Natural radioactivity of heavy minerals sands:A tool for coastal sedimentology?

Heavy mineral sand-deposits are the main sources for the world supply of rare metals such as zirconium and titanium. Concentrations of heavy minerals are known to occur in beach and dune sands. They are found e.g. along the coasts of Kerala in India, Australia, Malaysia, Brasil, the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea. In these sands minerals are present as ilmenite, magnetite, garnet, epidote, monazite, and rutile. Some of these deposits may visually be recognized by a darker colouring of the sands