G.A. OLEYNIKOVA, YU.N. BORIN, V.L. KUDRYASHOV, V.A. SHISHLOV, S.S. SHEVCHENKO, O.V. PETROV (VSEGEI)

Reductive decomposition: A basis for the universal technique of analyzing rocks for noble metals content

The paper describes a new technique for analyzing rocks of various compositions for the content of noble metals, such as Au, Pt, Pd, Rh, Ru, Ir, by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, the main feature of which is the abandonment of acids – oxidizers, which are used in sample decomposition. Results of domestic and international comparison tests, which show that in the overwhelming majority of cases the new technique has undeniable advantages over the traditionally used ones, including with assay melting are provided.
Keywords: rocks, noble metals, acid decomposition, assay melting, mass spectrometry.