Abstract
Identifying the provenance of uranium-rich materials is a critical objective of nuclear forensic analysis. Rare earth element (REE) distributions within uranium ores are well-established forensic indicators, but quantifying and correlating trace element signatures for U ores to known deposits has thus far involved intricate statistical analyses. This study reports average chondrite normalized (CN)-REE signatures for important U deposit types worldwide, which are then employed to evaluate U ore paragenesis using a simple linear regression analysis. This technique provides a straightforward method that can aid in determining the deposit type of U ores based on their REE abundances, and combined with other forensic indicators (e.g. radiogenic isotope signatures) can provide essential provenance information for nuclear materials.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 294-305 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Terra Nova |
Volume | 29 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2017 |
Externally published | Yes |
Funding
Funding for this project was provided by the Department of Homeland Security Domestic Nuclear Detection Office Academic Research Initiative (DHS-14-DN-077-ARI-01). The authors also thank Stefanie Lewis for her contributions to the DTA database.