FEATURE

• Sample volume, ml 300

• Sample particle sizes shall not exceed, mm 3

• Height of the facility with crane for assembling radiation shield, m 4,1

• Width of the facility excluding cooler and klystron modulator, m 4.5

• Length of the facility, m 7

• Weight of the facility with radiation shield, t118

• Maximum power consumption, kW 70

• Electron energy at the output of the linear accelerator, MeV 7-9

• Maximum electron beam power, kW 10

• Radiation background on the surface of the fence, not more than, μSv/h 1

• Diameter of spectrometer detectors made of pure germanium, mm 110 making a decision on re-irradiation – 1 sec, unloading – 15 sec. Thus, the total time of one analysis is about 47 seconds, which provides maximum capacity with a single irradiation/ sample reading cycle of up to 76 analyzes per hour. The main characteristics of the GAA facility are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Main technical characteristics of “Auisomer”

• Capacity for samples with a gold content of more than 0.5 g/t, sample/hour 70

References

• Energy resolution of spectrometers by energy 122 keV, eV 720-750

• Energy resolution of spectrometers by energy 662 keV, eV 1350-1390

• Number of spectrometers 2

The “Au-isomer” GAA facility provides MDA values of about (0.026-0.028) g/t with a single irradiation for 10 seconds and a spectrum acquisition time of 15 seconds [2]. For samples with a gold content of less than 0.4 g/t, we averaged 2-4 measurements. The facility automatically directs samples for repeated measurements if there are insufficient statistics on the results of one measurement and averages the results of several measurements.

On reference samples of ore certified for gold content (RS), multiple measurements were made, the results of which are captured in fig. 3. As can be seen from the graph presented, the results of RS measurements fit (with a margin) within the limits of the permissible deviation, shown by the red line.

• Baltic scientific instruments. Au-Isomer – Industrial Gold Ore Analysis. https://bsi.lv/en/products/ndt-analyzers/

• Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Volume 182, April 2022, 110147. Improvement of metrological characteristics of a new industrial facility for goldbearing ore gamma activation analysis. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2022.110147

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FOR PRODUCERS, INVESTORS AND USERS OF PLATINUM GROUP METALS

PGMs Industry Day | 28 March 2023

Country Club Johannesburg, Auckland Park & online

Resources for Africa is pleased to announce its sixth annual PGMs Industry Day taking place on Tuesday 28 March 2023 in Johannesburg. Key stakeholders including PGMs producers, users and investors will take an open, honest and frank approach to tackling the key issues facing the PGMs sector in the coming years. Early confirmed speakers include:

Nico Muller, CEO, Impala Platinum

Natascha Viljoen, CEO, Anglo American Platinum

Phoevos Pouroulis, CEO, Tharisa Minerals

Bernhard Fuchs, Senior Vice President Precious Metals Management, Umicore AG

Timothy Ingle, Senior Vice President, Precious Metal Services & Recycling, BASF

Henk de Hoop, CEO, SFA Oxford

Roger Baxter, CEO, Minerals Council South Africa

And many more…

Key topics to be discussed include:

• Trends in the PGMs sector and strategies of producers

• Current geo-political and economic realities and impacts

• The role of PGMs in the energy transition and the road to net zero carbon emissions

• PGMs and the transformation of the automotive industry - combustion engines vs fuel cell EVs vs battery EVs

• Supply, demand and future projections

• Market development and applications for the future

• Investors and funders – the latest views

• Recycling, recovery and reprocessing

• Beneficiation opportunities

• The role of PGMs in the hydrogen economy

• And much more…