11th International Conference on Methods and Applications of Radioanalytical Chemistry (MARC XI) introduction

Nuclear terrorism has led to newer investigative methods for building national nuclear forensic libraries. The objective of this work was to resolve these signatures by applying the ICP-MS for isotope ratio (IR) analysis on uranium containing samples. Lead (Pb) isotope ratios for the studied gold mine has ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb values between 13–20 and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb values ranging from 16–25, which confirm that the Carletonville gold fields are of uraninite detrital pyrite deposits. Trace elemental concentrations indicated a pyrite type of uranium deposit. Uranium in the deposit exhibits geochemical signatures of the radiogenic formations of the ore enhanced in ²⁰⁶Pb.