Extraction and quantitative analysis of elemental sulfur from sulfide mineral surfaces by high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple method for the quantitative determination of elemental sulfur on o xidized sulfide minerals is described. Extraction of elemental sulfur in pe rchloroethylene and subsequent analysis with high-performance liquid chroma tography were used to ascertain the total elemental sulfur resulting from t he oxidation of arsenopyrite, pyrite, marcasite, chalcopyrite, and chalcoci te under various conditions. An initial pretreatment to remove any sulfur a lready present on the mineral surface created a chemically clean surface an d guaranteed that any elemental sulfur observed was the result of the labor atory oxidation experiments. Because the extraction method and chromatograp hic analysis are performed ex situ and are not constrained by the parameter s of the experimental oxidation reaction, the method can be used for the qu antification of elemental sulfur after any laboratory experiment.