Problems Involved in Using Improper Calibration CRMs in Geochemical Analyses: A Case Study on Mafic Rocks of Boggulakonda Pluton, East of Cuddapah Basin, India

The performance and response of two commonly used certified reference materials (CRMs) for mafic rocks MRG-1 (CANMET, Canada) and JGb-1 (Geological Survey of Japan), both gabbroic in composition, are evaluated for a set of mafic plutonic rocks (gabbros) from Boggulakonda (BK) occurring to the east of Proterozoic Cuddapah Basin, South India. In this study, quadrupole-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to generate trace and rare earth element (REE) data using MRG-1 and JGb-1 as calibration standards separately for a comparative study. It is found that the two CRMs show highly variable major, minor and trace element compositions except ΣREE. When used for BK gabbros, JGb-1 has yielded better results than MRG-1 with respect to trace elements (HFS elements Nb and Ta in specific), whereas a good agreement was observed between both CRMs for REE concentrations when compared with certified data. The Nb–Ta element distribution patterns for BK gabbros in the spidergrams plotted using JGb-1 as CRM show relatively prominent and pronounced negatively spiking anomalies with reference to Th, whereas using MRG-1 as calibration CRM yielded unresolved and unclear Nb–Ta anomalies in the present study. The geochemistry (major, minor and trace) of MRG-1 is different when compared to that of JGb-1. Probably this is reason for the disparity in the results obtained by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry on mafic plutonic rocks. The study conducted on the BK gabbros, reveals better and reliable results using JGb-1 as CRM. This study also reveals the importance of using proper CRM for calibration having closely matching trace and REE concentrations in addition to major and minor elements, for obtaining reliable data in geological samples.