ICP-AES DETERMINATION OF Nb AND Ta IN PRODUCTS OF OREDRESSING OF SPODUMENE

ICP-AES determination of Nb and Ta in products from oredressing of spodumene was reported in this paper.The mineral sample was ignited with ammonium iodide and the ignition residue was decomposed with HF-H2SO4 mixture,and evaporated to about 1 mL.After the addition of tartaric acid,the solution was made up to 50 mL and was ready for use in ICP-AES determination.Determination limit of Nb and Ta (as Nb2O5 and Ta2O5) were tested,giving DL.for Nb2O5 as 8.4×10-9g and for Ta2O5 as 1.1×10-8g.Pricision of the method was also tested and RSD′s obtained were 0.8% for Nb2O5 and 1.2% for Ta2O5.Range of determination was reported as from 5×10-4% to 20.00% for both elements.