Mineral reflectance spectra and LIBS data of 18 lithium-bearing mineral samples (lepidolite, petalite and spodumene specimen)

The data set contains LIBS (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) emission spectra of 18 lithium-bearing minerals and their corresponding hyperspectral reflectance spectra. The data were collected within the research project LIGHTS (Lightweight Integrated Ground and Airborne Hyperspectral Topological Solutions, http://lights.univ-lorraine.fr/) which aims at developing a new exploration process for Li targets combining drone-borne hyperspectral data and field observations. Hyperspectral data were acquired with the HySpex system in a wavelength range of 414 - 2498 nm and are presented in a spectral library. Detailed information about the samples and area of spectral retrieval is presented in the data sheet below. The spectral library presented here expands the collection of spectral libraries including samples from rare-earth minerals, rare-earth-oxides (Koerting et al., 2019a) and copper-bearing minerals (Koellner et al., 2019) which are fully described in Koerting et al. (2021). These libraries aim to give a spectral overview of important resources and deposit mineralizations.

18 samples taken partly from the collections of the University of Potsdam (UP) and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) and partly in the field during previous measurement campaigns were hyperspectrally measured and geochemically analysed by using a LIBS handheld analyzer. A description of the HySpex system in lab use can be found in Koerting et al. (2021).

The lithium-bearing mineral samples were measured without prior sample preparation as the surface of the minerals and the influence of the mineral structure were of interest (Figure 1). Figure 1 shows one HySpex scan of four lepidolite samples (Lep1, Lep2, Lep3, Lep4) displayed as a true color RGB image in order to show the untreated samples and the white reflectance (WR) panel needed for the hyperspectral measurements (WR 90%).