MIN 4025 GEOSTATISTICS

LECTURE 2A
SAMPLING REDUCTION ERROR VARIANCE
Gy’s Formula

Learning Outcome:
Be able to calculate the sample reduction
error and determine the necessary sample
weight at the given level of confidence.

MIN 4025 Geostatistics

Prof Emmanuel Chanda, 12020
 SAMPLING REDUCTION
ERROR VARIANCE
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
• The assay of 1m drill sample is reported as 3.75g/t
• The assumption is: this is the gold content of the
sample
• But, it’s not the entire sample that is assayed! A
small sub-sample of a few grams is selected for assay
and the assay refers only to the gold content in this
sub-sample.

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 SAMPLING REDUCTION
ERROR VARIANCE
• There’s always a discrepancy between the gold
content of the original drill sample and that of the
relatively small sub-sample.
• This discrepancy is the sample preparation error.
• In general, samples undergo successive reductions
by weight (sub sampling) and particle size (crushing
and pulverising) to yield a final subsample of rock
weighing only a few grams.

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 SAMPLING REDUCTION
ERROR VARIANCE
• EXAMPLE
• Sample of 1m length from 105mm drillhole = 25kg.
• From rotating cone spliter, a 5kg subsample is taken.
• From this a 0.5kg subsample is taken ->pulverised.
• Next, a 30gm subsample is taken from the pulverised sample.
• It is assumed that 30gm is representative of the 0.5kg (same
assay) and so on, i., all 3 samples have same assay as original
25kg.
• => Proportion of gold particles is the same. In reality not so!

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 Gy’s Formula
• The magnitude of the sample preparation
error depends on:
(a) The particle size
(b) The weight of the sub-sample
(c) The mineralogical composition of the ore
being sampled

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 Gy’s Formula
• THE PARTICLE SIZE
- Ideally all particles in the lot should be same
size &
- Mineral particles should be completely
liberated from the gangue
- Every particle in the sample should have an
equal chance of being included in the sub-
sample.

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 Gy’s Formula
• THE WEIGHT OF THE SUB-SAMPLE
- The larger the sub-sample, the smaller will be the
error.
- The weight of sample needed depends on the size
of the largest mineral particles and the liberation
size of the mineral.
- For gold the sample must be large enough to
contain enough of the course gold particles to
ensure they are adequately represented.

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 Gy’s Formula
• THE MINERALOGICAL COMPOSITION OF
THE ORE BEING SAMPLED
- This includes:
(a) Proportion of mineral in the ore
(b) The shape of the particles
(c) The size of the particles and
(d) The liberation size of the of the mineral
particles

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 Gy’s Formula
• All the above factors have been incorporated into a
simple formula by P. Gy

• What does the formula do?

- Relative variance at each stage in sample reduction

process
- Calculate the error for a sample size split from original
- Calculate sample size required to obtain a specified
variance at 95% confidence level

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 GY’S FORMULA -3

 1 1 
s = d . f .g.l.m −
2 3

 1
M M 2

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 GY’S FORMULA -4
What do the terms mean?

• M1 = weight of sub-sample (grams)

• M2 = weight of the material (grams) from

which M1 is taken.

• d = dimension (cm) of the largest particle

in the initial sample (mesh of which passes
90-95% of material).
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 GY’S FORMULA -5
• f = particle shape factor, an index varying
between 0 and 1 (for perfect cubes f=1).
Practically, f = 0.5 for most ores.
Dimensionless.

• g = particle size range factor (0.25 –

1.00). In practice g varies from 0.17 to
0.40, the average being 0.25.
Dimensionless.

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 GY’S FORMULA -6
• ‘l ‘= particle liberation factor. For homogeneous
material l=0; for heterogeneous material l = 1.0
• For unliberated ores, l can be calculated from the
approximate formula:

l = (L / d )
1
2

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 GY’S FORMULA -7
• When L/d>1; l is taken as 1.00 (l is
dimensionless).

• L = practical liberation size = maximum

particle diameter which ensures the complete
liberation of of the valuable component (L is
expressed in cm).

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 GY’S FORMULA -8
• m = mineralogical composition factor defined
as:

1− a 
m= (1 − a )r + at 
 a 

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 GY’S FORMULA -9
Where:

• r = mean density of the valuable mineral (eg., gold,

lead, silver)
• t = mean density of gangue
• a = average mineral content (not metal content!),
expressed as decimal proportion of the mineral.
• m is expressed in g/cm3

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 GY’S FORMULA -10

For example:
• Zinc occurring as sphalerite – an assay of 5%Zn
would have a decimal proportion of the mineral
sphalerite (ZnS) of:

64 + 32 5
a= x = 0.075 = 7.5%
64 100
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 GY’S FORMULA -10

• S2 = relative variance of the error when a

sample of M1 grams is taken from a sample
of M2 grams characterised by the
parameters d,f,g,l,m

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 GY’S FORMULA
• EXAMPLE – data 1:
• 0.5m length BX core
• Core diameter = 3.5cm
• Content: 5%Zn as sphalerite (2/3 zinc)
• Volume of core = 481cm3
• Assume SG sphalerite = 4.0
• Assume SG host rock = 3.2
• Assume 7.5% sphalerite and 92.5% gangue

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 GY’S FORMULA
• EXAMPLE – data 2:
• Hence SG of core = 100(7.5/4 + 92.5/3.2)=3.25
• Thus weight of core = 1563g
• Hence sample weight = 800g
• 90% of discharge from crusher is –10 mesh (ie
<1.65mm)
• Particle liberation size to release our valuable
mineral = 0.2mm

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 GY’S FORMULA
• Use the above data to calculate the error
involved when:
(i) 200g is split from the 800g after crushing
and sent directly for assaying,
(ii) When this 200g is first pulverised to –
200 mesh (<74um) and 5g taken for
analysis.

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 GY’S FORMULA
SOLUTION

 1 − 0.075 
m= (1 − 0.075)4 + 0.075x3.2
 0.075 
= 48.6 g / cm 3

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 GY’S FORMULA
SOLUTION
The particle liberation factor ‘l’ is:

(L / d ) 1/ 2
= (0.02 / 0.165)
1/ 2
= 0.35
Assume that f = 0.5
And that g = 0.25
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 GY’S FORMULA
SOLUTION
For Case (i):
 1 1 
S = (0.165) x 0.5 x0.25 x 0.35 x 48.6 − 
2 3

 200 800 
( )
= 9.55138x10 −3 x 5 x10 −3 − 1.25 x10 −3
= 3.58 x10 −5
Therefore, S = 6 x10 −3

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 GY’S FORMULA
Case (i) cont’d:
• Absolute error = rel SD x accepted estimate
• Absolute error = 6 x10-3 x 7.5% sphalerite =
0.045%
• Or in terms of Zn = (2/3)x0.045 = 0.03%Zn
• =>Value for sample = 5  0.06% Zn @ 95%
confidence level

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 GY’S FORMULA
Now try Case (ii)……………….

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