Raman spectroscopic identification of arsenate minerals in situ at outcrops with handheld (532 nm, 785 nm) instruments.

Minerals are traditionally identified under field conditions by experienced mineralogists observing the basic physical properties of the samples. Under laboratory conditions, a plethora of techniques are commonly used for identification of the geological phases based on their structural and spectroscopic parameters. In this area, Raman spectrometry has become a useful tool to complement the more widely applied XRD. Today, however, there is an acute need for a technique for unambiguous in situ identification of minerals, within the geological as well as planetary/exobiology realms. With the potential for miniaturization, Raman spectroscopy can be viewed as a practical technique to achieve these goals. Here, for the first time, the successful application of handheld Raman spectrometers is demonstrated to detect and discriminate arsenic phases in the form of earthy aggregates. The Raman spectroscopic analyses of arsenate minerals were performed in situ using two handheld instruments, using 532 and 785 nm excitation. Bukovskýite, kaňkite, parascorodite, and scorodite were identified from Kaňk near Kutná Hora, CZE; kaňkite, scorodite, and zýkaite were identified at the Lehnschafter gallery in an old silver mine at Mikulov near Teplice, Bohemian Massif, CZE.