Characterization of sedimentary minerals from Kolubara mining basin, Serbia, with the determination of natural radioactivity

Abstract

Diatomite (diatomaceous earth) and clay minerals deposits from the mining basin Kolubara, Serbia, are natural materials with high economic potential in many fields. As received and treated materials, diatomite and clay were characterized using X-ray diffraction, mercury intrusion porosimetry, particle size distribution, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Activity concentrations for natural radionuclides 40K, 226Ra and 232Th and anthropogenic radionuclide 137Cs in diatomite and clay were determined by gamma spectrometry with HPGe detector. For diatomite and clay, the mean activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were found to be 9, 26 and 173 Bq kg-1 and 19, 26 and 470 Bq kg-1, respectively. In the present study was to show that these materials are environmentally safe for further use in many fields.