Natural Activities of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in Manganese Ore

Problem statement: Manganese ore is widely used in much industries. Such as ore contain natural radioactive nuclides at various concentrations. If this ore contain high concentrations of natural radioactive nuclides, workers handling them might be exposed to significant levels of radiation. Therefore it is important to determine the radioactive nuclides in this ore. Approach: The natural radionuclides (²³⁸U, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K) contents of Manganese ore samples collected by Siani Manganese Company in Egypt-Cairo have been determined by low background spectroscopy using hyper-pure germanium (HPGe) detector. Results: The mean activities due to the three radionuclides (²³⁸U, ²³²Th and⁴⁰K) were found to be 3543±106, 222±6.6 and 3483±104 Bqkg^-1, respectively. The absorbed dose rate due to the natural radioactivity in samples under investigation ranged from 1522±45-1796±53 nGyh^-1. The radium equivalent activity varied from 3807±114-4446±133 Bqkg^-1. The representative external hazard index values for the corresponding samples are also estimated. Conclusion: The results of this assessment obtained by the gamma-ray spectroscopic analysis, have indicated that the levels of natural radioactivity were higher than the international recommended limits.