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Uranium Ore , Depleted Uranium, Natural Uranium (Unat) Compared?
For this topic we will examine the various forms of Uranium and its decay chain.

Using XRF and also Gamma Spectrum Analysis, and any other scientifically sound methods.

We will compare the characteristics of :

Uranium Ores, including species of minerals that include any naturally selected Uranium decay progeny.

Unat or natural uranium, which includes chemically separated materials, but always with the natural abundance of U-234/U-235/U-238.

DU or Depleted Uranium, which is of course natural uranium from which lighter U isotopes have been removed for use elsewhere.

Geo

Geo
Good topic.
Some? radioactive? ores are naturally link to certain elements.
Granite contains small amounts of Fe which can be measured by Si pin.
Here? is pic of my local granite showing Fe peaks

Taray

Geo

UO2- Intro
Uranium Dioxide is a man made chemical which has been used for centuries
for numerous purposes. In modern times it is made quite pure, that is the uranium atoms have been removed from uranium ore with very little or no carry-over of the uranium decay chain lower daughters or other chemical elements in the rock matrix. In this context "modern times" also predates the discovery of radioactivity, as chemically separating uranium is not unlike other chemical processes, and was formally recognized in the 1700's as an element.

In post WW2 times, the feedstock of uranium for this chemical separation has moved almost exclusively to the depleted uranium (DU) byproduct of the Manhattan Engineer District et.al. since as of 2000, there were 500,000 metric tonnes of DU in storage in USA alone:
?https://web.evs.anl.gov/uranium/pdf/duwm01genlpaper07100r3.pdf

So pretty much by the late 1900's only prewar natural uranium (Unat) and recently made DU uranium in the form of UO2 or UO3 has been widely distributed in the civilian market.

Before we go in to the first sample analysis we should all be aware the term Depleted does not mean devoid of U-235. Technically, ANY deviation from the natural?0.711weight-% (equal to0.72atom-%)?U-235?abundance is either called Depleted or Enriched.

The sample will be first studied by Gamma Spectrum analysis using two high resolution solid state probes, the first is a Si-PIN based Amptek device with a beryllium window for low energy precision. The second is a Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) based probe, visually very similar to the first but having superior higher energy response due to the high-Z materials used in its construction. Resolution and other desirable factors are less in the CdTe than in the Si-PIN so this probe basically gives us fill-in-the-blanks information and direct access to the U-235 185keV Gamma Ray.

High quality NaI(Tl) scintillators will provide a view of certain Gamma Rays above our 400keV solid-state detector limitations.

Geo

UO2- Low Energy "Gamma Spectrum Analysis" (no exciter, looking at natural radioactivity of U-238 decay).

Picture is self explanatory, as always comments, correction, questions and discussion welcomed.
Notice how particles are responsible for decay, while the resulting new element's nucleus and electron shells are responsible for the electromagnetic ray signature.
.mca attached.

Geo

UO2- High Energy "Gamma Spectrum Analysis" (no exciter, looking at natural radioactivity of U-238 and now U-235 decay).

Based upon the U-235 being either of natural abundance or depleted to some extent.

Most of the atoms in the sample are U-238 and those won't??"grow" the lower daughters into secular equilibrium for a long, long time. due to the "stopper" of U-234's long half-life.