Trace analysis of uranium ore concentrates using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for nuclear forensics

We present a laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) method for trace-element analysis of uranium ore concentrates (UOCs). The method was used to characterize a select number of UOC samples representing 20 different producers from 8 distinct geographic locations. These results were then used to assess the origin of the samples using a machine-learning algorithm. The LA-ICP-MS characterization performed equally well as that obtained by the conventional aqueous method, suggesting that this rapid, low waste technique is suitable for National Nuclear Forensic Library applications.