Determination of seven noble metals in standard rock samples by means of thermal neutron activation analysis.

Ruthenium, silver, rhenium, osmium, iridium, platinum and gold in standard rock samples from Geological Survey of Japan (JB-1, JB-2, JG-1 and JA-1) were determined by thermal neutron activation method with a systematic chemical separation. U.S. Geological Survey standard rocks (BCR-1 and G-2) were also analyzed to obtain an information about the accuracy and precision on the method. Generally agreement of our results with previous values for BCR-1 and G-2 was excellent. The noble metal contents in the igneous rocks from Japanese region were approximately comparable to those in the corresponding rocks from the continental region, and showed a tendency to decrease with increasing silica contents, with weak interrelations to other major elements.