U.S. REPORT New assay standards available

According to the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, there are widespread reports among prospectors and geologists of specific laboratories or assayers whose results are suspect, unreliable or unverifiable by other laboratories. It says investors have lost fortunes by failing to verify assays, which afterward have proven to be wrong. “Even the best analytical laboratories occasionally have problems,” says the bureau adding that “prudent practice is to include at least one standard reference material with each batch of samples submitted for assay.”

Last year, the bureau began a project to provide inexpensive standard reference materials (SRMs) for precious-metal assays. In addition to producing quality assurance standards for geochemical laboratories, the SRM project is designed to provide prospectors, investors, exploration geologists and mining engineers with an inexpensive means of assessing the quality of data generated by specific laboratories and assayers.

The SRMs can be purchased in 30-gram bags and 300-gram bottles at the University of Nevada’s Reno campus, or by mail from the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology.