1. InductivelyCoupledPlasmaMassSpectrometryStudyonDeltaOre 05-24-2015
Edward Mausolf,PhD
mausolfe@unlv.nevada.edu
Abstract
In orderto compare previousmicroscopystudiesthatwascompletedonconverted Deltarecovered
metal phases,abulkICP-MSstudywas completedonthe startingDeltaOre thatis inmy possession.
The figuresinthisreportwere generated duringthe materialdigestandrecovery,while the standards
prepared tocompare the signal response wereprovidedin-house atthe University of NevadaLasVegas
(UNLV). The ICP-MSstandard usedwasa multi-elementstandard(seefigure6,table 2) that containsall
elementsat50 µL/mL (50 ppm) dilutedfrom0to 50 ppb that issuitable formeasurementswithinthe
instrument. The deltasample (5.1509 g) was thenrecoveredinthe solutionphaseafterdigestion. Total
mass withinthe solutionwasestimatedbyevaporatingaknownvolume of solutioncontainingsolutes
and comparedto the driedmass (Figure 4). Thiswas thenbroughtup in1% HNO3 (analytical grade)
thenseriallydiluteduntil asolutionof approximately35.86 ppbDeltasolutionwasproduced. Priorto
introductionintothe instrument,all solutionswere filteredthrough0.2micronsyringe filters.
It shouldbe knownthatthe iron signal appearstobe higherthanthe real value withinthe sampledue to
chargingof argon (Ar) inthe plasma: Iron formulaweight~56 whereasAr-Ohasa formulaweightof ~56
and thisintroduceserrorinthe signal. All otherspecieslistedwithinthat of table 2 trendwell withthe
calibrationpreparedandcomparedtothe Deltasample prepared.
From the resultsof thisdigest,the 4 tonsavailable currently(where thissamplewascollectedfrom) has
a calculatedvalue of approximately$480,000 perton inPGMs (Rh/Pd/Pt/Au),notincludingother
elementsof highconcentrationsuchasCu,Fe,Ni,Ti, Zr, and Mo.
In a fieldof 38,000,000 tons,the predictedvalue of the mine hasavalue of approximately
$18,400,000,000,000 whichiswithinanorderof magnitude of thatpredictedfromthe microscopy
studies. The elementsof primaryvalue andconcentrationare Palladium(Pd),Gold(Au),andPlatinum
(Pt) while otherplatinum-groupmetalssuchasOs bringconcerndue to the toxicityof thiselement.
Future Work
Identificationof uranium, thorium,andvariouslanthanideshave recentlybeenidentifiedinthe Delta
ore. A separationsystemhasbeendevelopedtoremove the Rare EarthElements(REEs) onthe front
endand the projecthas beenfunded. The resultsof thisstudywill be made available followingits
completioninJuly2015.

2. Figure 1. Bulkdeltaore (5.1509 g) (left),groundinmortarandpestle (center),thenplacedinglassflask
[extractantinorange flask]
Figure 2. Beginningof digest(left) andconsumptionof deltaore (centerlefttoright)

3. Figure 3. Completeddigestof deltaore (forstudy)
Figure 4. Resultingsolutionphase andrecovereddeltaore afterdigestion(left),comparisonof original
deltaore to digested deltaore (center),andcrystalline phase resultingfromdeltadigestwith sample
usedforICP-MS study(right)

4. Figure 5. DeltadigeststandardsandsamplesforICP-MSstudy. Deltadigestdilutionfactor:27886224.2
Figure 6. ICP-MSconcentration versussignal countcalibrationcurve (0,1,2, 5, 10, 25, and 50 ppb
standard) – comprehensivestandardcontainsall PGMelementsthatwere compared: Ni,Os,Pd,Pt,Ir,
Os,Pt, Au,Rh. OnlyAu,Pd,and Pt are showninthe standardregression
Table 1. Estimatedconcentrationof keyelementsfoundindeltaore post-digest(yieldperpound)
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
SignalCounts
Concentration (ppb)
ICP-MS Standard Signals
Gold
Palladium
Platinum
Analyte g/pound
Ru 0.95
Rh 0.80
Pd 4.15
Os 0.59
Ir 0.26
Pt 1.22
Au 1.67

