PROCEDURES FOR THE EXPLORATION OF MINERALS AND OIL OIL USING TERMOLUMINESCENCE

摘要

A method of exploration for minerals (e.g. Uranium) and petroleum using thermoluminescence analysis of a crystalline sample to determine the proximity of the sample to a mineral or petroleum deposit. The method comprises first irradiating the sample with gamma-radiation so as to substantially fill crystal lattice traps within the sample, heating the sample from an ambient temperature to an elevated temperature, measuring the intensity of luminescent radiation at a plurality of glow peak temperatures and relating the luminescent intensities to luminescent intensities of reference samples having known characteristics indicative of the proximity of the sample to a mineral or petroleum deposit. The sample may be treated to remove unwanted accessory minerals such as Feldspar and Zircon and may be shielded from direct light to allow phosphorescence and radioluminescence to decay to insignificant levels.