Four Acid Digest and

Advanced ICP-MS Technology

Providing robust datasets for use in
Lithogeochemical Mapping

ADDING VALU
E
throughout th
e
project life cy
cle

Near Total Sample Digestion of how elements and minerals

behave through digestion processes and
followed by targeted analysis instrumentation. The use of a “near total” four acid digest,
coupled with the latest in Mass Spectrometry technology,
according to the progress of a delivers high quality robust exploration data packages
with a range of sensitivity allowing clients to choose the
project allows data to be used method and detection limits most suited to their targets,
deposit types and stages of exploration. The four acid
throughout the project life cycle. digest is able to effectively decompose almost all rock
forming minerals, with only the most resistive minerals
not fully dissolved.

Geochemical Analysis methods and the resultant

Why spend extra budget on
datasets produced have the potential to be used low level analyses for your drill core?
throughout the life cycle of an economic ore
Modelling of lithology and alteration zones are
deposit, adding substantial value at a range of
important parts of developing a robust resource model
stages throughout Exploration and Mining. However,
for an ore deposit, however data collected throughout
budgets are often tight in Exploration and there is
the life of an exploration project will be collected by
a temptation, particularly in Gold Exploration, to
geologists with a wide range of experience and logging
analyse samples for only Gold and a small number
styles. Consistent logging of rock types and alteration
of associated elements. Defining the value of a
minerals is often very difficult to achieve, particularly
resource project goes beyond determining the
in drill chips from weathered horizons. By routinely
contained volume of metal. The four acid digestion
obtaining a 48 element multi element analysis on drill
based methods offered by ALS provide clients with
samples in addition to gold determination, companies
data that can be used to estimate mineralogy and
are able to build very valuable and beneficial databases
establish proxies for physical and chemical deposit
which can assist mining personnel throughout the
characteristics such as the hardness of ore, deleterious
life cycle of the mine and throughout the mining and
gangue mineralogy, weathering and oxidation fronts,
processing stages. Interrogation of multi element
identification of construction materials such as road
data collected from methods such as the ALS ME-
base and mapping of reactive sulphides for acid mine
MS61L and ME-MS61 packages allows geologists
drainage management.
to identify rock types correctly, determine alteration
Through advances in technology and refinement of zonation, define the presence of clay minerals, quantify
laboratory procedures, ALS continually strives to provide silicate and sulphide mineralogy, delineate alteration
clients with the best possible solutions to their exploration phases for input into robust 3D geological modelling,
problems. Extensive experience in analysing geochemical and mapping fluid pathways using pathfinder
samples has provided a comprehensive understanding element data.

alsglobal.com/geochemistry
0.05
Thallium (ppm) working with clients to move forward in the modern
ME-MS61
ME-MS61L
exploration environment.
0.04

0.03
Adding value to an exploration project
throughout the project life cycle
0.02
A range of lithological and geochemical parameters
0.01 can be determined through proper interrogation
of ME-MS61L data. Three primary objectives in
0.00 Lithogeochemical data analysis are identification of
ME-MS61L provides robust results at levels well below the rock types within the deposit, quantifying alteration
lowest regional backgrounds for most elements, allowing and establishing useful pathfinder associations to
an unprecedented level of detail in major and trace assist in future exploration and resource definition.
element geochemistry on every sample. Previously, Defining rock types: Within a typical project,
detection limits of multi element methods were geological logging is carried out by a large number
often close to the background crustal abundances of geologists with a wide range of experience.
for many elements. Through the substantially This makes it difficult to build reliable geological
reduced detection limits of the ME-MS61L package, models based on subjective observations. Assay
ALS is able to provide clients with high quality multi data is quantitative, and removes “observer bias”.
element data at levels up to an order of magnitude Lithological groups can be identified from point
below crustal abundance. It also improves precision clusters within scatterplots of immobile trace
of trace element analyses by as much as an order elements, as per the example below. Once the
of magnitude. analytical data is present within the project database,
As shown below, detection limits this low allow comparing the chemistry with the logging will lead
for the regional background level of an element to to more accurate and more consistent logging, and it
be determined, while providing confidence in the will allow geologists to see through the overprinting
resulting anomaly. An additional consideration with effects of alteration and mineralisation.
respect to the lower detection limits of the ME- Classifying Alteration: Whole rock analyses
MS61L method is that the precision of the data at from ME-MS61L data can be plotted in such a way
crustal abundance levels is increased by lowering that trends in the data can be related directly to
the detection limit below these background levels. mineralogy. This forms the basis for defining and
Instead of database columns populated by < modelling alteration zones within a project. Silica
symbols, the geologist can have access to additional content is also very useful for this exercise, however
data on which to build and grow their interpretation this data is provided by an additional method due
and deposit model. Such data is becoming more to the loss of Si in the four acid digestion process.
critical as exploration moves into covered terrains Silica and several other elements can be provided
and other areas where deposits may be harder to by a cost effective portable XRF add-on package.
find due to structural setting or stigma of previous
negative exploration results. By providing a cost Definition of gangue mineral domains within an
effective, robust and comprehensive multi element ore resource model has direct applications with
package with crustal abundance sensitivity, ALS is respect to geometallurgy and mine planning, such as

