A borehole sonde using neutron activation technique

A simulated borehole sonde has been assembled, with an aluminium casing of 70 cm in length and 12 cm in inner diameter. It contains a 5 Ci Pu–Be source with a neutron yield of about 5.45·10⁶+10% n·cm^–2·s^–1, a shadow shield, and a Hp Ge detector of 15% efficiency and 2 keV FWHM for the 1.33 MeV line of⁶⁰Co. Evaluations of the assembly through the dependence of thermal neutron flux on water content, matrix composition and borehole configuration have been performed. Accordingly, thermal neutron flux distributions have been measured around the sonde and inside the ore in both the simulated dry and water filled borehole. From these measurements one could estimate that the effective moderating thickness of water is about 4 cm, while the volume matrix of the ore to be investigated by this assembly is a slab of about 8 cm width and a height of about 15 cm. It also follows that the uranium-thorium ore analysis method described in this work may become important as a field neutron activation technique.This work was financially supported by the IAEA under research project No. 3534/R.B.