24 participants came from Norway, Poland, Denmark, Sweden and UK to learn about the most advanced techniques and tools for studying geological samples. The workshop, which lasted two days, included several presentations from invited speakers, as well as hands-on sessions on SEM equipment, which can be used to study and analyse geological materials. 

The first day of the workshop consisted of talks by Max Patzschke and Laurie Palasse from Bruker on the advanced microanalysis and characterization of mineralogical samples with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). Tobias Salge from Natural History Museum of London presented his research on Macro, to Micro to Nanoscale Advanced SEM/EDS of Earth and Planetary Materials. Finally, Toon Coenen from Delmic talked about cathodoluminescence (CL) microscopy for geology, presenting how this technique can be used to study sapphires, quartz sandstone, sedimentary rocks and zircons. The hands-on sessions on geological applications with Hitachi FESEM and Bruker EBSD and EDS demonstrated the possibilities of these technique in real-life time. At the end of the first day participants and the speakers enjoyed dinner together.

The second day was as well full of more interesting presentations, discussions and demonstrations. Robert Steffen (Hitachi) talked in details about sample preparations and BIB (technique and applications). An invited speaker from Geological Survey of Norway (NGU) Maarten Broekmans talked about their current practices and prospects. Finally, Fernando Confu from the University of Oslo presented his work on use and interpretation of cathodoluminescence and BSE imaging of zircon an other accessory minerals. 

During the second half of the day, participants had a chance to see the possibilities of cathodoluminescence detector SPARC. Another hands-on demonstration was dedicated to Bruker mineralogy software in combination with Hitachi Tabletop-SEM. 

We received a lot of positive feedback about the workshop and we now continue to work on the upcoming workshops and events! Would you like to be the first to know about the upcoming events organized by Delmic? Then make sure to subscribe in the form below.