Measuring Rare Earth Elements in Ores Using the Evident Vanta Max 55 kV Handheld XRF Analyzer

For each CRM we generated Bar Charts comparing the measured values by the Evident Vanta Max 55 kV with that of the certified values from the CRMs.

Speaking of CRMs, you can check them out to validate what we have done here. Click on each CRM to see the full chemical composition and info from OREAS.

1. OREAS 104 - a low-grade uranium reference material made from Crocker Well Project samples in South Australia. Uranium occurs mainly as thorian brannerite in granitoids and gneisses, with davidite present in the eastern deposit. It was blended with barren rhyodacite to reach the target grade.
2. OREAS 105 - a medium-grade uranium reference material made from Crocker Well Project samples in South Australia’s Curnamona Province. Uranium is primarily present as thorian brannerite in granitoids and gneisses, with davidite found in the eastern portion. The material was blended with barren rhyodacite to reach the target uranium grade.
3. OREAS 106 - a high-grade uranium reference material made from Crocker Well Project samples in South Australia. Uranium occurs mainly as thorian brannerite in granitoids and gneisses, with davidite present in the eastern deposit. It was blended with barren rhyodacite to achieve the target grade.
4. OREAS 147 - a certified reference material made from spodumene-rich pegmatite from the Greenbushes Mine (WA), blended with granodiorite, Sn ore from the Doradilla Project (NSW), and Nb concentrate from Anglo American’s Catalão mine in Brazil
5. OREAS 148 - a certified reference material made from spodumene-rich pegmatite from the Greenbushes Mine (WA), blended with granodiorite, Sn ore from the Doradilla Project (NSW), and Nb concentrate from Anglo American’s Catalão mine in Brazil
6. OREAS 149 - a certified reference material made from spodumene-rich pegmatite from the Greenbushes Mine (WA), blended with granodiorite, Sn ore from the Doradilla Project (NSW), and Nb concentrate from Anglo American’s Catalão mine in Brazi

The data listed below for each element represents an average of 5 data points. Keep in mind, we have also rounded the data to the nearest ppm to make this an easier read. The full data is linked in the bottom of this article. 

Yttrium was easy to measure and although the OREAS 104, 105, and 106 samples did not have a certified value, we can see we have a nice correlation with the measured versus certified values of Y on OREAS 147, 148, and 149. The results were consistent, even in low concentrations below 50ppm!

Averaged Yttrium (Y) Values

Lanthanum was also easy to detect low concentrations, had excellent repeatability, and showed minimal interference. The OREAS 104, 105, and 106 Samples were around 50ppm while the OREAS 147, 148, and 149 samples had concentrations as high as 698 ppm!

Cerium can be present in concentrations from only a few ppm to >10,000 ppm! The samples we measured covered a wide range from as low as 102 ppm all the way up to 1,198 ppm! Keep in mind high concentrations of Ce (10,000 ppm, for example) may impact your results for low concentrations of other REE. OREAS 104, 105, and 106 samples were 102-137ppm and we measured these values nicely. OREAS 147, 148, and 149 had higher concentrations of Ce ranging from 432-1,198 ppm. We had a little more variation in the higher concentrations but still excellent results!

Praseodymium is typically present in very low concentrations of around 100 ppm or less in the field. OREAS 104, 105, and 106 represent low concentrations of Pr of only 20 ppm or less. You can see we have pretty good detection of Pr for OREAS 105 and OREAS 106 and only missed the very low concentration of 13 ppm Pr in OREAS 104. Longer test times could have been used to measure this value, but 90 seconds is long enough to represent most testing done. OREAS 147, 148, and 149 also had good detection. OREAS 147 and OREAS 148 had nice, tight agreement of Pr.

While we still have good, repeatable Pr detection on OREAS 149, this sample likely has a matrix effect going on. Post in the comments section what you think is going on with this sample!

Neodymium is an element of high interest, especially for industrial magnet applications. Here, we see a range of values from 51-341 ppm all of which yielded tight, nice data for Nd. The repeatability of these measurements was also high.

OREAS 104, 105, and 106 have concentrations 50-84 ppm and we were able to not only detect, but also measure the Nd concentrations with high repeatability.

OREAS 147, 148, and 149 demonstrate higher concentrations of Nd from 151-379 ppm. Here, we see a little more variation from the certified values but still nice detection and agreement.

In the case of Samarium (Sm), Europium (Eu), and Gadolinium (Gd) all were below the Limits of Detection (LOD) for the Vanta Max 55 kV. These elements were available in low concentrations and also suffer from matrix effects in the samples for this experiment. Because of this, no detection was made.

We missed this elements because we selected CRMs which had too low concentrations and also had matrix effects. In the future, better sample selection would allow us to measure and report values here. 

The Vanta Max 55 kV is capable of measuring Samarium, Europium, and Gadolinium, but typically for concentrations higher than the listed LOD's below:

You can check out the Limits of Detection for the Vanta Max 55 kV here.

The Evident Vanta Max 55 kV tungsten-anode handheld XRF performed exceptionally well in detecting and measuring Rare Earth Elements across both lithium- and uranium-bearing CRMs. It delivered high accuracy for Y, La, Ce, Nd, and Pr and has meaningful detection of Sm, Eu, and Gd—establishing it as a valuable tool for semi quantitative REE screening in exploration settings.

For geologists and mineral exploration teams needing fast, field-deployable REE testing, the Vanta Max 55 kV offers unmatched sensitivity and rugged reliability. This field-ready Handheld XRF device puts the power of Rare Earth Element field measurements in your hand.