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Mine Site Services

Grade control is an important function at every mine site.  The ability to distinguish ore from waste is the key to improving profitability and, in some cases, economic success.  Analytical Solutions Ltd. has reviewed ore control sampling (underground, reverse circulation and blast holes) and audited mine laboratories worldwide.  In many cases, due to time constraints in a busy production environment, significant value is added by a third-party system review to optimize sampling, measure uncertainties and critically examine laboratory protocols

Sampling Process Audit

Day-to-day mining operations are often controlled by the collection and assaying of mine control samples such as blast holes, underground channel samples and RC samples. As mine cut-off grades change over time and new technologies are introduced it is useful to review sampling methods, in particular for reproducibility.

Analytical Solutions Ltd. provides pragmatic approaches to measuring the uncertainties associated with mine control sampling and understanding the implications for business decisions.

Benchmarking

Companies with multiple operations will profit from comparing productivity, procedures and data quality. Operations within the same company can build on corporate strengths and ensure that management is using the same information to compare outputs.

Benchmarking is a useful tool employed by Analytical Solutions Ltd. to compare operations. A questionnaire of over 500 questions is available to compare and contrast facilities in a quantitative approach.

Laboratory Audits

Mine laboratories should be optimized in terms of turn around time, production and costs. Many important business decisions, from discriminating ore and waste to payment for concentrates, are based on mine laboratory data. The laboratory assays must therefore be accurate and need to be fit-for-purpose with regards to precision.

Analytical Solutions Ltd. provides laboratory audits, recommendations for improvements to equipment and processes, and assessment of accuracy and precision. The data requirements are linked to an understanding of sampling and milling procedures to ensure that the data are appropriate.