New FTIR Spectral Libraries Aid Identification of Rocks and Minerals

A2 Technologies’ has announced the availability of two new diffuse reflectance mid-infrared spectral libraries of rocks and minerals further extending the utility of their innovative Exoscan and FlexScan handheld FTIR analysers for geoscience applications. The first library contains spectra of general rocks and minerals sourced from around the world, while the other is focused on commercially important or strategic minerals.

FlexScan and Exoscan are the world’s first FTIR analysers that have the performance and robustness to be applicable to field based geoscience investigations. The analysers are equipped with diffuse reflectance sampling interfaces, thus enabling rocks, minerals and soils to be analysed with minimal, or no sample preparation. Now, minerals of interest located in outcroppings, ore bodies, drill cores, and mines can be analysed directly at the locale. The capability of FTIR to elucidate how atoms are bound together to form the chemistry of rocks and minerals is an important complement to widely used hand-held XRF analysers, which identify the elements that comprise the geological sample.

The diffuse reflectance infrared spectra of rocks and minerals are different than those that are contained in classical transmission IR libraries that already exist. For this reason, A2 Technologies is building, and will continue to build, these unique diffuse reflectance libraries in support of its efforts to bring FTIR analysers to geoscience applications. Since the chemistry of rocks and minerals is complex and highly dependent on the specific locale and condition of formation, A2 Technologies analysers permit users to easily create their own diffuse reflectance IR libraries to meet the requirements of their particular area of interest.