Sample preparation is a critical step in chemical analysis, ensuring that samples are representative, homogeneous, and suitable for accurate elemental determination. The laboratory provides comprehensive sample preparation and digestion services for geological, metallurgical, environmental, and industrial materials using internationally recognized preparation and digestion methods. Depending on the sample matrix and analytical objectives, preparation procedures include crushing, grinding, pulverization, homogenization, and a range of digestion techniques such as Fire Assay, Aqua Regia digestion, and multi-acid digestion. These methods produce high-quality solutions for subsequent analysis by ICP-OES, ICP-MS, AAS, and other analytical techniques, supporting mineral exploration, quality control, metallurgical investigations, environmental studies, and research applications.
Capabilities include:
- Sample crushing, grinding, and pulverization
- Homogenization and representative sample preparation
- Fire Assay for Au, Ag, and platinum group elements (PGEs)
- Aqua Regia digestion for precious and base metals
- Multi-acid digestion for complete elemental analysis
- Sample dissolution for ICP-OES, ICP-MS, and AAS analysis
Fire Assay
Fire Assay is a well-established and highly reliable method for the determination of precious metals, particularly gold, silver, and platinum group elements (PGMs), in mineral and metallurgical samples. The technique involves high-temperature fusion to separate precious metals from the sample matrix, making it the reference method for accuracy and reproducibility. Fire Assay is widely used in the mining and metallurgical industries for mineral exploration, grade control, ore valuation, and metallurgical process evaluation, where precise precious metal determination is critical.
Aqua Regia Digestion
Aqua Regia digestion is a versatile chemical preparation method used to dissolve precious and base metals from solid samples for subsequent elemental analysis. This method is commonly applied in mining, environmental, materials, and recycling industries for the analysis of metals in ores, concentrates, soils, catalysts, and industrial materials. Aqua Regia digestion is particularly effective for routine testing, compliance monitoring, and quality control applications when combined with analytical techniques such as ICP-OES and ICP-MS.