A method for cadmium species diagnostics in mineral matter has been de
veloped, which combines thermal and atomic absorption analyses and an
experimental-analytical approach. It is shown that the temperature int
ervals of the release of three main inorganic Cd species (sorbed, mine
ral, and isomorphic) are overlapped only to a small extent, thus provi
ding a reliable diagnostics of the latter. The method is quantitativel
y tested on the samples of meteorites and tektites. The predominance o
f sorbed Cd in them is shown. It is confirmed that diagnostics of the
species of volatiles (Hg, Cd) can change the views of their abundance
in the cosmos and of the temperature conditions of formation of the ob
jects under consideration.