Geochemistry / Technical Note

Four-Acid Digest &

Advanced ICP-MS
Technology
Extract the most value from
your geochemical analysis

Four-acid digest methods, coupled with the latest mass

spectrometry technology, provide robust data sets that have the
potential to be used throughout the life cycle of an economic ore
deposit, adding significant value at various stages of exploration
and mining

Exploration budgets are often tight mineralogy, weathering and oxidation how elements and minerals behave
and there is a temptation, particularly fronts, identification of construction through digestion processes and
in gold exploration, to analyse materials such as road base and instrumentation. The use of a “near
samples only for gold and a small mapping of reactive sulphides for acid total” four-acid digest provides high
number of associated elements. mine drainage management. quality and robust exploration data
Defining the value of a resource packages with a range of sensitivities,
project goes beyond determining the Through advances in technology and allowing clients to choose the method
amount of metal contained. The four refinement of laboratory procedures, and detection limits most appropriate
acid digestion based methods offered ALS continually strives to provide for their targets, deposit types and
by ALS provide clients with data that clients with the best possible solutions stage of exploration. The four-acid
can be used to estimate mineralogy to their exploration problems. digest is able to effectively dissolve
and establish proxies for physical and Extensive experience in the analysis almost all rock-forming minerals, with
chemical deposit characteristics such of geochemical samples has provided only the most refractory minerals
as ore hardness, deleterious gangue a comprehensive understanding of remaining incompletely dissolved.

CODE ANALYTES & RANGES (ppm)

Ag 0.002-100 Ce 0.01-10000 Hf 0.004-500 Na 0.001-10% Sb 0.02-10000 Ti 0.001-10%
Al 0.01-50% Co 0.005-10000 In 0.005-500 Nb 0.005-500 Sc 0.01-10000 Tl 0.002-10000
As 0.02-10000 Cr 0.3-10000 K 0.01-10% Ni 0.08-10000 Se 0.006-1000 U 0.01-10000
Ba 1-10000 Cs 0.01-10000 La 0.005-10000 P 0.001-1% Sn 0.02-500 V 0.1-10000
ME-MS61LTM
Be 0.02-1000 Cu 0.02-10000 Li 0.2-10000 Pb 0.01-10000 Sr 0.02-10000 W 0.008-10000
Bi 0.002-10000 Fe 0.002-50% Mg 0.01-50% Rb 0.02-10000 Ta 0.01-500 Y 0.01-500
Ca 0.01-50% Ga 0.05-10000 Mn 0.2-100000 Re 0.0004-50 Te 0.005-500 Zn 0.2-10000
Cd 0.005-1000 Ge 0.05-500 Mo 0.02-10000 S 0.01-10% Th 0.004-10000 Zr 0.1-500

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Why spend extra budget on low the presence of clay minerals, quantify level of an element to be determined,
level analysis for your drill core? silicate and sulphide mineralogy, while providing confidence in the
delineate alteration phases for input resulting anomaly. An additional
Modelling lithology and alteration
into robust 3D geological modelling consideration with respect to the lower
zones is an important part of
and map fluid pathways using detection limits of the ME-MS61LTM
developing a robust resource model
pathfinder element data. method is that the precision of the
for an ore deposit, but data collected
throughout the life of an exploration ME-MS61L provides robust results at
TM data at crustal abundance levels is
project is collected by geologists levels well below the lowest regional increased by lowering the detection
with a wide range of experience backgrounds for most elements, limit below these background levels.
and logging styles. Consistent allowing an unprecedented level of Instead of database columns filled
logging of rock types and alteration detail in major and trace element with “<” symbols, the geologist has
minerals is often very difficult to geochemistry on any sample. access to additional data on which to
achieve, particularly in drill chips from Previously, the detection limits build and expand their interpretation
weathered horizons. By routinely of multi-element methods were and deposit model.
obtaining a 48 element multi-element often close to crustal background Such data is becoming increasingly
analysis on drill samples in addition abundances for many elements. With important as exploration moves into
to gold assays, companies are able the significantly reduced detection covered terrain and other areas where
to build very valuable and useful limits of the ME-MS61LTM package, deposits may be harder to find due
databases that can assist mining
ALS is able to provide clients with high to structural setting or the stigma of
personnel throughout the life of the
quality multi-element data at levels previous negative exploration results.
mine and throughout the mining and
up to an order of magnitude below
processing stages. By interrogating By providing a cost effective, robust
crustal abundance. It also improves
multi-element data collected by and comprehensive multi-element
the precision of trace element analysis
methods such as the ALS ME-MS61LTM package with crustal abundance
by up to an order of magnitude.
and ME-MS61TM packages, geologists sensitivity, ALS works with clients
can correctly identify rock types, As shown below, detection limits this to move forward in the modern
determine alteration zonation, define low allow for the regional background exploration environment.

