Applications of Gamma-ray Transport Modeling to Improving Borehole Logging for Uranium

Abstract

Borehole logging for uranium was much studied in the 1970s and early 1980s. Calibration required building large concrete calibration pits. Codes for gamma-ray transport modeling were then the specialty of large nuclear research institutions. Today, building concrete pits is difficult but sophisticated modeling codes are freely available. For example, the GEANT code, used in this study and available from CERN, enables gamma-ray problems with complex geometry to be evaluated by modeling rather than experiment. This paper illustrates three examples of recent applications of the modeling approach to examine deconvolution, the effect of high U grades on total count logging tools and the applicability of the cerium-doped, lanthanum bromide (BrilLanCe) detectors to direct U logging using the 1.00 MeV peak from 234mPa.