Scanning X-ray fluorescence microanalysis of phosphorites from the underwater mountains of the Pacific

Abstract The application of scanning X-ray fluorescence microanalysis using a synchrotron radiation beam from the VEPP-3 storage ring to study the distribution of microelements in samples of phosphate—ferrous—manganese nodules from the underwater mountains of the north-western Pacific is described. The distribution of Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr and Mo at concentrations of up to 10 ppm and spatial resolution up to 50 μm on the boundary of the phosphate and ferrous—manganese sections was studied. The concentrations of I, Ba, La and Ce, with detection limits of 20 ppm at separate points of 50 × 50 μm 2 area, were determined along a profile from the periphery to the centre of the samples.