Nickel Exploration and Mineral Identification

The oreXpress spectrometer and EZ-ID mineral identification software, are well-suited for exploration geologists looking for nickel in sulfide and lateritic ore deposits. These instruments can help geologists to identify pathfinder minerals for economically viable deposits. For nickel sulfide deposits, these minerals can include the following in mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks:

  • pentlandite
  • pyrrophotite
  • chalcopyrite
  • pyrite

For laterites, pathfinder minerals could include:

  • nickeliferous limonite
  • goethite
  • smectite
  • nontronite
  • garnierite

Every oreXpress geological spectrometer includes our DARWin SP Data Acquisition software and is available with EZ-ID and the Custom Library Builder Module. EZ-ID allows you to compare your target sample with a known library of mineral spectra. EZ-ID comes with the USGS spectral library and is available with the GeoSPEC library and SpecMIN library.

EZ-ID features:

  • Fast and accurate identification of an unknown mineral to a known spectral library sample
  • Ease-of-use: take your scan using an oreXpress and see results in real-time
  • Simple, consistent user interface
  • USGS and SpecMIN libraries available
  • Weighted score for best matches
  • Include or exclude spectral regions of interest for optimal results

Using an oreXpress with EZ-ID delivers the following benefits for exploration geologists exploring for copper:

  • Quickly take a lot of samples
  • Cover more ground in less time
  • More accurate data provides a more complete picture of what you are looking at
  • Less time and expense than waiting for samples to come back from the lab
  • Less drilling – better results quickly delivers a return-on- investment
  • Better identification of samples in the core shack for assays
oreXpress, oreXplorer, oreXpert field spectrometers for core logging

oreXpress field portable spectrometer for mineral identification is ideal for the core shack

Identifying goethite with EZ-ID mineral identification software

SPECTRAL EVOLUTION’S EZ-ID software has identified our target sample as goethite using the SpecMIN spectral library for reference.