Trace Element Analysis: Methodology, Instrumentation, Analytical Performance and Application

Abstract

Trace element analysis plays a prominent role in geochemical exploration; the significance is obviated by the large number of samples, in excess of thousands of millions annually, being analysed on a worldwide basis in applied geochemistry alone because of the multifaceted role played by trace elements such as pathfinders in the discovery of certain ore bodies because of their association with mineralization due to their geochemical affinity and relative mobility and forming large tracts less easily missed by a sampling strategy in a different type of terrain, besides other multiple roles. With the evolutionary development in analytical techniques and the arrival of inductively coupled plasma-based techniques (inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy [ICP-OES], inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy [ICP-MS]), X-ray and synchrotron devices, nuclear analytical techniques (NATs), high-resolution continuum source atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CS-AAS) and suitable hyphenated techniques, the earlier concept of determination limit of trace elements of 0.01% (the lower limit of gravimetric or volumetric methods) has gone down to ppm to ppb levels in several cases. The relative nature of the techniques makes use of suitable reference materials to ensure the quality of the data.