SALTING OF SAMPLES

In mineral exploration, salting is the process of adding a valuable metal,

especially gold or silver, to a sample from a mine to change the value of the
sample with intent to deceive potential buyers of the mine. Examples are the
diamond hoax of 1872 and the former Canadian gold company Bre-X. Salting is
an example of a confidence trick.
There are two kinds of sample salting: intentional and innocent. Intentional
salting can be defined as the surreptitious addition of valuable material to a
sample with intent to deceive. Innocent salting, which can have the same end
effect, can be accidental or the result of carelessness or improper working
procedures. Although intentional salting is seldom encountered, only the
engineer who is constantly alert can feel secure about his sample results. A few
of the salting methods applicable to trenches are:
 Adding gold in the material to be sampled.
 Placing gold in sample containers or in the sample itself.
 Adding gold in the excavating or washing equipment.
 Dropping bits of gold in the pan during final processing.
Where the volume of material obtained from a drill hole or from a channel cut is
comparatively small it takes very little gold to appreciably alter the value. It
should be noted that in bulk sampling a substantial amount of gold may be
required to achieve the desired effect but, at the same time, the opportunity for
salting may be greater. This is because the larger the sample the more it is
handled, and the more it is handled, the more difficult it becomes to provide
adequate safeguards or keep it under constant surveillance. Ironically, it may be
easier to detect salting after it has happened than to prevent it in the first place.
But there are many precautions that can be taken to discourage salting, most of
which require little more than common sense. Some are:
 Keep the exact location of the point to be sampled a secret until the actual
cutting begins.
 Clean and carefully inspect all faces before sampling.
 Clean and carefully inspect all equipment before sampling.
 Check equipment at appropriate intervals.
 Complete the cutting and processing during a single work-day if possible.
When sampling is completed, go back and take a few check samples from
selected points particularly those showing unusually high values.
Some placer drillers place barren material in the bottom of the drill hole at the
end of the shift and test it for values when resuming operations. The black sand
concentrate obtained from a sample should be examined with a hand lens or
preferably, with a low-power microscope because at this point the careful
observer can usually detect any anomalous or foreign material in the sample.