Abstract:As the most valuable lithium mineral resource, spodumene is often associated with metal impurities. The content of iron impurities directly affects its production process. In order to measure the content of iron in spodumene and improve the detection efficiency, a method for the determination of total iron in spodumene by Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry has been established. The pretreatment methods and heating tools are compared. The working conditions of the Inductively coupled plasma spectrum has been optimized. The spectral line with a wavelength of 259.940 nm is selected as the analysis line for iron determination. The emission power is 1300 W, the flow rate of peristaltic pump is 1.5 ml/min, the flow rate of carrier gas is 0.7 L/min, and the sample medium solution is 3% nitric acid solution. The detection limit of this method is 0.004 mg/L, the relative standard deviation is 1.4% , and the detection result of spodumene certified reference material is within the allowable range of the standard value. The method has the advantages of low detection limit, high sensitivity and good accuracy, and is especially suitable for the determination of total iron in bulk samples.