Determination of copper in sulfide minerals by Zeeman electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A method for the determination of copper in some sulfide minerals (lorandite, realgar, orpiment, marcasite, stibnite, galenite and sphalerite) by Zeeman electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry is presented. After the dissolution of samples, copper was extracted with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate into different organic solvents (carbon tetrachloride, chloroform and methylisobutyl ketone) at pH 11.0–12.0. The procedure was verified by standard addition. The standard deviation (SD) for 0.5 ng Cu is 0.01 ng, the relative standard deviation ranges from 3.5 to 5.5% and the detection limit of the method, calculated as 3 SD of the blank, was found to be 0.05 μg · g^–1. Received: 26 May 1997 / Revised: 10 September 1997 / Accepted: 16 September 1997