SEM-EDS based automated mineralogy is widely used in the geological industries in order to study mineral deposits, for mine planning and for oil and gas reservoir analysis. It is also being increasingly used in academic settings to study phase distributions and the compositions of bulk samples. Several solutions integrating SEM and EDS hardware with dedicated software are available on the marke...

The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity scooped samples of soil from the Rocknest aeolian bedform in Gale crater. Analysis of the soil with the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) x-ray diffraction (XRD) instrument revealed plagioclase (~An57), forsteritic olivine (~Fo62), augite, and pigeonite, with minor K-feldspar, magnetite, quartz, anhydrite, hematite, and ilmenite. The minor phases are ...

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