5. Table 2. Estimatedvalue of mine calculatedat38,000,000 tons(assumingthe field is isocompositional)
Analyte Mass Conc. Mean (ppb) g/g DF x g/g g in sample g in mine Troy Ounce Value/Oz Pounds Value/lb Estimated Value
Li 7 6.688 6.688E-09 0.187 0.897 6.01E+12 1.32E+10 2.27$ 30,052,296,641.95$
Ti 47 1.03 1.03E-09 0.029 0.138 9.26E+11 2.98E+10 2.04E+09 2.55$ 5,199,157,220.91$
V 51 0.257 2.57E-10 0.007 0.034 2.31E+11 7.43E+09 5.09E+08 9.28$ 4,721,028,747.60$
Cr 52 0.641 6.41E-10 0.018 0.086 5.76E+11 1.85E+10 1.27E+09 1.00$ 1,268,859,614.93$
Mn 55 0.404 4.04E-10 0.011 0.054 3.63E+11 1.17E+10 8.00E+08 0.93$ 743,737,807.36$
Fe 57 14.462 1.4462E-08 0.403 1.940 1.30E+13 4.18E+11 2.86E+10 0.29$ 8,173,160,269.77$
Co 59 0.065 6.5E-11 0.002 0.009 5.84E+10 1.88E+09 1.29E+08 13.65$ 1,756,311,534.08$
Ni 60 0.422 4.22E-10 0.012 0.057 3.79E+11 1.22E+10 8.35E+08 5.90$ 4,928,559,546.40$
Cu 63 19.501 1.9501E-08 0.544 2.616 1.75E+13 5.64E+11 3.86E+10 2.83$ 109,244,319,379.66$
Zn 66 63.156 6.3156E-08 1.761 8.473 5.68E+13 1.83E+12 1.25E+11 1.00$ 125,017,313,323.28$
Zr 90 1.322 1.322E-09 0.037 0.177 1.19E+12 3.82E+10 2.62E+09 13.17$ 34,464,562,951.58$
Nb 93 0.06 6E-11 0.002 0.008 5.39E+10 1.73E+09 1.19E+08 -$ -$
Mo 98 0.103 1.03E-10 0.003 0.014 9.26E+10 2.98E+09 2.04E+08 7.76$ 1,582,174,903.30$
Ru 102 0.08 8E-11 0.002 0.011 7.19E+10 2.31E+09 50.00$ 115,587,534,584.95$
Rh 103 0.068 6.8E-11 0.002 0.009 6.11E+10 1.96E+09 1,080.00$ 2,122,187,134,979.58$
Pd 106 0.351 3.51E-10 0.010 0.047 3.15E+11 1.01E+10 785.50$ 7,967,174,238,545.59$
Sn 118 0.584 5.84E-10 0.016 0.078 5.25E+11 1.69E+10 1.16E+09 7.21$ 8,334,962,634.93$
Hf 180 0.049 4.9E-11 0.001 0.007 4.40E+10 1.42E+09 9.70E+07 -$ -$
W 184 -0.039 0.00E+00 0.00E+00 -$ -$
Os 192 0.05 5E-11 0.001 0.007 4.49E+10 1.44E+09 360.00$ -$ 520,143,905,632.25$
Ir 193 0.022 2.2E-11 0.001 0.003 1.98E+10 6.36E+08 580.00$ -$ 368,724,235,325.97$
Pt 195 0.103 1.03E-10 0.003 0.014 9.26E+10 2.98E+09 1,147.50$ -$ 3,415,394,920,357.77$
Au 197 0.141 1.41E-10 0.004 0.019 1.27E+11 4.07E+09 1,206.00$ -$ 4,913,799,476,507.87$
Valu/lb
Total 519,960.47$
PGM Total 511,131.88$
Rh/Pd/Pt/Au 93.2% 484,698.84$18,418,555,770,390.80$
19,758,497,890,509.70$
19,423,011,445,934.00$