Dear Colleagues, You are invited to participate in an International round robin for X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis of iron ore materials.
In recent years, the global demand for iron ore has led to the diversification of iron ore sources. As supplies of high grade iron ore are being consumed more rapidly, it has become necessary to acquire accurate quantitative mineralogical analysis of lower grades in order to maintain production and optimise the life of ore resources. While high precision quantitative X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry has been the principal technique to characterise the bulk elemental composition of iron ores, standard methods to quantitatively determine the mineralogy have been lacking. An obvious method for determining the mineralogy of ores is XRD but, unlike XRF, there are no ISO, AS or ASTM standards for XRD analysis of iron ore materials. Consequently, currently used XRD methods vary from laboratory to laboratory. XRD techniques can be very dependent on sample preparation (in particular, particle size, grinding and pressing technique), the choice of instrument conditions (tube wavelength, alignment, angle range, counting time, etc.) and often the knowledge and experience of the analyst. Development of a standard would define best practise for the quantitative XRD analysis of iron ores. A first step towards preparing a standard method for XRD analysis of iron ores will be to determine the current state of precision and accuracy of XRD as an analytical technique to gauge how effectively XRD can characterize the mineralogy of iron ore materials. In this regard, CSIRO is organizing an international round robin to analyse six iron ore reference materials previously prepared and chemically certified by CSIRO. In addition, two fine grained, high purity (>99.8%) materials (i.e. Al2O3 and TiO2) will be provided either for use as internal or external standards for the determination of the amorphous or poorly crystalline components. Certified values of elemental composition for each sample will also be provided. The round robin is free for anyone to enter using diffraction as the principal method of quantitative mineralogical analysis. However, participants are encouraged to use any number of ancillary techniques to assist with their final submission. Your participation will assist CSIRO to develop a standard method for XRD analysis of iron ores and also provide your laboratory with a confidential evaluation of performance relative to other participants which is a valuable part of laboratory quality assessment. Samples are expected to be dispatched on the 30th November 2015 with the deadline for submission of results by the 12th February 2016. All participants will be issued with a unique participation number and their identification will remain strictly confidential. To ensure an even wider exposure, we encourage you to forward this announcement to your national mailing lists and mineralogy associations, colleagues and friends who might be interested in participating. You can register your interest for the contest by sending an email with the following details to sally.bi...@csiro.au<mailto:sally.bi...@csiro.au> or mark.ra...@csiro.au<mailto:mark.ra...@csiro.au>. Please use the following format when registering: Subject: Please put "Iron Ore Round Robin 2015 registration" in the subject line in your email request. Body: In the body of the email please put the following information: Name: Institution/organization: Shipping address: (that works for Courier delivery, e.g. physical address not Postal Box) Phone number (for delivery): Email address: We look forward to your participation! Sincerely, Sally Birch and Mark Raven Mark Raven Mineralogical and Geochemical Characterisation Team Leader Land and Water Mineral Resources CAFSS (Centre for Australian Forensic Soil Science) Treasurer Australian Clay Minerals Society E mark.ra...@csiro.au<mailto:mark.ra...@csiro.au> P +61 8 8303 8497 M 0438 988 533 CSIRO Land and Water Flagship, Gate 4, Waite Rd, Urrbrae, SA 5064 www.csiro.au<http://www.csiro.au> PLEASE NOTE The information contained in this email may be confidential or privileged. Any unauthorised use or disclosure is prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please delete it immediately and notify the sender by return email. Thank you. To the extent permitted by law, CSIRO does not represent, warrant and/or guarantee that the integrity of this communication has been maintained or that the communication is free of errors, virus, interception or interference. Please consider the environment before printing this email.
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