Spectrographic determination of gold in geological materials after preconcentration on Spheron-Thiol

A spectrographic method for the determination of gold in geological materials after preconcentration on chelating sorbent Spheron-Thiol has been developed. The method involves the decomposition of the samples, preconcentration of Au on Spheron-Thiol, decomposition of the sorbent and spectrographic determination of gold at 267.59 nm. The method is simple, rapid and enables the determination of gold at μg g−1 levels in various types of geological materials with good precision and accuracy. The detection limit is 0.5 μg Au kg−1. The method has been applied to the determination of Au in a number of certified and other reference materials with accurate results.