Total sulfur is an analyte for which there are few determinations published, despite the fact that it is a very important element (e.g., a major element in most ores, an important gas constituent in global warming, an active participant in acid drainage). Most geological reference materials have very poor quality sulfur results, that is with relative standard deviations (RSD) in the range of 30–50%, even for concentrations over 100 μg g−1 S, which compromises their use as calibrators. In order to provide modern results with low RSD, sulfur was determined in twenty‐nine geological reference materials with a state‐of‐the‐art elemental S/C analyser using metal chips (certified reference materials with a traceability link) and analytical grade sulfur for high concentration samples. Analytical parameters (sample mass, crucible degassing, calibration strategy, etc.) were optimised by testing. Our results agreed with reference material values provided by issuing bodies. Results for CCRMP SY‐2 (129 ± 13 μg g−1 S), which has been proposed as a sulfur reference material, were in agreement with the proposed modern value of 122 ± 3.7 μg g−1 S.
The interest in selenium concentrations in whole rocks is growing, in part because it is a useful tool for base and precious metal exploration. Selenium is often neglected in whole rock geochemistry because of the inability of most laboratories to make reliable determinations of this element. A consequence of these difficulties is a paucity of assigned or certified values for Se in international geological reference materials, so that the “best practice” proposed by Kane and Potts (2007) to obtain robust values for such reference materials cannot be followed. In order to address this problem, we have determined Se by pre‐concentration on thiol‐cotton fibre followed by INAA (Se/TCF‐INAA technique) in twenty‐six international geological reference materials, and one quality control material (KPT‐1). These values were used, in conjunction with a set of published values, to estimate Se concentrations for these twenty‐seven reference samples. Robust statistics were developed for seven of the RMs, with standard deviations equal to or less than precisions calculated using the Horwitz function and so that consensus values could be proposed. For three of the RMs, the presence of outliers gave less robust results, and suggested values are proposed. For seventeen of the RMs, only information values are provided, because either insufficient determinations were available or because large standard deviations of the data were derived.
In the past, there has been little interest in the trace element characteristics of quartz, and in consequence little activity in the trace element characteristics of reference materials with high silicon content. The main purpose of this paper is to contribute to the characterisation of two international certified reference materials, BCS 313/1 from the Bureau of Analysed Samples, (BAS), UK and SRM 1830 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), USA. BCS 313/1 was analysed by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS), solution ICP‐MS and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). NIST SRM 1830 was analysed by LA‐ICP‐MS and INAA. Analytical results are reported for more than forty elements, most of them for the first time. For most elements, the results obtained by the different methods agree within 15 % relative. The recent, heightened interest in quartz and in particular the precise determination of trace0element contents in natural quartz samples requires the use of well characterised reference materials such as BCS 313/1 and SRM 1830, to which this study is designed to contribute.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.