0.05
Thallium (ppm)
ME-MS61
0.04 ME-MS61L

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.00

Adding value to an exploration and establish useful pathfinder “observer bias”. Lithological groups
project throughout the project associations to aid future exploration can be identified from point clusters
and resource definition. within scatterplots of immobile trace
lifecycle
Defining rock types: Within a typical elements, as per the example below.
A range of lithological and geochemical Once the assay data are available
project, geological logging is carried
parameters can be determined in the project database, comparing
out by a large number of geologists
through proper interrogation of the the chemistry with the logging will
with a wide range of experience.
ME-MS61LTM data. Three primary This makes it difficult to build result in more accurate and consistent
objectives of lithogeochemical data reliable geological models based logging and will allow geologists to
analysis are to identify rock types on subjective observations. Assay see through the overprinting effects of
within the deposit, quantify alteration data is quantitative, and removes alteration and mineralisation.
Classifying Alteration: Whole rock analyses from A lithogeochemistry workflow to establish pathfinders may
ME-MS61LTM data can be plotted so that trends in the data include the generation of split cumulative frequency plots
can be directly related to mineralogy. This provides the coloured by mineralogy to identify correlations between
basis for defining and modelling alteration zones within a pathfinders and alteration; Au, Cu, Mo, Sn, W, Se, Bi, Te,
project. Silica content is also very useful in this exercise, As, Sb, Tl. Mineralogical controls can also be established,
but this data is provided by an additional method due to such as determining the host minerals for each element,
the loss of Si in the four acid digestion process. Silica and their distribution, setting and associations. Information on
several other elements can be provided by a cost effective assay “variance” can be collected, for example, narrow vein
portable XRF add-on method. hosted mineralisation with few pathfinders will have greater
variance than widely disseminated mineralisation. This
The definition of gangue mineral domains within an
information can also be used to determine sample spacing
ore resource model has direct applications in terms of
requirements.
geometallurgy and mine planning, such as providing rock
hardness information for drill and blast and mill processing,
proxies for mill throughput rates, and identification of high A Lithogeochemistry Workflow may use a range of
clay zones and weathering profiles that may affect physical parameters to classify rock types, for example:
pit design. This exercise may also identify additional 1. xY plots Sc vs Cr, Mg, Al, Zr (ultramafic rocks)
exploration targets.
2. xY plots Sc vs Ti, Th, V, Zr, Nb, P, Cr, Al, La, Ce
The types of plots that could be utilised in a
Lithogeochemistry Workflow to quantify alteration include: 3. xY plots Ti vs Sc, Th, V, Zr, Nb, P, Cr, Al, La, Ce

1. K/Al (molar) vs Na/Al (molar) (sericite and advanced argillic 4. Plot Sc vs V (to check for magnetite and/or
alteration) hornblende fractionation)

2. Ca-K-Na ternary plot (hydrothermal feldspars) 5. Plot Zr vs Hf (check for zircon fractionation)

3. Al-K-Mg ternary plot (Mg metasomatism) 6. REE spider plots or Sr vs Y (check for plagioclase
fractionation)
4. Fe vs S to (sulphidation)

5. Cu-Fe-S ternary (Cu-sulphide mineralogy)

Pathfinder Elements: Of primary interest to many

exploration managers and geologists is the ability to
identify and map pathfinder elements which have broader
primary dispersions than the ore metals, are more mobile
than gold and provide larger halos around mineralisation.

The data can also assist in identifying prospective structures

and lithologies, allowing geologists to use the data to
define vectors to mineralisation and therefore identify
future exploration targets. In addition, the data can be
used to “ground truth” the results of previous work, such as
determining whether historical drilling was deep enough or
in the best orientation.
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Sb in pyrite provides a significantly larger exploration target than the Cu T +61 8 9347 3222
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The inside workings of ME-MS61L™ analysis

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limitations of an analytical method.
Although it provides a “near total” Canada — Vancouver
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and several elements are lost as volatiles
in the digestion stage, most notably Chile — Santiago
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ME-MS61LTM methods mitigates the loss restricted to sparse veinlets
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of volatiles. It is often said that analysis
is a trade-off between the elements
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dissolution or partial loss during the
digestion process.
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changing the oxidation states of some
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to the samples to dissolve the silicate Sb is the lattice of the pyrite. Maps the footprint
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with the addition of hydrochloric acid as a final step before instrumental analysis.
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The use of the latest ICP-MS technology allows ALS to minimise interferences,
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thereby reducing detection limits to levels below typical crustal abundances for most
elements.
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