Determining Ag in Rock Sample Using Gamma Detector and Some Different Spectral Techniques

Abstract

The aim of this work is to examine the efficiency of a new gamma spectrometer assembled at Sudan university of science and technology using scintillation counter detector which detect backscattered gamma radiation emitted from the samples which are irradiated  by two gamma sources Co⁶⁰ and Cs¹³⁷. To examine the  efficiency of this spectrometer , the spectrum of  rock samples collected from Alobaidia at north Sudan states were displayed using cassy lab software program. The existence of silver was confirmed by displaying the spectrum of one standers made of pure silver and comparing the coincidence of their peaks with that of the rock samples. Further check was done by three other spectral techniques which are Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS), Induced Coupled Plasma (ICP)  and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) The efficiency of these spectral techniques were also compared. The results indicated that Cs¹³⁷ gamma spectra does not gives peak for Ag element, while the Co⁶⁰  gamma spectra indicates existence silver radiation. The AAS, ICP  and EDX techniques confirms the existence silver was confirms by EDX techniques only , while Ag appear in AAS only.