DETERMINATION OF ARSENIC IN GOLD BY FLOW-INJECTION INDUCTIVELY-COUPLED PLASMA-MASS SPECTROMETRY WITH MATRIX REMOVAL BY REDUCTIVE PRECIPITATION

Arsenic was determined in gold by flow injection hydride generation in ductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry following a batch mode redu ctive precipitation removal of the interfering gold matrix. A solution of potassium iodide, L-ascorbic acid, and hydrochloric acid was used as the reluctant. The recovery of gold by precipitation and filtration was 99 +/- 3%. The detection limit for arsenic in gold was 55 ng g(-1 ) in the solid. The concentration of arsenic that was determined in th e Royal Canadian Mint gold sample FAU-10 was 29.7 mu g g(-1) in the so lid; this value was indistinguishable, with 95% confidence, from value s determined at the Royal Canadian Mint by graphite furnace atomic abs orption spectrometry and by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectromet ry. The standard deviation for four replicate determinations of the ar senic in FAU-10 was 0.972 mu g g(-1) in the solid.