Petrography

Petrography
Contact: John Passero
1-800-220-3675 ext. 3604
jpassero@EMSL.com

Examination of rock and mineral samples in the pursuit of mineralogy and geological knowledge is an extremely common but nuanced discipline. For the best results, each sample needs to be properly prepared, mounted and polished. Analysis can include a host of optical, chemical and crystallographic techniques, designed to provide information on features ranging from whole rock and vein composition to fine details about micron sized grains in the deposits.

EMSL Analytical, Inc. has the experienced staff and equipment to support geology on either an academic or commercial mining application scale. Using polarized light microscopy (PLM) and XRD/XRF bulk analysis can provide information about bulk composition of a rock for grade and tonnage as well as characterizing the rock system. Finer analysis with SEM/EDS mapping can document the individual minerals in a sample, as well as perform analysis on relative liberation structure, quantitative composition analysis of individual minerals, or, with EBSD, perform speciation of chemically similar species based on crystallography. The use of microprobe and spectral selective cathode-luminescence can be used for detailed research of individual phases in high-detail. For special projects, FIB tomography can illuminate pore structure in shales for petrochemical applications, XPS can identify oxidation states in complex carbonates, and fast mapping can isolate rare inclusions in mineral veins. Our petrography expertise can also be applied to many other related fields including masonry, ceramic and composite material applications. Please contact our staff today so we can speak to you about your petrographic analysis needs.