This paper reports a modified digestion method for the determination of platinum group elements (PGEs) in geological samples. Samples are first digested by HF in a custom made 120 ml PTFE beaker on a hot plate to remove silicates. The dried residue is then digested with HF + HNO(3) at 190 degrees C for about 48 h after the beaker is sealed in a stainless steel pressure bomb. Although only HF + HNO(3) are used for sample digestion at relatively low temperature, ultramafic rocks with refractory minerals can be effectively decomposed by this method. Analytical results for CCRMP (CANMET, Ottawa, Canada) certified reference materials WGB-1 (gabbro), UMT-1 (ultramafic ore tailings), WPR-1 (peridotite) and WMS-1(Massive Sulphide), agree well with the certified values. The proposed method significantly simplifies the sample digestion procedures for PGE analysis compared to those used

Publication name	JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL ATOMIC SPECTROMETRY　Volume:26 　Issue:9 　Pages:1900-1904　 Published:2011
Author(s)	Qi, Liang; Gao, Jianfeng; Huang, Xiaowen; Hu, Jing; Zhou, Mei-Fu; Zhong, Hong
Corresponding author	QI Liang  qilianghku@hotmail.com  Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Geochem, State Key Lab Ore Deposit Geochem, Guiyang 550002, Peoples R China

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