SAMPLING , ANALYSIS AND LAB ASSAY
Value recognition
Whether it be in the field or the lab , the value of getting sampling , analysis and assaying right is gaining appreciation in the mining community . Dan Gleeson speaks to some of the industry ’ s major players to find out how this awareness campaign has unfolded
The routines that come with the likes of drill
core assaying , mineral sampling and slurry analysis were established and embedded in the mining industry many decades ago .
The technology to disrupt this routine has been around for a while , but , like the introduction of any innovation into the sector , companies have taken a while to come to terms with the change management required to leverage such tools .
That process is now playing out , with the vendors behind such technology developments moving from trial and prototype stage to commercial agreements .
These benefits include results tailored to a deposit ’ s individual lithologic and mineral suite , which allow for highly accurate results at lower concentrations and larger elemental ranges than
FLSmidth can design the whole process area , even the whole plant in some cases , Tina Knudsen says . “ As a result , we can design in the right sampling locations to ensure they are located in the optimal place to take that specific sample at the right time ”
traditional XRF analysis , according to the company . “ Another benefit is the incorporation of highdensity photographs and our TruVision data display dashboard that moves the customer from receiving a
Core conclusions
In the drill core assaying field , several companies using X-ray Fluorescence ( XRF ) technology to improve not only the speed but also the accuracy of this process have achieved significant milestones .
It has been two years since Boart Longyear launched its TruScan™ XRF core scanning technology with Bob Buto , Director of Operations and Marketing , and Mike Ravella , Vice President , Geological Data Services , saying the industry reception to this innovation has been “ solid ”.
“ We are continuing down our path of elucidating the benefits to potential customers on the holistic approach TruScan can bring to their projects and companies ,” they said .
Boart Longyear ’ s Bob Buto and Mike Ravella say the results of deploying TruScan XRF drill core scanning technology have brought about more consistently logged and complete datasets , coupled with better field-level decision making that maximises the dollars spent on the logging process and drilling programs to produce results
58 International Mining | FEBRUARY 2021