Assay results

How long does it take to get anassay result?

Some companies can take months to release assays. We all know that these companies want to release those juicy numbers as quickly as possible, but sometimes, those evil pricks at the assay labs decide to screw everything up and deliberately go slow on those critical samples from that critical drill-hole from that critical project.

I mean, a Junior Exploration company would NEVER sit on assay results, especially if they aren't inline with market expectations/promises.

I need to take you on a trip, image that you are a little gold flake (or silver for weirdos), you've been lucky and managed to find yourself in a vein. If you've been lucky, you've ended up in a nice, warm location.

You've been there for millions (or longer) of years, an then, some dick-head geologist, probably a JAFA, whips out his Estwing, beats you out of place and then tosses you into a fine Sentry sample bag.

So, how long do you think it will take for this sample to go from the field, get crushed, analysed and the results e-mailed back to the incredibly talented exploration geologist?

(Note: I'm ignoring samples sent to mine laboratories, they have this weird think called 24 hour turnaround, that is way to little time to create an impressive story of your geological prowess).

There are 3 aspects in the life of a sample:

1. How long it takes to get  the sample from the field to the prep laboratory
2. How long the Prep lab take to dry, crush, pulverize and sieve the sample to create a pulp
3. How long it takes the pulp to arrive at the analytical lab and be analysed and the results sent to the company.

These factors vary by work rotation, project location, and location of the labs.

So, I've been going through some of my old data, and on average:

Peru - 28 days

From field to prep lab = 7 days

Prep = 3 days

Analysis - including over-limits - 18 days

Chile - 31 days

From field to prep lab = 8 days

Prep = 2 days

Analysis* - including over-limits - 21 days

Mexico - 25 days

From field to prep lab = 3 days

Preparation = 2 days

Analysis* = 14 days

*the pulp samples were sent overseas to Peru/Canada for 4 acid digest

These are AVERAGE turnaround times from hundreds of sample shipments. So, if we factor in a week or two for the geologists to import, process and interpret the results, you can see that 5-7 weeks is a good upper limit to wait for results to be announced.

So, if you are waiting >2 months for the results, maybe you should ask why......

Note: The samples form Chile and Peru were a combination of Core and surface (rock-chip, grab and soil samples). The Mexican samples were surface samples only.

My methodologies - part 1 - data sources

My methodology

 For most (if not all) of these projects I will not have had the chance to visit them, look at the drill-core, the surface geology or speak with the geologists associated with them. Essentially, I have access to exactly the same information that you do.

So, I wanted to write a series of posts explaining my data sources and methodologies I use to extract and interpret data from the various projects and prospects that will form the base for the posts on this blog.

Data sources

All of the data I use for my interpretations and to create 3D views for a project are obtained from public sources:

• Drill-hole data: derived from technical reports, presentations and press releases.
• Satellite images: sourced from Google Earth
• The USGS public global topography data through their Earth Explorer website (link)
• Surface data (e.g. geology maps, geophysics and geochemistry): technical reports etc.

     The geological and Ordnance surveys of many countries provide a large amount of free to download geography and geology data (e.g. geology maps, topo maps, stream sediment data etc.).

I’ll try to include a full list of data sources with my posts and any useful links, which I’ll add to the useful lists.

Drill-hole data

To be plot the drill-holes and see the drilling data in 3D you need 3 pieces of information:

• Hole location - the Easting (x), Northing (y) and elevation (z) of where the hole was drilled from.

• Generally this information is included in technical reports, but for new drill-holes I often have to  digitize the hole locations from plan maps included in press releases.
• The elevation data is sometimes not included, but I can use the topo surface to create a relatively accurate elevation for each drill-hole.

• The direction the hole was drilled (hole orientation)

• This information is rarely included with press releases
• I have to manually measure the hole orientations from plan maps in press releases.

• The angle at which the hole was drilled (the angle of Dip)  

• This information is generally not included in press releases. Occasionally this data is included in a "start of drilling" PR.
• Typically this data is obtained from cross sections and plan maps that accompany PRs.

• Hole length (the hole depth, or Target Depth).
• Rarely included in press releases
• I can measure a hole length from a cross section, or if I can’t do this, I’ll simple take the deepest assay interval and extend the hole 50m beyond it.

Data accuracy: Any data I have to digitize/measure is generally of medium quality and will have an error (depending on the map scale and quality of the images I work with) of between 5-20m.

The amazing things you can do with 43-101 reports

I'm a geologist, and one of the most important aspects of my jobs is reviewing projects to understand their potential.

I love the fact that companies listed on the Canadian exchanges need to file all of the press releases, financial statements and technical reports on Sedar (link). This gives me access to massive amount of data, but sometimes it is hard to understand and to really see what is going on.

What I've been trying to do is take as much of the information from a technical report, supplemented by publicly releases data (press releases, presentations and quarterly reports) to see if I can create a simple, easy to understand summary of a property.

I'm also going to release leapfrog viewer files of this data so you can download and view it, to see what I've done and make any suggestions and observations on what is being presented.

You can also send me a project to work on if you like.