Determination of gold in low grade ores and concentratrs by anion exchange separation followed by neutron activation

The benefication of tailings fror Kolar Gold Mines involves the flotation of sulphides. Appreciable amounts of arsenic and antimony are expected to accompany gold in this process. The activation analysis of gold in these samples is facilitated by a preseparation of gold from arsenic and antimony. The present paper describes a method for the rapid analysis of gold in the concentration range 0.5 to 50 ppm using a simple pre-irradiation separation, with the recovery of gold being evaluated by an isotope dilution technique using 198Au tracer. The method is based on the absorption of the AuCl4- complex on anion-exchange resin in conjuction with isotope dilution technicque to evaluate the recovery of gold. The resin is then irradiated and counted along with a reference standard similarly prepared. (T.G.)