The potentialities of nuclear geophysical methods in ore testing of ferrous metals

To study iron ores of simple composition, the gamma-gamma method is used successfully, determining iron contents in boreholes, in the walls of mine workings and in sampling hacked off rocks. The X-ray diffraction method is used effectively in analysing iron ores of complex composition ensuring that the contents of Fe, Mn and Ca are determined in them. Neutron-capture spectrometric gamma-logging is a promising method for determining the total iron content in the mined ore. Manganese ores are singled out in the boreholes by data from thermal neutron and neutron-activation logging. The X-ray diffraction method is used to analyse powder samples in mine workings. To single out and estimate chromites in boreholes, a combination of neutron-capture spectrometric gamma-logging, gamma-gamma logging and epithermal neutron-neutron logging is used. The X-ray diffraction method determines the contents of Cr, Ca and Fe in powder and coarse-ground samples of chromites