Introduction

In recent years there has been a strong international move toward knowing and improving the quality of information used in the mining industry for mineral project exploration reporting and resource/reserve estimation. In Canada this trend has been accentuated because of recent, highly publicized scams that involved contamination of samples. An important aim of quality control procedures is to minimize the likelihood of such scams so that the public is not misled as to the economic potential of a mineral deposit. Quality control procedures also serve the technical purposes of identifying sources of and quantifying both random errors and unintentional bias in sampling, subsampling and analytical routines and thus provide the basis for improved procedures of data collection that translate into improved resource/reserve estimates.

One of the important reactions in Canada to recent mining scams has been the implementation of what is known as National Instrument 43-101 (NI43-101) in which a wide range of requirements, relating to mineral project reporting and resource/reserve estimation, are laid out. These requirements identify a Qualified Person (QP) who is responsible for all technical matters related to obtaining and publicizing both assay data and resource/reserve figures. This course incorporates a variety of procedures designed to fulfill the requirements of NI43-101 insofar as standard, blank and duplicate samples can be used to define and monitor quality of geochemical and assay values that are the basis of deposit evaluation.

The International Standards Organization (ISO) has developed a variety of widely distributed publications dealing with quality control systems for a wide range of industrial settings. The application of the ISO standards to resource/reserve estimation procedures necessarily involves all steps of the published procedures. Too often quality control is thought of only in terms of quantitative measurements. A broader perspective is essential and must include the categorical and qualitative data that are inherent in geological studies.

An optional download of sample data files and P-RES software, a statistical tool for interpretation of assay results, is included.

The former title of this course was "Quality Control of Assay Data."

Learning Outcomes

1. Discuss statistical parameters used in error analysis.
2. Discuss and apply statistical tests used in treating duplicate and replicate analyses.
3. Discuss, apply and interpret practical measures of sampling and analytical errors.
4. Discuss sources of error in sampling, subsampling and analytical procedures.
5. Discuss and apply procedures for monitoring data quality.

Duration: 25 Hours

Category: Exploration

Level: Intermediate