Determination of manganese in natural waters by atomic absorption spectrometry with a carbon tube atomizer.

A method is described for the accurate and precise determination of alumina and silica in bauxites with the aid of a ²²⁷Ac-Be isotopic neutron source with a total neutron output of 10⁸ n s^-1. Three ores can be analysed in triplicate within 4 h, including the determination of the natural radioactivity of the ores. Samples are pellets pressed from a mixture of 4.5 g of powdered bauxite and 0.9 g of a wax as pelleting agent. The special flux distributions of the source allow irradiations at very different fast-to-thermal flux ratios without cadmium neutron absorbers. The drying and water re-uptake of bauxite and the natural radioactivity in these ores are discussed. The method was tested with several certified standards. A relative precision of 0.7% for the alumina determination was obtained for triplicate analyses. Vanadium is the only interfering element, the concentration of which should be determined separately or estimated; a correction procedure is given.