ANALYTES & RANGES (ppm) CODE

Ag 0.002-100 Cu 0.02-10,000 Na 0.001%-10% Sr 0.02-10,000
Al 0.01%-25% Fe 0.002%-50% Nb 0.005-500 Ta 0.01-500
As 0.05-10,000 Ga 0.05-10,000 Ni 0.08-10,000 Te 0.04-500
Ba 1-10,000 Ge 0.05-500 P 0.001%-1% Th 0.004-10,000
Be 0.02-1,000 Hf 0.004-500 Pb 0.01-10,000 Ti 0.001%-10%
Bi 0.005-10,000 In 0.005-500 Rb 0.02-10,000 Tl 0.004-10,000
ME-MS61L
Ca 0.01%-25% K 0.01%-10% Re 0.002-50 U 0.01-2,500
Cd 0.005-1,000 La 0.005-10,000 S 0.01%-10% V 0.1-10,000
Ce 0.01-500 Li 0.2-10,000 Sb 0.02-10,000 W 0.008-10,000
Co 0.005-10,000 Mg 0.01%-25% Sc 0.01-10,000 Y 0.01-500
Cr 0.3-10,000 Mn 0.2-50,000 Se 0.2-1000 Zn 0.2-10,000
Cs 0.01-500 Mo 0.02-10,000 Sn 0.02-500 Zr 0.1-500

alsglobal.com/geochemistry
 A Lithogeochemistry Workflow may use a
range of parameters to classify rock types, for
example:

1 xY plots Sc vs Cr, Mg, Al, Zr

(ultramafic rocks)

2 xY plots Sc vs Ti, Th, V, Zr, Nb, P, Cr,

Al, La, Ce

3 xY plots Ti vs Sc, Th, V, Zr, Nb, P, Cr,

Al, La, Ce

4 Plot Sc vs V (to check for magnetite and/or

hornblende fractionation)

5 Plot Zr vs Hf (check for zircon fractionation)

6 REE spider plots or Sr vs Y (check for

plagioclase fractionation)

providing information on rock hardness for drill and blast

and mill processing, proxies for mill throughput rates, and
identification of high clay zones and weathering profiles
which may affect the physical pit design. This exercise
may also identify additional exploration targets.

The types of plots that could be utilised in a Lithogeo-

chemistry Workflow to quantify alteration include:

1 K/Al (molar) vs Na/Al (molar) (sericite and advanced

argillic alteration)

2 Ca-K-Na ternary plot (hydrothermal feldspars)

3 Al-K-Mg ternary plot (Mg metasomatism) to ground truth results from previous work such as
4 Fe vs S to (sulphidation) determining if historical drilling was deep enough or
carried out on the best orientation.
5 Cu-Fe-S ternary (Cu-sulphide mineralogy)
A Lithogeochemistry Workflow to establish
Pathfinder Elements: pathfinders may include generating split cumulative
frequency plots, coloured by mineralogy to identify
Of primary interest to many exploration managers
for correlations between pathfinders and alteration;
and geologists is the ability to identify and map
Au, Cu, Mo, Sn, W, Se, Bi, Te, As, Sb, Tl. Mineralogical
pathfinder elements which have broader primary
Controls can also be established, such as determining
dispersions than the ore metals, are more mobile
the host minerals for each element, their distribution,
than gold and provide larger haloes around
setting and associations. Information on assay
mineralisation. This data can also assist in identifying
“variance” can be collected, for example narrow
prospective structures and lithologies and allows
vein hosted mineralisation with few pathfinders
geologists to use the data to define vectors
will have greater variance than disseminated broad
towards mineralisation and therefore identify future
spread mineralisation. This information can also be
exploration targets. Additionally, data can be used
employed to determine required sample spacings.

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 Sb in pyrite provides a significantly larger exploration target than
the Cu in chalcopyrite restricted to veinlets

The inside workings of oxidation stages of some semi volatiles elements and
ME-MS61L analysis reducing loss in later stages of the dissolution process.
Hydrofluoric acids is then added to the samples to
As with any tool, it is important to understand the
dissolve the silicate lattice, allowing for release of the
benefits and limitations of an analytical method. While
major rock forming elements such as Ca, K, Mg and
providing a “near total” digest, a number of elements are
Na. Although these elements may be under reported at
not fully dissolved by the four acid digest, and several
high levels, below concentrations of a couple of percent
elements are lost in the digestion stage as volatiles, most
results are robust, repeatable and accurate. The solution
notably Si and Hg. Partial loss of semi volatile elements
is then heated and digested, then evaporated down
including As, Se, Sb and others can occur dependant on
to incipient dryness, again reducing the loss of semi
the final methodology employed. Analysis is often a
volatile elements at this stage of the process. Finally,
compromise between the elements you need in solution
Hydrochloric acid is added and the sample can be sent to
as the sample arrives at the analytical instrument and
the analytical instruments.
the elements which can be useful despite a lack of
dissolution or partial loss during the digestion process. Use of the newest ICP-MS technology including Collision/
The benefits of precision from very low detection limits Reaction Cells allows ALS to minimise interference with
often outweighs these digestion limitations. the elements of interest, thereby reducing detection
limits to levels below typical crustal abundance for most
Nitric acid and perchloric acid are added to the sample
elements, by either removing or redirecting interference
pulp, and proceed to oxidise the samples, changing the
elements through collision.

Geochemistry Client Services

Australia/Asia — Brisbane Europe — Loughrea
+61 7 3243 7222 • [email protected] +353 91 841 741 • [email protected]

Africa — Johannesburg Europe — Seville

+27 11 608 0555 • [email protected] +349 55 981 491 • [email protected]

Brazil — Belo Horizonte Mexico — Hermosillo

+55 31 3045 8400 • [email protected] +52 662 260 7586 • [email protected]

Canada — Vancouver Peru — Lima

+1 604 984 0221 • [email protected] +51 1 574 57 00 • [email protected]

Chile — Santiago USA — Reno

+56 2 2654 6100 • [email protected] +1 775 356 5395 • [email protected]

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