference in Windhoek, where it demonstrated handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF), laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and visible and near-infrared (Vis-NIR) analysers.
SciAps said the technologies provide on-the-spot elemental and mineralogical information that can be incorporated into exploration and mining workflows.
The company’s presence in Namibia comes at a time when exploration activity covers a broad range of commodities, including uranium, copper, lithium, gold and rare earth elements, many of which fall within the analytical capabilities of its instruments.
At the Windhoek event from 4 to 6 August, SciAps specifically promoted XRF, LIBS and Vis-NIR technology for exploration and mining applications and faster field-based decision-making.
SciAps’ approach centres on combining three analytical technologies that provide different information about geological samples.
XRF uses X-rays to determine the elemental composition of material and is widely used for analysing rocks, soils, drill core and ores. SciAps’ mining systems can measure elements including copper, cobalt, manganese, nickel, tantalum, tungsten and uranium, as well as numerous pathfinder elements used during mineral exploration.
LIBS uses a laser rather than X-rays and extends portable analysis to low atomic-number elements that conventional handheld XRF cannot readily measure.
This is particularly important for lithium exploration.
SciAps’ Z-901 Li is designed specifically for lithium in rocks, ores and powders, while the more extensive Z-903 provides analytical coverage for light elements including lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, fluorine and sodium, in addition to transition and heavier metals.
Vis-NIR spectroscopy provides another layer of information by identifying minerals through their spectral characteristics.
Combining the technologies lets geologists obtain information about both which elements are present and the mineralogical characteristics of the rocks containing them.
SciAps markets integrated XRF and LIBS packages under its OneBox range, including configurations specifically designed for battery and strategic minerals.
Lithium is one area where SciAps is positioning field analysis as an alternative to waiting for every initial laboratory result.
The company says its Z-901 Li can analyse lithium directly in hard-rock samples, while the Z-9 Liquidator, used with the Z-903 LIBS analyser, is designed for lithium-bearing brines.
The brine system requires only one to two millilitres of sample and can simultaneously measure lithium alongside elements including boron, sodium, magnesium, potassium and calcium.
For hard-rock exploration, this potentially allows geologists working on pegmatites to obtain preliminary lithium measurements while still in the field.
It does not eliminate laboratory assays, particularly where independently verified analytical results are required for mineral-resource estimation and regulatory reporting. Instead, rapid analysis can screen samples, identify areas requiring additional work, and determine which material to prioritise for laboratory testing.
The technology extends well beyond lithium.
SciAps’ XRF geochemistry systems analyse a suite of transition and heavy metals including manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, arsenic, silver, tin, tantalum, tungsten, lead and uranium.
That makes portable XRF applicable to several commodities currently being explored or mined in Namibia.
For gold exploration, where directly measuring low gold concentrations in the field can be difficult, XRF can also identify associated pathfinder elements that help geologists recognise geochemical patterns associated with mineralisation.
SciAps has additionally developed technology for in-field gold and silver analysis using its detectORE system with the X-555 XRF.
Rare earth exploration is another area the company is targeting.
The SciAps X-555 uses a 55kV X-ray tube and is designed to improve portable analysis of light rare earth elements, including lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium and samarium, as well as yttrium.
For heavier rare earth elements, the company has developed the PowerHouse X, a portable battery-powered system using an 80kV X-ray tube.
SciAps says the system can analyse heavy rare earth elements, including gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, ytterbium and lutetium, as well as light rare earth elements.
The development is relevant to Namibia’s growing rare-earth exploration sector, although SciAps has not publicly identified which Namibian rare-earth projects, if any, currently use its equipment.
SciAps is also moving beyond individual measurements taken by a geologist holding an analyser against a rock.
In September, the company released details of what it describes as a modern multi-sensor core-logging workflow combining XRF, LIBS and Vis-NIR with automated core scanning and machine-learning data fusion.
The approach produces elemental, mineralogical and light-element datasets that can be used for lithological classification, mapping variations through drill core, interpreting alteration and identifying vectors towards mineralisation.
This potentially changes the traditional core-logging process.
A geologist can still visually examine and describe drill core, but analytical measurements can provide additional information across the core before final laboratory assays are returned.
SciAps’ Geochem Pro application can also map elemental distributions within individual minerals, veins and inclusions. Users can export data to third-party geological packages, including ioGAS, for further analysis.
One challenge with portable analytical instruments is that geological conditions and mineral matrices differ between deposits.
SciAps addresses this partly through its Profile Builder software, which allows users to create and modify calibrations using their own standards and certified reference materials.
This means exploration teams can develop analytical methods tailored to a project’s geology and mineralisation, rather than relying entirely on generic factory calibrations.
The instruments also incorporate GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity, allowing analytical information to be linked to sample locations and other exploration data.
SciAps Cloud Services can store results from drill core and mapping programmes centrally, while merging XRF and LIBS results into common reports and sharing them between exploration teams working in different locations.
The equipment is not limited to early-stage explorers.
SciAps says its geochemistry systems can be used across exploration, grade control, block modelling and process optimisation.
At an exploration project, portable analysis can help identify geochemical anomalies and guide drilling.
During drilling, it can assist with core and sample screening.
