Determination of Zirconium and Titanium in Marine Placer Deposits Using Lithium Metaborate-Tetraborate Fusion Followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry

The marine sand deposits of Hainan Island contain abundant zirconium and titanium resources, which hold significant development potential. An alkali-inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry method based on a composite solvent of lithium metaborate and lithium tetraborate (m∶m=33∶67) was developed for determining zirconium and titanium in marine placers. In this method, sample was fused with 0.8g of compound flux at 1000℃ for 15min. After cooling, the molten substance was poured into dilute acid and dissolved by oscillation in a constant temperature oscillator. This approach simplifies the operation process by avoiding the complexity associated with high-temperature procedures while enhancing melt dissolution techniques. The detection limit for Zr using this method is 0.40µg/g while that for TiO₂ is 0.0025%. Based on standard materials, the relative standard deviation (RSD) range for Zr falls between 1.0%-3.5%. For TiO₂ it ranges from 0.7% to 3.3%. These precision values align with quality management standards set forth by geological and mineral laboratory testing practices making it suitable for rapid continuous analysis of zirconium and titanium in marine placers.