Atomic Absorption Spectroscopic Method for the Determination of Sediments and Core Samples of Gold Collected from Erigi Gold Mining Site Minna, Niger State

Abstract

The ease and speed at which precise and accurate determinations can be made with this technique have made atomic absorption spectroscopy one of the most popular methods for the determination of metals. In this paper sediment and core samples of gold were quantified in ppm using AAS machine. 10g of the crushed and pulverized sediment and core samples were digested using aqua regia (3/1) (v/v) of concentrated HCl and HNO₃ respectively and heated in an electric hot plate at 200 ⁰C for 45 minutes to have a complete digestion process. The digested samples were allowed to cool and polyacrylamides (flocculant) is added and then filtered in 250mL volumetric flasks. 5mL of Di-Isobutyl ketone (DIBK) mixed with methyl trioctyl ammonium chloride (aliquat 336) in 1% volume by volume solution to bring out gold extracts. Standards of 0.1, 0.5, 2, 5 and 10 ppm were prepared for calibration and DIBK as blank sample. The gold extracts of the samples were analyzed and the results obtained showed different appreciated concentrations which were then compared with the concentrations of the certified reference materials (CRM) and quality controls (QC) of the gold samples being analyzed at the same time for validation.