Determination of ultratrace (<0.1 mg/kg) elements in Athabasca Bituminous Sands mineral and bitumen fractions using inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry (ICP-SFMS)

Abstract There is on-going concern regarding fugitive emissions of trace elements from mining and upgrading of the Athabasca Bituminous Sands (ABS) in northern Alberta, Canada, but remarkably few quantitative elemental data about the resource itself exists. By exploring advances in analytical techniques, an inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry (ICP-SFMS) method was developed for the determination of trace and ultratrace amounts ( 3 -HBF 4 yielded good recoveries (100 ± 20%) for Ag, As, Be, Bi, Cd, Mo, Ni, Pb, Re, Sb, Tl and V in certified reference materials (NIST 1635, NIST 2711). The distribution of elements within the ABS was dichotomous, with V, Ni, Mo and Re predominantly found in the organic fraction (bitumen) and Ag, As, Be, Bi, Cd, Pb, Sb, and Tl predominantly found in the mineral residue. Trace amounts of As and Pb (0.1–2.0 mg/kg), plus ultratrace amounts of Ag, Bi, Cd, Sb and Tl (