Rapid determination of scandium by neutron activation analysis, using the short-lived nuclide sup(46m)Sc

A method is described for determining scandium in rocks and in the presence of lanthanum and yttrium in different ratios, by means of N.A.A. followed by high resolution gamma-ray spectrometry. The influence of different constituents of rock samples and of different concentrations of yttrium and lanthanum on scandium determination, was found experimentally. The method is fast, selective, highly sensitive and non-destructive. It is based on the measurement of the activity of the short-lived isomer sup(46m)Sc (18.7 sec) instead of the long-lived nuclide 46Sc (83.8 d). In mixtures of Sc/Y or Sc/La in ratios of 1:1000, the precision of the method is generally better than +- 1%. The scandium content of the rock samples determined agrees well with previously published data. Analysis time is 90 seconds per sample. (author)