First results of the application of scanning XRF analysis with synchrotron-radiation beams from the VEPP-3 to study the spatial distribution of trace elements in samples of stratiform chromite ores

Resumo

A sample from chromite horizon UG1 of the platiniferous Bushveld complex (South Africa) is studied by scanning X-ray fluorescence (XRF) microanalysis using synchrotron-radiation beams from the VEPP-3 storage ring. The sample contains plagioclase and chromite layers 3–5 mm in thickness. The experimental study is conducted at excitation energies of 15 and 30 keV; the spot size of the excitation radiation is 0.1 ± 2 mm; and the scanning step is 100 µm. The distribution profiles of more than 20 trace elements over the surface of the sample are obtained.