Vanadiferous nodules from the Littleham Marl near Budleigh Salterton, Devon

A collection of nodules from the Littleh~ Marl sequence near Budleigh Salterton was submitted for investigation of their composition and mineralogy (13 specimens, table A). Initially, three were selected for sectioning and analysis, but preliminary results revealed such wide variations in composition and mineralogy that a qualitative study of the collection was followed by fuller analyses of some examples which showed significant concentrations of elements of interest such as U, V, Cu, Co and Ag. Techniques used included XRF, electron microprobe, XRD, and evolved gas analysis. In this . instance, microprobe analysis was confined to point analyses of selected mineral grains due to the restricted time available. Detailed multi-element line scans or area imaging using the microprobe would have been inordinately time consuming for the comparatively large surface areas of these specimens. Further work on this aspect might be carried out using SEM techniques.