The Determination of Mercury in Copper Concentrates by Thermal Decomposition, Amalgamation, and Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption

摘要

Mercury is a toxic, persistent pollutant found in many native ores rich in copper, silver and gold. As such ores are processed mercury can be released to the environment. This can be either during the "stamping" process (crushing rocks to "sand") where mercury rich tailings can enter the local watershed or during smelting where volatile mercury can be released into the atmosphere. It is for these reasons and their potential impact on the environment that it is important to be able to reliably measure mercury.