Analysis of ore samples employing photon activation of the metastable states of gold and silver

The analytical method described here uses inelastic gamma scattering to produce 197mAu(T1/2=7.8 s), 107mAg(T1/2=44.2 s) and 109mAg(T1/2=39.8 s) with the subsequent measurement of residual activity. Bremsstrahlung radiation from linear electron accelerator with maximum γ quanta of 6 to 9 MeV is optimum for this purpose. Induced activity from gold and silver was measured with a HPGe. To obtain maximum sensitivity for detection, it is advantageous to measure both gamma and X-ray activity. Possible interferences were studied in detail, using the pure element spectra and also literature data. The most evident advantage of the method is its rapidity and relatively low cost of analysis.