QUALITY CONTROL OF ASSAYS

by Dr. Alastair Sinclair

Course Presenters Schedule General information

Summary

In recent years there has been a strong international movement toward knowing and improving the quality of information used in the Mining Industry for resource/reserve estimation. In Canada, this culminated recently with the implementation of National Instrument 43-101 which incorporates, in part, general requirements pertaining to technical matters involved in obtaining assay data and the recognition that those data are of adequate quality to both publicize and to form the basis of a resource/reserve estimation.

This course will demonstrate how the Qualified Person is able to meet the assay quality requirements of NI43-101. Topics to be discussed include: duplicate data collection, use of standards and blanks, simple statistics in the evaluation of standards,  recognition of outliers, binary graphs as an interpretive aid to evaluating duplicate data, and displaying and analyzing data.

Emphasis will be placed on the use of simple statistical approaches that can be used to quantify data quality. Examples will be used to illustrate how sampling error, subsampling error and analytical error can be determined and how such results can be used as a basis for improving data quality.

Reference will be made to several procedures used in Industry to quantify precision and the general pros and cons of these methods.

Pre-Course e-Learning

Prior to the course, registered delegates are provided with an internet url, user name and password. All participants are expected to be familiar with the EduMine online course titled Quality Control of Geochemical and Assay Samples. This course provides delegates with important background material which increases their understanding and appreciation of the classroom course. Review of this material prior to the course, including completion of the interactive reviews, enables delegates to derive maximum benefit from the live sessions.

UBC Certificate in Mining Studies

This course qualifies for the UBC Certificate in Mining Studies, a continuing education initiative by the Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining at the University of British Columbia. Delegates who (1) register for the Certificate in Mining Studies, (2) complete online certification in the required EduMine e-learning modules, (3) attend this course, and (4) complete a take-away project will receive credit towards a Mining Certificate from UBC Continuing Studies. more details »

Who Should Attend?

The course is aimed at geologists, mining engineers, surveyors, geostatisticians and any other professionals dealing with the estimation of resources/reserves in a mining context.