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Russian-based producers of precious metals have new opportunities for the quality-control testing of their analytical laboratories. Now interlaboratory comparison, for which all laboratories must be accredited on regular basis, can be performed in Russia and not just abroad. The only accredited provider of interlaboratory comparison in Russia is Ekaterinburg Non-Ferrous Metals Processing Plant (part of the PLAURUM International Group).

Interlaboratory comparison testing (ICT) comprises a set of procedures that include organization, performance, evaluation and testing of the same samples by several laboratories in accordance with a given set of conditions. This is a versatile tool for the quality control of their operation.  Undergoing ICT is obligatory for all of the analytical laboratories of precious metals manufacturers and it is regulated by their quality management system. This is the obligatory requirement of the international ISO/IEC 17025 standard – without undergoing ICT no laboratory can be deemed competent and capable of yielding technically-sound results.

EZOCM accreditation certificate for ICT provider status (in accordance with international ISO/IEC 17043 requirements) was issued in April 2017 by the “Analitica” Association of Analytical Centers – an associate member of International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and Asia-Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC). Central Analytical Laboratory (CAL) of EZOCM is responsible for organization and interlaboratory comparison, from program development to certificates issuance. Central Analytical Laboratory (CAL) has been accredited since 1996 by Federal Agency on Technical Regulating and Metrology and has well-trusted reputation among the market experts. Moreover, the laboratory has all of the required qualifications, equipment and a variety of standard reference materials for interlaboratory comparison.

As the Head of Central Analytical Laboratory at EZOCM,  Lyudmila Gorbatova, says, obtainment by EZOCM of ICT provider status will significantly facilitate this procedure for other PGM plants, since previously, only laboratories from certain foreign countries (the UK, for example) had been accredited to carry out such testing procedures. Now, Russian companies will reduce costs and save time for ICT and will get the results more promptly.

We have developed 4 verifying tests for the following test materials: gold-based alloys (determination of matrix elements), platinum-rhodium alloys (determination of impurities), spent auto catalysts (determination of platinum, palladium and rhodium content), and 995 gold grade (determination of gold and silver composition in a sample).   

We gather requests from laboratories, send participants the sample to be tested, and evaluate the results per the criteria set for the program," Lyudmila Gorbatova says. “A similar method is used in LBMA tests to confirm “Good Delivery” status of refining companies. At the end of the process, each laboratory is given an ICT  program participant certificate, a competence verification report, and the anonymized results of other participants’ analyses. This allows the laboratory to compare its results with the others, make conclusions regarding the efficiency of the methods applied and its equipment as well as the personnel skill level, and identify and address deficiencies in their operational process.”

About

Central Analytical Laboratory of EZOCM specializes in precious metals quantitative analysis. Its specialists work with more than 1000 different products. They include:

• Refined precious metals (Pt, Pd, Rh, Jr, Ru, Os, Au, Ag);
• Precious metals alloys;
• Precious metals chemical compounds;
• Mineral raw materials (platinum and gold panning);
• Platinum group metals concentrates;
• Various types of secondary wastes (spent catalysts for chemical and petrochemical industries, spent autocatalysts, slimes, slags, etc.)