Abstract

The activity concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides $(^{238}U, ^{232}Th$ and $^{40}K)$ were investigated in gold ore mined from Birnin Gwari Artisanal Goldmine in Kaduna state Nigeria using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) technique. Twelve samples were collected from pits at different depths and the locations of pits were marked out using Global Positioning System (GPS). The measured activity concentration due to $^{238}U$ range from 6.18±3.7 to 66.69±4.9 Bq/Kg with mean value 37.36±5.45, Bq/Kg $^{232}Th$ range from 16.65±0.8 to 87.29±1.2 Bq/Kg with mean value of 62.69±6.33 and $^{40}K$ range from 85.13±4.5 to 1564.69±57.9Bq/Kg with a mean value of 997.52±11 9.97 Bq/Kg. The value compared well with published data from other countries and all values from this study are higher than the world average values and other countries with the exception of $^{232}Th$ concentration from India and Malaysia that are slightly higher than the mean value of $^{232}Th$ obtained in this study.

Keywords:

Activity concentrations, neutron activation analysis, radionuclides,

References

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

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The authors have no competing interests.